Daffany Sherika Tullos

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Jackson Police Department (MS)

Missing From:

Jackson, Mississippi

Summary:

Daffany Tullos disappeared from Jackson, Mississippi during the summer of 1988. She left her grandmother’s home following an argument with her mother and mysteriously vanished afterwards. No one has seen or heard from her in over thirty years. Sadly, her disappearance remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Daffany was last seen in Jackson, Mississippi on July 26th 1988. She left her grandmother’s home located at 4403 Azalea Circle at some point between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm following an argument with her mother over some fish sticks. She was seen by neighbors walking towards Northside Drive and this is the last reported sighting of her. Police and her family believe someone abducted the girl sometime after she departed from her grandmother’s home. She is epileptic and can’t go more than three days without her medication or else she is prone to seizures. Police conducted a door to door search of all areas within six blocks of her home but found no clues regarding her whereabouts. They also investigated Daffany’s family and those closest to her at the time of her 1988 disappearance. Her mother, Robbie Tullos was initially the focus of the investigation since she failed a polygraph test in connection with the case. Robbie previously struggled with cocaine addiction but has gotten treatment prior to her daughter’s disappearance. Daffany’s grandmother, Shirley Tullos stated she did not believe her daughter knew anything about Daffany’s disappearance or whereabouts. Robbie later passed a polygraph in connection with her daughter’s disappearance and investigators do not believe she is involved. Police and the Tullos family now suspect that someone likely abducted the child since she was not known to stay out after dark.

Additional Details:

While not named as a suspect, police believe Ernest Lee Epps might have been involved in Daffany’s presumed abduction. He was Robbie’s boyfriend and the father of Daffany’s two year old twin brothers. He lived at 219 Lexington Street at the time of Daffany’s disappearance. On June 29th 1988 Daffany’s aunt, Stephanie Tullos woke up to the girl crying. She told her aunt that Ernest had inappropriately touched her while she slept that night. As a result, a warrant was issued for Ernest’s arrest and he was taken into custody on July 8th. He faced a charge of sexual battery in connection with the incident and was held at Jackson City Jail. While he was in custody for the abuse, Ernest’s family attempted to get Daffany’s family to drop the charges and even offered them $175 in an attempt to bribe them. The Tullos family refused to drop the charges, however. Ernest was released from jail on a $10,000 bond on the morning of July 26th, just hours before Daffany would disappear. Epps was questioned about the girl’s disappearance and reportedly passed a polygraph test in the case. Investigators were never able to tie him to Daffany’s disappearance and he has since passed away. On December 8th the 1988, police received a tip from an unidentified couple who said they saw a man walk into a marshy field in Jackson five months earlier in July carrying a child before returning alone five minutes later. As a result, police spent four hours searching the marshy field located at South Drive and Dixon Drive in West Jackson searching for a child’s body. They were unable to find any evidence that such an event occurred. The witnesses were unable to describe the man or what vehicle he drove at the time of the sighting. On February 18th 1990, a sweatshirt belonging to Daffany was discovered in the backyard of a home on Beaverbrook Drive, near her grandmother’s home. The sweatshirt was not worn by Daffany on the evening she disappeared and it’s unclear how exactly it ended up in the backyard. It had rained about 24 hours before the clothing was found and while the sweatshirt was slightly soiled, it didn’t appear to be wet. This suggested it had recently been placed in the location. The individual who owned the home where it was found was cleared of suspicion in the case. Police have been unable to find much evidence to indicate what became of Daffany after she left her grandmother’s home that fateful evening but the investigation into her mysterious disappearance remains active. Sadly, her disappearance remains unsolved.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 24, 2025