Riley, circa 2003; Age-progression to age 40 (circa 2024)
Missing Since: 12/07/2003
Missing From: Montgomery, Alabama
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date of Birth; 02/26/1984 (41)
Height and Weight: 5'8, 200 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A yellow and green Ecko shirt, stonewashed blue jeans, green and yellow Reebok sneakers, and a silver chain bracelet.
Associated Vehicle(s): Dark green four-door car, possibly a Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Caprice
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Riley has pierced ears and a pierced tongue; she wore a silver barbell in her tongue at the time of her disappearance. She has a scar on her nose. Riley has the words "RIP Mesha" or "Rest in Peace Mesha" tattooed on one bicep and her first name, LaQuanta, tattooed on her other bicep. Her nicknames are Quanna and Quanta.
Details of Disappearance:
Riley was last seen by relatives in Montgomery, Alabama at approximately 11:30 p.m. on December 7, 2003. She left home in a dark green four-door car, possibly a Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Caprice. The driver took Riley to her mother's home three miles away, where Riley asked for a jacket.
Her brother, who answered the door, asked who was driving the car. He has never seen it before. Riley told her brother the driver was a friend she met from around the neighborhood. She got back in the car and never returned home, and three days later her mother reported her missing. She left behind her purse and money.
Sometime between a few days and a few weeks after Riley's disappearance, her mother got a message on her telephone answering machine which she believes was from Riley. The message wasn't clear: the caller said either "leave me alone" or "let me go home." A man's voice in the background said Riley's name, then the call disconnected. It has never been traced.
There was a lead after Riley's name was used on an apartment rental in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where she had graduated high school. Riley's mother traveled to Stone Mountain, spoke to the resident of the apartment and showed him a photo of Riley. The resident said Riley had lived down the hall and had asked to use his phone recently after getting into some kind of argument, but that she had moved out a few days before Riley's mother arrived in Stone Mountain.
Up until around Thanksgiving in 2003, Riley lived with a roommate in an apartment in Eufaula, Alabama, but then she decided to move out. On December 5, she returned to the Eufaula apartment to get her belongings. Later that day she called her mother, upset, and asked for a ride to Montgomery where her mother lived. Her mother was unable to get her, so Riley made other arrangements, and moved in with her aunt and cousin in the 1500 block of Hill Street in Montgomery.
Riley's mother was in her teens when she was born, and as a result, Riley was raised by an aunt, but kept in touch with her mother throughout her life and also had a good relationship with her great-aunt. She has five younger siblings, one of whom died in 1996. She enjoyed cooking and music in 2003; she played the clarinet in middle and high school. Her family described her as bubbly and compassionate.
She is a 2002 graduate of Redan High School, where she was an honors student. She had gotten a full college scholarship and wanted to study criminal justice and have a career in forensic science. It's uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning and her family believes she was a crime victim. Her case remains unsolved.
If you have any information in regards to her case, people contact the Investigating Agency:
Montgomery Police Department:
