I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin -Sulkowski. And
I'm your co -host, Eli Solkowski. And this is
Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and
missing person cases. Hello, everyone, and welcome
back to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali .
Your co -host, Eli. Welcome back, everyone. There's
been life in these past few weeks for us over
here at Cold and Missing, but we are very happy
to be back this week. The phrase, when it rains,
it pours, has never been more true. So it has
been pouring here, but I think the sunshine is
peaking out and we are back on schedule with
cold and missing. Thank you for hanging with
us. Thank you for coming back. We always appreciate
being a part of your week. To get right into
it, we are on episode 132 this week. Missing
person case. Let's go ahead and get into it.
So just as a bit of a content warning at the
top, this case does involve a young person. Today,
we are talking about the missing person case
of Ameera Deadrick . And this takes place in the
fall of 2016 in Houston, Texas. I wanted to take
a second here just at the top to make a quick
note about the timeline today. It's going to
be very different than the timelines that I've
covered in the past. There's a lot of information
missing. With that said, let's just go ahead
and get into it and learn a little bit more about
Amira. Ameera is described as being an intelligent
and sassy little girl. She was fearless in how
she approached the world. We'll have a couple
photos of Ameera on our Instagram, at coldandmissing,
but she has a huge smile that crinkles into her
eyes, and you can almost hear the laughter that
sits just behind the smile, so please go check
those out. So for the timeline today, we really
need to start at the beginning of Amira's life.
She was born October 1st, 2008, and her mother,
Tiara McWilliams, was in an unhealthy relationship
with her father, Anthony Diedrich. Tiara says
that the relationship was abusive, and just a
few months after Ameera was born, she fled with
her daughter to the Midwest. Anthony threatened
her for leaving. said he would make her pay for
taking his daughter away. Once Tiara and Amira
were safe in the Midwest, slowly, over the first
few years of Amira's life, Tiara and Anthony
begin to talk again. They both ended up in a
place where they were texting every day and Anthony
would even come up and visit them from time to
time and spend time with Ameera. Ameera and her
mother were mostly living between Wisconsin and
Illinois, so Anthony would come up from Texas
to visit them there. At the beginning of the
summer of 2013, so Ameera is four years old and
Tiara agrees to let her spend the summer with
Anthony and his girlfriend in Houston, Texas.
The plan was for her to come home at the end
of the summer. As the summer of 2013 comes to
a close, Tiara tried to make plans for Anthony
to bring Ameera back, but he refused. He wouldn't
bring her back home as they had previously agreed.
So in the spring of 2014, Ameera would be five
years old now, and this is just a few months
after Anthony refused to bring her home. Tiara
heads to Houston, Texas to bring her daughter
back home. Anthony again refused to let Amira
go with her mother, and he went a step further
and refused to let the two of them spend any
time alone. She says, quote, her father was very
strict about allowing me to see her. He wouldn't
allow her to stay in my hotel room by herself.
He wouldn't leave her with me. He just monitored
the whole visit. Tiara called the police for
help. But because there was no formal custody
agreement between the parents, the police refused
to assist in the matter. Eventually, Tiara headed
back to the Midwest without her daughter. This
time when she went home, there was a noticeable
shift. It became harder and harder for her to
get a hold of her daughter. While communication
was not perfect, it continued like this for the
next few years. Tiara and Ameera would keep in
contact over the phone and by using video calls.
Tiara also started the legal process of getting
her daughter back and getting a formal custody
agreement in place. Around April 1, 2016, so
Ameera would be 7 years old at this point, she
appears on a Facebook video. The video appears
to have been taken at a Chuck E. Cheese, likely
in Houston. The FBI say that this is the last
confirmed sighting of Amira. However, it appears
that Ameera and Tiara still communicated after
that Facebook video at Chuck E. Cheese. However,
abruptly in the summer of 2016, all communication
stops. Tiara tried to contact anyone who may
know where Ameera is, but no one was helpful.
She says, quote, phones started getting disconnected.
I couldn't reach out to anyone. No one was returning
any of my phone calls or even opening my messages
on Messenger. According to reports, people in
Houston reported seeing Ameera in the fall near
her birthday, but it doesn't appear that anyone
can produce any photos or videos of proof of
this. That fall of 2016, Anthony Dedrick goes
to prison. It takes months for Tiara to learn
this. She doesn't learn it until spring of 2017,
and at this point, Anthony has been in jail for
months. She says, quote, I knew something was
wrong when I found out he was in jail. I could
feel it in my body. Houston Police Department
wouldn't help me, so I contacted police where
I lived, and they reached out to the HPD and
the Attorney General's office, who then opened
a case for Amira. When the case is opened, Amira
is eight years old. And finally, police start
looking for her. Her mother says, quote, she
had never been enrolled in school. She had never
been to the doctor. So now everybody's wondering,
okay, where is this little girl? Who has her?
