Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 05/27/1992

Missing Since:

Missing Since 05/27/1992

Missing From:

Missing From Tyler, Texas

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race Black

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 07/16/1949 (75)

Age:

Age 42 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’1 – 5’3, 160 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Clothing/Jewelry Description A yellow shirt, blue denim shorts and approximately $25,000 worth of jewelry, including a diamond-encrusted bracelet, two diamond rings and a diamond pin.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Byrd may go by her middle name, Starrine. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance:

In May 1992, a woman named Byrd disappeared from her home in Tyler, Texas. Food was still cooking on the stove, and there were no signs of a break-in. Police think her disappearance might be linked to the murder of eight-year-old Chad Choice, who was kidnapped a year earlier.

Chad was taken from his bedroom. Ransom notes were sent, demanding money, but the kidnapper(s) never collected it. A year later, another note said Chad was still alive. Four years after his kidnapping, Chad’s skull was found; later, the rest of his body was discovered.

Patrick Horn, a friend of Chad’s brother, was convicted of Chad’s murder. Horn, who was only 17 at the time, claimed he was forced to dispose of the body by three Colombian drug dealers who actually killed Chad because of a debt owed by Chad’s uncle. However, this claim was never proven. Horn was already in prison for other crimes when he was convicted.

From the start, Horn was also a suspect in Byrd’s disappearance. Police believe Byrd may have known something about Chad’s death and was killed to keep her quiet. Another man, Christopher Wells, might have helped hide Byrd’s body, but he hasn’t been charged. To this day, Byrd’s disappearance remains a mystery.

Agency:

Tyler Police Department 903-531-1026

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