Episode 172: Tyarra Williams – Bite-Sized Crime

A young woman with a bright future vanishes from her apartment complex in the middle of the night, leaving behind more questions than answers. Where is Tyarra Williams?

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Welcome back to Bite-Sized Crime. This week I’m bringing you a missing persons case that is truly mysterious. This episode discusses sensitive topics, so listener discretion is advised.

Tyarra Cacique Williams grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, a bustling city in the state’s Piedmont region. Tyarra’s mom Danielle described her as bubbly and spunky, a girl who wanted to take every opportunity life threw her way. She attended Dudley High School and had a solid group of friends who knew her to be kind and clever. Tyarra was especially close with her younger brother Canon, often taking on a motherly role with him.

During her senior year of high school, Tyarra decided that she wanted to move in with her grandmother Vanessa. Tyarra worried about her grandmother living alone, and since they all lived in the same apartment complex anyway, it was an easy decision. She could still be close to her mom and brother while offering her grandmother support.

Tyarra graduated from Dudley High in 2014 and decided to take a year off before committing to college. She needed more time to decide what she wanted to do with her life. She worked a few fast-food jobs to save money while looking at different paths for her future. By the end of 2015, she knew what she wanted to do. She would study early childhood education at Guilford Technical Community College. Danielle told WFMY that Tyarra was so excited about this decision. “She was ready to get back into school and move forward. This was a big event in her life that she was looking forward to.”

On the morning of January 7, 2016, Tyarra got up early and left the apartment around 7:30, making her way to the college to finish her enrollment paperwork and officially sign up for classes. That evening, she stopped by her mom’s apartment to show off her new student ID and tell Danielle all about the day’s events. She was in high spirits – classes would start on Monday, and she couldn’t wait to jump in. Tyarra and Danielle made plans to go shopping the next day to get her textbooks and look for a new laptop so she could start the school year off right.

Tyarra’s boyfriend Aaron – who also lived in the apartment complex – came by to hang out, and while he and Canon played video games on the couch, Tyarra took down the Christmas tree at her mother’s request. Danielle recalled that it was a relaxing, comfortable evening at home.

Around 8:00, Tyarra, Aaron, and Canon walked across the street to Vanessa’s apartment to eat dinner and watch TV. Not long after settling in, Tyarra announced that she was going to go meet her friend Travis and would be back in an hour. Rather than stay at Vanessa’s, Aaron and Canon decided to go to Aaron’s apartment to play video games and told Tyarra to meet them there.

But around 9:30, Aaron started to get worried that Tyarra hadn’t come back yet. He texted her repeatedly with no response, and his phone calls went straight to voicemail. This was very strange; Tyarra always kept her phone on and fully charged. Maybe she had decided to go back to her grandmother’s apartment. Aaron eventually fell asleep waiting to hear from her.

When morning came, there was still no response from Tyarra. Aaron called her grandmother, but Vanessa was surprised to hear that Tyarra hadn’t come home the night before. When she checked Tyarra’s bedroom, she found her purse and ID – something Tyarra never would have left behind if she was going to be gone for a while. Vanessa called Danielle to see if Tyarra was with her, but Danielle hadn’t heard from her daughter since she’d left the apartment the night before. Tyarra’s phone charger was still plugged into the wall where she’d left it, a sure sign that she was planning to come back.

Danielle reached out to Aaron, who told her the whole story – Tyarra had gone to meet a friend named Travis around 8:30 the night before. But Danielle was sure they didn’t know anyone named Travis. She wondered who her daughter would be meeting up with so late at night?

Danielle went into investigation mode. She managed to guess Tyarra’s Facebook password and started digging through her list of friends. Tyarra had over 1,000 friends on social media, and none of them were named Travis. But when Danielle started looking through Tyarra’s messages, she saw a conversation between Tyarra and her ex-boyfriend. They had apparently been communicating for quite a while and had met up a few times recently even though Tyarra was now dating Aaron. Danielle wondered if “Travis” was just a cover – had Tyarra been meeting up with her ex that night?

Danielle knew that Tyarra would never be gone this long without letting someone know. She told the Greensboro News & Record, “I knew this was not a lapse of judgment. I knew she hadn’t gotten stuck somewhere. I knew something was not right.”

Danielle called the Greensboro Police Department and filed a missing persons report. She made it clear that Tyarra wasn’t the type to disappear. There were no major problems at home, nothing that she would feel the need to run away from. Police took the report, but because Tyarra was 19 – legally an adult – her case wasn’t a priority. They didn’t start investigating until several days later.

