FL FL - Khiva McPike Kniffen, 31, Jay, 14 Sept 1985

The Doe Network:
Case File 1528DFFL

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1528dffl.html

Khiva McPike Kniffen
Missing since September 14, 1985 from Jay, Santa Rosa County, Florida
Classification: Endangered Missing



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Vital Statistics
•Date of Birth: September 9, 1954
•Age at Time of Disappearance: 31 years old
•Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3-5'5", 155-165 lbs.
•Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; blue eyes.



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Circumstances of Disappearance
Kniffen was last seen at her Jay, Florida home that she shared with her husband and two adopted children, on September 14, 1985.
There has been no contact with her children or any other family members since that time. Khiva Kniffen lost her first two children to a disease and her and her husband had adopted two more.
At the time of her disappearance, her husband was a minister at the West Jay Church of Christ, which is no longer in existence and now houses a feed store. Foul play is suspected.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office
Major Crimes Unit
Detective Paul Lio
850-983-1240

Agency Case Number: 848105

NCIC Number: M-173758775
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
WEAR-TV
Namus

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/6846/0/
NamUs Profile:
Dental: NA
DNA: NA
Fingerprints: NA


http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kniffen_khiva.html

No archived articles at this time.

Khiva has been missing almost 25 years. Her children deserve to know what happened to their Mother. Come home soon.

Her daughter and niece have a Facebook page for her.

I'm assuming that the Santa Rosa SO interviewed Khiva's husband, Malcolm thoroughly, but perhaps not. He's still a preacher in the Church of Christ and practices around Waco, TX. I found an interesting document online as a response to Malcom's sermon on divorce. The author quotes Malcolm:

"He is sincere because he practices what he preaches. Listen to what he said:

'I have the exception. My wife left me. She went down to the court ... I lived in Florida right north of Pensacola. She went to the Florida law, filed divorce on me, and in Florida when they do that you've got thirty days to leave the premises. So I left twenty-nine days early. I packed my U-Haul and I left out. The day I left, her boy friend moved in. I have the exception. But
I have remained unmarried unto this day.' (Recording clip #M52 Kniffen has the exception)

Brother Malcomb obviously practices what he preaches."

http://www.willofthelord.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Response-to-Malcomb-Kniffen-Nov-20131.pdf

Questions:

1). Did Malcolm or Khiva has custody of the children when she went missing?
2). Did he raise them after her disappearance?
3). How soon after she purportedly filed for divorce did she disappear?
4). Who was the boyfriend?
5). Was there a boyfriend, or is this story fabricated by Malcolm?
6). Who reported her missing?
7). Who was the last to see her besides Malcolm?
8). How long did Malcolm and kids remain in the area?
9). Is the divorce paperwork in evidence? Does it suggest anything about the relationship between the two?

I suspect a good bit of this is known by detectives and family. This may be a case where everyone knows who did it but there isn't evidence enough to support a conviction.

I am one of Khivas nieces and will try to answer these questions to the best of my ability. We appreciate any information and thanks for the post.

1). Did Malcolm or Khiva has custody of the children when she went missing? Both had custody of the children as the divorce ( filed in Febuary ) was removed, or dismissed prior to the disappearance. We do have the file for divorce but are unclear who/why it was dropped.
2). Did he raise them after her disappearance? Malcolm sent to children to Port Authur TX to be raised by family hardly known to the family. It should be made clear my mom and other of Khivas family would have gladly raised them.
3). How soon after she purportedly filed for divorce did she disappear? Dirorce filed in February '85 Disappeared September '85
4). Who was the boyfriend? We only know him as Wally - Supposably questioned and cleared by police.
5). Was there a boyfriend, or is this story fabricated by Malcolm? Yes, we know him to be real. Also the children ( age 3 then ) talked about " daddy Wally"
6). Who reported her missing? My mom. From Indiana after khiva didn't cash a birthday check she sent her.
7). Who was the last to see her besides Malcolm? We are unable to trace her whereabouts other than Malcolm - he claims she " left with friends" who he doesn't know.
8). How long did Malcolm and kids remain in the area? A few weeks, maybe month.
9). Is the divorce paperwork in evidence? Does it suggest anything about the relationship between the two? Not that I am aware of. We knew there was problems, however being in Indiana and them in Florida we cannot know exactly.

