She Was Last Seen In 2013 Running Barefoot Out Of A Walmart Supercenter At 2 A.M.
Tiffany Whitton, a 26-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, mysteriously vanished in 2013 after running away from a Walmart Supercenter at approximately 2:00 a.m.
However, her tough backstory seemingly made her disappearance less appealing for mainstream media coverage, and she has remained missing ever since.
Tiffany’s Younger Years
Born in Kennesaw, Georgia, Tiffany was known as a rambunctious and happy little girl. She used to adore animals and dreamt about becoming a veterinarian one day. Unfortunately, this goal fell by the wayside after she dropped out of high school during her sophomore year.
Tiffany then gave birth to her first child, a daughter, at the age of 16, who she placed up for adoption. Years later, when she was 21-years-old, she welcomed another daughter, Addison, into the world.
At the same time, though, Tiffany began to struggle with drug addiction and hid her drug use from her family for a while. But eventually, her mother, Lisa Daniels, noticed, and Addison was left in Lisa’s care.
Tiffany continued to battle addiction and engage in other illicit behaviors. She was arrested for organizing a home invasion in 2011 in response to unpaid drug dues. She also stole from department stores, a behavioral pattern that persisted up until she vanished.
When Tiffany served a short prison sentence behind bars in 2012, her mother, Lisa, wouldn’t let her see Addison, who was then 3-years-old, unless she was clean. Tiffany’s grandmother, Anita, ultimately found a drug rehabilitation center, and Tiffany checked herself in.
She was able to meet other people in recovery and remain clean. Then, she even began working at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) in Marietta.
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But while Tiffany seemed to have turned a new leaf, her sobriety only lasted a few months. And in the summer of 2012, she began dating her boyfriend, a 28-year-old named Ashley.
A Tumultuous Relationship
Tiffany’s new boyfriend had full custody of his own young daughter, Charlie. Nonetheless, she and Ashley began using drugs together in their home.
Tiffany and Ashley lived a fluid lifestyle. With Charlie, they would move between motels and trailer parks. But their relationship was a rollercoaster filled with arguing. Their volatility got them evicted from a trailer home as well as kicked out of a motel.
Despite the nature of their relationship, Tiffany and Ashley’s daughter, Charlie, formed a close bond.
As her addiction worsened, Tiffany’s life unraveled further, and after she was caught stealing from IHOP in August 2012, she was fired. Lisa also cut all contact between Tiffany and Addison. The only person who remained in touch with Tiffany was her grandmother, Anita.
Leading up to her disappearance, Tiffany, Ashley, and Charlie were living in a home located in Cobb County, Georgia.
Tiffany’s Disappearance
It was September 13, 2013, when Tiffany went missing. That Friday night, she and Ashley reportedly went to a friend’s home to do drugs. Then, at 12:30 a.m., the pair borrowed their friend’s car to visit a 24-hour Walmart Supercenter located in Marietta.
Beginning at 1:00 a.m., Tiffany and Ashley shopped for clothes for almost one whole hour without buying anything. Walmart employees also began to suspect that she was high because she was constantly moving and behaving strangely.
For instance, Tiffany would place clothes in her cart before repeatedly taking them out and putting them back on shelves.
Still, no one approached Tiffany and Ashley until later. He wanted to leave the store at about 2:00 a.m., and Tiffany wouldn’t agree. So, he left her inside and went to charge his phone in the car.
Ashley ended up returning to Walmart to pay for his own items: clothes for his daughter and a portable speaker. Afterward, Tiffany tried to leave with Ashley, but plain clothes loss-prevention officers approached Tiffany and thought she’d stolen a T-shirt.
Tiffany called out for Ashley, and when he turned around, he saw two loss-prevention officers confronting her.
She started kicking and screaming and eventually broke free from the officers. Tiffany then took off her flip-flops and began running away barefoot, leaving her purse containing her cell phone, identification, and wallet behind.
Tiffany has never been seen or heard from again.
A Delayed Missing Persons Report
It wasn’t out of character for Tiffany to disappear for months at a time. However, her family noticed that she’d been inactive on Facebook, a social media platform she used frequently, and became concerned.
Still, Tiffany’s loved ones didn’t actually find out she’d vanished until November 2013. That month, a lawyer representing Walmart sent her grandmother, Anita, a letter requesting $150 for the items that Tiffany had shoplifted. The letter also instructed Anita to get in touch with Ashley.
That’s how Anita discovered Tiffany was missing. But her family still waited to hear from her during the holidays. That contact never came, and on January 10, 2014, Tiffany was finally reported missing to the police.
Tiffany’s Case Isn’t Immediately Taken Seriously
The first detective assigned to Tiffany’s case reportedly didn’t take her disappearance seriously, given her addiction history and criminal record.
The case was then transferred to a second detective, Jonnie Moller, who believed the delay in Tiffany being reported missing was worrisome. Jonnie suspected Tiffany was deceased and that Ashley was involved in her disappearance.
The home where Ashley and his daughter resided, located in Powder Springs, was ultimately raided by police in March 2014. Authorities seized drugs and firearms, and Ashley was arrested on possession-related charges.
He later pled guilty to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in 2015. Ashley was sentenced to 20 years behind bars with a minimum 10-year sentence to serve.
As for Tiffany’s case, it was again transferred to another detective. The third, Mike Freer, also thought he’d hit a break in the investigation.
In Cobb County, a meth trafficker who was being prosecuted claimed to have information related to Tiffany’s disappearance. The trafficker reportedly heard from friends months after she vanished that Ashley and his acquaintances drove to Lake Allatoona, which is over 12,000 acres. There, they supposedly dumped a concrete-filled barrel over Bethany Bridge.
But even with the use of sonar equipment and divers, the barrel was never found. Tiffany’s case was later turned over to a Marietta cold case squad in 2016 and has remained cold.
The Search For Tiffany Continues
One particularly curious detail is how, four months after she went missing, her half-brother, Blake, claimed to have received a message from Tiffany.
It was January 5, 2014, when Blake supposedly got a phone call from an unknown number. He answered and believed it was Tiffany. She wished him a happy birthday and allegedly used his nickname, “Mudbug.” This contact has never been confirmed or explained.
Tiffany has been missing for over 11 years now, and her loved ones have created a Facebook page entitled “Find Tiffany Whitton.” There, they share information about her case, as well as the stories of other missing people.
Tiffany was five foot two, weighed 100 pounds, and had blonde hair and green eyes. Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Marietta Police Department at (770) 794-5300.
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