Police have revealed a new theory about a mysterious unsolved case involving an eight-year-old girl who disappeared without a trace more than 25 years ago as they investigate a possible “person of interest.”
Shy’Kemmia Shyrez Pate, affectionately known as Shy Shy, disappeared outside her home in Unadilla, Georgia, while waiting for her older sister LaSwanda to take her to a high school football game on September 4, 1998.
Her family searched frantically for her throughout the night, but she was never found. Police believe she was last seen around 8:30 p.m., half a block from her home at Tucker Avenue and West Street.
Family and police have now said they believe the happy little girl was abducted by someone she knew and trusted.
And in a new series of The timeline disappeared in the United StatesDOoly County Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Lamberth revealed for the first time that there is now another “person of interest” in the unsolved case.
“This other person was really on the radar and still is, and nothing has been ruled out,” Lamberth told host Josh Mankiewicz, but could not provide further information.
Shy’Kemmia Pate was 8 years old and entering third grade when she disappeared on September 4, 1998, outside her home in Unadilla, Georgia.
Shy Shy will turn 34 on October 29. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age progression photo that was released in November 2023.
Shy Shy’s family home was located across the street from a three-in-one grocery store, nightclub, and pool hall called Roxy’s, whereThe neighborhood children bought chips and candy and adults visited them after hours.
The establishment apparently attracted drug dealers who would stand outside watching the police.
However, when Shy Shey disappeared in September 1998, they cooperated with authorities and even called police when they saw an older white man in the area.
They provided a description of the vehicle that police used to track him, but it was later ruled out as a possible suspect.
Investigators were also looking into a 20-year-old neighbor named Quentin “Droopy” Kendrick, who lived about 200 yards from Pate’s home.
He was a family friend and reportedly one of the last people who may have seen Shy Shy before she disappeared.
Kendrick had been accused of attacking and raping three girls, the youngest aged 12, and attempting to rape two others a few years after Shy Shy disappeared.
In 2002, he was charged with multiple counts of rape, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy and armed robbery, and is currently serving a life sentence. WALB News reported.
However, Veronica Pate, Shy Shy’s mother, who also appeared on the Dateline podcast, said she does not believe Kendrick was involved in her daughter’s disappearance.
DailyMail.com has contacted MP Lamberth and the DOoly County Police Department for further details, but were not available for comment.
On September 4th, it will be 26 years since Shy Shy disappeared.
Shy Shy’s family believes the girl was abducted by someone she knew and trusted.
In 2012, investigators drove nearly 13 hours to Detroit after receiving a tip about a Facebook photo of a girl who bore a striking resemblance to Shy Shy.
But they hit a dead end when it was discovered that the photos were of Shy Shy’s cousin and had been posted on Facebook by the missing girl’s aunt.
Veronica’s sister then moved to Georgia to try to help find the boy as investigators continued to explore different leads.
Then, in 2022, an unexpected twist came when a Missouri woman claimed to be Veronica’s missing daughter.
The woman told him she had been kidnapped and abused by her captors and had since changed her name.
Feeling hopeful after the stranger seemed to know things only her daughter would know, Veronica arranged a video call with her family to discuss the revelation.
But Lamberth explained during the podcast that after the woman was interviewed, a DNA test revealed she was not Shy Shy, leaving Veronica devastated.
Shy Shy’s childhood home and the last place her older sister LaSwanda saw her before she disappeared over 25 years ago.
A younger Shy Shy photographed smiling with one of her siblings.
Shy Shy would turn 34 on October 29.
On the day she disappeared, the dark-haired, brown-eyed girl was wearing a neon green Atlanta Braves T-shirt with red lettering, Levi’s and a leg brace.
She had braided extensions and a dozen gold beads in her hair. One of her distinguishing marks is a surgical scar on her waist.
In November of last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age progression photo to show what Shy Shy might look like today, in hopes of drawing new attention to the unsolved case.
Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, which also appeared on Dateline, told DailyMail.com that they hope that sharing Shy Shy’s story on the podcast will shed more light on the case nationally.
He added that nearly 40 percent of those who go missing are people of color.
Last summer, Wilson visited Veronica and her family in Georgia and continues to stay in touch with the family.
“Unadilla is a small town in Georgia where everyone knows each other,” she said, adding that she also believes the girl may have known her abductor.
In May 2023, the Pate family participated in a fundraiser for the missing in Unadilla, Georgia.
Shy Shy’s mother, Veronica (pictured), eventually left the home where she raised her children and moved to another part of Georgia.
Pictured: A complete diorama featuring several photos from when Shy Shy was just a kid.
Following Shy Shy’s disappearance, Veronica, who suffers from chronic asthma and kidney disease, eventually left the home where she raised her children and moved to another area of Georgia.
Veronica has since claimed that police did not respond immediately when she first called to report her daughter missing and was told she had to wait 24 hours.
Wilson said: ‘The first 24 to 48 hours are the most critical times when someone is missing. Time is of the essence when someone is missing, especially if it’s an eight-year-old girl who was last seen on her front porch and is chronically ill.
Both Veronica and her daughter LaSwanda, who now has children of her own, say they can’t help but blame themselves and describe not knowing what happened as “unbearable.”
“I felt like if I had stopped when I saw her on the porch, she would have been with me instead of coming back after getting gas,” LaSwanda told Dateline.
“If I had stopped when I saw her, maybe some of this would never have happened,” he said.
Veronica added that she feels that if she had started looking for Shy Shy earlier, she would have been found already.
Despite their despair, they continue to cling to hope.
“I believe in my heart that I will see her again,” Veronica said.
Shy Shy’s story is one of six cases featured on Dateline’s “Missing in America” podcast, which premieres its third season next week. It will air every Tuesday and Thursday through Aug. 1.
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