Police head straight to the prison where her
father was serving time. Police begin questioning
Anthony on Amira's whereabouts. Police say, quote,
Her biological father says he gave custody of
Ameera to a lady that he had met at a convenience
store somewhere in the Waco area. He said her
name was Linda, but some people knew her as Tuti.
But we could not locate or verify that this woman
ever existed. Anthony told police that someone
named Linda, who also went by Tuti, was watching
Amira. He gave police the address of the apartment
building where the woman lived in Waco, Texas.
It was in the Bordeaux Apartments. Anthony said
that she worked in the healthcare industry. Police
were never able to find a woman who lived at
that address who matched that description, and
there was no sign of Ameera there. We know police
give Anthony a lie detector test, but we don't
know the results of it. We also know police do
a cadaver search of Anthony's last known residence
in Hubbard, Texas, but there's no sign of Amira
there. Eventually, Anthony will be released from
prison, yet he doesn't go pick up Amira. He doesn't
give any more information on her whereabouts.
So in 2019, Tiara moved to Houston, Texas, to
be closer to the investigation and try to uncover
her own details. She says, quote, Tiara has said
the police have been unhelpful. Quote, The Attorney
General's office initially helped, but they came
to a dead end and the case came to a halt until
they get more information. They're supposed to
be investigating now, but I don't know much about
it. Someone has been trying to leave clues or
breadcrumbs that Ameera could still be alive.
There are a lot of games being played and many
people are involved in the case. In September
of 2022, Ameera has been missing for six years.
And her mother believes that her daughter is
no longer with us. But she still wants answers.
Quote, God has given me peace. I had to get sober
to get it, but he's given me peace and I know
my daughter is with him. In June of 2023, FBI
emergency response team head to Hubbard, Texas
to test some new technology and to see if they
can get any evidence in Amira's case. It's unclear
what exactly the new technology is and if they're
able to get any evidence, but there's no update.
That's the last piece of information that I could
find on Amira's case. So if you know anything
about the disappearance of Ameera Deadrick or
her whereabouts today, or if you know anything
about a woman named Linda who may also go by
Tootie, who lived in the Waco, Texas area, please
call the Houston Police at 713 -884 -3131 or
the Waco Police at 254 -750 -7500. So that is
the missing person case of Ameera Deadrick. You
know, with this case, I've gotten to see the
pictures of Ameera already and, um... You know,
just instantly she reminded me of our nieces,
the smile and her description of just what her,
you know, blooming personality was like. And
I know I say this often with cases, but I can't
stress it enough. So I think it bears repeating.
I'm so glad that you brought this case to us.
Even with the timeline being something different
from the way you have put together timelines
before, you know, each person is special and
unique and different. So what happened, you know,
surrounding any of these cases is worthy of covering.
So I'm really grateful to know Amira's name.
Yeah, this is a case that I instantly felt needed
to come to cold and missing and needed to get
out to our listeners because it's not one that
I was familiar with, but it's a case where we
really need more information and we need to just
get Amira's picture out there and get it circulating
and getting people talking about her. 2016 was
not that long ago and it's fresh enough that
I think a lot of people However many people had
to do with this young girl going missing have
answers. And that I feel almost sure of. Yeah,
it feels like there is so much more information
out there. People who might have seen her might
have seen her since she has officially gone missing.
So, yeah, there's more information out there.
And I'm just hoping that. Bringing her case here,
getting it to our listeners, getting other folks
talking about it kind of gets that information
to generate and for it to help bring Ameera back
home. Yeah, just moving right into what we can
speak of on this timeline is the person we're
getting most of the information from, which is
Tiara, her mother. Because she has stayed so
diligent in looking for her daughter, she has
given us specific time markers of things. And
this woman, what she has done, what she is going
through to find her daughter, I feel panicked
thinking about this case because I so badly want
those answers for her. And I really hope that...
our listeners, you know, again, like I've said
before, do their thing and share this case because
this woman is working so incredibly hard to find
Ameera and with no help. And I know we'll go back
and forth and discuss that more, but the obstacles
that she has been up against is, it's insurmountable.
