Dawnita Wilkerson was known as someone who stayed closely connected with her family. She talked with relatives and friends regularly, often checking in several times throughout the day. So when those calls suddenly stopped, the people who knew her best immediately realized that something was seriously wrong.
On Sunday, June 21, 2020, Dawnita’s 15-year-old twin daughters saw their mother leave their uncle’s home in Evansville, Indiana. Dawnita told them she would be back shortly.
She never came home.
By the following morning, Dawnita had still not contacted her children or her mother. Her family knew that this was completely unlike her. They contacted the Evansville Police Department and reported the 44-year-old mother missing.
Dawnita was a mother of six, and according to her daughter Kiahnna, family was extremely important to her. She was described as easygoing and happiest when she was surrounded by people she cared about. One of her favorite pastimes was simply talking on the phone with friends and relatives.
Her aunt Julia Womack explained that Dawnita normally called her mother around 5:00 every morning. Suddenly, nobody could reach her. Dawnita had also stopped using Facebook, despite normally checking her account several times a day. Her phone calls were going directly to voicemail, suggesting that the phone had either been switched off or had lost its battery.
There was another reason the family was especially concerned. Dawnita had planned to return to school and was scheduled to begin classes shortly after she disappeared. Her relatives said she had been looking forward to going back and would not have intentionally missed the start of school without telling anyone.
Her mother was also dealing with health problems, and Dawnita had been helping care for her. Her family couldn’t imagine her simply leaving without making arrangements or telling someone where she was going.
### A Phone Signal Leads to Illinois
Several days after Dawnita was reported missing, investigators appealed to the public for information. Authorities believed she might have traveled toward Carbondale, Illinois, although they initially did not explain what led them there.
It later became known that investigators had obtained Dawnita’s cell-phone records. The records indicated that her phone had traveled toward Carbondale before it was eventually shut off.
Dawnita’s family refused to sit back and wait.
They organized searches, distributed flyers and tried to keep her disappearance in the public eye. Her aunt Nora Martin described the emotional toll of having no idea what had happened. The family continued to hope for a safe return, even while fearing the worst.
In August 2020, friends and relatives organized a fundraising and awareness event called **“Show Up For Dawnita”** at Garvin Park in Evansville. Music, food, raffles and children’s activities were part of the event, while supporters were encouraged to wear pink because it had been Dawnita’s favorite color.
Hundreds of people attended.
The family used the money raised to print more missing-person posters and put up billboards around Evansville. They wanted Dawnita’s face to be impossible to overlook.
At the same time, relatives created a GoFundMe campaign to help with expenses, including the financial needs of Dawnita’s teenage daughters.
### A New Clue Emerges
For months, the family publicly knew very little about what investigators had discovered.
Then, in February 2021, police released information that changed the timeline of Dawnita’s disappearance.
Authorities revealed that Dawnita had not simply vanished after leaving her brother’s home. Investigators had learned that she went to a motel on Evansville’s East Side later that evening.
Surveillance footage showed Dawnita leaving the motel at approximately 8:16 p.m. on June 21. She was seen getting into a **silver 2004 Chevrolet Suburban** equipped with a sunroof and tinted windows.
The vehicle then left the area and traveled west through southwestern Indiana toward southern Illinois.
Investigators identified the owner of the Suburban. However, police said the man was not cooperating with the investigation and declined to publicly identify him at that time.
Because the vehicle had crossed state lines, the FBI became involved in the investigation. Authorities were particularly interested in finding the Suburban itself, which had not been recovered.
Dawnita’s family had apparently known about the motel footage for months. Her daughter Kiahnna expressed confusion about why the information was only being made public later, but she was nevertheless grateful that authorities had finally released it.
### Two Men and a Troubling History
As investigators continued looking into Dawnita’s disappearance, her relatives revealed that she had been dealing with serious problems involving two men shortly before she vanished.
According to family members, both men had sent Dawnita threatening messages. She was sufficiently frightened that she gave their names to relatives in case something happened to her.
Some of the messages were reportedly extremely threatening.
One of the men was Dawnita’s former boyfriend. She had shared screenshots of conversations with a close friend and explained that she was afraid of what he might do.
