Alabama Cold Case Advocacy group spotlights 22-year-old case

ATMORE, Ala. (WKRG) — Monday marked 22 years since 31-year-old Atmore resident Melinda McGhee was last seen or heard from.

On the anniversary of her disappearance, the Alabama Cold Case Advocacy group decided to spotlight McGhee’s case in hopes of bringing some closure to her family and the community.

According to the ACCA, McGhee had returned home from her overnight shift as a nurse at a Bay Minette nursing home around 8 a.m. on March 24, 2003.

Officials said her husband was at work when she got to their home on Kent Road. Her stepson was at the dentist, and her two children were already at a babysitter for the day.

Police said the last time she was heard from was around 8:30 a.m. when she called her mother.

McGhee’s husband got off work and was home around 4 that afternoon. When he arrived home, he found blood and signs of a struggle, but Melinda was nowhere to be found.

ACCA officials said her purse and phone were still inside their home, but her car keys were found locked inside her car, which was found parked “near” the home. Officials suspected foul play.

In 2010, McGhee was officially pronounced dead. A death certificate was issued, although McGhee was never found.

McGhee is still listed in the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s database for missing people as an “involuntary missing person.”

Anyone with information on McGhee’s disappearance is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at 251-809-0741.

In 2017, News 5’s Devon Walsh investigated this cold case. Read it here: Cold Case Murder of Young Nurse Haunts Local Family.