Amiah Robertson – The Charley Project
Casefile added on July 26, 2021
Details of Disappearance
Amiah was last seen at the her residence of her babysitter, Jeanette Browning, in the 200 block of Holmes Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 9, 2019. Amiah's mother, Amber Robertson, and Amber's boyfriend, Robert Lee "Robbie" Lyons, had been living with Amiah in their car behind Browning's home. Lyons is not Amiah's biological father. Lyons and Browning were friends and had known each other for years, and Browning had baby-sat Amiah a couple of times in February and March.
On the day of Amiah's disappearance, Browning and other witnesses saw Lyons leave the house with the baby at 1:15 p.m. He was driving a maroon 1996 Isuzu Rodeo in poor condition. He was near Rockville Road and Mickley Avenue between 1:30 and 8:30 p.m. He stayed on the southwest side of the city until 10:00 p.m., then returned to Amber without Amiah.
Amber was initially unconcerned because Amiah was supposed to be with Browning at her house to spend the night; however, she had not been brought to Browning's home and the child was never seen again. It wasn't until the next morning that Amber found out her child wasn't at the babysitter's home, and Lyons "taunted" Amber about Amiah's whereabouts. Amber later said he told her he would take her to Amiah if she went with him alone, but she didn't know what to do because she was afraid of him.
On March 16, Amber called the police and said that she and Lyons had argued about her whereabouts and he had struck her with his car. He was arrested for battery. This was the first time authorities had heard Amiah was missing. At first, for unclear reasons, the police were led to believe she had last been seen on March 14 and was in immediate danger. Within a few days they learned she had actually been seen on March 9. On March 19, authorities announced they believed Amiah was in "extreme danger".
Photos of Amber, Lyons, and a vehicle similar to Lyons's car are posted with this case summary. When questioned, Lyons said the baby was safe and suggested several possible places where she might be. Police checked on the places he named, however, and discovered Amiah wasn't in any of them and in fact, some of the locations he suggested didn't even exist.
Investigators believe Amiah was the victim of a homicide, and Lyons is the prime suspect in her disappearance. He has not faced charges in connection with it, however, although he has been arrested multiple times on unrelated matters since her disappearance.
Police have conducted several searches for Amiah, including at the Browning residence and in a local river, but have found no trace of the baby's whereabouts. Her case remains unsolved.
