December 17, 2025 • 10 mins
In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: On October 1, 1992, 26-year-old Geral Denise Walker went out for a night with friends at the Salt and Pepper Lounge in Dothan, Alabama. She was last seen in the parking lot around 4 a.m. — and then she vanished.
For thirty-three years, her family has lived with the agony of not knowing what happened to her. Despite time, investigators believe someone out there still knows something. Geral’s case remains active, and CrimeStoppers is offering a $5,000 reward.
If you have information about this case, contact the Dothan Police Department at 334-615-3000, submit an anonymous tip through CrimeStoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867). You can also text “215STOP” to 738477 or use the free P3 Tips app.
This is the story of Geral Walker.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that began in Dothan, Alabama. In October
of nineteen ninety two. A twenty six year old mother
(00:21):
of four went out for a night with friends at
a local nightclub. She was last seen in the parking
lot around four AM, and then she was gone. No calls,
no sightings, no trace. More than thirty three years have
passed and her family is still waiting for answers. They
(00:45):
believe someone knows what happened that night, and they're praying
that person will finally come forward. This is the story
of Jerald Walker. Gerald Denise Walker was twenty six years
old in the fall of nineteen ninety two. She was
(01:07):
a devoted mother to four children living in southeast Alabama.
She stood between five foot one and five three, weighed
between one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty
five pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. She
had a gap in between her front teeth, a small
scar at the left corner of her mouth, a cesarean
(01:31):
section scar and pierced ears. She sometimes used the name
Tiffany Wright. Her family remembers her as protective, loving, and steadfast,
a mother who taught her children how to love each
other and stick together. Her mother, Barbara Walker, described Jerrol
(01:52):
as her help and her strength. October one, nineteen ninety two,
a Thursday night in Dothan, Jerrel went out with friends
to the Salt and Pepper Lounge, a nightclub in the
twelve hundred block of Wreath Street. She wore a black,
(02:15):
short sleeved sweater, black tights, and black shoes. It was
meant to be a simple night out, but Jeryl never
made it home. The last verified sighting of Gerald Denise
Walker was in the parking lot of the Salt and
Pepper Lounge around four o'clock am on October second, nineteen
(02:38):
ninety two. After that moment, she vanished. Her daughter, Shanika,
was just eleven years old. She remembers waking up the
next morning with the sense that something was terribly wrong.
The next morning, Mama never came home, she recalled, so
(03:00):
I had to call my grandmother and tell her Mama
was not at home. Mama never made it back home.
The Salt and Pepper Lounge had a reputation a troubling one,
and the months surrounding Gerald's disappearance, the club was the
scene of multiple violent incidents. Just eight days after she
(03:24):
went missing, two people were shot and wounded inside the building.
Then in December nineteen ninety two, three more people were
shot and a security guard passed away from his injuries.
The lounge's license was revoked in nineteen ninety three after
years of police responses to the assaults, shootings, and burglaries.
(03:48):
By the time it closed, Jerrol had been missing for
over a year. These incidents don't explain what happened to Gerrel,
but they do paint a clear picture of the environment
that she was last seen in. Lieutenant Scott Owens with
the Dothan Police Department has called this one of the
(04:10):
most frustrating cases they've ever worked. It's almost like she
vanished into thin air, he said, and that's the most
frustrating part for investigators. The department has never closed the case.
It remains on their list of active homicides, not because
(04:31):
they can confirm a homicide occurred, but because they cannot
rule one out. We are not forgetting about this case,
Owen said, it's on our list of active homicides, even
though we are not sure it is a homicide. That's
how important it is to us. So what happened to
(04:55):
Gerald Walker in that parking lot? Investigators have long suspected
that she encountered foul play. There is no evidence she
left voluntarily. She had four children, she loved, a life
she was actively living, and nothing in her history suggested
(05:16):
she would just walk away. But without witnesses, without physical evidence,
and without any clear direction as to what happened to Gerald,
the case has remained cold for thirty three years. One
(05:36):
of the greatest challenges in this investigation has been the
passage of time. Lieutenant Owens had pointed out that memories fade,
witnesses move away or pass on, and any potential evidence
that night has long deteriorated. But he still believes that
(05:57):
someone knows what happened. Someone knows, he said, and it's
going to be significant enough that they'll remember it, probably
for the rest of their lives. We just need them
to share that with us. He emphasized that cases like
this can break open from the smallest detail. He said,
(06:19):
it's one witness away, one piece of evidence. Away. We
are always one piece away from solving any case we have.
