Name: Sunny Jayy Sramek
Age: 18 years old
Last seen: April 20, 2019
Location: Trenton, Nebraska
Status: Still Missing; Two men found guilty in connection with her disappearance in December 2025
Case Information
18-year-old Sunny Sramek was last seen in Trenton, Nebraska on April 20, 2019. She disappeared while traveling to Omaha with a male acquaintance.
Background
Sunny Jayy Sramek was born on February 23, 2001 in McCook, Nebraska to parents Paula Johnson and Jody Sramek. She grew up in Trenton, Nebraska and attended McCook High School.
At the time of her disappearance, Sunny was living with her mother in Trenton, Nebraska and was working on getting her GED.
Disappearance
On April 20, 2019, Sunny Sramek was last seen in Trenton, Nebraska when she left with 42 year old Floyd Clifford Coates in his vehicle, a white 2004 Ford Explorer with the Iowa license plate number HGJ341.
It is unknown how Coates and Sramek knew one another, but the two were allegedly en route to Omaha, Nebraska, about 300 miles away, where they planned to pick up the man’s nieces.
Around 12:45 pm, Sramek called her mother on a borrowed phone, telling her she was in Holdrege, Nebraska. Everything seemed fine at the time and Sramek said she planned to be back home that evening.
Sunny Sramek never returned home and hasn’t been heard from since.
On April 21, 2019, her mother filed a missing person’s report with the Hitchcock County Sheriff’s office when she couldn’t contact her daughter.
Investigation
On a call made on April 20, Floyd Clifford Coates told Sramek’s mother that he and Sramek went to the Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa, and stayed there from 9:00 pm to midnight.
Sramek stayed in the truck outside because the minimum age for casino gambling in Iowa was 21. When Coates returned to his vehicle around midnight he says Sramek was nowhere to be seen.
Coates later changed his story and said they stopped at an unspecified gas station in Omaha to refuel. He claimed he went inside to pay for the gas but upon returning Sramek was gone.
Coates has a criminal record in Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, which include convictions for sale and possession of drugs, possession of a deadly weapon, battery, and theft among other offenses.
On August 1, 2023, the FBI announced that they were offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Sunny, or for the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible in her disappearance.
Two Men Found Guilty In Connection To Sunny’s Disappearance
On December 1, 2025, 44 year old Floyd Clifford Coates and 65 year old Dennis Lawson were found guilty on drug, gun, and obstruction charges related to Sunny’s disappearance.
The conviction of Coates and his brother in law Dennis Lawson came after the jury deliberated for 2 hours following an 11 day federal trial in Sioux City.
Evidence shows that Coates arranged a drug run to Kansas City, Missouri in the spring of 2019. Coates traveled from Nebraska with 18 year old Sunny Sramek, who told her family she was going on a day trip to Omaha. There’s no evidence she was aware of the plan to go to Kansas City.
The pair made it to Blair, where Sunny allegedly overdosed on methamphetamine that Coates had provided.
Coates then cancelled the drug run to Kansas City and told his driver to go to the home of his brother in law, Dennis Lawson, in Whiting near the banks of the Missouri River.
While at Lawson’s residence, Coates and Lawson disappeared for a time, with the driver saying they returned without Sunny’s body. They then cleaned out the car, with Lawson threatening the driver saying “it would be her funeral” if she told anyone.
Coates later told confidants that he had thrown her body into the Missouri River to conceal evidence of the crimes.
Forensic analysis found Sunny’s DNA and a significant amount of blood in the white Ford Explorer they were traveling in.
“Sunny Sramek went missing more than six years ago,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “But the investigators’ dedication kept her case from going cold. Thanks to them, these two criminals now face judgment for Sunny’s disappearance. Those who believe they can escape justice through threats, cover-ups, or the passage of time will discover they are mistaken.”
Coates faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and Lawson faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing will be conducted after a presentence report is filed.
In July 2026, Coates was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.
Lawson was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.
Appearance
Physical Description:
White female born on February 23, 2001. Sunny has brown hair, blue eyes, stands 5’7 tall, and weighs 183 pounds.
Distinctive Physical Features:
Sunny has a tattoo of a feather with the letters “FLY” on her left shoulder, and a tattoo of a tribal sun in red ink on her right ankle. Her ears and nose are pierced.
Sunny has multiple scars on her body, including a rectangular scar on the back of her right shoulder, a small square scar in the center of her forehead, scars on her shin and ankle from a bike accident, chicken pox scars on her face, and cuts on her arm.
Clothing and accessories:
Sunny was last seen wearing a black tank top and denim shorts. She was carrying a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Sunny Sramek please contact the Hitchcock County Sheriff’s Office at (308) 334-5444, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (402) 493-8688.
Resources & Further Information
Missing Person: Sunny Sramek – Federal Bureau of Investigation
Sunny Jayy Sramek – Facebook
Find Sunny Sramek – Facebook
News & Media Links
FBI searching for 18-year-old Sunny Sramek last seen in Nebraska with unidentified male – NBC News 06/2019
FBI looking for missing 18-year-old believed headed to Omaha – WOWT 06/2019
Videos & Flyers
What about surveillance video at the casino or gas station? Pinging of the cellphones? Did they check his car for blood? The clothes he wore? How did she meet this guy?? Online? Were his nieces ever picked up? Does he even have any nieces?
There are so many questions here and no answers
I AGREE TOTALLY WITH LIZ IN WHAT SHE HAS SAID , HOWEVER GIVEN THE ACTIVITIES THAT FLOYD WAS INVOLVED IN , IN ORDER TO GET THE POLICE / LAW ENFORCEMENT ATTENTION , HE MUST SURELY BE A PRIME SUSPECT ? .
THERE IS ALSO NO MENTION OF THE FATHER .
IS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TATTOO ‘ S ON HER BODY , ANY OF THE ” INJURIES ” ON HER PERSON , WAS / IS FLOYD IN ANYWAY CONNECTED TO HER HUSBAND ? .
GIVEN THE ACTIVITIES THAT FLOYD WAS / IS INVOLVED IN IS SHE A DRUG ADDICT HERSELF , AND TO WHAT DEGREE ? .