A little after nine o'clock that evening, Kia was reported missing to the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department. But they never gave up, and neither did we. Buchenwald added that while Akias body still hasnt been found, we hope this arrest brings a level of comfort and closure to Akias family., Members of Akias family also addressed the media Thursday. Sending it off for testing, they had to hope that they could uncover any evidence that could help lead them to the culprit. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. These two men were not immediately believed to be suspects, but were wanted for questioning. They all lived in housing close to the highway in-question, and they were all abducted from one location and led to another. This year my daughter Renee will go, but I will stay here to answer the phone, just in case. Check out more on my resume below. Soon, the one-year anniversary of Kia's disappearance had come-and-gone. "We hope this arrest serves as a reminder that time does not deter law enforcement efforts and our persistence to find truth and justice.". At that time, very little was known about Akias movements in the days before she disappeared. In each crime, the suspect was described as a middle-aged white man, with some kind of gray stubble on his face and a pockmarked complexion, as well as a unique tattoo on a bicep - which some of the young victims called a "dragon," and others a "snake.". "We're looking for a medium blue utility-type van with dark tinted windows. "He'll get credit for time served and good behavior. We are also following up on similar situations that occur in this area and nationwide.". He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of Eggleston and her unborn child. Charles Hampton agreed to give up blood and hair samples to investigators. By this point, her family had begun to fear the worst. MS. NEBLING IS A WHITE FEMALE, BLOND HAIR, 5'5 AND SLIM BUILT. 8th Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace, who had replaced William Townes Jones in the preceding half-decade, had plenty to say about this decision. Police noted that he had a snake tattoo on his upper arm, as well as his initials - C.H. The investigation to find her had still gone nowhere truly productive, with police beginning to expand their search out of the area according to some in the police department, even out of the state. This was a random act, which seems to be his technique.". Her social media activity abruptly stopped that day, according to a probable cause statement. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - "Malakia Logan", WISTV - "Indictment in 14-year-old disappearance of Greenwood girl", WISTV - "Suspect in murder of Greenwood County eight-year-old may soon walk free", Lander University - "Scholarship established in memory of Kia Logan", "Sexually Motivated Crimes: Understanding the Profile of the Sex Offender and Applying Theory to Practice" by Janet R. Oliva (CRC Press), Only In Your State - "9 Infamous Bone-Chilling Unsolved Mysteries In South Carolina", Kimberly Riley & Jeremy Britt-Bayinthavong, Paul Skiba, Sarah Skiba, and Lorenzo Chivers, June & Jennifer Gibbons (The Silent Twins). "It's crushing to know that we don't know where she is, we don't know if she's hurt," said Sanobia Wilson, Eggleston's aunt. The father of Akia's unborn child never showed up to the baby shower, placing him under suspicion of the family, yet he was never labeled as a person of interested or investigated to this day. The search continues for a missing college student in South Carolina who went kayaking on Christmas Day and never came home. I am not criticizing the authorities, who are working hard to solve the case. "Reading his statement, you'd think that only the person who did that would know those details. Robertson, 41, was arrested Tuesday in Michigan, where he moved in late 2017 accompanied by another woman with whom he already had two children, authorities said. They had no evidence that he had actually committed the crime, but they had his confession on-record, and at the very least, he had lied to investigators and caused them to waste valuable time by pursuing him as the suspect. Set in the middle of Greenwood itself, the reward fund started with a $2000 donation in her name. The composite is the latest thing we have and we're trying to develop leads from that. Newspaper reports indicate that she was born with two holes in her heart, but she would turn out to be stronger than she knew. Kia was dead. "Maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. However, one of the most interesting notes of this sketch came from a description, which noted that the suspect had a pockmarked face. The sun was beginning to set, and this eight-year old climbed onto her bike to head back home. That evening, Eggleston had shared a sonogram picture on Facebook. Major Sam Riley was stated: "Our department, as well as SLED and FBI personnel, are still actively investigating. That day - Monday, May 16th - approximately seventy-five people helped conduct a search around the apartment complex. ON OR ABOUT MAY 16, 2020 STEPHANIE HOPE VON CANNON WAS LAST SEEN BY A FAMILY MEMBER AT A RESIDENCE IN GREENVILLE COUNTY SOUTH CAROLINA. Egglestons stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson, who went on The View in 2019 to plead for help in solving his daughters disappearance, thanked investigators Thursday for never giving up on the case. Courtesy of FBI About an hour later, Robertson's phone moved away from Eggleston's apartment and headed toward downtown Baltimore as. The results were testing alongside DNA taken from Kia's parents, Bernetta and Richard, and this time, it proved consistent. But Robertson had other plans, Mosby said, ultimately concocting an elaborate ruse about a fake move that led to Eggleston withdrawing cash for a down payment. "There were no signs that any of us saw that she would just want to pack up and leave," Wilkinson told WJZ back in 2019. As a single mom with a 2-year-old daughter, Akia Eggleston was used to getting things done on her own. Mosby indicated investigators learned of a "volatile argument" between Robertson and the mother of his children the night before Eggleston disappeared. That day, Eggleston was seen on surveillance video depositing the two money orders and a paycheck from her employer at a BB&T location in the central business district. 