Tonetta Carlisle was born on Aug 28, 1973. She was 15 years old when she went missing from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and despite the efforts of local authorities, her whereabouts are still unknown more than three decades later.
On the afternoon of March 16, 1989, Tonetta was clad in a pink and white striped blouse with a denim skirt and white shoes when she was walking home from school.
Tonetta was a ninth-grade student at City High School, and she lived in the 600 block of Hamilton Avenue, but she never made it home.
A woman told police officials that as Tonetta was walking toward the intersection of Dallas Road and Hamilton Avenue, a tan and yellow vehicle pulled up next to her, the Chattanooga Police Department reported.
She said several people exited the vehicle and forced Tonetta into it before it sped off.
That’s when she and her husband followed behind them in their vehicle. The couple ultimately lost sight of the car, but they were able to write down its Tennessee license plate number: LKH 920.
After law enforcement were notified of Tonetta’s disappearance, they began searching for her as well as the vehicle. It was then that detectives learned that the vehicle was registered to an ex-convict.
He was sent to prison for eight years for rape and aggravated sexual assault, and he was released just one year before Tonetta went missing.
On March 18, 1989, he committed suicide. His body was found inside his van, and his cause of death was reportedly carbon monoxide poisoning.
The detectives stated that there is no evidence suggesting that he had anything to do with Tonetta’s disappearance.
Many have theorized that Tonetta may have been abducted, taken to California, and forced into prostitution.
Throughout the years, hundreds of tips have been sent to the Chattanooga police, but none of them have led to the teen’s location.
It was reported in 2019 that detectives collected DNA samples from Tonetta’s mother and her brother so that they could resubmit them to the database.
Detectives are hoping to find a match.
Tonetta was last seen with curly black hair that had been cut short on the top as well as on the sides. The teen had big brown eyes that were almond-shaped, she was five-foot-one inches tall, and she weighed 95 pounds.
An age-progression photo shows what Tonetta would have looked like at age 45.
Investigators suspect foul play is involved in the disappearance of Tonetta Carlisle.
Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Chattanooga Police Department’s Cold Case Hotline at (423) 209-7470.