Unusual Company: Nanette Thomas

In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In April 2016, two coworkers from a Hyundai processing plant in Montgomery vanished within days of each other. One was later found dead. The other, 51-year-old Nanette Thomas, seemed to disappear without a trace—her apartment untouched, her car abandoned, her family desperate for answers. Nearly a decade later, her case remains unsolved. Anyone with information about this case should contact the Montgomery Police Department at 334-625-2651or the Central Alabama CrimeStoppers at 215-STOP. 

This is the story of Nanette Thomas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Piece of the planet, charlamagnea god.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Here.

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Before we get into today's episode, we've got to celebrate
the Black Effect Podcast Network. It's turning five years old man.
Five years of powerful voices, unforgettable moments in a community
that keeps growing. This is the power of the platform.
Now let's get into it.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
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 happened back in April twenty sixteen.
A fifty one year old beloved mother and grandmother suddenly

(00:36):
vanished in Montgomery, Alabama. She was known for never missing work,
but one morning she didn't show up and she was
never seen again. Just six days earlier, a young man
she supervised also went missing. He was later found murdered.
Police insisted the two cases were not connected, but for many,

(00:59):
the timing felt far too strange to ignore. This is
the story of Nannette Thomas. Nenette Yvette Thomas was fifty
one years old in the spring of twenty sixteen. She
lived alone at the Eastdale Apartments on East Dale Road.

(01:21):
Reliable responsible and dedicated to her job. She worked through
Malone Staffing at Glovis America, a company that processed Hyundai vehicles.
She stands approximately five feet six inches tall and weighs
around two hundred and twenty pounds. She has black hair
and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she

(01:43):
was wearing a white tank top, a pink pullover shirt,
and white capri pants. Her ears are pierced as well.
Her routine was steady, she didn't miswork. She was connected
to her family. By all accounts, she lived a quiet,
consistent life, but in April twenty sixteen, everything changed. To

(02:08):
understand Nannette's story, we need to go back to Saturday,
April second, twenty sixteen. That's the last day twenty year
old Rickham Samuel was seen. Surveillance footage showed him at
a Walmart parking lot getting into a black Nisan Versa
with two other young men. He never made it home.

(02:30):
Rickham was reported missing on April fourth, twenty sixteen. He
was young, reliable, and like Nannette, known to be dedicated
to his job at Glovis America. When he didn't show up,
people immediately knew that something was wrong. Nannette, as his supervisor,
took his disappearance seriously. She reached out to his family,

(02:54):
offering to help with the search. But what she couldn't
have known was that just days later, she herself would
be subject of a similar search. Friday, April eighth, twenty sixteen,
that was the last time the Nette would be seen
or heard from again. Her employer became alarmed when she

(03:16):
missed several consecutive days of work without any explanation. After
a few unreturned calls, someone from work contacted her family,
and that's when the alarm bells really started ringing. Nanette's son,
our tem drove straight to her apartment. Inside, he found nothing,

(03:38):
no signs of a struggle, no clues about where she went.
It was as if she simply vanished into thin air.
When family reported her missing, police noted, in eerie parallel,
two employees from the same company vanished within a week.

(03:58):
On June thirtieth, two thou sixteen, that connection drew darker.
Rickham's body was found in the three hundred block of
South Hopper Street in Montgomery. His death was ruled a homicide, Yet,
despite the timeline, police announced they didn't believe his case
was connected to the nets. This statement left the community

(04:22):
and Annette's family baffled. How could two coworkers disappear less
than a week apart, with one found unlive and it
be coincidence. Police never explained the reasoning. For Nanette's son,
the silence was devastating. Ray Thomas put it simply, this

(04:43):
is not like her to be away for this long,
and it's not like her to miss work. Certain moments
still trouble are keen. On his last visit with his mother,
he remembered her sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth,
as if something was weighing heavily on her mind. She

(05:03):
never shared what it was. Now he wishes he would
have asked, we're just praying and asking God for her appearance,
he said. Police eventually located Nnette's car, but have never
publicly released where or under what circumstances. That discovery only

(05:24):
added to the mystery. Over nine years have passed, Nannette
Thomas is still listed as a missing person in the
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency database. Her case now sits with
the Montgomery Cold Case Unit. Investigators have disclosed little, leaving

(05:44):
more questions than answers. Today, Nnette would be fifty nine
years old and now has a granddaughter whom she never
got to meet. Rickham's family continues to seek justice, with
a five thousand dollars reward still offered for information in
his homicide. Two families linked by tragedy still waiting for closure.

(06:12):
Both of their families deserve answers. Anyone with information about
Nannette's disappearance or Rickham Samuel's homicide to contact Central Alabama
Crime Stoppers or the Montgomery Police Department. You can find
their contact information and the description below. As we close
out this episode, share Anette's story. Spreading more awareness could

(06:37):
lead to more answers. Don't forget to click the follow
button to say updated on her case and others like it.
Be sure to subscribe to Hunting for Answers on YouTube
and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for more true
crime content and case updates. Also, if you're watching us
on YouTube, share your thoughts on this case in the

(06:57):
comments below. Thank you, Thank you so much for joining
us on another episode Until next time. Hunting for Answers
is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For

(07:19):
more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the iHeartRadio, app,
Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Thanks for listening and celebrating five years of the Black
Effect Podcast Network with us. Keep following because the next
five years are about to be even bigger