Cold Case Files: A full decade later, law enforcement seemingly no closer to solving 2014 disappearance of teen
- Dennis McCaslin
- May 31, 2025
- 4 min read
On September 14, 2014, 15-year-old Cassie Kay Compton vanished from her hometown of Stuttgart leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions that continues to haunt her family, investigators, and the community a decade later.
What began as a seemingly ordinary day has evolved into one of Arkansas’s most perplexing cold cases, marked by conflicting accounts, suspicious figures, and a relentless search for the truth.
Cassie, born December 4, 1998, to Judy Compton Kimsey and Roy Compton, was a typical teenager navigating a challenging life.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 13, she struggled with antidepressants, often flushing them down the toilet.
Home-schooled and working toward her GED, Cassie lived with her mother and Kimsey’s then-fiancé, Brandon Lee Rhodes, in Stuttgart, a small agricultural town. The household was fraught with tension; Cassie and Rhodes, 17 years younger than Kimsey, reportedly didn’t get along.
On September 13, 2014, Cassie attended a demolition derby in Dewitt with a friend and spent the night there. The next day, she returned home and texted her mother around 6 p.m., saying she was running an errand in Stuttgart. At roughly the same time, Rhodes claimed he left to buy cigarettes.
That was the last anyone heard from Cassie.
When Kimsey, who was ill that day, realized Cassie hadn’t returned by the morning of September 15, she contacted Cassie’s friends. None had seen her. Panic set in.
Initially, the Stuttgart Police Department treated Cassie as a runaway, a decision that delayed an AMBER Alert. They filed a report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and checked with family in Kingston, Oklahoma, where Cassie’s siblings lived with her father, Roy Compton.
When it became clear Cassie wasn’t a runaway, the Arkansas State Police and FBI were called in.
Searches in October 2014 were extensive but fruitless. Volunteers and law enforcement combed the Stuttgart Airport (prompted by cellphone pings), areas within a block of the family home, the town cemetery, nearby reservoirs, and local dumpsites. Rumors of Rhodes loitering near the cemetery and asking about traffic patterns raised suspicions.
The FBI, Stuttgart Police, and Fish and Game searched railroad tracks behind R.W. Manufacturing and a wooded area near 15th Street. Despite these efforts, no trace of Cassie was found.
Cassie’s family background added layers of complexity. Her father, Roy Compton, was a registered sex offender due to charges involving lewd or indecent acts with a child. Kimsey, too, was on the sex offender registry after taking a plea deal for failing to protect her older daughter from Roy’s abuse.
Kimsey described her relationship with Rhodes, who was 25 at the time of Cassie’s disappearance, as “controlling.” Their relationship ended weeks after Cassie vanished, and Kimsey later married another man.
Brandon Lee Rhodes quickly emerged as a person of interest. His account of leaving to buy cigarettes at the time of Cassie’s disappearance raised eyebrows, especially given their strained relationship. In the years since, Rhodes has been jailed multiple times--on drug charges in 2015, and for theft, firearms possession, and driving with a suspended license in 2019.
In September 2019, he sent a letter to a Little Rock television station, expressing a desire to bring closure to Kimsey but denying involvement in Cassie’s disappearance. Despite his status as a person of interest, no charges related to the case have been filed.
One puzzling detail is that Cassie’s Facebook account was accessed after her disappearance. It remains unclear whether this was by investigators, someone close to the case, or an unknown party. In 2021, a TikTok video falsely believed to show Cassie was debunked by the FBI.
In 2023, a woman in Little Rock claimed to have seen Cassie, but police confirmed it wasn’t her. These dead ends have frustrated investigators and Cassie’s loved ones
As the years passed, the case grew colder, but efforts to find Cassie never stopped. By September 2023, marking the ninth anniversary of her disappearance, private investigator Tina Storz of Halos Investigations, Inc., was actively involved, believing the perpetrator was a local still in Stuttgart.
She urged community members to overcome their fear and share information. The Stuttgart Police, under c, partnered with retired homicide detective Michael Knowlton to re-interview witnesses and re-examine old statements, hoping to uncover new leads.
In September 2024, on the tenth anniversary, Storz turned over her entire case file to the Stuttgart Police, expressing confidence in a new detective assigned to the case.
She called for re-questioning all suspects and individuals close to Cassie, advocating for a fresh investigative approach.
As of May 31, 2025, Cassie Kay Compton’s disappearance remains unsolved. She would be 26 years old. The Stuttgart Police Department, led by Detective Shawn Watson, continues to pursue all leads, though many have proven unfruitful.
Theories range from foul play--potentially involving Rhodes or someone in Cassie’s circle--to human trafficking, but no definitive evidence has emerged. The case is still classified as an endangered missing person investigation.
The community of Stuttgart, along with Cassie’s family and advocates like Tina Storz, refuses to let her case fade into obscurity.
The Stuttgart Police Department (870-673-1414) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-843-5678) urge anyone with information to come forward, no matter how small the detail.
