Neighbors Heard Screaming Before She Vanished In 2014 Walking To Her Godmother’s House
On November 25, 2014, just two days before Thanksgiving, 18-year-old Aaliyah Bell Hall of Rock Hill, South Carolina, disappeared without a trace, and she’s remained missing ever since.
That evening, Aaliyah was at her uncle Bobby’s home, located on Chestnut Street. She’d been doing her younger sister’s hair before she left her uncle’s residence at about 10:00 p.m. to walk to her godmother’s Confederate Avenue home, where she’d been staying.
Despite the house being only a few blocks away and Aaliyah regularly using a path down Chestnut Street to walk home, she never made it there.
“When she left Uncle Bobby’s home, she was typical Aaliyah: upbeat. She said she would come back tomorrow, and tomorrow came, and she didn’t show up,” recalled Aaliyah’s aunt, Eryn Pickett.
“It was raining; she said she was going to walk home. She just stepped off the front porch in the rain and just vanished,” stated Captain Brent Allmon with the Rock Hill Police Department.
Prior to Aaliyah’s disappearance, she’d been attending a non-traditional high school on Flint Street known as Phoenix Academy, which offered a flexible schedule with both online classes and in-person classes twice each week. Aaliyah wanted to become a hairstylist following graduation, and she had gone to school on the day she went missing.
Once Aaliyah’s family realized she was gone, they went door-to-door and searched in the woods and creeks for her.
Neighbors reportedly heard “screaming” and had seen a dark-colored car in the area not long before Aaliyah vanished.
The police didn’t believe Aaliyah had run away, either, as there were no signs of a struggle on the path she took to her godmother’s house. Additionally, she left behind her wallet, phone, clothing, and other belongings.
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Later in the investigation, authorities also learned that a relative had wired Aaliyah $100 on the day she disappeared.
The funds were supposed to be used by Aaliyah when she went Black Friday shopping, but she never picked up the money.
“Aaliyah wouldn’t have just gone off. She had money from her uncle that she was going to use to buy new shoes,” explained her cousin, Latricia Hall.
“They left them in the store, hoping she would get them, but she didn’t. She was a massive sneakerhead, and she wouldn’t have just upped and vanished.”
Over the years, there have been possible sightings of Aaliyah at apartment complexes or hotels in Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina. But after authorities followed up on these leads, they all proved to be dead ends.
“None of that turned out to be Aaliyah. Several of the young women have looked like her, but it’s not her,” Captain Allmon said.
Most recently, in 2023, investigators turned their focus to Rex Heuermann, the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, to determine where he was involved in Aaliyah’s case.
Rock Hill, where Aaliyah went missing, is 20 miles away from where Rex reportedly bought an 18-acre plot of undeveloped land.
“We are reviewing the case and investigating any potential links or matching timeframes regarding Aaliyah Bell’s disappearance with Rex Heuermann,” shared a spokesperson for the Rock Hill Police Department at the time.
However, this possible break in the case has not led anywhere.
“So far, there is no indication that leads us to identify Heuermann as a suspect in this case. We will continue to investigate Bell’s disappearance and follow up on all tips and leads,” stated Lieutenant Michael Chavis.
Aaliyah’s social media accounts have remained inactive since she went missing, and authorities haven’t been able to find any police records, registrations, tax records, or evidence that she’s applied for a credit card.
Her loved ones have organized a balloon release on the anniversary of Aaliyah’s disappearance each year and continue holding onto hope that answers will be uncovered.
“Somebody local has knowledge of why she disappeared or how she disappeared,” Captain Allmon noted.
Aaliyah was five foot six, weighed 145 pounds, and had brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing gray pants, a black peacoat, and neon blue and green shoes. She had a lip piercing.
Aaliyah would be 28 years old today. Anyone with information regarding her case is urged to contact the Rock Hill Police Department at (803) 329-7200.
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