Cops reveal haunting new theory about cold case mystery of eight-year-old girl who vanished without a trace

Police have unveiled a new theory about an old case involving an eight-year-old girl who disappeared more than 25 years ago, while investigating a possible suspect.

Shy’Kemmia Shyrez Pate, affectionately known as Shy Shy, disappeared outside her home in Unadilla, Georgia, while waiting for her older sister LaSwanda to take her to a high school football game on September 4, 1998.

Her desperate family searched for her all night, but she was never found. Police believe she was last seen around 8:30 p.m., about a half block from her home at Tucker Avenue and West Street.

Family and police have said they believe the cheerful girl was abducted by someone she knew and trusted.

And in a new series of Dateline has disappeared in AmericaDCounty Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Lamberth revealed for the first time that there is now an additional “person of interest” in the cold case.

“This other person was really, really in the picture and still is, and nothing has been ruled out,” Lamberth told host Josh Mankiewicz, but he could not provide further information.

Shy Shy’s family home was across from a supermarket, nightclub and swimming pool in one, called Roxy’s, where neNeighborhood children bought chips and candy and adults came by after closing time.

The establishment reportedly attracted drug dealers, who stood outside to watch for police.

However, when Shy Shey disappeared in September 1998, they cooperated with authorities and even tipped off police when they saw an older white man in the neighborhood.

They provided a description of his vehicle, which police used to track him down, but he was later ruled out as a possible suspect.

Detectives also looked into a 20-year-old neighbor named Quentin “Droopy” Kendrick, who lived about 200 yards from the home in Pate.

He was a friend of the family and reportedly one of the last people to see Shy Shy before she disappeared.

Kendrick was accused of attacking and raping three young girls, the youngest of whom was 12, and attempting to rape two others a few years after Shy Shy’s disappearance.

In 2002, he was charged with multiple counts of rape, kidnapping, burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, and armed robbery. He is currently serving a life sentence. WALB News reported.

However, Shy Shy’s mother Veronica Pate, who was also a guest on the Dateline podcast, said she does not believe Kendrick was involved in her daughter’s disappearance.

DailyMail.com contacted Deputy Lamberth and the DOoly County Police for more details, but they were not available for comment.

In 2012, detectives drove nearly 13 hours to Detroit after receiving a tip about a Facebook photo of a girl who strongly resembled Shy Shy.

But their search hit a dead end when it turned out the photos were of Shy Shy’s cousin, posted on Facebook by the missing girl’s aunt.

Veronica’s sister later moved to Georgia to help find the child, while detectives continued to pursue various leads.

In 2022, an unexpected twist came when a Missouri woman claimed to be Veronica’s missing daughter.

The woman told her that she had been kidnapped and abused by her captors and that she had since changed her name.

Because the stranger seemed to know things that only her daughter would know, Veronica felt hopeful, so she set up a video call with her family to discuss the revelation.

But Lamberth explained during the podcast that after the woman was interviewed, a DNA test showed she was not Shy Shy. Veronica was devastated.

Shy Shy would have turned 34 on October 29.

The day she disappeared, the dark-haired, brown-eyed girl was wearing a neon green Atlanta Braves jersey with red lettering, Levi’s pants and a brace on her leg.

She had braids and about a dozen gold beads in her hair. One of her distinguishing features is a surgical scar on her waist.

In November of last year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released a photo showing Shy Shy’s age. The photo was supposed to show what she might look like today, hoping to draw more attention to the cold case.

Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, who was also featured on Dateline, told DailyMail.com that they hope that by sharing Shy Shy’s story in the podcast, they can bring more attention to the case nationally.

She added that nearly 40 percent of missing persons are people of color.

Last summer, Wilson visited Veronica and her family in Georgia and he still keeps in touch with the family.

“Unadilla is a small town in Georgia where everyone knows each other,” she said, adding that she also believes the girl knew her kidnapper.

After Shy Shy’s disappearance, Veronica, who suffers from chronic asthma and kidney disease, left the home where she raised her children and moved to another area of ​​Georgia.

Veronica has since claimed that when she first called to report her daughter missing, the police did not respond immediately, telling her to wait 24 hours.

Wilson said: ‘The first 24 to 48 hours are the most critical times when someone is missing. Time is of the essence when someone goes missing, especially when it involves an eight-year-old child last seen on her porch with a chronic medical condition.

Both Veronica and her daughter LaSwanda, who now has children of her own, say they can’t help but blame themselves and describe not knowing what happened as “unbearable.”

“I felt like if I had just stopped when I saw her on the porch, she would have stayed with me instead of going back after I got gas,” LaSwanda told Dateline.

“If I had stopped when I saw her, none of this might have happened,” she said.

Veronica added that she feels like if she had started looking for Shy Shy earlier, she would have been found already.

Despite their despair, they continue to hope.

“I believe in my heart that I will see her again,” Veronica said.

Shy Shy’s story is one of six cases featured in Dateline’s “Missing in America” ​​podcast, which begins its third season next week. It will air Tuesdays and Thursdays through August 1.