MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 2009-41
Heather Cannon
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Jurisdiction:
Missing From:
Athens, Texas
Summary:
Heather Danielle Cannon disappeared from Athens, Texas on August 27, 2009, last seen in the company of her biological father, Jerral Allen Whitley. Her whereabouts remain unknown.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
On August 28, 2009, 14-year-old Heather Danielle Cannon was last seen when she left her father's house in the Athens area. Her mother says she was spending the week at his house. She had called her mother the night before just mad at her because she wouldn't let her move to Colorado with her boyfriend. Cannon was reported missing on September 5, 2009, according to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office. The report said she had gathered up her things in the middle of the night to run away with her boyfriend in Boulder, Colorado. Following an investigation, there was no evidence to show that she ever made it to Colorado.
Additional Details:
Whitley refused to take a polygraph test after Heather's disappearance and was later incarcerated in Florida for drug offenses and grand theft. He was imprisoned for 18 months before being released in October 2014. Her father, Jerral Whitley, has passed away from liver failure in Delaware. Investigators no longer believe that Heather left on her own accord. In fact, during 2017 the Henderson County sheriff's department conducted a search on a private property in the LaRue area. They reportedly searched through a heavily wooded area on an 8-acre plot of land. Law enforcement said they obtained a tip that Cannon was buried on a property near Highway 175 West outside of Athens heading towards Eustace. Authorities searched for her remains near a highway in 2023 after receiving a tip. When they searched the area, they didn't find her remains but found items possibly related to her. Investigators with agencies like the Texas Attorney General's Office, Texas Rangers, Henderson County commissioners, Henderson County District Attorney's Office, Athens Fire Department and The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have all assisted in working to find Cannon.
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
The Henderson County Sheriff's Office searched a property near Athens for the remains of 15-year-old Heather Cannon. Law enforcement said they obtained a tip that Cannon was buried on a property near Highway 175 West outside of Athens heading towards Eustace.
Henderson County sheriff's department conducted a search on a private property in the LaRue area. They reportedly searched through a heavily wooded area on an 8-acre plot of land.
Cannon was reported missing on September 5, 2009, according to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office.
Last seen in the company of her biological father, Jerral Allen Whitley.
Associated Persons
Melissa H. (Mother) - Living
Kassandra H. (Friend) - Living
Jerral W. (Father) - Deceased
Unknown B. (Boyfriend) - Unknown
Family Tree
Why is this important?Missing person
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Paternal Grandfather
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Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather's Mother
Paternal Grandfather's Father
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Paternal Grandmother's Father
Maternal Grandfather's Mother
Maternal Grandfather's Father
Maternal Grandmother's Mother
Maternal Grandmother's Father
Paternal Grandfather
Paternal Grandmother
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Father
Mother
Missing Person
Missing Person
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