November 1991, 1991, Baltimore, Maryland.

Twelve-year-old Melody McCoy excitedly said goodbye to her mother, on her way to a sleepover with a school friend.

Melody was a stellar student and everyone loved the smiley preteen. But for reasons that are not clear more than 30 years later,

she would leave her friends home early and would be last seen walking towards her home only to

vanish into thin air.

Melody lived in a notoriously violent and crime-ridden area, and she was African-American.

So her disappearance did not get the media attention or police attention it definitely deserved.

For these reasons alone, it is important I bring her story to you today.

Her smile was gorgeous, and she had a bright and promising future in front of her.

Melody and Shirley deserves justice, and Melody should not be forgotten.

This is Melody's story. Melody Gwen McCoy was born October 1st, 1979, to mother Shirley

McCoy. Not much is known about Melody's family, so it's not clear who her father was and

what role he had in her life. If he was still

alive at this time, it seems he and Shirley were no longer together. And considering Melody's

disappearance is considered a non-family abduction, and he isn't mentioned in any news article I

could find. I'm pretty confident in assuming he was not

part of Melody's life, at least by the early 1990s. Regardless, Melody was loved. She was super

close with her mother. Her grandmother would describe Melody and Shirley as being like, quote,

two peas in a pod, unquote.

And up until the time of her disappearance, Melody would always know where her mother was at all

times, and Shirley knew exactly where to find her only child. They were each other's entire lives,

and their bond was unbreakable.

...