MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 1987-23
Teresa Barnett
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Jurisdiction:
Missing From:
Marshall, Texas
Summary:
Teresa Lanette Barnett, a 30-year-old housewife and mother, disappeared on August 7, 1987 in Marshall, Texas. She was last seen around 10:30 a.m. at an Eckerd Pharmacy parking lot off Highway 59, where her husband had dropped her off. Her vehicle was found abandoned in the same parking lot and her purse was recovered nearby, but she has never been located.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
On August 7, 1987, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Teresa Barnett's husband Wayne Barnett dropped her off at the Eckerd Pharmacy parking lot in the 200 block of East End Boulevard (Highway 59) in Marshall, Texas. He left the vehicle for her to drive home. When she never returned home, Wayne Barnett returned to the store and found the vehicle still parked where he had left it. Teresa was not found anywhere in the area. Her vehicle was located unlocked and abandoned in the same parking lot. Days later, her purse was found beside a roadway approximately three miles away at the intersection of South Washington and Lakeview Drive South.
Additional Details:
Teresa Barnett has been Marshall's oldest missing person case and remains unsolved. She was a housewife and mother with a three-year-old daughter at the time of her disappearance. She was not originally from Marshall but lived there with her husband, who was a native. The Marshall Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau has conducted extensive follow-up work on the case over the years. Detectives first interviewed her husband Wayne Barnett and his father, but neither was ever named as a suspect. When Lieutenant Patrick Clayton inherited the case from previous detectives who had since passed away, he reinterviewed Wayne Barnett, but no evidence was found suggesting he was involved in his wife's disappearance. Teresa's daughter's DNA was submitted to the Texas for Missing and Unidentified Persons database so that if her body is ever discovered, DNA comparison will verify her identity. As of 2022, the case remained open with no significant leads. The Marshall Police Department continues to seek information from the public. Investigators have noted that new information from the public, hard evidence, or a confession would be needed to bring closure to the case.
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
Teresa's purse located beside roadway at intersection of South Washington and Lakeview Drive South, approximately three miles from Eckerd parking lot
Vehicle found abandoned and unlocked in same Eckerd parking lot after Teresa fails to return home
Teresa Barnett dropped off at Eckerd Pharmacy parking lot, 200 block of East End Boulevard (Highway 59), Marshall, Texas by her husband Wayne Barnett
Associated Persons
Unknown B. (Child) - Living
Patrick C. (Investigator) - Living
Unknown B. (Family) - Unknown
Wayne B. (Spouse) - Living
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Why is this important?Missing person
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Maternal Grandfather's Father
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Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather's Mother
Paternal Grandfather's Father
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Paternal Grandmother's Father
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Maternal Grandfather's Father
Maternal Grandmother's Mother
Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather
Paternal Grandmother
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Missing Person
Missing Person
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