Desiree Chaunessy Carroll

Left: Desiree circa, 1983

Right: Age Progressed to age 40

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: March 25, 1983

Missing From: Kosse, Limestone County, Texas

Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Date Of Birth: July 2, 1980

Age: 2 years old

Height and Weight: 2’6″ and 40 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Desiree has allergy problems at the time of her disappearance which would cause dark circles to develop under her eyes and her nose to run, she had a dog bite scar underneath her left eye

Clothing/Jewelry Description: A blue turtleneck sweater, Brown coveralls, and red sneakers

NCMEC Number: 600677

Details of Disappearance

Desiree was last seen in Kosse, Texas on March 25th 1983. She was living with her mother and her older sister in the home of her mother’s boyfriend, David Morris. The residence was located in a rural area 12 miles southeast of Kosse at the time. The girls and their mother had only been living in the home for ten days (some reports state a few weeks) before she vanished.

According to her mother, Ann Elizabeth Denson-Carroll, her daughter was last seen at 1:00 pm that day as she was going to Marlin, Texas. She let Desiree and her older daughter, Heather ride in her pickup truck until they got 100 yards away from the house. After this, they got out and Heather went inside the house while Desiree followed the truck down the road briefly. Anne said she saw the girl begin walking back towards the house.

Morris said he went out to look for Desiree several minutes later but was unable to find her. He told police he initially assumed the child had gone with her mother and no one realized she was missing until 5:00 pm when Ann returned home. They searched for Desiree for an hour until contacting police at 6:00 pm to report her missing. Immediately afterwards, a huge search effort was launched for the child. She disappeared near an area known as the Kosse Big Woods and there was concern she had wandered into the rough terrain and got lost.

Several hundred people searched the woods and areas surrounding the Morris home on foot and horseback for the entire night until 9:00 pm on March 26th. Searchers estimated that between 100-300 people were searching a nine mile area southeast of Kosse off White Rock Road for the youngster. Despite the extensive search efforts, no trace of Desiree was found.

While searchers did report finding child sized footprints on a road not far from where she disappeared, the hard rain washed them away before they could be properly analyzed. Scent dogs were also brought in to assist the investigation but they were unable to find a trail left by the child to indicate which direction she had gone. Despite this, the search efforts for Desiree continued and intensified.

Members of the Marlin National Guard unit led by Horace Payne were called to the area to help in the search and various volunteers from other counties also came to give their help and support in the search. The searches all failed to uncover any definitive evidence as to what happened to the child. Water tanks in the area were also dragged with no results.

It’s possible Desiree wandered into the woodsy terrain surrounding the house she was living in at the time. The area was described as heavily wooded, covered in brush, sometimes impassable on horseback and barely passable on foot. There is no evidence to suggest she was anywhere in the woods or that she perished in the rough terrain surrounding Morris’s home.

Police questioned both Ann and David about the child’s disappearance. Both were also given polygraph tests by a private operator but the results of the tests were not released as it would’ve had to be done with their permission. Investigators were highly suspicious of the couple at the time and didn’t fully believe their claim that they failed to notice Desiree’s disappearance for several hours.

Desiree’s father, Reggie Carroll, said he also initially suspected the couple had been involved in the case. He lived in Houston at the time and traveled to Kosse just a few hours after hearing his daughter was missing to help in the search. He and Ann had been divorced for two years by 1983. He said when he arrived in Kosse, he called Ann and when she found out he was in the area, she slammed the phone down and hung up.

He originally was concerned about his other daughter and Desiree’s well-being following the disappearance. Reggie attempted to seek custody of Heather but decided not too. He had spoken to the child multiple times since her sister’s disappearance and nothing she said led him to believe she was in danger. He was no longer worried about Ann having custody and said his daughter was simply worried about Desiree.

Reggie later stated he didn’t believe his ex-wife or her boyfriend were responsible for the disappearance. He said he had spoken to Ann multiple times since the search began and he got to the area. He stated “she’s the best actress i’ve ever seen” if she was still involved because she was very emotional and distraught over the ordeal. He said she couldn’t talk without crying and she had fear in her voice everytime she spoke.

Both Ann and Reggie have publicly stated they suspect Desiree was abducted by a stranger on the afternoon of her disappearance. Her father claimed he had “good sources” in California that he was counting on to help locate his daughter safely. He refused to elaborate further, stating he feared the kidnapper would find out they were on the trail for the child and would move her. This information has not been confirmed.

However, despite her parent’s suspicions of kidnapping, the police have largely discounted any possibility a random individual abducted the child from the densely wooded area surrounding her home. Ann and David both claimed that they were being harassed by searchers and volunteers due to their belief that the couple were involved in the Desiree’s disappearance.