11 Tennessee to an 85-45 victory over South Carolina on Saturday night. The expecting mom was last seen on May 3 on surveillance camera at a bank where she deposited $572 before making a cash withdrawal, Mosby said. Both of these generated more leads of possible sightings of Kia Logan and suspects bearing a resemblance of the composite of a man wanted for questioning. You see, in 1981, he had been arrested and convicted for the rape of a sixteen-year old, telling interrogators that his seminal fluid had been used to convict him. (232-7463. Her granddaughter, Ashley, had been friends with both Kia and Renee Logan, and had actually been playing with the two on the basketball court shortly before Kia disappeared. Unfortunately, the searches came up with no sign of Kia, or any clue as to what had happened to her. They haven't made any positive identification yet. "It's definitely changed the lifestyle here. "It is not the answer and there's always an alternative. When I drove up, and looked at that bike in the parking lot, I had a gut feeling something wasn't right and I called Riley at home. It was occupied by an older white male with graying hair. We split up into four groups and walked through the woods, through trash, through dirt, Wilson explained. We've received your submission. Immediately, investigators became convinced that the skull could have belonged to the missing Kia Logan, who had been missing from a town roughly half-an-hour away for two-and-a-half years now. Wilkinson's daughter, Akia, was eight months pregnant when she went missing in 2017. The crime spree began in July 1995 and carried on until August of 1996. So, she was not valued. In May 2021, the Baltimore Police Department again asked for help locating Eggleston. Investigators said they believe Robertson killed Eggleston, whose phone has never been recovered. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. That was when police announced that they were looking for two men, who had been seen in the vicinity of the Georgetown apartment complex late Sunday afternoon. Wilkinson said he feels the pain every day. Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and their prayers, Akias aunt, Sanobia Wilson, said. We began checking missing children cases and conducted three weeks of intensive searches for additional remains, but we didn't find anything.". "Normally there would be a family get-together in Saluda. On July 4th, the Greenwood-area newspaper, the Index Journal, ran a story detailing Kia's mom, Bernetta Logan, as she struggled with the disappearance of her youngest daughter. As Hampton prepared for his five-year sentence, he was facing investigations and charges from four separate states. He faces a maximum penalty of two life sentences in prison if found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In 1993, the skull was sent off to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC for DNA testing. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Charles Wade Hampton was born on September 21st, 1952. Police took Hampton out of jail, and drove him to many of the landmarks and locations from the child abductions. On Thursday the states attorneys office released the full statement of probable cause in Akias case. On Tuesday at 4 p.m., in Muskegon, Michigan, officers arrested Michael Robertson for the murder of 22-year-old Akia Eggleston, and her unborn child, Mosby announced from the podium where she was joined by Akias family, Baltimore Police Department detectives and Supervisory Special Agent Shayne Buchwald of FBI-Baltimore. Cherry Hill is a large park. Friends were celebrating the warm weather by swimming in the apartment pools, kids were playing outside among others their age, and families were barbecuing and picnicking in the community areas. for weeks or months at a time between interviews," according to the statement of probable cause. When it was finally time for Hampton to be released, he was immediately re-arrested for a warrant investigators had planned. As of this episode's recording, the abduction and murder of Malakia Zali Logan remains unresolved. In July 2017, a police spokesman said investigators had come to believe that foul play may have been involved. About 4 p.m., Robertson allegedly took a Lyft ordered by Eggleston to the Cherry Hill neighborhood. In 2009, the Malakia Logan Memorial Scholarship was established at her hometown's Lander University. Crime Stoppers encourages anyone with information about the cases featured below to submit a webtip. If they wanted to try him for any of those crimes, they needed a more definitive smoking gun. Titled "The Malakia Z. Logan Reward Fund," it hope to incentivize anyone with information to come forward. All calls are toll-free and confidential. In all of the sexual assaults, the victim profile remained largely the same. His height was listed in the range of 5'8" or 5'9", and he was of slight build, in the weight range of 150 pounds. Police would find out what happened to this little girl over the years, but it would take time, advancements in DNA technology, and the persistence of dedicated investigators. This case has been open for nearly five long years leaving this family to search nonstop for their missing daughter.. It has affected so many relationships and we will continue to stand united as a family until the final judgment in this case has been rendered.". I criticize us for not raising such an uproar it would be heard across this nation .. They had suspended the searches on Tuesday afternoon, after finding nothing in the two days out there. However, with DNA testing being in its infancy, it would be years before they could definitively test the skull for forensic proof. Akia Shawnta Eggleston was last seen May 3, 2017. pic.twitter.com/KgrjYz2OMd. Eggleston, a single mom with a three-year-old . Donna Shareen Wright Endangered