Tara Faye Grinstead - Murderer Convicted, Body Not Found

Field	Details
Name	Tara Faye Grinstead (Called "Ms. Grinstead" in some newspaper articles from the of her disappearance, suggesting she was unmarried).
Biological Sex	Female
Race / Ethnicity	White / Caucasian
Date of Last Contact	October 22nd, 2005 (Saturday)
Missing From	Ocilla, Georgia
County	Irwin County
Missing Age	30 Years
Current Age	50 Years
Birthdate Range	October 23rd, 1974 - October 22nd, 1975 (Probably November 14th, 1974)
Height	5' 3" - 5' 5" (63 - 65 Inches)
Weight	100 - 110 lbs
BMI	17.7 - 20.2
Hair Color	Brown
Eye Color	Brown
Distinctive Physical Features	Pierced ears, pierced navel, small tan-colored birthmark on front of shoulder
Clothing	Possibly black sweatpants
Footwear	Possibly gray New Balance sneakers
Circumstances of Disappearance	Tara was last seen at approximately 11:00pm at an acquaintance's residence in the vicinity of the 700 block of W. 3rd St. in Ocilla, GA. She left the residence and arrived at her home in the vicinity of S. Alder St. and W. Park St. in Ocilla, GA. It is unknown at what time she arrived. Her vehicle, the clothes she wore, and cell phone were found at her residence which was locked. Supplemental details: she attended a cookout the night she went missing, when she got home there was a robbery in progress, and alarm bells were raised on Monday she did not report to work (she was a high school teacher).

By: Shane Lambert
Original Publication Date: October 10th, 2025

Tara Faye Grinstead was a high school teacher who went missing in October 2005. The first newspaper coverage I found of her disappearance discussed a large reward for information leading to her whereabouts. That dated to December 2005 and it seemed that this was considered a likely abduction scenario in the early going.

USA Today. December 21, 2005.

December 21st, 2005. Anderson Independent Mail.

This is a case where there is a conviction with the body. In 2017, Ryan Alexander Duke was convicted of charges related to her death, including felony murder. The same article suggests that the missing person's body was destroyed. It appeared as though she arrived home and stumbled onto an active crime scene as there was a robbery in progress once she got there.

April 13, 2017. Atlanta Constitution.

The second page of the article above stated that the robbers were former students of the high school that Grinstead taught at.

I think that this is a case that online researchers can basically leave alone. It's not that mysterious as to what happened to her thanks to the convictions. It is also a well covered case. The mysterious is where her remains are but if they were destroyed, as suggested in the article above, then any work attempting to aid locating her by online researches could be entirely futile.

Missing Person: Sylvia Ann Lee - Campbell, California

Missing Person: Sylvia Ann Lee - Campbell, California

Category	Details
Name	Sylvia Ann Lee (Nickname: Shorty)
NamUs Case Number	MP4574
NCMEC Number	1154790
Date of Last Contact	October 31st, 1995 (Tuesday) (Hallowe'en)
Missing From	Campbell, California (Santa Clara County)
Missing Age	17 Years (Born: March 26th, 1978, CharleyProject)
Current Age	47 Years
Biological Sex	Female
Race / Ethnicity	White / Caucasian
Height	5' 0" (60 Inches)
Weight	125 lbs
Hair Color	Brown (Possibly dyed black or blonde at time of disappearance)
Eye Color	Brown
Distinctive Physical Features	Tattoo of the word "Shorty" on left hand
Clothing	Black sweatshirt, black pants
Circumstances of Disappearance	Last seen on October 31st, 1995 (Tuesday). Foul play suspected.
NamUs Case Created	January 7th, 2010 (Thursday)

Source: NamUs #MP4574

By: Shane Lambert
Original publication date: October 6th, 2025

Sylvia Ann Lee went missing on Hallowe'en in 1995. That made me wonder if she abducted while out trick or treating, however, she was 17 years old, generally a little old for that activity. She was dressed in all black and the color of her hair was dyed. I didn't find any information regarding whether that was part of a costume for the day or night but it may have been.

I did think that Hallowe'en would be an increased risk night for teens. They are out and about and abductors would probably recognize increased opportunities for that.

What I did find is that her fate is not considered mysterious. There is a conviction for her murder, which dates the information at NamUs. At time of writing, NamUs did not mention that someone, Wilbur Wade Atcherley, was convicted for murdering her.

September 24, 2011. Record Searchlight.

