373DFIN - Sandra Kay Powell

Right 4: Age-progressed by NCMEC to 32 years; 41 years; 45 years; 52 years

Name: Sandra Kay Powell
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: March 11, 1987
Location Last Seen: South Bend, Saint Joseph County, Indiana

Physical Description

Date of Birth: March 15, 1970
Age: 16 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on right side of neck; four months pregnant at time of disappearance; light complexion; pierced ears

Identifiers

Dentals: Unavailable; chipped teeth
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance

Sandra was last seen in South Bend, Indiana on March 11, 1987 by a close friend. They went to either the YMCA or a health spa and somehow were separated. According to past police reports, Sandra and her friend were in a bedroom the night before she went missing. Sandra was on the phone with someone in the bedroom, but the friend did not want to "eavesdrop" on the call, she later told police. The friend also told police Sandrda did not give any indication of running away.

Sandra had been threatened after she testified during a murder trial in 1986. Police are unsure whether her disappearance was related to the trial.

Not long before she disappeared, the father of Sandra's baby told her he planned on marrying someone else.

Initially police listed Sandra as a runaway despite the fact all of her personal items and money she had saved up where left behind in her home. Her case wasn't changed from Runaway to Endangered Missing until 15 years after she disappeared.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: South Bend Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Lt. Phillip Herman
Agency Phone Number: 574-235-9201
Agency E-Mail: sbpd(at)southbendpolice.com
Agency Case Number: 89005175

NCIC Case Number: M001996320
NamUs Case Number: 6539
NCMEC Number:734036

Information Source(s)

NamUs
NCMEC
IN Missing Person Bulletin
Our Black Girls
South Bend Tribune - Mar. 26, 2007

Admin Notes

Added: 2005; Last Updated: 04/06/2024 - By: hb