Left: Lucy circa, 1996
Right: Age Progressed to age 20
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: July 25, 1996
Missing From: Goodlettsville, Davidson County, Tennessee
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: October 1, 1992
Age: 3 years old
Height and Weight: 2’8″ and 30 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Biracial Female; Lucy is Asian and Caucasian, Brown hair, Brown eyes, Lucy is of Korean descent and might understand a few words of the language
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A long button down blue denim dress with the buttons on the front, white socks, and a pair of white canvas shoes
NCMEC Number: 821146
Details of Disappearance
Lucy was last seen in Goodlettsville, Tennessee on July 25th 1996. She was allegedly last seen in the parking lot of the Rivergate Mall at 5:30 pm. The car she was traveling in parked near the Caster Knott Department store. Her mother, Yong Meadows, claimed that the child exited the cars back seat on the drivers side of the car while she went to the passenger side of the car to get packages she planned to sell at a nearby flea market. When she turned around, Lucy had vanished.
Her disappearance was immediately reported and the malls security team as well as police extensively searched the area for Lucy. No trace of her was ever found, however. It apparently only took a few seconds to a minute for Lucy to disappear. A witness who heard Meadows looking for her daughter was the one who called the police.
Yong told the police that she heard no other vehicles around the area when her daughter disappeared. It’s possible that a brown or champagne colored minivan was seen by witnesses in the parking lot at the time. It’s possible the vehicle was involved in her disappearance but no such vehicle had been located.
Yong has exhibited suspicious behavior since her daughter first disappeared. She changed her story about how long she left Lucy unattended and said she could’ve left Lucy alone for up to 15 minutes that day. She Laos told someone that Lucy went missing from a mall in Clarksville before she went to Rivergate Mall.
Some witnesses said they saw Lucy at the Clarksville mall with her mother but others never recalled seeing the child at all. Surveillance footage from the parking lot were watched from that day. While the footage was too far away to see what happened to Lucy, it did show Yong walking around the parking lot and she appeared to be looking for someone.
At the time of her disappearance, Yong and Lucy’s father, Tom Meadows, were separated. Lucy lived with her mother, older brother, and a friend of her mothers, Hyong Dy. Tom called Dy the source for his relationship problems with Yong. After Dy’s husband was deployed with the Air Force, she moved in with Yong.
Tom strongly disagreed with Dy staying in the home with them and the children and it was this disagreement that caused Tom to leave the house and for Yong to file for divorce. They had been separated for a year by the time Lucy disappeared. Tom started eviction processes for Dy after multiple statements of neglect were brought fourth to him.
Neighbors told him that they would find Lucy wandering alone outside and crying. He also discovered that Yong would leave their 11 year old son at home alone for extended periods of time. Tom claimed he felt that Dy had something to do with Lucy’s disappearance.
It should be noted that Yong failed two polygraph exams in relation to her daughters disappearance and stopped cooperating with investigators regarding the whole thing. Tom has been active in the search for his daughter and hopes for answers.
A break in the case came in 2004 when a new witness came forward about something he saw the night before Lucy disappeared. Apparently, the witness observed that Lucy was in medical distress and that she was wrapped in a blanket and could’ve been dead. The witness also claimed to have seen two adults standing over Lucy. They screamed Lucy’s name and asked for a bible. They then took Lucy to the bathroom.
The witness was 12 years old at the time of the alleged incident. Investigators have refused to identify him but did state he was a family member. He was given a polygraph exam and passed it. Investigators believe he was telling the truth about what he saw. He didn’t come forward sooner because he didn’t know the significance of what he saw.
No criminal charges have been filed in Lucy’s disappearance and investigators have no strong suspects in her case. While her case is classified as a non family abduction, investigators aren’t sure if she was actually kidnapped or if she even made it to either mall that day.
Lucy’s disappearance remains unsolved. Foul play is possible in her case.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Goodlettsville Police Department 615-859-3405
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children