Shy’Kemmia Shy’Rezz Pate

• Missing Since 09/04/1998
• Missing From Unadilla, Georgia
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 10/29/1989 (35)
• Age 8 years old
• Height and Weight 4'4, 59 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A neon green button-down Atlanta Braves jersey with red lettering, Levi's jeans, white K-Swiss sneakers and a leg brace.
• Medical Conditions Shy'Kemmia suffers multiple medical conditions, including severe asthma that required at-home breathing treatments. One of her kidneys was underdeveloped from birth, and she also has a weak bladder. A week prior to her disappearance, she had an asthma attack and had to be hospitalized. In 1998, because of her bladder problem, Shy'Kemmia had to wear Pull-Ups, which are designed for potty training; otherwise she would have had to use the toilet every ten to fifteen minutes. She was often fatigued, and she had to wear a leg brace due to a displaced kneecap. Authorities believe Shy'Kemmia would have needed regular medical treatment to survive into adulthood.
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Shy'Kemmia had braided extensions in her hair at the time of her disappearance, and her hair twirled in the front with 10 to 12 gold beads in the sections. She has a scar along her waistline from prior kidney surgery, and her ears are pierced. Her nickname is Shy-Shy.

Details of Disappearance

Shy'Kemmia was last seen playing outside near her family's residence on Crumpler Avenue near The Roxy Club in Unadilla, Georgia at approximately 7:00 p.m. on September 4, 1998. Her family planned to attend a high school football game that evening.

Her older sister decided to get gasoline for her car and pick up Shy'Kemmia afterwards. When she returned from the gas station, she realized Shy'Kemmia was missing. The family at first assumed she must have gotten a ride with someone else or had gone to play at a friend's home.

The authorities were summoned after Shy'Kemmia's family was unable to locate her later in the night, but police incorrectly told her family she had to be missing for over 24 hours before they could begin an investigation. She has never been seen again.

Authorities have received numerous tips regarding Shy'Kemmia's disappearance, but no solid evidence has been located to guide them to her whereabouts. Neighbors in the area gave their consent for investigators to search their homes; police searched every residence, inside and out, in a five- to six-block radius from the Pate home and found no evidence in her case.

Police believe Shy'Kemmia may have been abducted by someone she was familiar with at the time. Everyone in her family has been cleared of suspicion, but she lived in a small town where most people knew each other. The neighborhood where she lived had a high crime rate with a lot of drug use and gambling.

One possible suspect was a neighbor, Quentin "Droopy" Kendrick, who was 18 years old when Shy'Kemmia went missing, was a friend of her family and was one of the last people to see her before she disappeared. As a middle school student in 1994, Kendrick had pleaded guilty to raping a classmate. In 2001, at age twenty, he was charged with multiple counts of rape, kidnapping, burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy and armed robbery in connection with five separate attacks on girls between eleven and eighteen: three rapes and two attempted rapes.

In most of the attacks, Kendrick would enter the victim's home via a window during the night and kidnap and sexually assault them. Kendrick pleaded guilty to eighteen counts in 2002 and was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison. It's not clear whether he is still considered a suspect in Shy'Kemmia's disappearance, but her mother does not believe he was involved.

Shy'Kemmia is described as an outgoing child who loved skating and new clothes in 1998. She was involved with her family's church. After her disappearance, her mother moved away to another area of Georgia. Her case remains unsolved.