Yeah. Amira's mother has been very diligent and
has really been the reason that I was able to
get any information in this case is because of
her mother giving interviews and keeping it in
the media. I will say that throughout the reporting
and everything, there is some contradicting times
and things like that. So I tried to get the timeline
just as close. to what I think is accurate as
possible. Sometimes years shift or, you know,
a spring versus fall, but I try to just get it
consistently what's been said over and over again.
I also think that, you know, having your personal
information out there, like it being included
in this timeline necessarily. So, and I'm talking
about The fact that she was in an abusive relationship
with Amira's father, you know, for that to be
public knowledge and for it to be part of the
timeline here, I would imagine is extremely difficult.
And I don't know, I just really stand by this
woman and want justice for her and answers. And
for somebody... To help her, like, for the love
of God, please help her. If there are resources
out there that could be or should be helping
her, why are you not doing it? Yeah, I think
that gets into the heart of the whole case here
is that what's going on? Who is working this
case and who is looking for Amira? We know the
FBI. has been involved to some extent. But it
boggles my mind that, you know, the adults that
she was left with who were supposed to be taking
care of her don't have answers for where she
is today. Like, that is crazy to me. That boggles
my mind that we don't have answers from the people
who were supposed to be taking care of her. And
from the sounds of it, when Tiara went looking
for answers via calling people, messaging people,
texting people, to receive dead ends, to receive
voicemails, to receive phones disconnected, shut
off, those are all adults making those decisions
to to essentially dead -end her at every step,
every turn. So there are a lot of people involved
in this case. At least that's what it seems like
to me, based on the timeline you've provided
and the information that we have. If she was
calling multiple people who don't want to be
involved, why don't you want to be involved?
I'm really curious to know the answers. to that
question because I don't understand if a child
is missing why is it not all hands on deck all
everyone on board looking for her her other her
other loved ones or people that know of her connected
to her connected to her father connected to Tiara
and I know I feel like I'm getting a little worked
up but I don't know this case is worth being
worked up over absolutely and Yeah, there were
a lot of people in Texas who in the fall of 2016
claimed that they saw Ameera around her birthday.
But it does not appear that photos or video have
come forward in that because the FBI say that
the last known appearance of Amerra is on that.
Facebook video of her at Chuck E. Cheese. So
that's kind of the last visual sighting that
the FBI is saying happened. So if people do have
pictures of her at a birthday party, you know,
at a summer something, at a fall hangout, at
a back to school, bring those pictures forward.
Let us get more of the timeline in place and
narrow down when Ameera truly went missing. Amira
were communicating after the Chuck E. Cheese
video. I'm curious to know if they were, you
know, video chatting, if it was strictly text
messages, if it was phone calls. Because to me,
that changes things. Because it would mean that
that video isn't the last, you know, like CCTV
we have of her. So the Chuck E. Cheese video,
the FBI says that was taken April 1st, 2016.
Now, this is an area where I did find some conflicting
reports, but this is overwhelmingly what was
said, is that after the Chuck E. Cheese video,
April 1st, 2016, Ameera and her mother were still
communicating. I don't know the specifics of
if that was text messages, phone calls, video.
That I don't know. But abruptly in the summer
of 2016, it seems that all communication stops.
And that's when Tiara couldn't get a hold of
anybody. That's when that blockade starts coming.
And then we know in the fall, her father, Anthony,
goes to prison on unrelated charges. So from
April of 2016 through... The fall where it's
critical that we narrow down that timeline, but
we just don't know when exactly she goes missing.
My follow -up question to Amira's father, Anthony,
going to prison is why wasn't Amira's mother,
Tiara, contacted? I guess I'm kind of answering
my own question there because no one has been
helpful up to this point. So it makes sense that
no one would have reached out. And, you know,
outside of maybe people who knew Ameera directly,
but it doesn't appear that Ameera was ever enrolled
in school. So, you know, there was no school
system keeping an eye on her or. you know, would
count for her going missing. And it doesn't appear
that she ever went to a doctor either. So again,
just like another place where it's nobody's looking
for her or expecting her or checking up on her.
So it was already a very limited pool of people
who had eyes on Amira. Yeah, my, because there
was essentially no paper trail of her, of...
Any sort of paperwork, like at a doctor's visit,
where it records a moment in time of where you
were existing. My questions are for the adults
that were maybe around her, which is Anthony's
girlfriend. Where was the girlfriend? And does
she have any answers? Has she been questioned?
Does anyone know who she is? This supposed Linda
slash Tootie, that is a big red flag to me. It
sounds to me like a made -up person. And his
story about handing her over in a convenience
store, I just... The following... After writing...
