Pining

Tareaha Jones left Kentucky looking for a fresh start, first settling in Columbus, Georgia before making her way to Valdosta. But eight years ago, she vanished, and her family has been searching for answers ever since.

Two Albany families are still searching for their missing loved ones. In January 2016, 76-year-old Lewis “Treeman” Smith fell and hit his head at a convenience store in Albany and was picked up from Phoebe Memorial Hospital and dropped off near his home by a private car service. In May 2024, 60-year-old Eric “Waldo” Glaze suffered a fall at a local corner store, and he was last seen walking out of Phoebe after being discharged.  The question is whether their disappearances are connection or coincidence...

More than 60 years after Marion King was beaten by Camilla police, newly released federal files have renewed calls for accountability. Her family says records alone won’t do and is demanding a formal apology from the city of Camilla.

As a South Georgia mother is preparing to spend another Christmas season without her son, she’s pleading with the public for information in his mission person’s case. Monday, December 14, 2015, was the last day anyone saw or heard from Brandon Helms. He was 42-years-old at the time of his disappearance. If you know anything about Brandon Helms’ disappearance, call Lanier County Sheriff’s Office at 229-482-3545.

August 8, 2025, marks one month since 19-year-old Nyeasha Pickens was last seen at the Enmarket store in Cordele, Georgia. In 2022, of the more than 271,000 girls and women reported missing, over 36% were black. Black women and girls only make up 14% of the U.S. female population, according to the National Crime Information Center. In this special edition of Pining, WALB News 10's Jamie Worsley and Quinlan Parker discuss what has been done to find Nyeasha, and what advocates say can help protect women of color at the national level. 

Officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, and Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office gathered at the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office on May 23, 2025 to provide updates on the arrest of Jon Worrell, 58, in connection to the 2006 murder of his wife Doris Worrell. Doris Worrell was shot and killed on September 20, 2006, inside Jon’s Sports Park. Today, investigators believe that Jon recruited someone to kill his wife because he was concerned that if he divorced Doris, he would lose his children. In this timely episode of Pining, Jamie Worsley will bring you the full press conference and reaction from family, law enforcement, and WALB's reporter assigned to this story.

October 19, 1979, Dan Bivens stopped by his mother’s Dothan, AL shop to get a plate of food. The next day, his mother would find his house unlocked, the TV on, and that plate of food untouched. She reported Dan and his car missing nearly 46 years ago, and despite potential sightings in Southwest Georgia, Dan’s family has never seen or heard from him again. His daughter, Danielle, is appealing to the media and the public for information in his disappearance. If you know anything, call Central Alabama Crimestoppers anonymously at 334-215-STOP. There is a $5,000 reward for information that solves this case. https://www.wtvy.com/2025/02/27/unsolved-what-happened-dan-bivens/

On March 17, 2010, Sandra Robinson was stabbed to death while working at a prepaid cell phone store in Douglas, Georgia. Her murder would leave four kids without a mom, and her family with questions still to this day. You can report any information about this case anonymously by calling the GBI Region 4 Douglas Office at 912-389-4103.  https://gbi.georgia.gov/cases/unsolved-homicide/sandra-latrail-robinson    

Marlena Hurst should be celebrating the Christmas season with her family, but she hasn’t even met some of her newest grandchildren, because she’s been missing since December 2, 2020. Just months after Marlena was declared missing, the Hurst family would have to expand their search... Not for Marlena, but for her brother, Greg Hurst. You can listen this episode and previous cases right now on WALB.com, the WALB News 10 App, and on WALB’s YouTube page.

Pining typically features unsolved cases, but this episode might be the exception- sort of. Because even though the murders Valerie Sellers, Tanya Nix, and Wanda Faye Reddick from the early 1980s in Richland, Georgia have never been solved, DNA technology and two other nearby murders could hold the answers that 5 South Georgia families have been waiting on for decades. 

Three years after 9-year-old Nigel Brown was shot and killed while sleeping in his bed, one person has been arrested in connection to his death. WALB speaks with the lead investigator on this case and several South Georgia mothers about how these cold case developments are bringing hope to their families.

Trying to solve some of south Georgia's biggest mysteries is like looking for a single pine needle on the forest floor. "Pining" is a podcast about families longing for their loved-one's case to be resolved. The first episode focuses on missing person, Jessica Vanzant Dietzel. She was 21-years-old when she was reported missing in March of 2020. WALB News 10's Jamie Worsley and Rowan Edmonds take a look back at her case, and share new developments that could lead to closure.