In 2007, 44-year-old Lisa Chandler was a mother of two boys, residing in the same Wolfe, Texas, home she’d lived in for 20 years.
“She was one of the best mothers that you could ever ask for. She was a dang good person. She was always out there for the underdog,” said her mother, Marie Johnson.
Lisa and her mom had a very close relationship, too, so when she started feeling sick on September 23, 2007, she didn’t hesitate to call Marie.
According to Marie, Lisa was particularly stressed that day due to health issues and the fact that she was going through a divorce.
However, the pair also talked about their plans for the next day. Lisa intended to see the doctor in the morning. Then, she was supposed to drive six hours to visit her mom’s home in Starks, Louisiana.
Their phone call ended at about 3:00 p.m. that day, as Marie had to leave. Later, around midnight, Marie called her daughter back to check in on her, but no one answered the phone.
This made Marie concerned, and at 6:00 a.m. the following morning, she called again. Yet, there was still no answer, which set off alarm bells in Marie’s mind.
She wound up contacting one of Lisa’s friends and asking if they could visit her home. Upon arrival, though, the friend was reportedly unable to enter the house since Lisa’s dog, which was protective of the property, had been loose in the yard.
At that point, Marie and her husband traveled from Louisiana to Texas to check on Lisa – arriving at her daughter’s home around 1:30 p.m.
Facebook – pictured above is Lisa
They found Lisa’s car still parked in the driveway. Inside the house, all of Lisa’s belongings were also there, including her glasses, purse, and cigarettes. Meanwhile, there was no sign of Lisa.
“Everything was right there on the table. And she definitely wouldn’t go nowhere without those cigarettes,” Marie explained.
Marie proceeded to start calling a few of Lisa’s friends, and none of them had seen her, either. So, the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office was ultimately contacted.
According to the lead detective on Lisa’s case, Sergeant Jeff Haines, police were dispatched that afternoon to perform a welfare check at Lisa’s residence. Her home was reportedly found unlocked, with the TV left on and her purse still on the table.
After 24 hours passed, and no one had heard from Lisa, her case officially became a missing person’s investigation.
Police launched ground searches, and Lisa’s sons, Chris and Tyler, flew in to aid the efforts.
Investigators used helicopters equipped with infrared heat-searching technology to conduct aerial searches, but these yielded no clues. Search dogs also tracked Lisa’s scent along the highway toward Greenville before the trail was lost.
“The handler’s thoughts at the time were that she went to the south, possibly was walking, and was picked up in a car because the scent just stopped at a certain point,” Sergeant Haines detailed.
No evidence of Lisa’s whereabouts was ever found, and her name or social security number hasn’t been used since she vanished.
Sergeant Haines estimated that police had searched nearly 1,500 acres surrounding Lisa’s residence.
“I don’t believe she left on her own accord. It’s a very strange case. It’s frustrating because we don’t have any direction to go with this – we need community members to come forward with information,” he stated.
One of Lisa’s sons, Chris, shared the toll his mother’s disappearance has taken on him and his family.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. We’re handling it in our own ways, but it has been rough. It affected a lot of aspects of my life,” he said.
“I really hope [the police] continue to use all the resources they have available to solve my mom’s case.”
Lisa was five foot six, weighed 110 pounds, and had brown hair and hazel eyes. She would be 61 years old today.
If you have any information regarding her case, you are urged to contact the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office at (903) 453-6800.
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