Where is Cleashindra Hall? An Arkansas Mystery

In the spring of 1994, Cleashindra “Cle’a” Hall was a bright 18-year-old girl with big plans. The Pine Bluff, Arkansas native was just two weeks away from graduating with honors at Watson Chapel High School. She had a summer internship lined up in Boston, and that fall she would’ve been heading off to Tennessee State University’s pre-med program, pursuing her dream of becoming a pediatrician. But that all changed on the evening of Monday, May 9, when after leaving her workplace at an office in town, Cleashindra Hall disappeared. 

That Monday was the family’s first day back to their normal routine following an exciting weekend; Cle’a’s prom had been that Friday, she attended a sorority ball on Saturday, and celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday. Cle’a had an afterschool job doing clerical work at the home office of Dr. Larry Amos, who wrote grants allocating resources for childcare facilities. Once Cle’a was done with helping out around his office, she would always call her mom to come pick her up. Only that evening, Cle’a didn’t call. 

Laurell Hall, Cleashindra’s mother, waited for the house phone to ring that night and when it didn’t, her mother called Dr. Amos’ office. He said that Cle’a clocked out at 8:30 p.m. and was picked up by an unknown individual. 

“I'm thinking, okay, she's never done this before, but she is a teenager and she’s 18, about to graduate, so maybe she's decided that she's gonna flex her independent muscles,” Laurell said. “But I stayed up all night because I'm looking out the window thinking, ‘you're going to be in trouble, young lady, when you come home’…daylight came and she wasn't at home.” 

At first, Cle’a’s family thought she might have gone straight to school that morning. 

“My middle son, when he got to school, he called home. He probably bugged them all day, that office, but he called home and he said she's not at school.”  

That’s when Laurell reported her daughter missing to police. Thus began an enduring search which has lasted to this day. Cle’a’s family hung up flyers around town and contacted the news, while police eventually searched the area including Dr. Amos’ office, but found no clues that could point to the whereabouts of Cleashindra Hall. 

“We’re still searching. It’s been 26 years, and 26 years is a long time not to know anything,” said Laurell. If we could just get one tip, one clue, we might be able to break the case open.”

Although Cleashindra was 18 when she vanished, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is still involved with her case due to a provision of the PROTECT Act of 2003 known as “Suzanne’s Law.” Named after missing 19-year-old college student Suzanne Lyall from Albany, NY in 1998, this law extends to missing young adults 18-20 the same reporting and law enforcement response requirements already provided for children younger than 18. Thanks to Suzanne’s Law, NCMEC is able to use our resources like poster creation, media distribution, family advocacy services, and age progression technology to aid in missing young adult cases. 

Each year on Cleashindra’s birthday: March 30, her missing date: May 9, and Labor Day, Cleashindra’s friends and family release pink balloons to keep her case in the public’s eye, and to let everyone know that they’re still searching. 

“She was somebody that had a light that meant something. She had goals and she had dreams just like everybody else. And our family had dreams and goals for her, too. And so somewhere we're missing out on seeing what our life could have been.”

The age progression image on Cleashindra Hall's poster shows she might look like at age 38. 

Cleashindra’s missing poster can be found here. 

If you have any information about Cleashindra Hall, you are urged to call the Pine Bluff Police Department at 1-870-541-5300 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST, that’s 1-800-843-5678.