Charlottesville, Virginia. Situated in the center of the state and home to the University of Virginia. It’s a city that the Anderson family has called home for many years. “My mother has been in this house for over 30 years,” Pamela Anderson told Dateline. “I brought all three of my babies to this house.”
Pamela says it’s the perfect place to raise a family. “When I say it’s such a beautiful little city, it is. I love Charlottesville,” she said. All three of her children were born and raised there. Her middle child, Sayveon, was the perfect picture of a mama’s boy. “Every time I see him, I mean, just nothing but hugs,” Pamela said. Sayveon was the family baby, until his little brother was born. “Sayveon was my baby for 18 years,” Pamela said. “People would tell me, ‘You baby that boy too much, Pam.’” But she never minded.
“When he hit high school, it was work, football, and Kroger,” Pamela said. He was a hard worker who never caused her trouble. “Kroger is the only job he ever had.” Until Sayveon decided to join the military in 2020, that is. It came as a surprise to his family. “Just out of the blue, he just came to me and told me, you know, he wanted to go to the military,” Pamela said.
Pamela remembers the day her son left. He was 19 years old. She knew nothing about the process and had no clue what to expect. “He just left with the recruiter. I’m thinking he’ll come back, and no. He went straight off to boot camp.” Pamela says he didn’t even have an overnight bag. From the moment Sayveon’s military career began, Pamela made sure her son felt her love. “I packed him the biggest care package,” she laughed. “They had yelled at him when the package came in the mail ‘cause it was so big.”
Sayveon is an Army Specialist stationed at Fort Bragg, outside Fayetteville, North Carolina. Pamela says that for the first few years he was away, she visited him monthly to check in. She remembers the first time she was able to visit him, shortly after Sayveon graduated from boot camp, she packed her whole family up in the car, grandkids included. “It was so emotional. He -- he cried so bad. He missed me so much. I was so proud of him.”
Pamela says Sayveon loved the military. “He was a good soldier,” she said. “He would talk to me and tell me stories all the time.” He told his mom he thought about becoming a Military Police officer or Army Ranger. Pamela says her son was doing well in Fayetteville. He was also starting a family of his own.
“He really can make me laugh. More than anybody else,” wife Jasmyne Mowry told Dateline. She met Sayveon in fifth grade. “We went to the same school. We were friends for a long time,” she said. “Then you start having feelings for each other, but you don’t really do anything,” she explained. In 2021, they acted on those feelings. “At that point, we were always coming back together,” Jasmyne said. “We just decided that we weren’t gonna leave each other alone.” They got married in December 2025 and are expecting their first child, a baby girl, in the coming weeks. Once married, Sayveon moved off base to live with Jasmyne in Fayetteville.
Jasmyne says there’s nothing Sayveon values more than his family. “He’s always there,” she said. Even when he was on base, he was only a phone call away.
Until the end of June, when 25-year-old Sayveon Anderson disappeared.
Pamela last heard from her son on June 27, when he called that night to chat. She says she sent him a text the next morning to check in on him. She told Sayveon to call her back later. When he didn’t call, she texted him again. She also called him multiple times. No answer. Pamela says that on Monday, June 29, one of Sayveon’s sergeants texted her saying Sayveon didn’t show up to formation that morning. “Then I started texting him, and I was angry-texting him -- ‘Why didn’t you go to formation?’”
Jasmyne hadn’t heard from him either. The last time she saw her husband was the early morning of June 23. She says Sayveon was experiencing a mental health episode that required two soldiers and EMS to come to their home. Jasmyne says he was taken to the base and put on watch. Jasmyne spoke with him every day. “He kept calling my phone. I answered every time,” she said. But communication stopped on June 29. “And then after that, nothing. Like, absolutely nothing,” Jasmyne said. She says the last conversation they had was in the early hours of June 29, and Army sergeants contacted her later that morning to inform her that her husband was absent from formation. He was reported AWOL on July 1.
Dateline contacted the Army Criminal Investigation Division regarding Sayveon’s case. The Public Affairs office provided the following statement. “The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division remains in close coordination with the 3rd Corps Sustainment Command, and local law enforcement on efforts to communicate with and locate Spc. Sayveon Anderson and ensure his safe return,” they wrote in an email. “To date, Army CID Investigators have interviewed witnesses, searched known residences and places of interest, reviewed CCTV footage, examined transit and travel records, and remain in regular contact with his family and command, actively pursuing leads as they emerge. This remains an ongoing, missing persons investigation.” According to the CID’s missing persons flyer, Sayveon was last seen on June 29, 2026, on Fort Bragg.
Pamela and her community in Charlottesville have turned to prayer. Two weeks after Sayveon’s disappearance, family, friends, and his Kroger co-workers gathered at Forest Hills Park in Charlottesville. “I just wanted people to come there and just -- just pray for my son: find him safe, bring him home safe,” Pamela shared. “It was a beautiful moment.” She says countless co-workers and friends of Sayveon have reached out to her, sharing stories and hoping for his safe return. “I know my son, and I really think my son is out there,” Pamela said.
Jasmyne says she knows in her heart her husband is alive. “My hope is that he’s in a hotel, blocking the world out. But do I think I know where he is? No, I don’t.” She’s anxiously awaiting Sayveon’s return, as her due date is approaching. “I’m trying to stay strong for my daughter,” she said. “We just want him home, and I love him.”
Sayveon is 5’10” and 260 lbs. He has black hair and dark brown eyes. His front tooth is chipped. He has tattoos behind both ears and “Jasmyne” on his left upper arm.
Anyone with information regarding Sayveon’s whereabouts is encouraged to reach out to Army CID’s Carolinas Field Office at 910-391-4911 or submit an anonymous tip to Army CID.
If you have a story to share with Dateline, please submit it here.
