By Queen City Newsfeed Staff – With information provided by The Leader, Demopolis, Ala.
MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) — Nearly a decade after Rebecca Anne Henderson Paulk vanished during a trip to Meridian, a renewed push for answers is underway with a $10,000 reward recently added by the Marengo County District Attorney’s Office, bringing the total reward to $31,000.
The Demopolis, Alabama native was last heard from on Sept. 7, 2015, when she left home on Labor Day for a shopping trip in Meridian. The next day, Paulk — or a woman matching her description — was seen on security footage at two businesses in the city. On Sept. 9, her 2006 Honda Civic was found abandoned on a logging road in the Whynot community of southeast Lauderdale County. Inside were her personal belongings, including her purse, laptop, and iPad. A few days later, her cell phone was recovered in a wooded area about a mile away.
No further trace of Paulk has ever been found.
The original $20,000 reward offered by the Henderson family, along with an additional $1,000 donation from an anonymous donor, remains in place. The new $10,000 reward — posted by 17th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Rachel England — is being offered for information that leads to locating Paulk or identifying those responsible for her disappearance.
The case remains open and active, according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Ward Calhoun, though no new leads have emerged in recent years. “It’s certainly not closed, we just don’t have anything new to work on,” Calhoun told The Leader, which first reported the story.
Paulk’s family said they are still searching for answers and hope the added reward will encourage someone to come forward. Her mother, Janet Henderson, said in an interview with The Leader, “Somebody knows something and they need to speak up and let us have closure.”
Authorities say Paulk was seen in 2015 on video with John Bentley Poisso Jr., who was later named a person of interest. Though he was arrested shortly after on unrelated misdemeanor charges, and his home was searched, no evidence linking him to Paulk’s disappearance was reportedly found.
Paulk, a 2007 graduate of Demopolis High School, had recently completed training to become an OSHA inspector. She loved the outdoors and was described by friends and family as a kind, energetic person who was especially fond of her dogs. At the time of her disappearance, she was 26 years old, with strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, and a tattoo on her left wrist that includes the word “LOVE.”
The case has drawn national attention, including coverage by NBC’s “Dateline” and the BBC.
Anyone with information, no matter how small, is urged to contact:
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Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department (Miss.) at 601-482-9806
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Demopolis Police Department (Ala.) at 334-289-3073
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District Attorney’s Office in Demopolis at 334-289-2149
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Or the nearest law enforcement agency or E-911 Dispatch Center
This article was produced by Queen City Newsfeed using material and reporting originally published by The Leader in Demopolis, Ala. All quotes and details used with permission.