I hope these answers help or make you have more questions. We are thankful for everyone who has shown an interest in finding Khiva. We are always open to suggestions.
The Santa Rosa sheriffs department has less than helpful from day 1 and now that this is a very cold case I'm sure not much work goes into it. It is also worth mentioning the family hired a private investigator until funds were depleted and he basically found nothing.
As to Malcolm's statement posted above....... It is not consistent with what we have documented.

Has anyone followed up with "Wally?" If SRCSO still has the case file, they should have his full name. I did find a Wally living in Jay, FL that would be about the right age range. Jay is still tiny... you never know.

Even if he's not involved, surely he has more details on the circumstances.

From Khiva's mother's obituary:

When Khiva married and moved to Texas she had two little boys, both of whom had a brain disease. The McPikes would travel to the Lone Star State to be with their daughter and help care for their grandsons, who eventually died — one lived to the age of 6, the other 7. Khiva and her husband, Malcolm Kniffen, then adopted two children. When Malcolm and Khiva called and asked if Phyllis would watch over the kids while she and her husband took a vacation in New York City, of course, Phyllis said yes. But nothing was ever the same after that. The trip to New York never happened. Khiva went missing, and nothing has been learned of her disappearance in 22 years.

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Link here, but you'll need to create a username/password.
http://ww.heraldtimesonline.com//st...sto?code=f77c5872-ab85-11e3-915a-101f742c6b16

(Sorry if I've done this quoting/linking bit wrong, I'm kind of new to posting!)

The police should have checked under the fire in the backyard. She may be buried there. Also, Tommy and Tina (or Tammy) may not be real people but a meaning may be attached to those names.

The divorce was initiated by her and then dropped. Certainly, the lawyers involved would have more information to offer regarding what happened and when it was dropped???

Do we know for sure that "Wally" was even real? If "daddy Wally" was real then he most certainly was not just a casual boyfriend…

It's not at all clear if Khiva had re-united with her husband and was living with him at the time that she disappeared. Was there ever any follow up on this? Has anyone read anything about this?

moo

Bump for Khiva. DNA is now listed on namus. I hope her family get some answers soon.

Sent from my Lenovo TAB S8-50F using Tapatalk

Malcolm Kniffen seems like an unusual preacher, with multiple arrests for drivings offences, prostitution (I assume he was arrested as a customer, not supplier!) and unlawfully carrying a weapon (I thought that was impossible in Texas ). The records can be found at https://www.courtrecords.org/people/MALCOLM+KNIFFEN+TX/ .

Whilst this proves nothing it certainly adds to my suspicions about the character of the husband. One arrest may be bad luck. This number suggests someone with control problems.

Bumping.

I am very curious to know if there is Any veryifiable information, past and current on the children mentioned. I hope no offense is taken by my questions, but with so much conflicting information, I have to question it all. Did Khiva infact lose both of her biological sons to brain disease? I have seen pictures with the 2 boys but I’m wondering what happened. Additionally, the 2 adopted children, is there any info on their sex, and ages. Also,where are they now ?

Ck45202 said:

I am very curious to know if there is Any veryifiable information, past and current on the children mentioned. I hope no offense is taken by my questions, but with so much conflicting information, I have to question it all. Did Khiva infact lose both of her biological sons to brain disease? I have seen pictures with the 2 boys but I’m wondering what happened. Additionally, the 2 adopted children, is there any info on their sex, and ages. Also,where are they now ?

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My mom and Khiva were best friends growing up, so over the years I’ve heard a lot about her. This case has always sparked my interest and the lack of information is frustrating. My mom has talked about her boys and their passing, but nothing too extensive. Her adopted daughter, Tidley runs a Facebook page for Khiva.

Bumping for Khiva...it's now been over 35 years.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Bumping case up. A backyard was mentioned above on a post from 2014. Did they ever dig up that backyard, or could they still?

My heart goes out to Khiva's family.

@ChatteringBirds - I too would love to hear more information about this fire? But it seems this poster is no longer on this board.
@coonhound - no Malcolm wasn’t questioned by the police. He refuses to come for an interview according to my knowledge.
@Ck45202 - The biological sons were born with a genetic condition. Malcom and Khiva were told by doctors not to have any more children because the condition is inherited. The adopted children are grown and are close to their dad in Texas. They do not wish to be involved in finding Khiva at this point.
Thanks for the questions. I am happy to answer any more you might have.