Disappearance of Adelynn Abernathy

Criminal Activity

Abernathy's disappearance marks the fifth unexplained incident involving people vanishing from Hamptonville in less than a month. She was working as the bar back for The Red Lodge and had just started her job when she vanished. No trace of her body was ever found. She was last known to be in the company of Erick Spann.

THE FOLLOWING IS A TRANSCRIPT FROM THE HAMPTONVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CASE FILE FOR ADELYNN ABERNATHY'S MISSING PERSON CASE:   In August of 2016, Erick Spann began dating Adelynn Abernathy, who was training as a waitress for The Red Lodge nightclub. She lived in the apartment across from Spann's and frequently went over to visit him at his place, usually staying up late into the night watching movies. Their relationship began casually but did not escalate to a sexual level due to Abernathy being aware of his drug-dealing.   She wrote three letters to her mother during this time period and asked for advice about Spann's self-destructive tendencies. She had been seeing him for nearly a month when she disappeared.   The last confirmed sighting of Abernathy and Spann was on August 23rd, 2016, around 3:00 AM, inside the Red Lodge nightclub. Surveillance footage shows Spann entering the club and walking up to the bar. He was observed having a brief exchange of words with Tommy Roe, before being escorted upstairs by Hooper's female employees to the private rooms. They were seen entering one of these rooms and closing the door behind them.   The police were unable to track down the whereabouts of Abernathy after the two of them entered the private room as there were no witnesses. Her body has yet to be recovered. However, there is some evidence to suggest that she may have become entangled in the illicit activities of the nightclub and met a tragic fate.   Erick Spann, age 27, was a convicted felon who had recently moved to Hamptonville, Ghostwood from North Carolina after getting out of prison. According to his parole officer, Mr. James, Spann "was always trouble" and had a history of violent crimes and alcohol abuse. He was placed on parole in January of 2015 and was due to remain on parole until 2021. He had never been married and did not have any children or significant others. He was currently living at Lynch Livers Apartments complex dealt drugs as his main source of income.   His criminal record shows that he served two years in prison for armed robbery, where he became addicted to prescription medication. On his release from prison, he began dealing narcotics under the guise of a legitimate business to finance his addictions. His primary drug of choice was cocaine, though he had experimented with other substances such as heroin and MDMA. Despite his substance abuse issues, he appeared to be in good physical shape and was not underweight or overweight.   Spann was questioned by the police on September 13th, after Abernathy's disappearance. Spann told detectives that he discovered Abernathy was working in the club as a prostitute and was giving her some of his drug money to get a ride out of town, to safety and away from Hooper. He said upon hearing this, she offered him sex and seemed rather unenthusiastic about the prospect of leaving. The two began intercourse but did not finish. He said she disappeared in a haze of pink smoke and vanished into the air. It was clear from his statement that he believed he was telling the truth, but was afraid to divulge any further details due to threats made against him and his family. He has since gone missing from Lynch Livers Apartments, possibly attempting to flee the state to avoid prosecution or death.   The first piece of evidence comes from a prostitute named Jessica, who says she witnessed Abernathy being kidnapped by Hooper and his henchmen after returning from an evening jog near The Red Lodge on August 21st at 8:00 PM. She claims she saw Hooper holding a gun to Abernathy's head, while several of his men dragged her into the nightclub.   The second piece of circumstantial evidence is the location of Abernathy's apartment in Lynch Livers Apartments complex, directly across the street from the nightclub. The building itself is owned by Hooper.   The final piece of evidence comes from Hooper himself. He admitted to Detective Lucson in an interview that Abernathy was indeed present in a private room with Spann but claims she never left and Spann walked out alone and frightened. Hooper also admits to having covert private rooms on the third story of The Red Lodge which can only be accessed from his office.   Abernathy's disappearance was investigated thoroughly by Detective Lucson with the assistance of Chief Inspector Johnson. Hooper and Spann were both questioned numerous times about the events of August 23rd. Both parties remained completely consistent throughout and gave their accounts of what happened.   All of this suggests that Adelynn Abernathy might have gotten caught up in Hooper's criminal organization and met with an unfortunate end. There is no evidence to support the pink smoke Spann claims to have seen. Further research is needed. —Detective Lucson's report, September 2016