23-year-old Detra Renvictoria McGuire lived with her two daughters and boyfriend, Elara Murphy, in Lake City, Florida. The family lived in the Gatorwood Apartments off Huntsboro Street. Detra's parents lived in the same apartment building, and the families were neighbors, the Charley Project reports.
On November 2, 1988, Detra and her 2-year-old daughter, Roshanda, left their apartment for the store around 7:00 pm. Detra drove Elara's black 1988 Nissan Sentra with the Florida license plate number 729-AWC. Detra and Roshanda never returned home.
Shortly after 9:00 am, a trucker from Lake Butler, Florida, traveling on Interstate 10, noticed an object on the road. When he stopped, he discovered the body of 2-year-old Roshanda. Emergency responders attempted life-saving efforts, but Roshanda was pronounced dead at Shands Lake Shore Hospital. The little girl suffered a broken neck, road rash, multiple abrasions, and multiple physical injuries, the Charley Project reports.
One day later, the Columbia County Sheriff's Department released a photo of Roshanda to the public, hoping to identify the young girl. They received a tip that Detra and Roshanda were missing, and the Sheriff went to the apartment of Detra's parents. They identified the deceased girl as their granddaughter, Roshanda. Later, the black Nissan Sentra Detra drove was found abandoned at an Ellisville Truck Stop in Columbia County, Florida. There was no sign of Detra.
Authorities immediately suspected Elara Murphy, Detra's live-in boyfriend. He was given a polygraph test by authorities and failed. Officials named Elana as a person of interest in the murder of Roshanda and the disappearance of Detra, but he has never been charged.
Detra Renvictoria McGuire is 5'7" and weighed 135 pounds when she vanished.
If you have any information, please contact the Columbia County Sheriff's Office at 386-758-1376.
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