Lillian LaWren Nance

Nance, circa 2001

  • Missing Since 07/02/2001
  • Missing From Gastonia, North Carolina
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race Black
  • Date of Birth 01/01/1969 (55)
  • Age 32 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4, 130 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A floral spaghetti-strap shirt and dark blue denim shorts.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Nance's nickname is Libby. She has an eight- to ten-inch scar extending from her left shoulder blade to her left arm, a small scar above her right eyebrow, and small scars on both her hands and legs.

Details of Disappearance

Nance's family members last saw her in the late afternoon on June 20, 2001, walking away from her mother's former residence in the vicinity of the 1200 block of Sunshine Street in Gastonia, North Carolina. She left with a male friend, saying she was either going to the store or going home. She never arrived home and never contacted her family again, although she was sighted in Gastonia on July 2.

Nance lived with a friend on Avon Street at the time of her disappearance. Her mother stated she rarely left her hometown and had no reason to walk out of her life. Her family reported her missing in August.

About a year after Nance went missing, her mother heard she had been sighted in Atlanta, Georgia. Nance's mother traveled to Atlanta seven times to look for her daughter. People there said they had seen her and that she was going by her nickname, Libby, but the sightings were never verified and Nance was never located.

Foul play is suspected in Nance's case; police believe she was murdered. A possible suspect is the man she was dating at the time of her disappearance; her family stated he regularly beat her. He still lives in the Gastonia area and hasn't been publicly identified.

Nance was declared legally dead in 2014; her family had this done so they could collect her life insurance. Her disappearance remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

  • Gastonia Police Department 704-866-6879

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated June 20, 2019; details of disappearance updated.