Charley Project had a good write-up for this case as summarize.

She was last seen boarding a bus to a light rail transit station, heading to her grandmother's house. He appears to have lured her into a taxi. Atcherley said he took her to a remote area in New Aladen, sexually assaulted her, killed her, and left her in a creek bed. Authorities believe she washed away from there.

Speculation: So Where Was She Exactly?

If Atcherley left her in a creek bed and she washed up, then you might think Alamitos Creek is where she died. Alamitos Creek is the primary waterway running through this area, flowing from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward toward Coyote Creek and eventually the San Francisco Bay. I found some evidence online that the creek experiences season flooding, lending some support to how she stayed missing. The creek has a significant floodplain. 

Regardless of where she went or what creek she was left at, if she washed away in flowing water then she will be hard to find. Missing people who are lost in water often stay missing for decades.

Wilbur Wade Atcherley: Criminal Record in Sylvia Ann Lee’s Case

Wilbur Wade Atcherley, a registered sex offender, is infamous for the 1995 murder of 17-year-old Sylvia Ann Lee in Campbell, California. On October 31, 1995 (Tuesday), Atcherley visited the Campbell Police Department to update his registration, per CBS San Francisco. Hours later, he lured Sylvia into a taxi from a San Jose light-rail station, sexually assaulted and killed her, and dumped her body in a in New Almaden. In 1999, he abducted, assaulted, and attempted to murder another woman in Gilroy, earning a 61-years-to-life sentence. In 2011, Atcherley confessed to Sylvia’s murder, corroborated by taxi records, and received an additional 15 years.

I briefly looked into his past. It looks like he had brushes with the law as a young adult as a thief. I did find a 1984 article indicating that he kidnapped and raped a woman.

September 9th, 1984. Chula Vista Star-News.

Missing Person: Stephanie Ann Lyng - Palatine, Illinois, 1977 Murder Solved, Disappearance Unsolved

Missing Person: Stephanie Ann Lyng

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased):

Stephanie Ann Lyng was last seen on October 25th, 1977 (Tuesday), at a neighbor's house in Palatine, Illinois, after leaving to meet a carpet installer at her home. Her car ( a blue station wagon) was found abandoned at O'Hare Airport four days later.

Last contact: October 25th, 1977 (Tuesday), approximately unknown time
Last location: Palatine, Illinois - Neighbor's house
Age when Stephanie Ann Lyng disappeared: 39
DOB: Between October 26th, 1937 and October 25th, 1938
Sex: Female
Height in inches: 68
Weight in pounds (lbs): 140
BMI: 21.3 - Healthy weight (calculated to help picture what Stephanie Ann Lyng might have looked like)
Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Hair color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Distinctive Features: No known information
Link to Government Source: NamUs MP1690 (right-click to open)

Vehicle: Blue station wagon

Clothing Worn When Last Seen

Item	Description	Details	Source
Jeans	Blue jeans	No additional details	NamUs
Shirt	Blue knit shirt	No additional details	NamUs
Jacket	Yellow windbreaker	No additional details	NamUs

Unraveling the Mystery: Key Insights and Updates

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: August 18th, 2025

This is a missing persons case where there is not a ton of mystery. Stephanie Ann Lyng was last seen on October 25th, 1977 (Tuesday), at a neighbor's house in Palatine, Illinois, after leaving to meet a carpet installer at her home. Her car was found abandoned at O'Hare Airport four days later on October 29th, 1977 (Saturday).

Summary of Case and Resolution: 

Stephanie, a 39-year-old mother of four, never reached her home for the carpet installer meeting, suggesting she was intercepted. A small amount of blood in her car matched her blood type, pointing to foul play.

Her husband, Edward J. Lyng, from whom she was seeking a divorce, was convicted of her murder in 1994. Evidence showed he ambushed her at home, stabbed her, and buried her in a pre-dug grave in Lake County, Illinois.

Although Stephanie's body has not been found, Edward is serving time at Menard Correctional Center and is not eligible for release until September 2026 (Source: DoeNetwork). Justice appears to have been served, reducing the mystery surrounding her disappearance. Due to her body not being found, she remains a missing person.

A Jane Doe found in a clandestine grave in the area of Stephanie Lyng's disappearance would be a strong candidate for comparison. I did read an article that suggested she may have been wrapped in a carpet before buried so a Jane Doe found in such a state would also be a strong candidate for comparison.

April 7th, 1994. Chicago Tribune.