Court records described a disturbing history between Dawnita and the former boyfriend. He had reportedly been arrested multiple times in 2018 and 2019 following incidents in which Dawnita accused him of assault. In one police report, Dawnita said she had been assaulted for hours and prevented from leaving the residence. She also reported being threatened with harm to her children.
Dawnita had attempted to obtain an order of protection, but the case was dismissed after she failed to appear for a scheduled hearing.
She later changed her phone number, apparently hoping to escape the harassment. According to her relatives, however, her former boyfriend eventually obtained the new number and continued contacting her.
Family members said Dawnita had specifically warned them that if something happened to her, they should look at this man and one of his relatives.
One of those two men was reportedly connected to a Chevrolet Suburban.
### “Find Dawnita Day”
While detectives continued their investigation, Dawnita’s family kept searching.
In September 2020, the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners declared September 15 **“Find Dawnita Day.”** The goal was not only to bring attention to Dawnita’s disappearance but also to raise awareness about missing people and support their families. At that point, Dawnita was one of twelve people reported missing from the area.
Her relatives continued distributing flyers and organizing events.
Dawnita’s aunt Julia remained convinced that she was still alive. She spoke about Dawnita with affection and said the family simply wanted her home.
But as time passed, hope became increasingly difficult to maintain.
### A Family Left Without Answers
By the first anniversary of Dawnita’s disappearance, her older daughters had taken on responsibilities within the family, helping care for their younger siblings while their mother remained missing.
The family organized a march to remember Dawnita and keep attention on the case.
During that first year, another painful milestone occurred: Dawnita became a grandmother. Her first grandchild was born while she was still missing, leaving the family hoping that somehow she would eventually return home and meet the child.
Her friends struggled with the uncertainty as well.
Dawnita’s best friend, Ruth Waller, described the constant questions that came with not knowing whether Dawnita was alive, injured or dead. She believed there were people who knew more than they had revealed and hoped someone would eventually decide to speak with investigators.
The family later announced a **$3,500 reward** for information that could help locate Dawnita. Despite their belief that certain people might know what happened, no one came forward with the answers they desperately wanted.
On September 15, 2021, relatives once again gathered for “Find Dawnita Day.” They lit candles and lanterns in her honor.
By then, the disappearance had changed the family permanently.
### The Suburban’s Owner
As more information gradually emerged, investigators confirmed another important detail about the vehicle.
The man who owned the Chevrolet Suburban that Dawnita was seen entering was reportedly the nephew of her former boyfriend. According to later reporting, he had picked Dawnita up at the motel.
Despite being identified by investigators, he continued to refuse to cooperate with detectives.
Police continued to maintain that the case remained active.
Evansville Police Officer Taylor Merriss said that someone knew what had happened and urged anyone with information to come forward.
But the family became increasingly frustrated.
By November 2022, relatives said they were struggling to get responses from investigators assigned to the case. They had previously been able to communicate with detectives, but their calls were now going unanswered.
For Dawnita’s aunt Nora, even being told that the investigation had become a cold case would have been easier than being left without communication.
### Still Missing
Two years after Dawnita disappeared, members of her family acknowledged that they increasingly believed she was dead.
They had hoped for answers long before then, but none had come.
Even so, they refused to stop looking.
Dawnita’s loved ones wanted more than an explanation. They wanted to find her remains, give her a proper burial and see whoever was responsible held accountable.
Dawnita Leauta Wilkerson was 44 when she disappeared from Evansville, Indiana, in June 2020. Investigators determined that she was last seen getting into a silver 2004 Chevrolet Suburban, but the vehicle and the person she was with remained central pieces of the unanswered case.
At the time she vanished, Dawnita had brown eyes and black hair. She was approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 145 pounds. She was last known to be wearing blue denim shorts, a red St. Louis T-shirt, black socks with white polka dots and white sandals.
Her family has spent years searching for answers.
And despite the passage of time, Dawnita’s name has never stopped being spoken.
Someone, somewhere, may know what happened to her.
Until that information comes to light, the mystery of what happened to Dawnita Wilkerson remains unresolved.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.