For Gerrel's family, the pain of not knowing has been
a constant burden. Her sister, kan A Walker said she
(06:41):
can't believe Gerrel would have left on her own. Something
happened to her for her to not come home that night.
She said. Her daughter Shanika still struggles every Mother's Day,
a day that reminds her of the love that she
lost all too soon. She said, it's real hard and
(07:03):
she doesn't like for that day to come around anymore.
Each year, on Jerrol's birthday, her family holds a candlelight vigil.
They gather like candles and hope that wherever Gerl is
she can feel their love. Her other daughter, Toshiba Walker,
(07:24):
said it was hard growing up without a mother, not
knowing what happened to her, just wondering. Shanika said, we
need closure. We're begging anybody. We just need her and
her mother, Barbara, said she prays for the person responsible
to finally step forward. Jerrol was a mother, a daughter,
(07:52):
a sister, a friend, and later a grandmother. She loved
her children and her family says she never would have
abandoned them, and yet for thirty three years. She has
been gone. As of December twenty twenty five, Gerald Denise
(08:14):
Walker's case remains unsolved, no arrests, no confirmed sightings, no
evidence revealing what might have happened to her. Central Alabama
Crime Stoppers is offering a five thousand dollars reward for
information that leads to answers. Even after thirty three years,
(08:36):
her family is still waiting for that missing piece that
could finally reveal the truth. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the family and friends of Gerald Denise Walker. If
you have any information about the disappearance or whereabouts of
Gerald Walker, contact the Dothan Police Department. You can also
(08:59):
submit anonomous tips to the Central Alabama Crime Stoppers. Text
two one five stop to seven three eight four seven seven,
or download the free P three tips app. You can
find that information in the description below. As we close
out this episode, remember to share Jerrold's story to help
(09:23):
bring continued attention to her case. Follow Hunting for Answers
for updates on this case and others like it, subscribe
on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Form
more true crime stories in case updates, and if you're
watching on YouTube. Feel free to share your thoughts on
this case and the comments below. Thank you so much
(09:46):
for joining us for another episode. Until next time. Hunting
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
(10:10):
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that began in Dothan, Alabama. In October
of nineteen ninety two. A twenty six year old mother
(00:21):
of four went out for a night with friends at
a local nightclub. She was last seen in the parking
lot around four AM, and then she was gone. No calls,
no sightings, no trace. More than thirty three years have
passed and her family is still waiting for answers. They
(00:45):
believe someone knows what happened that night, and they're praying
that person will finally come forward. This is the story
of Jerald Walker. Gerald Denise Walker was twenty six years
old in the fall of nineteen ninety two. She was
(01:07):
a devoted mother to four children living in southeast Alabama.
She stood between five foot one and five three, weighed
between one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty
five pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. She
had a gap in between her front teeth, a small
scar at the left corner of her mouth, a cesarean
(01:31):
section scar and pierced ears. She sometimes used the name
Tiffany Wright. Her family remembers her as protective, loving, and steadfast,
a mother who taught her children how to love each
other and stick together. Her mother, Barbara Walker, described Jerrol
(01:52):
as her help and her strength. October one, nineteen ninety two,
a Thursday night in Dothan, Jerrel went out with friends
to the Salt and Pepper Lounge, a nightclub in the
twelve hundred block of Wreath Street. She wore a black,
(02:15):
short sleeved sweater, black tights, and black shoes. It was
meant to be a simple night out, but Jeryl never
made it home. The last verified sighting of Gerald Denise
Walker was in the parking lot of the Salt and
Pepper Lounge around four o'clock am on October second, nineteen
(02:38):
ninety two. After that moment, she vanished. Her daughter, Shanika,
was just eleven years old. She remembers waking up the
next morning with the sense that something was terribly wrong.
The next morning, Mama never came home, she recalled, so
(03:00):
I had to call my grandmother and tell her Mama
was not at home. Mama never made it back home.
