Overview of Leaona Wright
Leaona Cheyanne Wright was last seen in Pendleton, South Carolina on June 6, 2015. Her mother, Kiara Sullivan, said she disappeared from their home at the Edgewood Square apartment complex on Cherry Street during the morning hours.
Kiara had left her three children in the care of her boyfriend, Travis Devon Jones, while she attended a party. She arrived home at 5:30 a.m. and gave Leaona a cup of juice. She checked on her once more, at 6:30 a.m., before going to bed. When they woke up at 9:30 a.m., Leaona was gone, and the apartment door was wide open. Authorities said they believed both Kiara and Travis lied about the circumstances surrounding Leaona's disappearance and hindered law enforcement efforts to find the girl.
In July 2020, Travis was arrested and charged with murder/homicide by child abuse; Leaona's body has not been found. His older brother, Donnie Roderick Jones, was charged with being an accessory to the murder after the fact and with the destruction or desecration of human remains. The suspects are awaiting trial, and little information has been released about the evidence against them.
Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.