Of all the things I do not understand about this case, one of the of the biggest is why it is not more widely discussed. While not necessarily one of the most complex–there is one rather obvious explanation for events, as we will discuss shortly–it is one of the strangest and most chilling. A family follows a man from Wisconsin to Mississippi to live on a piece of rural property under less-than-ideal conditions. Then, before they can reconnect with the ex-husband and father, four members of that family have vanished into thin air while local law enforcement appears to essentially ignore the possibility that a crime was committed. Three of the four missing people were children, being 9, 12, and 13 years old. Yet, it’s barely discussed in most media.

The story began in Racine, Wisconsin, when a divorced woman with three children named Lesley met and married Jeff Anderson. Jeff legally adopted the kids, and the pair quickly had three children of their own–Rachel, Cameron, and Kyle. For years, things were more or less normal  –the kids all seemed happy, and they were close with the members of their extended family, including their grandmother and aunt (who both took part in the interview with the Unfound podcast linked below). Lesley’s children from her first marriage grew up, although two of them, George and Sarah*, had serious developmental and learning disabilities that would keep them from living independently. However, the marriage eventually fell apart and the couple divorced in 1997. Lesley kept the house and the kids, although by then her other son from her first marriage was an adult and able to move out on his own. There was also a new presence in the family’s life, a man named Kevin Jones (just as I did with Lesley’s disabled son and daughter, I am using a pseudonym). Jones had known the family for years–they had met him through his work as an appliance repairman–but after the divorce he moved into the family home in Racine. He is never officially stated as being in a romantic relationship with Lesley, but Jeff has stated in the interview that he does believe this to be the case.

In 1998, the whole family left to live on property that Jones’ family owned in the small town of Fulton, Mississippi. According to those who have visited the location, the property was not the most suitable for a family of five to live on–it has been described, for instance, as a “muddy hill”, with four trailers instead of a house. I have looked at the location using Google Maps, and the description seems more or less accurate. It is a heavily wooded area off of a rural road. The property is not completely isolated–there are neighboring houses visible–but it backs up to an extensive and heavily wooded area, and there is no central house to be seen.

Despite the somewhat unconventional home, the kids adjusted. Rachel, Cameron and Kyle enrolled in local schools and made the honor roll, keeping in touch with their family back up north. Numerous letters to various family members can be seen on the Facebook page I have linked in the resources, giving outsiders a momentary glimpse into lives which–whatever else they might have been–the kids seemed to be treating as normal, with messages to pass on, greetings to friends, references to school, and wish lists for Christmas.

In April of 2000, Cameron Anderson purportedly called his father Jeff. It was a Wednesday night, and per the custody agreement, Jeff was only supposed to talk to his children on the weekends. He reminded his son of this, but Cameron insisted he simply felt like talking to his dad. Not wanting to jeopardize his chances of visiting with the kids later that summer, Jeff told Cameron goodbye and said he would talk to him on Saturday. However, he would never get the chance, because it was during the next few days that Lesley, Rachel, Kyle, and Cameron would vanish off the face of the earth.

Based on Jeff’s description of events, this phone call would have taken place on April 12th. The chronology of events comes almost exclusively from the children’s school attendance records. Rachel was last recorded as being in school on April 5th, a full week before Jeff and Cameron spoke. Kyle’s last attendance is recorded from April 7th, the Friday after Rachel’s last school appearance. Cameron himself had last been at school on April 10th, meaning he had not been in school for the past two days before speaking to his father. As for Lesley, there is no recorded day or time that she was last seen or heard from, as she evidently did not work outside the home or have any other outside connections in Fulton.

For weeks, Jeff persisted in trying to contact his family, but his calls either went unanswered or were picked up by Jones, who had a litany of excuses as to why neither Lesley or the younger kids could speak on the phone. This state of affairs had continued for some time, and Jeff’s court-appointed visitation time with his children was approaching. Finally, Kevin Jones apologized and told Jeff what he claimed was the truth: that Lesley, Rachel, Cameron, and Kyle no longer lived on the property with him, and that Lesley had “run off with a truck driver” with the three younger children in the middle of the night on April 13th, abandoning George and Sarah.