As fast as I could these questions down, the
following thing I wrote was, this story is filled
with lies and holes. And I mean more coming from
Anthony than anything. This guy owes a lot of
answers. I want answers. That's how I feel with
this case. It does not make sense to me why these
questions are not being answered. So police were
never able to track down this Linda or Tootie
woman. And Anthony gave an address in Waco, Texas,
where this woman was supposed to live and she
didn't live there. So police are asking if anybody
knows anyone that, you know, whose name is Linda,
but maybe goes by the name Tootie, would work
in the health care industry and maybe spent time
in Waco, Texas. Please. call police and let them
know who this woman is because this supposedly
is who Ameera was handed off to. And there's no
other details of did they just meet in a convenience
store? Had they known each other for some time?
Was there any trust there? Was there a phone?
Like there's so many questions about why you
would hand off your daughter to another person
instead of having her go to her mother or another
family member. Just a woman in a convenience
store. I'm not buying it. But if anybody knows
this woman, please come forward. Well, I really
don't like talking about this part of the timeline.
I do think it's important to speak about it again.
You know, I felt sick to my stomach knowing that
that child was maybe wearing a bell in the company
of adults that were supposed to be taking care
of her. was maybe needing to steal food to care
for herself. That was deeply disturbing and upsetting
to hear. So if there were adults around who were
witnessing that, now is the time to come forward.
Yeah, that information came from Tiara, and it's
information that she uncovered by herself of
going in and... asking questions and trying to
see what happened to her daughter. And yeah,
it's heartbreaking and despicable to think about
this little girl living in that situation. I
do think that something very hopeful to come
from what we've learned from this story so far
is that tiara has reached sobriety um you know
or did i i really hope for her that it's continued
sobriety because hell yeah that's incredible
and to do something like that while this is happening
in your life is um for some people you know next
to impossible and she's doing it and that's that's
really incredible and will only make her stronger
in finding justice for her for her child for
Ameera because it's because it is time it has
been time yeah this is a case where I really
hope we get to see Ameera come home healthy and
happy you know if Linda is a real person I hope
she took Ameera and treated her beautifully and
Ameera is growing up and Just maybe starting to
remember and figure out, you know, that's my
deepest hope in this case. We know, you know,
her mother feels that Ameera is no longer with
us. And we know the FBI has searched for cadavers
and have taken technology out to last known residences
to see if they can find any evidence of Amira.
But we don't truly know the results or if anything
has been found. It seems like. There's been very
little evidence of Ameera outside of her mother
and photographs. There's very little evidence
of her after that. Well, I think you choosing
to cover this case this week adds to, maybe not
evidence, but to the timeline, to coverage, to...
the exposure of her name and this case. And again,
what Tiara is doing for her, what she's been
doing. I'm just so glad that you brought it to
us because I think that this case can move forward
with more eyes on it and more attention on it
again. Yeah. Ameera was let down by a lot of adults
in her life. And, you know, I just wanted to
Bring her here and now she's going to be exposed
to so many people who are going to be thinking
about her and hoping the best for her and looking
for her. But again, if you know anything about
the disappearance of Ameera Diedrich in the fall
of 2016 or her whereabouts today, or if you know
a woman who goes by the name Linda or Tootie
who might have spent time in Waco, Texas and
works in the healthcare industry. please call
the Houston Police at 713 -884 -3131 or the Waco
Police at 254 -750 -7500. We will have some photos
of Ameera on our Instagram and as well as an age
progression to her teenage years. So what she...
would look like today. So please go check that
out. Please share it in your circles. Get her
name out there. Get her picture out there. You
can find us at Cold and Missing. We'll pop right
up. And, you know, if we ever need to take a
week off like we did last week, we'll always
update you on the Instagram. So that way you
can be in the loop with us and stay. with us
stay in sync with us we also on our website have
full transcripts and all of our old episodes
there so if you want to go look at old episodes
or if you or someone you love is hard of hearing
you can find the official transcripts on our
website www .coldandmissing .com and then if
you could take a moment today to rate and review
us in whatever player you're listening to us
in we're so close to 100 in both apple and spotify
which are our two biggest platforms so Race to
100. Let's see who gets there first. But if you
could take some time, give us five stars. It
means a lot. And it really helps the podcast.
And it gets Amira's case out there. It gets all
these cases out there. So please rate and review.
We would appreciate it so much. But that is all
I have for you this week. Thank you so much for
listening to Cold and Missing. Thank you so much
for sticking with us and coming back. I'm your
host, Ali . And I'm your co -host, Eli. Have
a good week and stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe,
y 'all.