On Wednesday (11/15), I recieved an email from the Columbia County Sheriffs Office, and was supplied with several documents in regards to this missing persons case. This case is a bit more complex and heartbreaking than most readers and myself originally thought. When the death of a child, especially a two year old occurs, its always a sad thing; but when you read on, it gets more upsetting.
I requested to reach out to Detra's family earlier this week for a series that I am planning to do on YouTube next year and they declined my request. After almost 30 years with no answer about Detra's whereabouts or who killed her child, they still suffer from the heartbreak and its a very sensitive subject still to this day. I was able to talk to some of her classmates, and they tell me about her. Here is the story that you will find ONLY on Websleuths:
Detra Renvictoria McGuire was a student at Columbia High School, Class of 1983; the same class that Kimberly Diane Leach was supposed to graduate before her brutal murder by Ted Bundy in the late 1970s. Asccording to her fellow classmates, she was a very nice girl that never caused trouble and for the most part kept to herself. From the perspective of her class, she was going places. Tammy Crews, one of her classmates, said that she was always caring and always kind and was surprised by what happened to her in 1988.
November 2nd, 1988. By this time, Detra was beyond finished with high school. Also between graduating high school and her disappearance, she had two children and a boyfriend by the name Elara Murphy. They were living at the Gatorwood Apartments off Huntsboro Street Rt. 13 in Lake City, along with her parents Haywood and Nora Ann. Detra resided in Apartment 63B and her parents lived in Apartment 68. Around 7:00PM on the 2nd, Detra took her child, 2-year-old Roshanda McGuire and went into town using Elara's 1988 2-door Nissan Sentra; which was black in color. After not coming home the next day, Detra's parents were notified by Elara that Detra and her child had not returned home and had used his car to go into town. Detra's parents responded by contacting the Sheriffs Office to file a missing persons report.
Around 9:07 PM on the 2nd, a passerby on the Westbound lane of Interstate 10 (Mile Post 303) saw the body of a girl lying in the middle of traffic. She was taken to the side of the road and authorities were contacted. The child was rushed to Lake Shore Hospital by EMTs. Sgt. James Wells arrived at the hospital to observe the situation: A little girl with road rash, bruising, abrasions and scratches was lying on a hospital bed lifeless. He estimated the child to be about two years old, black and wearing only a pink sweater and diaper. She was taken care of and had no signs of child abuse. At 10:30PM, the child was declared dead and the Medical Examiners Office was contacted. Sgt. Wells took several photos of the child and had Combs Funeral Home (Lake City, FL) take her body to the Medical Examiners Office in Jacksonville, FL.
The next day, as the autopsy of the child was underway, Sgt. Wells and Roger Lizotte of the Florida Dept. of Children and Families (then HRS) went to different nurseries and daycares to see if the child could be identified. This did not work out like they had hoped.
About mid-afternoon on the 3rd, Dr. Jan Garavaglia (also known as Dr. G from Dr. G, Medical Examiner) contacted Sgt. Wells and talked about the findings. The child had no signs of child abuse or old broken bones. The official cause of death was separation of the spinal cord and a broken neck. No injuries were found on the lower portion of the body; most of the injuries were upper body. Sgt. Wells also advised Dr. G that they had no idea how she ended up on the road or who put her there; but it was obvious she had been thrown out based on her injuries.
Shortly after his call from Dr. G, Det. Andy Holland of the CCSO notified Sgt. Wells that a missing persons report was filed at the Gatorwood Apartments and that a mother and her child were missing and that a possible auto theft may have occured. As soon as the call came in, Sgt Wells and Det. Holland reported to the apartments and met with Nora Ann and Haywood McGuire, who lived in Apt. 86. They had reported that their child Detra had been missing and she had taken her 2-year-old child with her. When they were told this, Det. Wells showed them the picture of the child and they were devestated: the child was 2-year-old Roshanda McGuire. A positive ID was made and confirmed after showing the child's photo to Elara Murphy, her boyfriend that lived with Detra and her children.
They were not aware of where Detra was going, nor did they know what she was doing. However, the fact remained that Detra was still missing and so was the Nissan Sentra. The family told investigators that Detra was last seen wearing a pair of jeans (possibly grey or pinstriped) and possibly pink bedroom slippers. Investigators treated Detra's case as missing with foul play suspected considering her child was found dead. Elara reported
At some point after the identity of the child and the report of the car being stolen, the vehicle turned up at the Ellisville Truck Stop in Ellisville, FL (Southern Columbia County). The car still had everything in it that belonged to both Detra and Elara. Currently, no other information was provided about the car other than that.
Thanks to the cooperation with the CCSO, they have notified me that there was some recent activity on Detra's case and something has happened to bar other documents from being released; however this is enough information to get out to the public due to poor coverage and information online of this case.
If you have any information on this case, call the Columbia County Sheriffs Office at 386-752-9212. What is everyone's thoughts on this?