Overall, my opinion is that this is not a great case to work on. Justice appears to have been served and I don't see how online researchers could generate a clue as to her resting place. However, a Jane Doe found in a clandestine grave with a carpet in the grave would be a candidate for this missing person.

Patricia Weeks, Murdered but Missing: Unsolved Since April 1968, Las Vegas Disappearance

Missing Person: Patricia Weeks

Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): 

Patricia Weeks went missing from Las Vegas, Nevada approximately two weeks after her divorce from her husband was finalized. Patricia's vehicle was later found abandoned near the Las Vegas airport. Her ex-husband, Robert Weeks, was convicted of her murder in 1987 but would not disclose any further information on the location of Patricia.

 

Last contact: April 25th, 1968 (Thursday)
Last location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Age when Patricia Weeks disappeared: 34

Date of birth: April 26th, 1933 - April 25th, 1934 (based on her age at the time of her disappearance)

Sex: Female
Height in inches: 64 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)

Weight in pounds (lbs): 140 (approximation, often averaged from ranges)

BMI: 23.9 - This is in the healthy range. This calculation helps in attempting to picture what Patricia Weeks looked like.

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Hair color: Blond/Strawberry

Eye Color: Unknown

Scar or distinctive characteristic:

Link to Government Source: MP55650 (right-click to open)

Websleuths discussion page: Patricia Weeks (right-click to open)

Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert

Original time of writing: March 9th, 2025

Has Patricia Weeks been found?

Patricia Weeks remains missing as of March 2025. However, this case is not as clouded in mystery as many other missing person cases. Her ex-husband, Robert Weeks, was convicted of murdering her. Her fate, in many important ways, is known but the location of her body is not known.

The case is significant because of the conviction without the body. In a lot of jurisdictions over time, this would not have been possible or it would have been incredibly difficult to accomplish from a legal perspective.

The case of Kathy Goad is a case in point, a woman who went missing in Texas in the 1980s. Despite hair samples being found in the trunk of a car of a man who was known to have made inappropriate advances toward her, the prosecutors employed the 'no body, no murder' logic.

Vehicle at Airport Series

Furthermore, this case was a part of a "vehicle at airport series" tag that I produced. In this tag, I look at several cases where the missing person's vehicle was found at an airport.

In all of these cases, the debate is between two scenarios: 

1. Did the missing person voluntarily disappear and hop on a flight?
2. Did someone who killed the missing person plant her vehicle there to make it look that way?

In the case of Patricia Weeks, it is clear that she did not hop on a flight. 

Robert Weeks: Convicted of Murder

Robert Weeks was the type of man who did not accept rejection from women well. His marriage to Patricia was marked by abusiveness and restricted freedoms for her.

After he murdered Patricia and well before his conviction for doing so, he had women impersonate her so that he could sell her property. He was clearly a clandestine individual in more ways than one with embezzlement part of his crimes as well.

Two other women who ended a romantic relationship with Weeks ended up dead a short time later, those being Cynthia Jabour and Carol Ann Riley. In July 1987, Weeks is indicted for the murders of Patricia and Cynthia Jabour. He is found guilty in April 1988. 

Carol Ann Riley and Cynthia Jabour are also still missing as of the time of this article. Jabour was last seen on October 5th or 10th, 1980 (NamUs profile has contradictions). Riley was last seen on April 5th, 1986.

April 6th, 1988. Reno-Gazette Journal.

What Happened After the Unsolved Mysteries Episode?

Robert Weeks was on the lam in the years leading up to his indictment in July 1987. The hit television show, Unsolved Mysteries, featured his case. The show led viewers to identify Weeks in the spring of 1987.

The court case against Weeks had 52 witnesses, perhaps showing just how much evidence it takes to convict someone of murder without a body. Furthermore, Weeks had made statements in his own diary that implicated him in the disappearances.

Where is Patricia Weeks?

My recommendation is not to work on this case too hard as a researcher. Justice has been served and the killer, Robert Weeks, is long dead (1996). He won't be providing any clues to what happened.

Furthermore, it appears as though he was good at hiding bodies as evidenced that three women associated with him who disappeared have never been found. By my research, he didn't go far away from the abduction point so Patricia Weeks is likely close to Las Vegas still. Also, her car was found at an airport, which he presumably planted there. But he seemed to have enough clandestine know-how that I do wonder if any of these three women will ever be found.

April 23rd, 1988. Reno-Gazette Journal.