Melinda Wall Mcghee

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Escambia County Sheriffs Office (AL)

Missing From:

Atmore, Alabama

Summary:

Melinda Wall McGhee, a 31-year-old mother and nursing student who worked as a nurse at Oakwood Nursing Home in Bay Minette, disappeared from her home on Kent Road in Atmore, Alabama on March 24, 2003. Evidence of a violent struggle and blood were found in her home, and authorities believe she was assaulted and abducted while sleeping. Despite extensive searches and media attention, she has never been found, there have been no arrests, and there is no closure for her loved ones.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Melinda had arrived home from her night shift at a Bay Minette nursing home at 8:00 a.m. on March 24, 2003. Her husband Troy McGhee was at work at Masland Carpets, their two children were with a babysitter, and Troy's son from a previous relationship was at the dentist's. When Melinda arrived home, she accidentally locked her keys, purse, and cellphone inside the van. She spoke to Troy and to her mother on the phone at approximately 8:30 a.m., and she has never been heard from again. Troy came home at close to 4:00 p.m. that afternoon and found his wife missing, with blood and evidence of a violent struggle in their house. Melinda's vehicle was found parked near the house with her keys locked inside, and her purse and cellular phone were inside the residence. Authorities believe McGhee was assaulted and abducted while she was sleeping.

Additional Details:

Law enforcement and the community mobilized quickly, with hundreds of volunteers joining officers from multiple counties and agencies, including the Alabama Bureau of Investigations, FBI, and even the Marines. In June 2003, Alabama Governor Bob Riley offered a $5,000 reward for information, later increased to $10,000, which remains active today. Early in the investigation, authorities considered potential links to known serial offenders, exploring whether Melinda's disappearance could be connected to murders in Baton Rouge later tied to Derrick Todd Lee, although no evidence linked him to Melinda's case. Another possible suspect, Jeremy Bryan Jones, was later convicted of murdering a woman in Mobile and suspected in other crimes across the South, but records placed him in Georgia at the time Melinda disappeared, ruling him out. In 2006, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office brought in respected investigator Tommy Calhoun to re-examine the case. Over the years, searches of septic tanks, wooded areas, and gravel pits were conducted across Escambia and Baldwin Counties, but no trace of Melinda was found. In March 2009, authorities searched an area off Perry Lane in Wawbeek, and on the last day of January 2009, authorities searched a water-filled gravel pit off Jack Springs Roads near the Judson Cemetery between Atmore and Poarch, with all searches turning up empty. In 2010, after the required seven-year waiting period, Melinda was declared legally deceased. McGhee's case is now considered a homicide investigation.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 01, 2026