Name: Ebonee Shanetta Spears
Age: 30 years old
Last seen: January 15, 2016
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Status: Still Missing
Case Information
30-year-old Ebonee Spears was last seen by a neighbor outside her apartment in Wilmington, North Carolina on January 15, 2016. She disappeared after saying she was going to walk to a nearby store.
Background
Ebonee Shanetta Spears was born on May 12, 1985. She is the youngest of four siblings, and has a daughter who was 13 years old at the time of her disappearance.
Ebonee was a resident of New Hanover County, North Carolina. She lived with her daughter at The Pointe at Taylor Estates, an apartment complex on the corner of North 4th and Nixon streets in Wilmington. She had briefly lived in Georgia.
In the summer of 2015, Spears was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. She was taking medication as well as an antidepressant as her mental health had began deteriorating.
Disappearance
On January 14, 2016, Ebonee Spears met with her boyfriend and parents at the Wilmington Police Department headquarters on Bess Street, several blocks away from her apartment complex in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Paramedics were called, as Spears appeared erratic and distraught. They spoke on the phone with her psychiatrist, but Spears was not sent to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.
Spears appeared lucid again after an hour and spent the night with her daughter at her parents’ house on Prices Lane in Wilmington, North Carolina.
On January 15, 2016, Ebonee had breakfast with her parents before she was dropped off by her father at her apartment on Brooklyn Lane. She had plans to have dinner with her parents again that night but called at 7:00 pm to cancel.
Later that night, Spears went to the Community Boys & Girls Club on Nixon Street where she was acting paranoid, telling staff members that someone was following her. She was later seen at the Wilmington Police Department, a couple blocks away.
Spears asked to use the phone but was unable to complete a call. She appeared to be disoriented and paced back and forth for about ten minutes before she eventually left without accepting any assistance from the officers present.
Spears was then captured on surveillance camera walking toward her apartment complex at The Pointe at Taylor Estates on the corner of North 4th and Nixon streets in Wilmington.
Around 10:45 pm, Ebonee was last seen by a neighbor when she asked him for a cigarette. When the neighbor declined because he didn’t have any, Spears said she was going to walk to a nearby store to get some.
Ebonee Spears never returned home that night and hasn’t been heard from since. On January 16, 2016, her parents filed a missing person’s report with the Wilmington Police Department when they did not hear from her.
Investigation
Ebonee Spears left behind all of her belongings at home including her purse, but her cell phone was missing. Her vehicle was parked outside the residence.
Whereabouts
Police found no evidence for foul play in Ebonee Spears’s disappearance. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Ebonee’s discovery.
The circumstances of Ebonee’s disappearance remain unclear and her case is currently classified as missing. Her case remains unsolved.
Appearance
Physical Description:
Black female born on May 12, 1985. Ebonee has black hair (dyed blonde), brown eyes, stands 5′ 3″ – 5′ 4″ tall, and weighs 140 – 150 pounds.
Distinctive Physical Features:
Ebonee has a butterfly tattoo on top of her right foot and a rose on her right shoulder.
Clothing and accessories:
Ebonee was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, brown Timberland style leather boots, and a pink knit cap.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Ebonee Shanetta Spears please contact the Wilmington Police Department at (910) 343-3600. Agency Case Number: 2016-001807
Resources & Further Information
Ebonee Shanetta Spears #MP32691 – National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
Ebonee Shanetta Spears – The Charley Project
News & Media Links
A year lost: Where is Ebonee Spears? – WECT 01/17
Ebonee Spears’s family still waits for answers seven years after disappearance – WECT 01/23
7th year anniversary of the disappearance of Ebonee Spears – WWAY 01/23
Mother determined to find missing North Carolina woman Ebonee Spears, eight years after her mysterious disappearance – NBC News 02/24
Videos & Flyers
How old is the eldest sibling , all brothers / sisters ? .
Her daughter having turned 21 an important mile -stone in her life , and her mother not contacting , has she started a new life with somebody else ? .
Is the boyfriend the father of her daughter ? .
Where was the child when she went out on her own ? .
What did she do for a living , giving that she has two ( 2 ) cars ? .
Did she get to the store in order to buy cigarettes ? .
Drives under medical conditions ? .
How far is the store from her home ? .
Did she go for treatment , or was she only on medication ( chronic ) ? .
Given her illness was she able to realize what was going on around her , and in her ” comfort – zone ” at all times ? .