Kierra Stubbs Vanished in 2014, 11 Years Later Police Dig Up Yard In Search of Her Remains

After over a decade, Kierra Stubbs remains missing.

Stubbs, a mother of two young children, disappeared on April 24, 2014, in Birmingham, Ala. Nearly 11 years later, authorities are still investigating the then-23 year old’s disappearance. 

On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Birmingham Police Department (BPD) carried out a search warrant at Stubbs’ previous residence, AL.com, WBRC 6 and WVTM 13. The BPD and the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office searched the home and dug up the yard, hoping to find Stubbs’ remains. However, despite social media speculation, Stubbs’ remains were not found, and both agencies confirmed that the search was unsuccessful.

The investigators returned to the scene on Friday, Jan. 17, and nothing was found, even after authorities moved a storage shed and used an excavator to search.

“During the search, we did not find human remains,’’ Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in a Friday press release, per WVTM. “We cannot begin to imagine the challenges and anguish that Kierra’s family has faced over the past 10-plus years.”

He added that lead Detective Jonathan Ross “is committed to taking whatever measures are necessary to solve this case.” Ross has led the case since Special Victims Unit and homicide Detective Rodney Rogers retired in 2019.

On Thursday, Jan. 16, Kierra’s aunt, Shonte Stubbs, said, “This is one of the houses when she first went missing…this is one of the houses that we searched when she first went missing and it was nothing,” per WBRC 6. Shonte added, “It was nothing they wanted to do and the stuff they’re doing now they could have done 10 years ago, and we would’ve had answers and closure.”

At the time of Kierra’s disappearance, her brother drove her to the Five Points West Boost Mobile store to meet a man she already knew. The man offered to help her with her car. In 2018, her aunt, Shonte, confirmed to AL.com that the man offered to give Kierra money to fix her brakes. Shonte said Kierra knew him because she had previously done his kids’ hair.

But once Kierra met up with him, they spoke to one another, and then she entered a burgundy 2012 Chrysler 200. They drove away, and her brother waited for her for an hour, but after she entered the vehicle, she was never seen or heard from again.

The man who was seen with her was questioned but never arrested. 

“She was a sweet, funny, loving person,’’ her aunt previously said, per AL.com. “She loved her family. She loved her kids. That’s all she wanted to do – work and spend time with her family.”

Her grandmother, Ora Stubbs, told WVTM 13 in 2022, “For us to go through this hell for eight years and no justice. You know the justice system has failed us. I just want to understand why we can’t get justice for Kierra. Kierra needs justice. We need justice. Her children need justice.”

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Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Ross at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Crime Stoppers pays tipsters cash rewards of up to $5,000 for their tips.

A representative for the Birmingham Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Friday.