UPDATE 9/7/2025: On September 5, 2025, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office posted a press release to their Facebook page stating that remains found in Vinton, Louisiana, in June 2025 have been positively identified as Tameika Watley.
July is supposed to be an exciting time for the Watley family, filled with birthdays and family celebrations.
And everyone could count on one thing: Tameika Watley would never miss a family birthday.
But last year, after the family didn’t hear from Tameika on any of those summer birthdays, her younger sister Miranda Watley began to feel something was very wrong.
”She never missed holidays. She never missed birthdays,” Miranda told Dateline.
Miranda’s concern grew when she learned their mother hadn’t heard from Tameika since June 5, 2024. “So I’m like, ‘Mama, something’s not right,’” she said. At the time, Tameika was staying at her mother’s house, but Miranda says it wasn’t unusual for her to be gone for periods of time.
Miranda called everyone she thought could have seen or talked to Tameika, looked in places she was known to frequent, and even went door-to-door asking people if they had seen her.
But there was no sign of her.
“ It’s just like some type of feeling came over my body,” Miranda said.
Miranda eventually decided it was time to bring in law enforcement. She went to the sheriff’s office and reported Tameika missing on July 23, 2024.
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a press release on its Facebook page on August 6, 2024, which states they are “looking for a 37 year old Lake Charles woman, Tameika S. Watley, who was reported missing to CPSO on July 23. During the initial investigation family members advised detectives the last time they spoke with Watley was on June 5, by phone.” The release noted that Tameika does not have a permanent address or a working cell phone and is “known to frequent several areas in Lake Charles including See Street, Railroad Avenue, 12th Street and North Booker Street.” They asked for the public’s help in locating Tameika.
According to Miranda, after Tameika was reported missing, a friend told the family she had seen and spoken to her after June 5, which is when the family last heard from her. On June 25 the friend spotted Tameika on 12th Street and 9th Avenue in Lake Charles. The two spoke through the friend’s car window. The friend didn’t remember what Tameika was wearing, but she told the family she had a bag on her shoulder that looked like a beach bag.
Dateline reached out to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office for an update on the investigation into Tameika’s disappearance. Public Information Officer Kayla Vincent responded via email. “Since the report was filed, detectives have conducted numerous interviews, initiated multiple searches, and used a variety of investigative methods and techniques to try and locate Watley. We have also coordinated with other law enforcement agencies regarding unidentified individuals to rule out any possible connections,” she wrote. “At this time, we have found no evidence to indicate that foul play is involved, but we continue to follow up on any and all possible leads,” Vincent told Dateline.
Miranda says that while she tries to maintain hope, she cannot escape the many rumors that she says swirl around the town about what happened to her sister. “ The rumors [are] bad,” she said. “All I hear — I just hear that she’s deceased. That’s all I hear.”
This has also been especially difficult for Tameika’s six children, who are being raised by her two sisters. “It affects them bad to know that their mom is missing,” Miranda said.
“ It’s been almost a year, come next month,” Miranda said, which means summer is around the corner, the time of year the Watleys used to fill with joy and family birthday celebrations. Until they bring Tameika home, it will be tinged with sorrow and heartache.
Tameika is 5’4” and weighs 140-170 lbs. She has black hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo on her chest that reads “Derrick”, one on her wrist that reads “Anita”, one on her left leg that reads “Tayvia”, one on her right leg that reads “Ja’Quaylon”, and two others on her upper back.
If anyone sees Tameika or has any information on her whereabouts, please contact the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office at 337-491-3605 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 337-439-2222.
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