Ann claimed they had cut the homes phone lines, bombarded it with rocks, and had built huge bonfires nearby. Police did confirm the phone line had been cut at some point between March 27th and March 28th 1983 but they couldn’t determine if it was done deliberately or not. The bonfires were started by volunteers but they were simply eating food by it.

Ann, David, as well as Heather moved out of the home on March 29th and moved into a Waco hotel. They stated they feared their safety and had also possibly retained attorneys due to the ordeal. Volunteers have denied harassing the couple and called the accusations “a bunch of bull.” There was some speculation that the couple might’ve left the state as they had been discussing a trip to Colorado just prior to them leaving the house.

Police said the couple initially agreed to stay at the home in case Desiree returned or they needed additional information from them. However, they later filed complaints with the FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s Office claiming police were holding them against their will.

On March 31st 1983, investigators searched the home that Desiree and her family were living in when she vanished days prior. They confiscated several items and clothing which belonged to both Ann and David. Apart from a few toys; a plastic lawnmower, shovel and truck, there were no indications any children had lived there. They were hoping to find any possible match to a bed sheet found in the woods on a County Road, not far from Morris’ home.

Investigators theorized the sheet found might’ve been used to transport Desiree through the woods but they did not find any matching bed sheets in the home. Texas Department of Public Safety officials took hair samples from the sheet and compared them to samples taken from a hairbrush belonging to either Desiree or her mother. The hairs were not a match. They do not believe the sheet had anything to do with the case.

Investigators also tested the clothing recovered from the home for potential blood evidence but none was found. The house showed no signs that any violence or criminal activity had occurred when the child went missing. Ann later took a polygraph test, the results of which were inconclusive. The couple and Heather moved to Houston temporarily after leaving the house near Kosse. They then moved to Colorado sometime afterwards.

In April 1983, investigators stated they may have a breakthrough in the investigation. They had received a report from a witness stating that they had seen David Morris in the town of Kosse on the afternoon of Desiree’s disappearance. This would conflict with his statement that he had stayed at the home all afternoon to babysit Heather and Desiree while Ann went to Marlin to shop. The witness also stated they had seen her as well.

The witness, Dean Mitchell, was an employee at Jimmy’s Texaco in Kosse and worked in the service station. He said he recalled Ann coming in to get water from there on March 7th and 14th 1983. She had Desiree with her the other times she went to the station and he remembered their faces as a result. He stated that at 5:15 pm on March 25th, Ann came into the station and purchased three five gallon water tanks which Mitchell filled for her.

While he was filling the tanks, Ann began talking to him when a little sports car drove by and she said “There goes David.” He said he saw a driver and at least two other people inside of the vehicle at the time. Dean said the car was driving too fast for him to actually see the people inside. The car left town and headed west towards Marlin on State Highway 7. This all took place an hour before Ann and David contacted police to report the child missing, contradicting their original claims.

Mitchell said he heard the girl was missing a few hours later so he went to the home to help volunteers and her mother search. He said that he didn’t see the sports car from earlier, only the Mazda pickup truck that Ann normally drove. On the day they moved to a hotel, Dean said he saw the sports car being driven by the couple followed by the truck.

The couple claimed they did not have the sports car on the day of Desiree’s disappearance. They said it was at his mother’s home in Houston and that she drove it to them after the child was discovered missing. Morris claimed that since Ann had taken the pickup truck to go shopping, there was no way for him to leave the home during the four hours she spent shopping in Marlin.

Police have never confirmed if Mitchell’s account is accurate or not. They did state, however, the information definitely warranted some looking into. The FBI had been involved in the case since shortly after the investigation began but by 1984, they had put Desiree’s case file in the inactive files. They said they couldn’t continue to help in the case as there was no evidence a crime had been committed or that Desiree had been taken across state lines.

In May 1985, there was a possible sighting of Desiree in another state. Someone had called a missing child hotline after her photo appeared on television and reported seeing a girl matching Carroll’s description. The girl was found to be living with a couple who identified themselves as her parents. Police investigated the possibility but ultimately found the girl was not Desiree.

Prior to her disappearance, Desiree and her sister had lived with their father in California before moving to be with their mother in January 1983. They had to move because Reggie lost his job as a pipe welder and he wasn’t able to fully support his daughters due to this. Both Ann and David were said to be generally uncooperative with investigators. Ann later moved back to Houston in 1984.

Due to lack of evidence or clues, Desiree’s disappearance is classified as a non-family abduction. Foul play is suspected in her case which remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Limestone County Sheriffs Office 817-729-3278

Source Information

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

The Charley Project

The Doe Network

NamUs

Waco Tribune-Herald 03/27/1983

Waco Tribune-Herald 03/28/1983

Waco Tribune-Herald 03/29/1983

Waco Tribune-Herald 03/31/1983