Key facts
- Name: Tamera Russell Kingery
- Born: April 13, 1977
- Age at disappearance: 37
- Last seen: September 20, 2014
- Location: North Augusta (Edgefield County), South Carolina
- Height / build: 5’4″, 125 lbs, blonde hair, hazel eyes; scar on left wrist, scars on both sides of upper chest; last seen in a light-colored shirt and dark pants
- Status: Still missing — classified endangered missing; Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office open investigation
- Investigating agency: Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office — (803) 637-5337 or (803) 278-1625
“Went for a walk, be back soon. Love you.”
Tammy Kingery arrived at work at 7 a.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2014, and her colleagues knew within minutes that something was wrong. The 37-year-old nurse was agitated, raising her voice — completely out of character. She checked her blood pressure four times; it kept reading high. Her coworkers tried to calm her down. It didn’t work. Finally she called her husband Park and told him she felt lightheaded, too unwell to drive herself home.
Park collected her. At home, Tammy changed into her pajamas and went upstairs to nap. At 10 a.m., Park left with their two youngest sons — the shop, errands, mowing a grandmother’s lawn. Tammy stayed behind, asleep.
When Park came home, the front door was locked. The dog had been left outside. And Tammy was gone.
On the kitchen table was a handwritten note: “Went for a walk, be back soon. Love you.” Her wallet, purse, keys, and cell phone were all still in the house. Her key — the key she would have needed to lock the front door — was inside her purse.
Tammy never walked in the woods near their home. She never left notes. By 2 p.m., Park had searched the route and the woods himself, called family, and then called the police.
Who Tammy was
Tamera Russell Kingery was a nurse, a wife, a mother of three, living in the North Augusta area of Edgefield County. The weeks before she vanished had been hard. She suffered from depression and was taking medication for it; her husband later told investigators she had tried to take her own life with medication and alcohol about a week earlier. She’d agreed to see a doctor — and had booked an appointment for September 21, the day after she disappeared.
Her daughter Caitlyn has become the family’s public voice in the years since, renewing the search and keeping her mother’s name in the news on anniversaries.
The investigation
The search was immediate and large: the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office, volunteers, rescue teams, search dogs, helicopters combing the woods around the house. Nothing. No sign of Tammy anywhere.
Detectives chased the details that didn’t fit. The State Law Enforcement Division confirmed the note was in Tammy’s handwriting — but the locked front door troubled them: the main door could only be locked from the outside, and her key was inside. Phone records turned up two sets of deleted text messages described as “romantic” with two local men; both were investigated and cleared as persons of interest. Police said they found no evidence, means, or motive for foul play — and no answers either.
In 2023, the case lurched forward on a disturbing lead: investigators began examining Facebook messages sent in 2020 to Tammy’s daughter Caitlyn by someone using the name “Chris Slade.” The messages offered information about the disappearance in exchange for an “intimate moment,” included threats, and contained specific details about Tammy’s life — her NJROTC involvement, the type of vehicle she drove. Investigator James Morgan said the case was being prioritized. The messages had sat unreviewed for years due to what the sheriff’s office called an inter-office oversight.
On the 10th anniversary in September 2024, the family spoke publicly of their continued grief and determination. As of August 2025, the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the case remains open and unsolved. The $4,000 reward Park initially posted from his retirement savings is long gone — depleted within the first year, as the family later went through bankruptcy.
Theories: what might have happened
Suicide. The depression, the medication, the attempt a week earlier, the agitation at work that morning — the clinical picture points here. But no body was ever found despite extensive searches of the immediate woods, and the locked-door detail complicates the simplest version of the story.
Foul play. The locked door, the key left inside, the note that family says was out of character — all consistent with staging. The “Chris Slade” messages, with their threats and specific knowledge, suggest someone out there knows something. But police have stated they found no evidence of foul play, and no suspect has ever been named.
Voluntary disappearance. The deleted romantic texts raised the question of whether Tammy left to meet someone. Both men were cleared, no vehicle of hers was taken (she left everything), and a woman who abandons her life usually takes her phone. Nothing supports it.
A walk that went wrong. She did, per the note, go for a walk — possibly disoriented, possibly in crisis. The woods around North Augusta hold hogs, alligators’ northern range, and dense terrain. But the search was thorough, and the locked door remains unexplained.
Have information?
Contact the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office: (803) 637-5337 or (803) 278-1625. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- April 13, 1977 — Tamera Russell Kingery is born.
- September 20, 2014, 7 a.m. — Arrives at work agitated; blood pressure high; calls husband Park to collect her.
- September 20, 2014, morning — Park brings her home; she changes into pajamas and naps.
- September 20, 2014, 10 a.m. — Park leaves with two sons; Tammy home alone.
- September 20, 2014, ~1 p.m. — Park returns: front door locked, dog outside, Tammy gone; note on the table.
- September 20, 2014, 2 p.m. — Police called after family searches fail.
- September 2014 — Massive search with dogs and helicopters finds nothing.
- 2016 — Case featured on Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared, “Walk Into Darkness.”
- 2023 — “Chris Slade” Facebook messages to Tammy’s daughter investigated as a lead.
- September 2024 — 10th anniversary; family renews plea.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Is Tammy Kingery still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, Tammy Kingery has been missing for 12 years. The Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office confirms the case remains open and unsolved.
Was Tammy Kingery ever found?
No. Despite an extensive search with dogs and helicopters in 2014, no trace of Tammy has ever been found.
What did Tammy Kingery’s note say?
“Went for a walk, be back soon. Love you.” The State Law Enforcement Division confirmed the handwriting was hers — but her family said leaving notes and walking in the woods were both out of character, and her key was left inside the locked house.
Was foul play involved in Tammy Kingery’s disappearance?
Police have said they found no evidence, means, or motive for foul play — but they also have no explanation. The case is classified as endangered missing, and a 2023 lead involving threatening messages to her daughter remains under investigation.
How old would Tammy Kingery be today?
Born April 13, 1977, she would be 49 in 2026.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Anyone with information should contact the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 637-5337.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office — (803) 637-5337; SC State Law Enforcement Division (handwriting analysis, via case coverage).
- News: WRDW, “Last Seen: Daughter Renews Search for Mother Missing in Edgefield County”; The Augusta Press, “Nearly Decade-Old Search for Edgefield Woman Yields New Clues” and “The Kingery Disappearance: How a Family Copes with the Unknown”; WJBF Cold Case Project.
- Reference: Wikipedia, “Disappearance of Tammy Kingery” (retrieved Oct 2026); International Missing Persons Wiki.
- Media: Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared, S7E4 “Walk Into Darkness” (2016); Last Seen Alive podcast (2021).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.