Untold Stories: Black and Missing

Zelig Williams' star was shining bright on Broadway. On October 3, 2024, he left his mother's house in South Carolina, to run an errand and never returned. He was home visiting family, a break from the spotlight before returning to the stage in January 2025. That morning, he said goodbye to his mother, Kathy Williams, and less than 20 minutes later friends from New York called her to say they received an emergency alert from his ph...

Eight-year-old Relisha Rudd's disappearance in 2014 captured the attention of the Washington, DC Metro area. It also shined a light on the poor conditions of a large homeless shelter. As investigators closed in, her alleged abductor and his wife died in what was supposed to be a murder-suicide. Now more than 10 years later, Relisha has yet to be found. The Black and Missing Foundation has been working on this c...

Eyes $30,000, lungs $150,000, heart $168,000... the list continues with vital organs being sold illegally. It's a billion-dollar global industry. Human traffickers target the desperate and the ill. Is this occurring in the U.S.? For years, the Black and Missing Foundation has received reports of people of color going missing or being taken in the U.S. for organ harvesting. What does organ harvesting entail, and why isn't it being d...

The intersection of fiction and real-life is on display as fans of the hit NBC series "Found" begins its second season.  The show has captured audiences with its compelling depiction of the search for missing persons. Host Joy Sutton and BAMFI Founders Derrica and Natalie Wilson had the chance to speak with the show's innovative creators Nkecki Carr...

Ruth Jenkins is a retired teacher, a woman of faith, and a mother who always put her family first. At 76, she was also experiencing the early stags of dementia. One day, she walked away from her home and never returned. When seniors go missing dementia is often a factor. Six in 10 people with dementia will wander from their caregivers at least once, putting their lives in danger. Dementia may have been a facto...

In this episode, we delve into the often overlooked signs of domestic abuse and explore why domestic violence is a factor in numerous missing person cases, often leading to tragic outcomes. Sadly, a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine revealed that Black and Latina women who experienced intimate partner or sexual violence were two to three times more likely to encounter dismissive responses or mistreatment from law ...

The families of Tamika Houston and Pamela Butler have survived the unthinkable.  Tamika and Pamela went missing and would later be found murdered. Tamika's family had to fight for media coverage while Pamela's brother battled to bring his sister's killer to justice. This special episode of Untold Stories: Black and Missing was recorded at Crime Con in Nashville.  Rebecca Howard and Derek Butler share ...

Jesse Len Foulks had four strikes against him. He's black. He's a man. He has a mental health disorder, and he is missing. His story, like many others, highlights a troubling intersection between mental illness and missing person cases. The Black and Missing Foundation has increasingly observed that mental health issues are a significant factor in why people go missing, and why these cases often fall through th...

Jesse Len Foulks was a dedicated son who never missed his daily phone call with his mother, Lori Nelson. Jesse was making significant strides in his life and diligently managing his bipolar disorder after struggling for years. His future seemed hopeful. However, on September 14, 2021, everything changed. Lori spoke to Jesse for the last time. His mother firmly believes he would never just walk away from his life and responsibilitie...

When Rashawn Williams went missing it took four days for his case to be investigated even though he was reported missing an hour after he wandered away from his caregivers.  The 31-year-old has down syndrome and is nonverbal.  Still no alert was ever issued.  Rashawn was lucky he survived six days without food and water and was reunited with his family. (Listen to Rashawn's story here)  That...

On October 20, 2023, Rashawn Williams wandered away from his caregivers in Silver Spring, Maryland, and disappeared. For six days his family was in anguish.  Police were notified, but no alerts were ever released because Rashawn is a 31-year-old man with Down Syndrome and did not meet the criteria for any alert.  In this episode of "Untold Stories: Black and Missing," we'll hear Rashawn's heartbreaking story and the actio...