The Salt and Pepper Lounge had a reputation a troubling one,
and the months surrounding Gerald's disappearance, the club was the
scene of multiple violent incidents. Just eight days after she
(03:24):
went missing, two people were shot and wounded inside the building.
Then in December nineteen ninety two, three more people were
shot and a security guard passed away from his injuries.
The lounge's license was revoked in nineteen ninety three after
years of police responses to the assaults, shootings, and burglaries.
(03:48):
By the time it closed, Jerrol had been missing for
over a year. These incidents don't explain what happened to Gerrel,
but they do paint a clear picture of the environment
that she was last seen in. Lieutenant Scott Owens with
the Dothan Police Department has called this one of the
(04:10):
most frustrating cases they've ever worked. It's almost like she
vanished into thin air, he said, and that's the most
frustrating part for investigators. The department has never closed the case.
It remains on their list of active homicides, not because
(04:31):
they can confirm a homicide occurred, but because they cannot
rule one out. We are not forgetting about this case,
Owen said, it's on our list of active homicides, even
though we are not sure it is a homicide. That's
how important it is to us. So what happened to
(04:55):
Gerald Walker in that parking lot? Investigators have long suspected
that she encountered foul play. There is no evidence she
left voluntarily. She had four children, she loved, a life
she was actively living, and nothing in her history suggested
(05:16):
she would just walk away. But without witnesses, without physical evidence,
and without any clear direction as to what happened to Gerald,
the case has remained cold for thirty three years. One
(05:36):
of the greatest challenges in this investigation has been the
passage of time. Lieutenant Owens had pointed out that memories fade,
witnesses move away or pass on, and any potential evidence
that night has long deteriorated. But he still believes that
(05:57):
someone knows what happened. Someone knows, he said, and it's
going to be significant enough that they'll remember it, probably
for the rest of their lives. We just need them
to share that with us. He emphasized that cases like
this can break open from the smallest detail. He said,
(06:19):
it's one witness away, one piece of evidence. Away. We
are always one piece away from solving any case we have.
For Gerrel's family, the pain of not knowing has been
a constant burden. Her sister, kan A Walker said she
(06:41):
can't believe Gerrel would have left on her own. Something
happened to her for her to not come home that night.
She said. Her daughter Shanika still struggles every Mother's Day,
a day that reminds her of the love that she
lost all too soon. She said, it's real hard and
(07:03):
she doesn't like for that day to come around anymore.
Each year, on Jerrol's birthday, her family holds a candlelight vigil.
They gather like candles and hope that wherever Gerl is
she can feel their love. Her other daughter, Toshiba Walker,
(07:24):
said it was hard growing up without a mother, not
knowing what happened to her, just wondering. Shanika said, we
need closure. We're begging anybody. We just need her and
her mother, Barbara, said she prays for the person responsible
to finally step forward. Jerrol was a mother, a daughter,
(07:52):
a sister, a friend, and later a grandmother. She loved
her children and her family says she never would have
abandoned them, and yet for thirty three years. She has
been gone. As of December twenty twenty five, Gerald Denise
(08:14):
Walker's case remains unsolved, no arrests, no confirmed sightings, no
evidence revealing what might have happened to her. Central Alabama
Crime Stoppers is offering a five thousand dollars reward for
information that leads to answers. Even after thirty three years,
(08:36):
her family is still waiting for that missing piece that
could finally reveal the truth. Our thoughts and prayers are
with the family and friends of Gerald Denise Walker. If
you have any information about the disappearance or whereabouts of
Gerald Walker, contact the Dothan Police Department. You can also
(08:59):
submit anonomous tips to the Central Alabama Crime Stoppers. Text
two one five stop to seven three eight four seven seven,
or download the free P three tips app. You can
find that information in the description below. As we close
out this episode, remember to share Jerrold's story to help
(09:23):
bring continued attention to her case. Follow Hunting for Answers
for updates on this case and others like it, subscribe
on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram and TikTok. Form
more true crime stories in case updates, and if you're
watching on YouTube. Feel free to share your thoughts on
this case and the comments below. Thank you so much
(09:46):
for joining us for another episode. Until next time. Hunting
for Answers is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
(10:10):
For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Host
Hunter Gilmore
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