In the meantime, Tyarra’s family reached out to all of her friends and acquaintances, hoping someone had heard from her. They hung flyers around the neighborhood and posted Tyarra’s picture on social media. Someone knew something.

When detectives finally picked up the case, they started by canvassing the apartment complex. Unfortunately, there were no security cameras in the neighborhood, so investigators had to rely on the eyes and ears of residents. They knocked on doors, asking if anyone had seen a young woman matching Tyarra’s description. Several people mentioned potential sightings, but nothing panned out. It was looking more and more likely that something bad had happened to Tyarra.

Based on what Danielle had discovered on her daughter’s Facebook, investigators tracked down Tyarra’s ex-boyfriend and brought him in for questioning. At first he claimed that he hadn’t been in contact with Tyarra at all, but when detectives confronted him with the Facebook messages, he changed his story. He said that he and Tyarra had been texting back and forth on January 7th and had arranged to meet up at 8:30 that night. The two of them sat talking in his car until about 9, when Tyarra got out and started walking home. He didn’t see her again after that.

The ex-boyfriend showed detectives the text messages, which lined up with his story. However, detectives weren’t able to retrieve any location data from his phone without a warrant. They did get access to search his vehicle with a CSI team, but there weren’t any obvious signs that Tyarra had been hurt in the car.

Still, investigators couldn’t shake the suspicion that Tyarra had met with foul play. They just didn’t know who was responsible.

When Tyarra’s case hit the local news stations, tips began flooding in. Some sightings suggested that Tyarra may have become a victim of human trafficking. Detectives followed up on multiple social media posts by individuals claiming to have knowledge of Tyarra’s whereabouts. Two separate tips said that her body was in a tractor trailer lot across the street from the apartment complex. But every search turned up empty.

Tyarra’s cell phone data added an extra layer of mystery to the investigation. The GPS tracker confirmed that Tyarra had left her grandmother’s apartment at 8:30pm on January 7th and had walked to her ex-boyfriend’s apartment in the same complex. After staying in the same spot for about 30 minutes, the GPS showed her walking back towards home. But for some unknown reason, she hadn’t made it there. The phone either ran out of battery or was intentionally turned off. Tyarra had disappeared without a trace.

As the months dragged on, Tyarra’s family was increasingly desperate to find her. They organized community searches and started a Facebook page dedicated to spreading awareness of Tyarra’s case. Danielle told FOX8, “It’s a daily heartbreak. Every day you wake up and she’s not found, it’s heartbreaking. But you get up, put on clothes, and you keep moving forward with hopes to find her and continuing on.”

Years passed, and the leads began to dry up. Tyarra was added to the National Missing Persons database, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a video hoping to revive interest in her case. In 2018, the case was featured on Investigation Discovery’s Disappeared, a show with a nationwide audience. Danielle told the Greensboro News & Record, “The unknown and the lack of closure is the most excruciating thing. It’s like an open wound that never closes. I try not to give into the thoughts of what could be, and instead continue to pray and hold onto hope.”

In 2024, Tyarra’s case was handed over to a team of retired detectives whose sole purpose is to bring a new perspective to old cases. Investigator Mike Matthews told the Greensboro News & Record that they were following up on old leads and trying to keep an open mind. “You don’t want to ever give up hope because of those cases where people are found. The reality is it’s been eight years without any contact with family or friends or any reliable sightings we can verify. So we have to look at it both ways.”

On January 7, 2026, the ten-year anniversary of Tyarra’s disappearance, Danielle posted a heartfelt message on Facebook. “Its been 10 years since our beautiful Tyarra was torn away from our family, and even with 10 years past it is still unbelievable. The pain, the heartache and the love still remains. There is so much I want to tell her, share with her, do with her. She is my oldest, my first true unconditional love. I will never give up hope. I love you baby girl!!!”

As of this recording, Tyarra Williams is still missing. She was last seen walking at the Stoneybrook Apartments off Webster Road in Greensboro, North Carolina, on the night of January 7, 2016. Tyarra was last seen wearing a pink shirt under a black North Face jacket, dark blue Levi’s jeans, white Jordans sneakers, and a blue knit cap. She is described as a Black female with brown hair and brown eyes, standing 5’5” tall. Her ears and left nostril are pierced, and she has a small burn scar on her right wrist. At the time of her disappearance, Tyarra was 19 years old. She would be 29 today.

If you have any information about the disappearance or current whereabouts of Tyarra Cacique Williams, please contact Greensboro-Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000 or online at ggcrimestoppers.com to submit an anonymous tip. And please share Tyarra’s story. Let’s bring her home.