Debra Mackey was only 20 years old when she went missing.

She was described as a fun-loving young woman who was close with her family. Debra's cousin said she was a “happy-go-lucky person.” 

The young woman had a turbulent life. Debra was pregnant at 11, and was married to a much older man before she even turned fifteen. When she went missing, Debra's daughter was in elementary school.

Debra was last seen at 2:00 am leaving a New Year's Eve part near the 1700 block of Avenue E. She went outside to get in a car, but then came right back inside to tell her family that "something crazy happened." Without giving more details, she got into a brown car that morning. It was the last time she was ever seen.

Five days later, her family reported her missing.

Because of her life circumstances, police originally believed that Debra left her life behind and changed her name. Debra's family vehemently denied this, saying she would never leave her daughter behind.

A month later, investigators discovered a nude and headless decomposing body — but she was a Jane Doe with no identification. The hands behind the woman's back were tied with a bra. Original investigators said the victim was Caucasian. Days after that, the head of the deceased woman was found in a desert area near Scottsdale, Arizona.

For years, the case went cold, until Texas Rangers exhumed the "Jane Doe" body in 2015.

The remains were positively identified as Debra Mackey on November 15, 2022, and the detectives shared this news with the public for the first time on June 8, 2023. They're asking for the public's help.

Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to call Crime Line at (806) 741-1000. There is a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest or arrests of anyone involved in Debra's disappearance.