The Disappearance of Tammy Kingery
For this case I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 7 episode 4, titled ‘Walk Into Darkness.’ This case is a little bit shorter, and not to spoil everything right away, but there are very few answers about what happened to her.
A 37 year old mom of three disappears after going on a walk.
Background
Tammy Kingery
Tammy was born on April 13, 1977. Tammy worked as a nurse at a nursing home called NHC Healthcare, in Edgefield County, South Carolina. Her family said she was passionate about the nursing field, and helping others. Tammy was very loved by her patients and co-workers.
Marriage
Tammy was originally from Indiana, and she met her husband Park, when they worked together at a drugstore. Park said he would stock shelves, and noticed Tammy one day and they went on their first date soon after.
They went on to have three kids, Kaitlyn, Carter and Cameron. Tammy loved being a mom, but lately she struggling with her depression. Park said she had been diagnosed with it, and was taking medication.
In the days leading up to her disappearance, all she wanted to do was sleep and she had even called into work a few times. This was very unlike Tammy, and Park said he tried to talk to her about it, but she wanted to be alone.
Tammy with her husband Park
The Disappearance
On September 20, 2014, Tammy went to work at 7am. About an hour into her shift, she started feeling sick. Her co-workers said she was agitated and constantly checking her blood pressure. One of Tammy’s friends and co-workers said that Tammy had gotten very loud at work that day, which was uncommon for her.
Tammy called her husband Park to come and pick her up, because she said she was too sick to drive home. Park said Tammy was waiting outside for him, and he asked her if she wanted to go to the doctor. Tammy had told him she had an appointment for Monday, and that she wanted to go home and sleep.
Around 10am, Park decided to take his son Carter, over to his grandma’s to mow her lawn, and take Cameron with him to run errands. He said he kissed Tammy before he left.
Park said they returned home about two hours later. He said the house was quiet and he became suspicious. He went upstairs to check on Tammy, and she was gone. He walked around the rest of the house, and she was nowhere to be found. Then, he found a note in the kitchen, it said:
“Gone for a walk. Be back soon. Love you.”
Park called his daughter Kaitlyn, and asked her and her friend to search for Tammy. Park said he also got into the car to look for her. They also searched the wooded area behind their home, with Tammy’s mom, and there was no sign of her.
Around 2pm, four hours after they last saw Tammy, Park called 911.
The Investigation
Captain Chris Wash with the Edgefield County Sheriff’s department, was one of the first to arrive at the Kingery home.
They started by looking around the home. Capt. Wash said the house didn’t appear too clean or too dirty, and that there were no signs of a struggle. The police were told that Tammy had left her keys, wallet, purse and cell phone behind, which was weird.
The police called in tracking dogs, and the dogs smelled Tammy’s nurses scrubs to try to locate her smell. They didn’t find anything.
The Edgefield police contacted the state police to assist with a helicopter search, and a group of about 20-25 officers had four wheelers and searched nearby hiking trails.
They didn’t find anything, and a BOLO (be on the lookout) for Tammy was released. This led to about 20 tips from Columbia County, which is about 30 miles from Edgefield County. These tips didn’t lead to anything.
A Strange Discovery
On September 27, exactly a week after Tammy disappeared, Tammy’s family organized a volunteer search. The 100+ volunteers that showed up searched the woods for two days.
A group of searches came across an abandoned shack in the back of the woods. One of them was interviewed on this episode, and he said he smelled an awful smell, like “death.” In the shack, they found a garbage bag that contained the remains of a dog.
The police said that they knew about the shack, and didn’t think Tammy was taken there. Tammy’s family was confused as to why the police didn’t just collect the garbage bag, just in case there was in fact something of Tammy’s that was in it.
Park offered a $4,000 reward for any information about Tammy’s disappearance.
Tammy’s missing poster
Family Secrets
The police wanted to take another look at the people closest to Tammy. They started by looking at what Park did the day Tammy disappeared. Park said that the police also went to his kid’s schools to interview them.
Park and his son Cameron went to a few stores after they left the house. This was confirmed on the surveillance footage, Park also had receipts from each store and the police checked his cell phone. His phone had pinged off the cell towers located near each location.
The police collected the family computers, financial records and Tammy’s cell phone and landline records. While they were looking at Tammy’s cell phone records, they discovered that there had been several text messages that were deleted. They were able to get a warrant to recover the text messages. Tammy had been texting two other men, which have never been named.
Park did confess on this episode and on a podcast called Curious Times, that Tammy did have an affair a few years ago. He said Tammy acted differently because of her depression, because when Tammy was happy they had a great relationship.
Tammy’s family said the opposite. Her sister Becky, said that Tammy had called her several times saying she didn’t know if she could continue with the marriage. Becky told her to give it more time. Tammy’s mom Carolyn, said that Tammy and Park started having issues after their youngest son was born. Tammy had even considered divorcing Park.
Park’s Strange Comments
After the information came out about Tammy’s possible affair and the marriage problems, the police wanted to question Park one more time.
The police called SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Dept), and asked them if they would help with the polygraph that Park had agreed to take.
Park didn’t disclose anything on this episode about it, but on the Curious Times podcast, he said that the police told him his results from the polygraph test were questionable.
After his appearance on the podcast, he obtained a lawyer, who told him not to say anything. Many people judged Park on everything he said. I don’t really think the comments are that weird. It’s strange that he said something on a podcast and not on a TV show, but you can have your own opinions on it.
What Really Happened?
There have been many theories about what happened to Tammy. The biggest theory is that Tammy had killed herself because she couldn’t deal with her depression. Her family has said that she wouldn’t leave her kids. I think if she was that depressed, then she might have. The reason I don’t think she killed herself is because they didn’t find her body or any evidence.
The second theory is foul play. Did Tammy meet someone who wasn’t who they said they were? Did she meet another man, and he killed her? Was it Park? Again, there is no evidence and Tammy has never been found.
Tammy’s family believes that the police didn’t search the bodies of water in Edgefield County. The police said that if Tammy was killed or had an accident and fell in, her body would’ve floated and been found by now.
Other
The Missing Persons Network, an non-profit organization said that they identified two women who went missing around the area, where Kala Brown, a victim who was killed by Todd Kohlhepp, was found. The women were identified as Tammy Kingery and Tracy Wright.
Park had to withdraw the $4,000 reward because he filed for bankruptcy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I don’t think Todd Kohlhepp killed Tammy, but it is very possible. Kohlhepp was a monster, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he was driving the day Tammy went for her walk, and abducted her.
I don’t really know what I think happened, because all of the theories are possible. It’s so heartbreaking that Tammy’s family doesn’t have any closure. Park said his kids ask constantly about where their mom is, and he doesn’t know what to tell them.
I hope one day the truth comes out.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Tammy_Kingery
https://charleyproject.org/case/tamera-sue-kingery
