Columbus, Ohio — January 24, 2018
At 8:25 p.m. on January 24, 2018, 19-year-old LeShay “Shay” Dungey sent a text message that would become the last known communication anyone would ever receive from her.
“I’m getting off at 4th & 11th.”
“I’m on my way to your house.”
“Open the door.”
According to the man she planned to meet, Shay never arrived.
More than seven years later, she has never been found.
LeShay’s family describes her as a loving, innocent young woman who was always laughing and making others smile. Although she had a delayed mental capacity, she was an honor roll student who never gave her family any problems. They said Shay was trusting, kind, and the type of person who always believed the best in others.
The Day Shay Disappeared
According to the Columbus Division of Police and Shay’s family, LeShay left her job at a retirement community located at 6364 Frantz Road in Dublin, Ohio, on January 24, 2018.
She planned to spend the day job hunting before visiting someone she had recently met online.
Because her cell phone service had been disconnected, Shay used the free Wi-Fi available on COTA buses to communicate throughout the day.
She kept the man updated about where she was as she traveled across Columbus until her final text at approximately 8:25 p.m.
That was the last time anyone is known to have heard from her.
The Investigation
Approximately two days later, Shay’s family realized no one had spoken with her. Because she often divided her time between relatives’ homes, they initially believed she was staying with another family member.
Once they realized no one had seen or heard from her, they contacted authorities.
According to the family, they first contacted the Dublin Police Department because Shay’s job was located there before being directed to the Columbus Division of Police.
The family said police initially refused to take a missing person’s report because Shay was 19 years old and advised them to “give it some time.”
Only after learning that Shay had a delayed mental capacity did authorities officially begin investigating her disappearance.
Detectives later informed the family that the man Shay planned to meet had already reported her missing.
Her family said he was not actually a friend. Shay had only recently met him online and had mentioned to a cousin shortly before she disappeared that she planned to visit him.
According to the detective assigned to the case, the man was thoroughly investigated through an extensive digital investigation and was ruled out as being involved in Shay’s disappearance. Detectives reportedly told the family they believed he had no involvement and declined to release his identity.
Shay’s family later visited 1942 Summit Street, a former duplex that had been converted into four apartments near The Ohio State University campus. Despite their efforts, they were unable to determine who lived there on January 24, 2018.
The Questions That Remain
LeShay disappeared from the same general area where Brian Shaffer vanished in 2006 and only minutes from where Reagan Tokes was abducted in 2017 before later being found murdered.
Both of those cases received widespread local and national media attention.
LeShay’s disappearance received only limited local coverage.
Two years after Shay vanished, on January 24, 2020, I returned to the same bus stop at Fourth Street and 11th Avenue at approximately 8:25 p.m.
It was the same date.
The same time.
The same location.
The area was busy. Cars filled the streets. Businesses were open. People walked nearby sidewalks. A Columbus police station sat only one block away.
During the summer of 2020, I also walked through the neighborhood where Shay disappeared and spoke with business owners, employees, residents, and community advocates.
Not one person I spoke with had heard of LeShay Dungey.
A Family Still Waiting
More than seven years later, LeShay remains missing.
She was 19 years old when she disappeared. She stood approximately 5’9″ tall and weighed between 120 and 140 pounds.
The Vivid Faces of the Vanished is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to LeShay’s location.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Columbus Division of Police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
Her family has never stopped searching.
Anyone with information about what happened to LeShay Dungey is encouraged to come forward.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished