Marlena Childress

Marlena Childress

From Voices for Justice by Sarah Turney

April 10, 2026 · 1h 7m · Season 2 · Episode 266

About this episode

The episode discusses the tragic disappearance of four-year-old Marlena Danyele Childress from Union City, Tennessee, and the community's response to the case.

A four-year-old girl disappears from a small Tennessee town, and almost instantly, fear ripples through the community. Her family pleads for answers. Her neighbors rally around them. People search, pray, and hold onto hope that she’ll be found safe. But then, just when it seems the case couldn’t get more tragic, it takes a turn so shocking it changes everything. Marlena Danyele Childress was just 4 years old when she vanished on April 16, 1987, from Union City, Tennessee, where she was last seen playing in the front yard of her family’s home. She was 4 feet tall, weighed about 38 pounds, and had light brown hair and blue or hazel eyes. Her ears were pierced, and she had silver or stainless-steel caps on her top and bottom front teeth. The day she disappeared, Marlena was wearing a purple and white checked shirt with lace trim, light purple pants, and pink jelly-style shoes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Union City Police Department at 731-885-1515. For more information about the podcast and the cases discussed, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠VoicesforJusticePodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For even more content or to further support the show, join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Voices for Justice…

People in this episode

Host: Sarah Turney

Topics covered

  • disappearance
  • true crime
  • community response
  • missing child
  • investigation

Keywords

  • Marlena Childress
  • missing child
  • Union City
  • true crime
  • April 16, 1987

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Union City Police Department

Places: Union City, Tennessee

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