Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Details of Disappearance
Source Information
Alabama Department of Public Safety
Al.com: Everything Alabama
The Advocate
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
WXIA-TV Atlanta
WEAR TV 3
The Atmore Advance
The Crime Library
MySpace Page for Melinda McGhee
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcghee_melinda.html
Missing Since: March 24, 2003 from Atmore, Alabama
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: June 3, 1971
Age: 31 years old
Height and Weight: 5'4, 130 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: June 3, 1971
Age: 31 years old
Height and Weight: 5'4, 130 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes.
Details of Disappearance
Melinda was last seen on March 24, 2003 at her residence on Kent Road in Atmore, Alabama. She had arrived home from work where she was a nurse on the night shift at a Bay Minette, Alabama nursing home, at 8:00 a.m. that day. Her husband, Troy McGhee, was at that time at work at Masland Carpets. Their two children were with a baby-sitter, and Troy's son from a previous relationship was at the dentist's. Melinda spoke to Troy and to her mother on the phone at approximately 8:30 a.m. She has never been heard from again. Troy came home at close to 4:00 p.m. that afternoon and found his wife missing. There was blood and other evidence of a violent struggle in their house. He reported her missing at that time.
Melinda's vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside. Her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence. There was evidence of a struggle inside her home, but no indications that anyone had been murdered there. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. She and her husband had been happily married for seven years and had been planning a weekend trip to the beach when Melinda vanished. Their home is at the end of a dead-end dirt road in a rural area, near Poarch, Alabama. There are only three other houses on the road.
Authorities are looking into the possibility that Derrick Todd Lee, the alleged Baton Rouge serial killer, was involved in Melinda's apparent abduction. Lee has been charged with the murders of six southern Lousiana women and is suspected in numerous other murders, rapes, and disappearances in the Baton Rouge, Lousiana area. He has been charged with murdering Randi Mebruer and is considered a possible suspect in the disappearance of Mari Fowler, Eleanor Parker and Glenn Tankersley.
Melinda's case is similar to Mebruer's but Melinda disappeared 250 miles away from Baton Rouge so Lee is not considered a strong suspect. Suspected serial killer Jeremy Bryan Jones is also a suspect in her disappearance; a photograph of Jones is posted below this case summary. He is also a suspect in the murder of Patrice Endres, who missing for eighteen months before her remains were found in December 2005, and the abductions of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible. Melinda's case remains unsolved; she is presumed to be a victim of foul play.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Escambia County Sheriffs Office
251-809-0741
Melinda's vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside. Her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence. There was evidence of a struggle inside her home, but no indications that anyone had been murdered there. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. She and her husband had been happily married for seven years and had been planning a weekend trip to the beach when Melinda vanished. Their home is at the end of a dead-end dirt road in a rural area, near Poarch, Alabama. There are only three other houses on the road.
Authorities are looking into the possibility that Derrick Todd Lee, the alleged Baton Rouge serial killer, was involved in Melinda's apparent abduction. Lee has been charged with the murders of six southern Lousiana women and is suspected in numerous other murders, rapes, and disappearances in the Baton Rouge, Lousiana area. He has been charged with murdering Randi Mebruer and is considered a possible suspect in the disappearance of Mari Fowler, Eleanor Parker and Glenn Tankersley.
Melinda's case is similar to Mebruer's but Melinda disappeared 250 miles away from Baton Rouge so Lee is not considered a strong suspect. Suspected serial killer Jeremy Bryan Jones is also a suspect in her disappearance; a photograph of Jones is posted below this case summary. He is also a suspect in the murder of Patrice Endres, who missing for eighteen months before her remains were found in December 2005, and the abductions of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible. Melinda's case remains unsolved; she is presumed to be a victim of foul play.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Escambia County Sheriffs Office
251-809-0741
Alabama Department of Public Safety
Al.com: Everything Alabama
The Advocate
The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
WXIA-TV Atlanta
WEAR TV 3
The Atmore Advance
The Crime Library
MySpace Page for Melinda McGhee
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/mcghee_melinda.html