New Cold Case: The abduction of Tonetta Carlisle in 1989

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Cold Case Unit is re-opening a missing person’s file from 30 years ago.

Tonetta Carlisle would have turned 46 this week.

But she disappeared on March 16, 1989 and has never been seen since.

She was just 15 years old.

Tonetta was last seen walking home from City High where she was a freshman in the afternoon.

She lived on Hamilton Avenue.

An eyewitness told police that she saw multiple people force the teenager in a van and drive away just half a block from her home.

They used a tan and yellow vehicle with a Tennessee License plate LKH 920.

The witness and her husband chased the vehicle and called police.

They traced the vehicle to Jeffrey Jones, who had previous convictions for rape and sexual assault.

He was released from prison about a year before Tonetta’s disappearance.

Two days after her disappearance, his body was found inside his van.  Investigators felt he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

There has been no trace of Tonetta since then.

Now, 30 years later District Attorney General Neal Pinkston is asking the Cold Case Unit to re-open the case.

He believes it is still solvable.

“I believe Jeffrey Jones is an important piece of the puzzle,” said Pinkston.

“We would like to hear from anyone who has any knowledge of Jeffrey Jones, specifically within his last year or so before he committed suicide.”

Anyone with information about Jeffrey Jones, or the disappearance of Tonetta Carlisle, is urged to call the cold case hotline at 423-209-7470. You can also send information via email at Coldcases@hcdatn.org.

Photo at 15, plus a new progression of what she would look like now.