LA LA - LaKisha Taylor, 27, Lake Charles, 13 June 2008

http://www.kplctv.com/story/26611160/cold-case-lakisha-taylor-missing-for-more-than-6-years

LaKisha was last seen the morning of June 13, 2008 at the house she shared with her cousin. "I ended up going to get some breakfast. When I came back, her clothes and everything was ironed on the bed, bath water was ran, but she wasn't there," said Sandy Stevenson, LaKisha's Cousin. The mother of three never returned...

The circumstances surrounding her disappearance led investigators to suspect foul play... they've followed up all credible tips, even searching a nearby cemetery. Then in October of 2010, investigators received a tip that LaKisha's body might be buried on property on North Bank Street... But after two days of searching, investigators were no closer to finding LaKisha Taylor.

Police have interviewed countless people, including LaKisha's estranged husband, even calling him a "person of interest" at one time. However, police stopped short of saying they have a suspect. "But if the person that thinks that they are a suspect hears this and they can read between the lines - this case is far from over," said Kraus.

Click to expand...

Charley Project: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/t/taylor_lakisha.html

Still missing as of August 2018:

LaKisha Taylor still missing after one year

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

LaKisha has been added to NamUs

LaKisha Taylor – The Charley Project

• Missing Since 06/13/2008
• Missing From Lake Charles, Louisiana
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Date of Birth 09/27/1980 (39)
• Age 27 years old
• Height and Weight Unknown
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair. Taylor's nickname is Kisha. Some accounts spell her name "LaKesha."

Details of Disappearance
Taylor was last seen in Lake Charles, Louisiana on June 13, 2008. She lived with her cousin at the time of her disappearance. Her cousin went out for breakfast and when she returned, Taylor was gone.

The clothes iron was on, freshly ironed clothes were lying on the bed, and the tub was full of water, as if she'd been about to take a bath. She has never been heard from again. She left behind her purse, identification, money, clothes, makeup, jewelry, cellular phone and other personal belongings. She hasn't been in touch with her three young children or the rest of her family since her disappearance, which is uncharacteristic of her.

Investigators believe foul play was involved in Taylor's disappearance. Her estranged husband is considered a person of interest in her case, but authorities stated they have no suspects. Her case remains unsolved.

On namus also now

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Her 3 young children were not living with her? There’s no indication they were living with the estranged husband that I can see. If he was raising them, I would think that would have been mentioned. She was definitely snatched. A woman doesn’t take the type of care of her clothing if she is planning on leaving. Nor does she leave behind personal items like a phone, money, etc.

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - It was Friday, June 13th, 2008 when then 27-year-old LaKisha Taylor disappeared without a trace. Now, nearly a year later family members are still left wondering what happened to the mother of three.

Taylor's cousin, Ashley Alexander, says, "It's weird because she's not here and we don't know what happened to her."

Nicole Alexander, also Taylor's cousin, says, "When holidays and birthdays pass it's really hard for us."

Cold Case: LaKisha Taylor was last seen 14 years ago

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - It’s been 14 years since LaKisha Taylor was last seen, leaving her family still without any answers after her disappearance in 2008.

“I don’t even have closure. We would like closure, that’s the main thing we want is closure. After 14 years, that’s a long time,” LaKisha’s brother Emile Alexander said.

In June of 2008, LaKisha Taylor vanished and since then the case has been cold. Her brother said any leads the case may have had turned up short of any answers.

“For her to just vanish like that, it’s odd. So, I know something happened to my mama. I know. I know that for a fact something happened to my mama,” LaKisha’s daughter Dionce Taylor said.

One of the three children LaKisha left behind was just a 6-year-old little girl when her mother went missing, now Dionce Taylor is 20 years old.

“As you can see, I’m still weak,” Dionce said. “It hurts, it hurts. It’s not easy. Like I said, everybody have they mama, I don’t have mine.”

Those close to LaKisha said her leaving, especially without her kids, wasn’t in her character.

The then 27-year-old LaKisha was living with her cousin at the time of her disappearance, that cousin, Sandy Stevenson, spoke to 7News in 2014 recounting the morning she went missing.

