GA GA - Paula, 25, & Brandon Wade, 3, Valdosta, 14 Oct 2002

NamUs - Brandon

NamUs - Paula

Charley Project - Brandon

Charley Project - Paula



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: October 14, 2002 from Valdosta, Georgia
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Date Of Birth: July 15, 1999
• Age: 3 years old
• Height and Weight: 2'9, 33 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel/blue eyes. Brandon's nickname is Munchkin.
• Medical Conditions: Brandon has allergies which he requires medication for. He did not have his medicine with him when he disappeared.



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: October 14, 2002 from Valdosta, Georgia
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Date Of Birth: October 30, 1976
• Age: 25 years old
• Height and Weight: 5'7, 150 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown/auburn hair, brown eyes. Paula's maiden name is McGrath. She has a birthmark on the upper part of her leg and her top canine teeth protrude out from her other teeth.
• Medical Conditions: Paula has allergies and takes medication to control them. She did not have her allergy medicine with her when she disappeared.

Details of Disappearance
Paula and her son, Brandon Wade, were last seen at their residence at Common Apartments in Valdosta, Georgia on October 14, 2002. They were reported missing when Paula failed to show up for work at Sam's Club and failed to call to tell them she would not be in. One of Paula's coworkers visited Common Apartments twice looking for her. There was no sign of her or her son. Her vehicle, a 1998 Chevrolet Blazer, was still parked at the residence. The child safety seat inside the car, however, had been removed.

Paula's husband has been ruled out as a suspect in his wife and child's disappearances. He is a soldier who was stationed at the Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina when Paula and Brandon vanished. He has passed a polygraph. However, Paula and Brandon's roommate has allegedly been uncooperative in the case. He was asked to take a polygraph test but refused and hired a lawyer. An acquaintance of the roommate's told police where he thought Paula and Brandon's remains might be. When the location was searched, nothing was found but deer bones.

Loved ones of the family say it would be extremely uncharacteristic for Paula to take her son and leave without warning, or to miss work without notice. Her parents maintained weekly telephone contact with her. Paula had been approved for a transfer to a Sam's Club job in Kissimmee, Florida, and her family was supposed to help her prepare to move during the week of her and Brandon's disappearance.

Brandon and Paula are considered endangered. A psychic who was consulted believes Paula is dead and Brandon may be in Colorado. They have not been seen or heard from since October 2002.

Police still seek missing mother, son

Brandon Wade would be 17 years old now. A high school student. Possibly still light-haired, a strong chin. His mother, Paula, would be nearing 40, possibly with a touch of gray, maybe a few lines around her eyes, the smile lines etched just a little deeper.

Yet, to those who knew them and the people who have come to know them from the mother and son’s 14-year-old missing poster, Paula McGrath Wade and son Brandon are still 25 and 3 years old.

Fourteen years on, mother and son remain missing. No one has ever found them living somewhere else; this would be the happy ending. And no one has ever discovered human remains that would at least begin giving the family some answers as to what happened to the Wades.

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McGraw and VPD Sgt. Chris Crews have worked the case for several years. McGraw was once officially assigned the case. The Wades have been Crews’ case for the past several years. He regularly talks to Paula Wade’s mother, Mary McGrath.

The VPD said there are no new developments in the case but the department asks media to release a story about the case annually in hopes someone may come forward with new information.

All leads are followed in the case, according to police. It is the type of case where investigators must keep an open mind as they work to piece together what happened more than 14 years ago.

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‘Nightmare that never ends’ - November 2014

Years later VPD still looks for missing mother, son - 2013

Missing: Paula and Brandon Wade - October 2010

Never heard of this case before. Sadly I doubt both of them are still alive...

No idea if this could be connected, but possible UID found:

VALDOSTA — Remains that appear to be human have been found in the 900 block of Charlton Street, according to Valdosta Police Lt. Adam Bembry.

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http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/n...cle_a20cba2c-72f0-11e7-97b5-d78486f8225e.html

Family seeks answers for missing mother, son



Paula's mother wonders about her daughter. She wonders about her grandson. "He'd be 18 years old now," she said. "A freshman in college. So much time has passed, so much is gone."

http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/n...cle_f5a93437-88b5-5622-8471-389a430ac678.html

Thursday marks twenty years since a young mother and her son vanished in South Georgia.

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...SBM

Even though two decades have passed, they think about Paula and Brandon every day. They have circulated thousands of flyers and keep a website dedicated to the case.

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Nothing new in this story other than the updated age progression photos below.

Interesting that yesterday's Valdosta Times article says "Paula was last seen Oct. 12, 2002, leaving her job at the Sam’s Club in Valdosta" and again, "On Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002, Paula worked her shift at Sam’s and was off the clock by mid-afternoon. That is the last time anyone reported seeing Paula Wade alive."

This directly contradicts the information given on the Charley Project that they were "last seen at their residence at Common Apartments in Valdosta, Georgia on October 14, 2002."

I know the roommate has been suspected and looked into. Could this be confirmation that his story isn't considered trustworthy?

Just randomly came across this case - interesting article from the time they went missing, found here.

