Dymond Donaldson, who told her family she was going to the Tennessee Valley Fair, returned to school after being reported missing, according to an update issued Tuesday. Donaldson was last seen leaving her home near Lonsdale on September 12 around 9 p.m., and her family had not seen or heard from her for three days before the update.
The update came in a Facebook post from East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, which said Donaldson had returned to school. The public notice described her and said she had told her family she was going to the fair with a friend before she went missing.
Her disappearance coincided with the Tennessee Valley Fair, which Donaldson had named as her destination the night she disappeared.
Public appeal and current status
Donaldson's disappearance prompted a public appeal for information before Crime Stoppers reported that she had returned to school.
How Tennessee missing-child alerts work
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, AMBER Alerts are reserved for the most serious missing-child cases in which law enforcement believes a child is in imminent danger. TBI says it serves as Tennessee's missing-children clearinghouse and is the only agency in the state authorized to issue an AMBER Alert, making that process distinct from a local Crime Stoppers notice. The TBI also says there is no waiting period to report a person missing and cautions that its online list does not represent all missing persons in Tennessee, according to its missing-children information.
Lonsdale is the neighborhood identified in reports as where Donaldson was last seen.
The Crime Stoppers Notice
Donaldson's case was the subject of a Crime Stoppers notice. The available reports do not specify whether a statewide alert, including an AMBER Alert, was issued.
East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers coordinated the public appeal for information on Donaldson. The organization also accepts anonymous tips through its website.
The Circumstances Remain Unclear
Anyone with information about the circumstances of Donaldson's disappearance can contact Knoxville law enforcement at 865-215-1179 or Crime Stoppers at 877-563-8847, text ETTIPS to 738477, or submit a tip through the group's website. The available reports do not address why Donaldson left home or whether a friend accompanied her to the fair.
The circumstances of Donaldson's disappearance remain unclear.
