21 years after Wichita 4-year-old disappeared, police ask again for tips from public
It’s been 21 years since 4-year-old Jaquilla Scales disappeared without a trace from her family home near downtown Wichita.
The Wichita Police Department is asking the public again for any information that may lead to her whereabouts, police spokesperson Trevor Macy said in a news release.
“The Wichita Police Department has not forgotten about Jaquilla, and we are still seeking answers in her case,” Macy said.
Scales, who would be 25 now, was last seen sleeping in her bed the night of Sept. 5, 2001, according to a Wichita police news release. Her family reported her missing around 3 a.m. from her family home in the 1600 block of North Volutsia.
Around 50 law enforcement officers and dozens of other people searched for her for days. Wichita police searched by foot, air and water in areas that included Grove Park, The Big Ditch and fields near 33rd and Hillside.
Jaquilla and her mother, Eureka Scales, lived with Scales’ maternal grandmother, Mattie Mitchell, in the home on Volutsia.
Mitchell raised Scales after her mother died from sickle cell anemia when Scales was 8. Scales said in a previous interview that her grandmother had custody of her daughter because Scales was so young — 14 — when Jaquilla was born, according to Eagle archives.
Jaquilla’s family said they called her “Grammy Boo” because of her “bossy” and talkative personality.
On the night she disappeared, Jaquilla was tucked into bed shortly after midnight on Sept. 5, 2001 at her grandmother’s house, Macy said.
Jaquilla was wearing a knee-length floral nightshirt and tan barrettes in her hair when she disappeared. She had a scar on her upper right leg, a birthmark on her face and her upper teeth showed signs of decay, the WPD news release said.
Jaquilla disappeared six days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Jaquilla Scales is encouraged to call police investigators at 316-268-4379, Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111 or email the cold case unit at coldcase@wichita.gov
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 1:22 PM.