Missing in America

The 1979 disappearance of 19-year-old Cheryl Scherer is the oldest missing person case in Scott County, Missouri. Over the years, her family has dedicated themselves to helping bring attention to her story and the stories of others missing in the county. Learn more about the other cases officials in Scott County are investigating.

Mieoki Corbett-Jacobs quickly became the family spokesperson when her cousin Zelig Williams vanished in October 2024. By late 2025, she began working for an organization called Missing Link, whose goal is to help support the families of the missing. She has since been instrumental in creating a step-by-step guide for what to do when a loved one vanishes.

On the ninth anniversary of Sophie’s disappearance, Kirsten is launching Sophie’s Light Foundation, a nonprofit focused on protecting children in digital spaces through trafficking awareness, education, and school-based prevention programs.

During his time with the Anne Arundel County State Attorney’s Office, Dave Cordle worked on many cases. The chief investigator has now been retired for more than a decade, but there are three cases he can’t forget: the murder of Donna Lee Dustin, the death of Elizabeth Greenberg, and the disappearance of Nancy Snow. Cordle talks with Josh Mankiewicz about the Nancy Snow case in Season 4 of Dateline: Missing in America.

Lisa Valentino has been waiting for answers—and justice—for nearly 20 years. In 2006, her sister, Allison Jackson Foy, vanished from Wilmington, North Carolina. Her remains were found in 2008. Lisa credits a lot of the help she’s gotten over the years to the CUE Center for Missing Persons, a North Carolina-based organization that assists with missing persons cases nationwide. Lisa is based in New Jersey and has become an advocate herself, helping others who have gone through the same thing her family has. One case she has worked on is the disappearance of Danielle Lopez, whose story we tell in Season 4.

20-year-old Kayeleigh Gammill left her Salinas, California home on August 17, 2022, around 5:30 p.m. Her body was found two weeks later at the bottom of a cliff in Big Sur, California. Less than a month after Kayeleigh’s body was found, another woman from Salinas disappeared. Her name is Arelie Garcia. She vanished on September 22, 2022. Her car was found in Big Sur, about 25 miles from where Kayeleigh’s body had been found. Authorities do not believe the cases are connected.

Darlene Gomez has been an attorney for more than two decades. She’s also been a longtime champion for missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). Her first case was in 2000. The following year it became personal when her friend Melissa Montoya vanished from Dulce, New Mexico. Darlene has been determined to bring greater attention to the MMIW crisis ever since, taking on cases pro bono. Melanie James, whose story we tell in Season 3, is one of Darlene's cases.