Tacoma, WA police renew calls to find Lenoria Jones, missing since 1995

TACOMA, Wash. - More than 30 years after a 3-year-old girl vanished from Tacoma, police are renewing calls for the public’s help.

Lenoria Jones was reported missing on July 20, 1995, after her maternal great-aunt, Berlean Williams, called 911 from a pay phone outside a Target store and said the child had disappeared inside the store.

The backstory:

In the call, Williams told a dispatcher that Lenoria had last been seen just minutes earlier and described the clothes she was wearing as a black Barney shirt and some turquoise pants.

Detectives soon determined Lenoria never entered the store. Surveillance video showed Williams going inside alone, according to police. A witness indicated that they watched as Berlean arrived in her van and that they never saw a child in the van, much less get out of the van.

Detectives say Williams’ account of events repeatedly changed — from claiming Lenoria vanished in the toy aisle, to the swimsuit section, to later saying she was not sure the child had gone into the store at all. 

Williams told investigators that she had stopped at a 7-Eleven, a car wash, and Top Foods prior to going to Target. Officers scoured the business along with Berlean’s residence with no signs of Lenoria

Williams later told investigators that two unknown men forced her to hand Lenoria over in an alley, a story she eventually admitted was false.

Where is Lenoria Jones?

Dig deeper:

Lenoria had been placed in Williams’ care less than a year earlier, while her mother, Deidre Jones, was jailed on a drug charge.

"I asked Berlean because she had been a part of our life. My dad's youngest sister is who she is. She had been part of my life, my cousins, and every friend around. She was the babysitter for the community. And trusted," said Jones.

She spoke frequently by phone with the little girl she calls 'Nori'.

"She was always happy, always wanting to do something for the short time that I was in her life. So yeah, free-spirited, very confident in all the little things she did, but yes, she was a happy child," she said.

Two days before the reported disappearance, Jones said Williams would not allow her to speak with the child — a moment Jones said filled her with dread.

"My gut just dropped, and I didn’t know why," she said.

A neighbor told police she overheard a disturbing exchange at Williams’ home four days before Lenoria was reported missing in which someone said, "She’s dead, mama. I killed her." The neighbor initially believed the comment referred to a pet.

"I went crazy. I sent out pictures to every school in different states wondering where's Lenoria? And still no communication with Berlean," said Jones.

At the time Lenoria disappeared, Williams’ son was nine years old and her daughters were 20, 18 and 16. Detectives say they believe people inside the home know exactly what happened to the child.

"It's the feeling that she suffered and not knowing how her life was taken," said Jones.

Williams and her daughters refused polygraph tests, police said.

"I believe that she was trying to shift the blame from my cousins who I believe took my child's life," said Jones.

What they're saying:

Court records show that on Sept. 15, 1995, a judge ordered Williams to return to court with Lenoria or explain why she could not. Six days later, the judge found Williams in contempt of court and ordered her under house arrest, writing that Williams had "tremendous ties to her family and tremendous motive to protect her family" and was willing to engage in "deceptive and deliberate subterfuge as to the whereabouts of the child."

In 2024, detectives located Williams in Spokane, where she now lives. Williams became agitated when asked about Lenoria.

According to a police report, "At one point, Williams said that she has made it good with her lord. I asked Williams if she told her priest what actually happened, Williams shook her head up and down. I implored Williams to tell the truth, but it had no effect on her. Williams tried to treat herself as a victim, claiming how bad of a toll this investigation has had on her mental well-being. Eventually, Williams went back into her apartment and asked us to leave," wrote Det. Jay Buchanan.

Lenoria Jones is still officially listed as a missing child, but detectives say given the evidence, they believe she is dead. Their goal, they said, is to recover her remains and provide a proper burial.

Jones said that information is what she needs most.

Tacoma Police are urging anyone with information — including anonymous tips — to contact Crime Stoppers through the P3 Tips mobile app or the P3tips.com. Detectives say even a single tip could finally bring answers in a case that has haunted Tacoma for nearly three decades.

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