“I ended up going to get some breakfast or whatever...When I came back her clothes and everything was ironed on the bed, bath water was ran, but she wasn’t there,” Stevenson said in the 2014 interview.

LaKisha’s family filed a missing person’s case with the Lake Charles Police Department back in 2008. Eventually, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance led investigators to suspect foul play.

That investigation was led by former Deputy Chief Mark Kraus.

“This is not just an ‘I’m going to walk out of my life and start somewhere else.’ We have some very narrow concerns that this is criminal activity,” Kraus said in a 2014 interview.

So where is LaKisha Taylor?

Her family suspects someone has to know something.

“We’re just asking for answers,” Alexander said. “Somebody made a call, an anonymous call, but they ain’t say nothing. They never called back with the number. We just want answers. That’s all we just want answers.”

In the absence of those answers, her family is still strong in their want for closure, managing to remember and honor the woman they once knew.

“I want people to remember her as the person that she was. Because she was known. A lot of people know her out here. So, if they knew her, that’s how I want y’all to remember her. She was like the life of the party,” Alexander said.

LaKisha’s family gathered this June for a balloon release commemorating the 14 years that have now passed without her.

“She was special,” Dionce said. “I know she’s looking over me and she’s happy that we’re doing this for her.”

There hasn’t ever been an official suspect identified in LaKisha Taylor’s case. However, at one point her estranged husband was named a person of interest.

The family urges anyone who may know anything that can help the investigation to call the police.

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - It’s been 14 years since LaKisha Taylor was last seen, leaving her family still without any answers after her disappearance in 2008.

“I don’t even have closure. We would like closure, that’s the main thing we want is closure. After 14 years, that’s a long time,” LaKisha’s brother Emile Alexander said.

In June of 2008, LaKisha Taylor vanished and since then the case has been cold. Her brother said any leads the case may have had turned up short of any answers.

“For her to just vanish like that, it’s odd. So, I know something happened to my mama. I know. I know that for a fact something happened to my mama,” LaKisha’s daughter Dionce Taylor said.

COLD CASE: 7News investigates the 2008 disappearance of LaKisha Taylor

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - LaKisha Taylor vanished from her home in 2008. The mother was taken from her children at a young age, and her disappearance has never been solved.

It’s a story 7News has visited many times over the years.

“Anything will help,” Taylor’s mother, Nola Thornton, said in an interview in 2008. “Even if you think it’s not important or it’s irrelevant.”

“She’s not here, and we don’t know what happened to her,” Taylor’s cousin Ashley Alexander said in 2009.

“We’ll turn over dirt,” former Lake Charles Police Department Chief Deputy Mark Kraus said in 2010. “We’ll crawl to the top of buildings. We’ll do anything we can.”

″We know somebody knows something about our there,” Emile Alexander, Taylor’s brother, said in 2014. " They’re just scared to come forward.”

Now, 15 years after LaKisha Taylor vanished, her daughter is hoping her mother hasn’t been forgotten.

“Something happened to her, and I know it wasn’t anything nice,” Dionce Taylor said. “All I wish I had was closure.”

Dionce Taylor said she remembers everything about her mother, even though she was only 6 years old at the time of her disappearance.

Authorities have told 7News in past interviews, the circumstances surrounding Taylor’s case are suspicious, like the iron still plugged into the wall, and a bathtub full of water left untouched.

“This isn’t a just, ‘I’m going to walk out of my life and start somewhere else,’” Kraus said in an interview in 2014. “We have some very narrow concerns that this is criminal activity.”

Taylor was last seen on June 13, 2008. Early into the investigation, it seemed hopeful. Authorities received a creditable tip that Taylor’s body might be buried near Bank Street in Lake Charles, but that tip didn’t produce answers.

Soon after her disappearance, a person close to Taylor was named a strong person of interest, but as time goes on, the case remains cold. Investigators tell 7News they do not have a person of interest or potential suspects, and it’s still unclear what happened to the mother of three.

“I want to see progress,” Dionce Taylor said. “I want to see closure. All I am asking for is closure. Nothing more, nothing less. If it was possible to bring her back, I would bring her back. I don’t know. I’m just speechless.”

Anyone with information that may be helpful in solving this case is asked to contact the Lake Charles Police Department.

10/23/23

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Taylor, circa 2008