Shemika "Mika" Cosey was a vibrant, 16-year-old who lived in Berkeley, Missouri with her mom, Paula, and her three sisters including a 10-month-old baby girl. Shemika loved kids and she looked after her baby sister while Paula, a single mom, worked to support the family of four.
Shemika was very close with her family but the 10th-grader was frustrated that Paula wouldn’t let her date or have a cell phone. Shemika told her mother that she was over-protective. She wanted more independence but like most parents, Paula wanted to protect her daughter from unseen dangers.
On December 28, 2008, Shemika decided to have a sleepover with her cousins; two sisters. They spent the night hanging out and watching TV. At 8 am the next morning, Shemika's aunt and her boyfriend, Terry, noticed Shemika was no longer in the house and that the front door was unlocked.
Shemika left her overnight bag behind and took only her jacket and purse with her, insinuating she was planning on coming back but she never did. Despite this, she was treated as a runaway.
Paula insisted her daughter was in trouble, especially after what she found while searching through Shemika's belongings. Paula found a fake ID and discovered that Shemika had been going clubbing with another girl who lived in their apartment complex; both were minors.
Paula also heard rumors that Shemika was dating an older man who was in the military and she thought back to an incident five months earlier when she saw her get into a car with a strange man. Paula confronted her daughter, who insisted that he was just a friend. His identity remains a mystery.
Three years later, Paula made another startling discovery She found a journal belonging to Shemika Inside were notes that Shemika and a friend had written to each other while in class.
One entry, in particular, sent chills down Paula's spine.
Shemika wrote about a boy she was secretly dating named LB. Shemika told LB she might be pregnant with his baby and he wasn’t too thrilled about it.
Shemika wrote, “I can’t allow him to feel like he got power over me.”
Paula gave investigators the journal. LB was interviewed. He insulted Shemika and called her demeaning names. LB said Shemika was seeing plenty of guys and going to strip clubs. After speaking with LB, authorities told Paula that Shemika had probably run off with a guy.
Paula believes they failed to search for her daughter because of how LB portrayed Shemika. She thinks Shemika left voluntarily to meet up with someone and was harmed because the teen never would have abandoned her family, especially her baby sister whom she adored.
15 years later, the search for Shemika Cosey continues. She was last seen wearing a tan Old Navy jacket, a black long-sleeved t-shirt, and blue jeans. Today, she would 30-years-old.
If you have any information, contact Berkeley PD at (314)-524-3311.
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