Disturbing True Stories That Inspired Lifetime’s Abducted at an HBCU as US Missing Women Cases at Staggering Level

A new slice-of-life film sheds light on the tragic stories of black women who went missing in college.

Kidnapped at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Story follows the harrowing story of a student who spent her days hustling to pay her way through school, only to suddenly disappear.

The only person who notices the student, Shannon’s disappearance, is her counselor, Ellen.

Throughout the film, Ellen tries her best to raise awareness of Shannon’s disappearance, but no one seems to care.

Despite the others’ lack of interest, Ellen persists in her quest to find Shannon until she makes a horrifying discovery: Shannon has been kidnapped by a human trafficking ring that targets young black women.

Although the case may seem too terrible to be true, it certainly is.

Black women make up only about seven percent of the United States population, but in 2022, they accounted for 35 percent of all missing persons cases involving women and children, according to the National Crime Reporting Center.

More than 97,000 missing persons cases for black women were reported in 2022, according to Spectrum 1 News.

Kidnapped at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Story, a sequel to the first Black Girl Missing Lifetime film, hopes to shine a light on the growing epidemic of missing black women.

“When black girls go missing, sometimes the media and national attention don’t match the same way as when a white girl goes missing,” the film’s star Naturi Naughton told NBC affiliate WJTV.

While the case in the film is fictional, it is based on hundreds of true stories of missing persons.

JEFFREY LYNN SMITH

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Smith was last seen in Arkansas walking home with her boyfriend on December 4, 1985.

“The pain I feel when I think about her is still sharp,” Smith’s sister Lisa told BET.

“My mom reported her missing the next day. It wasn’t like she wasn’t coming home.”

When Lisa and her family first reported Lynn missing, police labeled it a runaway case, which did not require search teams or press conferences.

Law enforcement initially questioned Smith’s boyfriend but never named a suspect.

The only published missing persons ad for Smith was one her family placed in the local paper, offering a $1,000 reward for information.

She was never found.

PHEDRA WALKER

More recently, in 2023, Los Angeles resident Phedra Walker disappeared without a trace after undergoing surgery.

Walker left all his belongings behind, including his phone.

Walker’s aunt, Marlena Walker, filed a police report after not hearing from her niece, but no further assistance.

“I wanted someone to come in here and ask me questions,” Marlena told Spectrum 1 News.

“They didn’t even ask for a picture.”

In September, two months after she was reported missing, Phaedra’s skeletal remains were found, according to Our Black Girls.

Police did not confirm to the family that it was Phedra until December.

The cause of death remains undetermined, according to The Eastsider.

“There were no stab wounds, no gunshot wounds,” Marlena said.

“The coroner said they had nothing to work with,” she continued.

“She was, like, all bones.”

“We disappear and nobody seems to care, right? Whether it’s the media, whether it’s the police. And I feel like we need to change that,” said Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and Black Girl Missing executive producer Garcelle Beauvais.

“We can call Gabby Petito, Natalee Holloway.

“You know, we can name a bunch of white girls, and I’m not saying their stories aren’t important, but we just need to be just as important and be seen and heard.”

Kidnapped at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Story premieres on Lifetime on July 20.