On January 24, 2018, 19-year-old LeShay Dungey stepped off a COTA bus in Columbus, Ohio and began walking to a friend’s house six blocks away. At 8:25 PM, she sent a message through Facebook Messenger: “You can unlock the door. I’m close.” She never arrived. She has not been seen or heard from since.

LeShay was a recent South-Western City School District graduate who was working at a hotel in Dublin, Ohio and building her independence. She was a free spirit who loved connecting with people, fiercely dedicated to proving she could stand on her own two feet.

This episode covers the full story of her disappearance, the five-month delay in the official Columbus police investigation, the family’s unanswered questions, and the broader crisis of missing Black women in America that keeps cases like LeShay’s from receiving the attention they d ...