Angela Cherice Gwinn-Stephens
Physical Description:
Height: 5'1"
Weight: 105 pounds
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Race/Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: Wore contact lenses, scar on nose, double-pierced ears
Angela Cherice Gwinn-Stephens, known to those close to her as "Cherice," was 23 years old when she vanished from Beckley, West Virginia, on October 1, 1993. That morning, she dropped her husband, Norman Stephens, off at his workplace on George Street, driving their white 1993 Dodge Daytona. She never returned to pick him up, and no one has seen or heard from her since.
Cherice’s disappearance raised immediate concerns among her family, but she was not officially reported missing until nearly a year later, in September 1994. In the time between, Norman filed for divorce, which was finalized in early 1994.
Before she went missing, Cherice had spoken to friends about her struggles at home and her plans to leave. She had made arrangements to move in with a friend temporarily. Despite these preparations, Cherice disappeared without a trace.
Roughly a month after she was last seen, her car was found abandoned in a parking lot. The keys were reportedly tucked above the sun visor, and not long after, the vehicle was sold.
Over the years, investigators have followed several leads. In 1997, cadaver dogs alerted to a location on the Stephens family farm in Bolt, West Virginia, but no evidence was recovered. A later search in 2017 at the site of the Breckenridge Missionary Baptist Church, which was under construction at the time Cherice disappeared, also turned up no new clues.
In 2014, Angela Cherice Gwinn-Stephens was declared legally deceased, and her case is now considered a homicide investigation. Despite the time that has passed, her loved ones have never stopped searching for answers.
What You Can Do
If you have any information about what happened to Angela "Cherice" Gwinn-Stephens, please contact the West Virginia State Police at 304-647-7600.
She is listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) under case number MP9358.
Even after all these years, Cherice’s family continues to fight for justice. It only takes one tip, one piece of truth, to finally bring her home.