Missing from Beech Island, South Carolina since June 28, 1989 Age: 17 -- Height: 5'6" -- Weight: 120 lbs -- Hair Color: Black -- Eye Color: Brown Donna, a child of 13 siblings, was last seen in Beech Island, South Carolina on June 28, 1989. Dennis Beauford, the deputy who had originally responded, was a Sergeant at this point in time for the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office. Part of me is missing and I need to find it.". But that optimisim would be short-lived, as weeks began to bleed into months. It wasn't until the third or fourth crime that police began to link the crimes together, when the suspect descriptions began to slowly align with one another. According to the statement of probable cause, Eggleston told a bank employee, whom she knew from high school, she had to cash the orders because the property manager "only only takes cash.". But there were also nude photographs of women - including images of his then-girlfriend - and a pornographic magazine named "Stroke Off Tales.". Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead No. Marshals, officials said at a press conference. In the probable cause statement, authorities allege that hours after withdrawing $450 in cash from the bank on May 3, Eggleston at the time a single mom with a 2-year-old daughter halted her frequent social media posts and contacts, including contact with her daughter. VON CANNON IS A TRANSIT AND COULD BE ANYWHERE. Michael Robertson, 41, was arrested Tuesday in Michigan on two counts of first-degree murder charges in the death of Akia Eggleston and the couples unborn child, Baltimore City States Attorney Marilyn Mosby told reporters at a press conference. The wooded area he was in, just off of Mount Pleasant Road - also known as S.C. 34 - is about four miles northeast of Newberry and thirty-five miles east of Greenwood, where Kia Logan had disappeared from. Early on in questioning, Charles admitted that he often changed his hair color. Upon his arrest, he proved very cooperative with law enforcement. We just want to say thank you and just to please continue to keep us in your prayers., Akias stepfather, Shawn Wilkinson, took to the podium to thank the investigating agencies who worked on Akias case. Mom Is Presumed Dead, as Police Search for Possibly Suicidal Ex, Who Is Murder Suspect, Wanted Ore. Man Accused of Torturing Woman Is Using Dating Apps to Find Victims and Evade Capture: Police, Brian Walshe, Husband of Missing Mass. She had one sister, named Renee, and the three lived in an apartment complex just north of Greenwood, South Carolina. With the searches beginning to run dry, a reward fund for information was established by Tuck Wooten, the head of the A.M. Tuck Inc. concrete company. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Police first thought this was a clue that she walked off on her own. Robertson also was in contact during that time with the mother of his other two children. I only say "likely" because I legitimately can't find any record of him online or in the press since 2007. They sent it off for continued testing at the University of South Carolina, where a forensic anthropologist was able to tell investigators that the skull belonged "to a six-to-eight-year-old African American.". His ex-wife and girlfriend agreed on that - they often helped him dye it, during time periods that turned out to correlate with the 1995 and 1996 sexual assaults. He stated about the confirmation of the skull belonging to Kia: "I felt for a long time that the skull was hers, but I hoped it wasn't. In its press release Thursday, the Baltimore States Attorneys office stated that Robertson faces a maximum penalty of two life sentences in prison if found guilty of all charges which include two counts of First Degree Murder, while also cautioning that an arrest is not a finding of guilt. "I hope that today's arrest brings some sense and some measure of hope in the first phase in our pursuit of justice for Akia Eggleston," said Mosby. Hours later, Robertsons next call was made near Egglestons home and investigators believe they were together at her apartment that afternoon. Family of Akia Eggleston who disappeared in May 2017 near the Inner Harbor have taken the story national. Her remains have not been found despite extensive searches, but authorities said evidence overwhelmingly indicates that shes dead. She didn't want to miss any potential calls from Kia. Investigators need your help. However, by the time the skull was forensically proven as belonging to Kia Logan, they had come across a suspect they believed was not only responsible for Kia's death, but an assortment of various sexual assaults and crimes against children. Eggleston's phone activity ends there, indicating the device was either turned off or disabled, Mosby said. We're requesting anyone with information call our office.". Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? The father of a missing pregnant Baltimore womans unborn child has been arrested on murder charges nearly five years after her disappearance, authorities said Thursday. Foul play is something that we are absolutely exploring, the spokesperson said, because she was eight months pregnant at the time, and we're obviously beyond the point where she could have given birth., Sanobia Wilson is glad that her nieces disappearance is finally getting more attention. We would have found some clues, but we were not given those resources, because Akia is an African-American, young, single, mother of two. The composite, for all of its intrigue, led to no real suspects in the surrounding area. ", The statement added: "Investigation revealed the only person with the motive, means, and opportunity to murder Eggleston was the purported father of her unborn child, Michael Robertson.". They all decided to put the money to good use, allowing education or nursing majors to receive the scholarship in times of hardship. MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A new report states South Carolina currently has 184 open missing persons cases. So, he'll be back on the street. 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