Cassie Kay Compton
Cassie, circa 2014; Age-progression to age 19 (circa 2017); Brandon Rhodes
- Missing Since 09/14/2014
- Missing From Stuttgart, Arkansas
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Female
- Race White
- Date of Birth 12/04/1998 (25)
- Age 15 years old
- Height and Weight 5'3, 100 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description A blue spaghetti-strap top, blue and white plaid shorts and blue and gray cowgirl boots with two- to three-inch heels.
- Medical Conditions Cassie was taking medication for a severe cold at the time of her disappearance. Her mother stated she thought Cassie may have bipolar disorder, as she began experiencing mood swings at age 13. She was prescribed antidepressants, but didn't like taking them.
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Cassie has a dark-colored, heart-shaped birthmark on her upper left arm and a scar on the left side of her face, beginning at the cheek near her nose. Her hair was dyed blonde at the time of her disappearance. Her ears are pierced.
Details of Disappearance
Cassie was last seen in Stuttgart, Arkansas sometime after 6:00 p.m. of September 14, 2014, after spending the day at a demolition derby with friends. Her mother, Judy Compton Kimsey, was at home, sick in bed. Kimsey's then-fiance, Brandon Lee Rhodes, who lived with them, was also at home. A few minutes after Cassie arrived home from the demolition derby, she left again. She had a black LG smart phone, with no charger. She never returned home and has never been heard from again.
There are differing accounts as to what happened that evening after Cassie arrived home. One story is that Kimsey was sick in bed and Rhodes was cooking dinner when Cassie left, and that Cassie told her mother she was going to the store to get some things. Rhodes subsequently fed Kimsey dinner in bed, since she was too sick to get up.
Another account is that Rhodes told Kimsey he was going out to get cigarettes, and at the same time, Cassie texted her mother to say she was going out "to get a smoke." Rhodes reportedly took Kimsey's car when he left, even though he didn't have a driver's license. He was gone for several hours, and when he came back, he went into the bathroom and vomited, and stayed in there for over an hour.
A photo of Rhodes is posted with this case summary. His relationship with Kimsey ended in the weeks after Cassie went missing, and she has married another man. Rhodes and Cassie did not get along and he's considered a person of interest in her case. He has been jailed multiple times in the years since Cassie disappeared, but authorities haven't stated what, if any, evidence implicates him in her case. When he gave a media interview in 2019, he stated he never even saw Cassie after she arrived home on the day she went missing.
It's uncharacteristic of Cassie to leave without warning; her mother said they always kept in touch. She was home-schooled and working to obtain a GED certificate. At the time of her disappearance, her father lived in Oklahoma. Her case remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
- Stuttgart Police Department 870-673-1414
Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated November 30, 2020; details of disappearance updated.