Myrisha Faye Campbell

Date of Birth*: March 2, 1955
Birthplace:
Age at the Time: 3
Age Group: Toddler (2 to 5 Years Old)
Biological Sex: Female
Hair: Dark blonde hai
Eyes: Blue
Skin Complexion: Fair or Light
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: United States
Languages Spoken:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

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Weight

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Medical Condition:
Physical Abnormality:
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Other Descriptors:

Clothing

• Pink Orlon dress with puffed sleeves, Peter Pan collar, and gathered skirt
• White buckle shoes (with “Paul’s Shoes” visible inside)
• Pink stretch nylon socks; pink silk panties

Possessions:

Date of the Disappearance*: September 6, 1958

Description: The disappearance of Archie “AJ” Jackson Campbell Jr. and his sister, Myrisha Faye Campbell, remains one of the oldest active missing persons cases in Texas history.

In the quiet town of Goliad, Texas, in the late summer of 1958, Jewel Bernay Campbell was rebuilding her life after escaping an eight-year marriage marked by physical abuse from her husband, Archie “A.J.” Campbell Sr. She had moved to Goliad to teach school and raise their two young children: 3-year-old Myrisha Faye Campbell and 11-month-old Archie “A.J.” Jackson Campbell Jr..

Court-ordered visitation allowed A.J. Sr. to see the children on Saturdays, with a strict requirement to return them by 3:00 p.m. On Saturday, September 6, the court-ordered visitation day arrived.

At around 9:00 a.m., A.J. Sr. drove down from Forth Worth and arrived at Jewel’s home to pick up the children, promising to return them by the deadline He was accompanied by an acquaintance, William Randle Jr., and the group departed in Randle’s two-door 1955 Chevrolet Tudor, painted pink and charcoal-gray (Texas license plate MA-9996). The group set off, driving through the neighboring towns of Cuero and Gonzales, where they stopped to buy two large cans of lard.

About three miles outside Goliad, A.J. Sr. suddenly asked Randle to pull over so he could “see a friend.” Randle stepped out, and A.J. Sr. drove away alone with the children. Thirty to forty minutes later, A.J. Sr. returned but without Myrisha or A.J. Jr. The father appeared highly agitated and nervous, claiming he had fought with his brother-in-law and left the children with another relative. He asked Randle if there was “any blood on him” and warned him not to tell anyone about the supposed fight.

The men continued to San Antonio, where A.J. Sr. asked to borrow the vehicle for a while longer. They agreed that he would meet Randle at the local bus station at midnight. From there, A.J. Sr. would grab a bus and head on home to Fort Worth. Unfortunately, he never showed and eventually Randle headed on to Foth Worth by bus and reported the vehicle stolen.

The next day, September 7, A.J. Sr. called a minister in Fort Worth. In a chilling conversation, he said the children were “at rest with the world” and that he planned to take his own life.

His body was later found later that same day inside Randle’s car on a rural road north of Austin, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from a newly purchased 16-gauge shotgun. A suicide note addressed to Jewel stated that he had “buried both children,” expressed love for them and her, and said he hoped she would be happy. He provided no details about where the children might be.

Despite extensive searches across the areas A.J. Sr. had traveled (including rural roads and fields) no trace of Myrisha or A.J. Jr. was ever found. Jewel later remarried (taking the name Robertson), had two more children and passed away in 2013. Her children have continued searching for their half-siblings, holding out hope that A.J. Sr. may have given the children away or sold them rather than killing them.

In the 1990s, they discovered a Texas driver’s license for a man named A.J. Campbell in Arlington with the same birth date as his missing half-brother, but the lead went cold and was never confirmed.

Multiple Victims?: Yes

Rumored or Actual Sightings:

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: Yes

Multiple Victims?: Yes

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description: 1955 Pink and Charcoal-Gray Chevrolet Tudor (Vehicle has been located)

License Plate: MA-9996 (Texas)

Description: The children were with their non-custodial father (Archie Jackson Campbell, Sr.) when they disappeared.