To the family up north, this story smelled about as fishy as it probably does to you and I (in that we could open our own sushi joint). They were able to confirm that George and Sarah were still living at the property and appeared to be safe, although Jeff was unable to get them to move back with him. He traveled to Fulton himself on at least one occasion, and visited the property with a sheriff’s deputy. There he spoke with Kevin Jones as well as George and Sarah, but Jones’ became agitated and hostile when he suggested his adoptive children leave, and his behavior seemed to frighten them into remaining in Fulton. They are still living there to this day, and locals routinely update Jeff and his family about seeing them in various places around town. During that same trip, Jeff saw Lesley’s car (the one she was alleged to have left in when running off with this phantom truck driver) parked in a field on the property.

If Jones’ refusal to let Lesley’s disabled adult children leave with their family seems strange, there may be a very simple explanation: he receives regular disability benefits from the state on their behalf. I am not certain how much money this actually entails to the beneficiary–a quick search indicates that $1,162 is the average disability benefit in the state if Mississippi, meaning that Jones would get $2,324 per month for both of them if that is the case –but I think it is reasonable to estimate that it would “cover a couple of pizzas”, as a college classmate once said about an on-campus job. Nothing I have read or listened to specifies what, if anything, Jones has done for a living since moving out of Racine, so it’s possible that this has a significant impact on his resources. According to the Unfound podcast, Jeff was scheduled to see his children approximately a month after they vanished. When Lesley failed to appear with the kids, she was officially considered to be in violation of the law and her children became listed as missing people. However, much to the frustration of family members, law enforcement persisted in treating the case as nothing more sinister than a custody dispute. The only other person to follow up on the disappearances was a truant officer at Kyle Anderson’s school. After several continuous days of absence, she went to the property and spoke with Jones (this, too, was reported by the Unfound podcast). Although the specifics of their discussion are not clear, it seems he spoke to her in a threatening way and she left the property without solid answers.

Approximately three years ago, a reddit user posted a copy of a Facebook post written by someone claiming to have spent time with the Anderson siblings in Fulton as a child. I realize that’s a lot of layers of social media and related platforms, but, if at all accurate, it provides an interesting window into the Andersons’ life in Fulton. It appears as though the people I have chosen to call George and Sarah were allowed considerably more freedom than Lesley’s younger children, who were far less visible and seemed to have more restrictions on their social behavior. Also of note is that the other neighborhood kids were not allowed onto the property, but had to wait at the end of the driveway if they wanted to see the Andersons.

By this point, it’s likely evident what I think happened, but I will put it in plain terms here. I think what little evidence we have points unambiguously to Jones being responsible for the disappearance of Lesley, Rachel, Cameron, and Kyle Anderson. I think the primary reason behind this was monetary, as this would have given him unrestricted and unwitnessed access to George and Sarah’s disability benefits. I also think it was possible that the timing of events was significant. Jones may have wanted to seize control of the situation before the kids had  unsupervised time with their father. If the visitation had gone through, there was the chance that events would be set in motion that would lead to Jeff gaining custody, undermining Jones’ ability to access the finances. There are things I simply do not have answers to, such as why the kids stopped showing up at school at different times, or why Cameron felt the need to call his father that night,  but I think something similar to what I have described is the most likely sequence of events.

As of today, the Fulton property has never been searched, and Lesley Anderson is not even officially listed as a missing person. Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to contact the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department at 812–438–3636.

*Not their real names. Although their real first names are readily available in other sources, I have decided that I would prefer not to identify them.

Resources

Missingsippi: Anderson Siblings (I apologize for the hard-to-read font).

3 boys and their mom moved from Racine to Mississippi 22 years ago. Their dad hasn’t seen them since (Title is not completely accurate here. One of the children was a girl).

Reddit thread containing the comment from alleged friend of Cameron Anderson   This comment, shared by a reddit poster, is from a Facebook post made by someone who claimed to have lived in the same neighborhood as the kids.

A Facebook Page Maintained by Family Members  (I was able to find quite a few valuable bits and pieces of information by scrolling through the posts on this page).

Lesley Allen and Children: 3 Kids And A Lady: Features an interview between the Unfound host and the father, aunt, and grandmother of the missing kids. As the podcast itself acknowledges, this is entirely from the point of view of Jeff and his family, and may not always be an entirely objective representation of other people who appear in the story. That being acknowledged, it is an invaluable insight into the details about the four missing people and the events leading up to their disappearance.

The missing Anderson family Good summary of case from a little-known Youtuber. Offers an alternative contact number to reach relevant law enforcement. States that a family member of Lesley’s has said that the relationship between Lesley and Kevin Jones was a romantic one.