SNIPPED BY ME:

Police seek man in missing person case​

VALDOSTA -- Police are now searching for the roommate of a woman who has been missing since Oct. 14.

Valdosta police ask anyone with information about the whereabouts of Marcus Randolph Burroughs, 19, to contact them, Sgt. Steve Owens said. Burroughs was a roommate of Paula Wade, 25, who didn't show up to work at Sam's Club Oct. 14. She and her son, Brandon Lee Wade, 3, have not been seen since. It is believed the boy is with his mother, but it's not known to be a fact, Owens said.

Burroughs was last seen at the Commons apartment complex Oct. 15. His parents who live in Pelham have not heard from him, Owens said.

JSolt1210 said:

I know the roommate has been suspected and looked into. Could this be confirmation that his story isn't considered trustworthy?

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sleepysleuth said:

Just randomly came across this case - interesting article from the time they went missing, found here.

SNIPPED BY ME:

Police seek man in missing person case​

VALDOSTA -- Police are now searching for the roommate of a woman who has been missing since Oct. 14.

Valdosta police ask anyone with information about the whereabouts of Marcus Randolph Burroughs, 19, to contact them, Sgt. Steve Owens said. Burroughs was a roommate of Paula Wade, 25, who didn't show up to work at Sam's Club Oct. 14. She and her son, Brandon Lee Wade, 3, have not been seen since. It is believed the boy is with his mother, but it's not known to be a fact, Owens said.

Burroughs was last seen at the Commons apartment complex Oct. 15. His parents who live in Pelham have not heard from him, Owens said.

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Well, I guess that answers that... :-\

I have the impression that it was the roommate who had to do with this case, perhaps he made a move on her or made some sexual advance with her and he had no choice but to kill her so that she would not say anything or be reported..in these cases it is convenient a quick death perhaps with a firearm and buried somewhere not far away but remote with difficult access...
anyway rest in peace

I would be curious to know if there had been signs of a struggle or any blood found in the home/apartment they shared in addition to how long the three (+ baby) had been roommates.

According to the FBI, Paula and Brandon Wade were reported missing on Oct. 14, 2002, after Paula didn’t show up for work. Paula was 26 years old and Brandon was 3 years old at the time.

VPD has worked on the case over the years, but has never been able to find any clues as to where the Wades could be or, if anyone, might have wanted to harm them.

The FBI has released age progression photos of the Wades. Paula would now be around 45 years old and Brandon would be 23.

The missing person poster notes that Paula may be wearing corrective lenses or glasses and may use an inhaler for her asthma.

Very lengthy
Oct 18 2023


''VALDOSTA, Ga. – Mary Ramsbottom stood outside the gates of Martin Stadium on Friday night, surrounded by tailgaters and big boisterous families sporting face paint and custom outfits in the red and white colors of Lowndes High School. She had driven four hours from her home near Orlando to make sure she was there on time.

Only Ramsbottom, 58, wasn’t outside the 12,000-seat “concrete palace” awaiting the Vikings' homecoming game. She had another tradition to uphold. Gripping a stack of yellow flyers, she pressed the paper into the hands of dozens in line for tickets.

“Can you please take this and share it on your social media or with your friends and family?” Ramsbottom implored grandparents and teenagers streaming toward the entrance. “We just need the right eyes to see this.”

The flyer featured the last clear photographs taken of her sister and nephew. Next to the pictures were manufactured images artificially aging them both. Underneath bold letters said, “ENDANGERED Mother and Son missing 21 years.”

“As of this time all leads and clues have been exhausted,” Stephen Thompson, commander of the Valdosta Police Department’s bureau of investigations, told USA TODAY. “A fresh pair of eyes, new thoughts, ideas, and hopefully fresh leads could be the break needed.”

Aug 25, 2023

Amelia Neath 5 hours ago
''The FBI, Valdosta Police in Georgia and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have released these pictures as another push to try and gather further information on the cold case over two decades later.

The photos, created by the NCMEC, show what both Ms Wade and Brandon could look like in the present day.

The pictures show what Brandon would look like at 23 and his mother at 45, but their ages now would be 24 and 47 years old.''

Paula and her son Brandon have been missing for two decades
(FBI/The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

Paula Wade went missing when she didn’t turn up to work one day
(FBI/ The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
“A fresh pair of eyes, new thoughts, ideas, and hopefully fresh leads could be the break needed.”

On Ms Wade’s missing person’s poster, it details that she is a white female, her eyes and hair are brown, she weighs 150 pounds and is 5’7” tall.

Ms Wade also has a birthmark on the upper part of one of her legs, and her top canine teeth protrude in front of her top teeth''

spartanx said:

I have the impression that it was the roommate who had to do with this case, perhaps he made a move on her or made some sexual advance with her and he had no choice but to kill her so that she would not say anything or be reported..in these cases it is convenient a quick death perhaps with a firearm and buried somewhere not far away but remote with difficult access...
anyway rest in peace

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I live near Valdosta, the most recent info on roommate is that he cannot be located, disappeared shortly afterwards- it could just be coincidence JMO.