Michelle Marie Newton | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Disappeared | April 2, 1983 (age 3) Georgia, U.S. |
| Status | Missing for 42 years, 7 months and 23 days; rescued by authorities in Marion County, Florida, on November 24, 2025 following a tip-off |
Michelle Marie Newton (born 1979) is an American woman who was abducted as a child by her own mother, Debra Newton on 2 April 1983, and was raised by her in Florida, while both of them have been missing for 42 years. She was rescued by authorities on 24 November 2025 in Marion County, Florida, following a tip-off, and has since been reunited with her father, Joseph Newton. [1] [2] [3]
Newton was born in 1979 to Joseph and Debra Newton in Louisville, Kentucky. In the spring of 1983, when Newton was aged 3, Debra told Joseph that she wanted relocate to Georgia under the pretext of "having found work" there. Joseph agreed to relocate there but on 2 April 1983, Debra left for Georgia with Newton under the pretext of "preparing the family home" there. When Joseph followed them to Georgia several weeks later, they had already vanished, never to be seen for the next 42 years. [1] [2] [3]
A nationwide search ensued and a Jefferson County court issued a custodial interference indictment warrant against Debra. Joseph's last communication with Debra was between 1984 and 1985, after which, her trail went cold. The search continued until 2000 when the court dismissed the case after prosecutors were unable to reach Joseph. For a time, Debra was in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Top 8 Most Wanted List for parental kidnapping fugitives. In 2005, Newton – who would have been in her 20s by that time – was removed from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)'s database and Debra's warrant for custodial interference was recalled due to "inaccurate information". [1] [2] [3]
In 2016, the case was re-opened after a family member asked authorities to re-examine the case, and Debra was re-indicted on custodial inference charges, but authorities still had no leads on the case. In 2024, the NCMEC released an age-progressed image of Newton, then aged 45, in hopes of getting leads in the case. In 2025, a Crime Stoppers tip led authorities to information regarding a woman living in Florida named "Sharon Nealy" who might be Debra. A US Marshals Task Force detective compared a recent photo of the woman to a 1983 image of Debra, and a Jefferson County detective “confirmed the resemblance”. Authorities also collected DNA from Debra's sister in Louisville, and it showed a 99.9% match to the woman in Florida, who is in fact, Debra – she and her daughter have been living in Florida for the past 42 years and have assumed different names. [1] [2] [3]
On 24 November 2025, authorities arrested Debra at the driveway of her home in The Villages, a retirement community in Marion County where she and Michelle had been living for the past 42 years. Bodycam footage from the arrest showed a friend of Debra joking, “They’re coming for you, Sharon!” Debra laughed it off and told her friend that they're after the dog, but one of the deputies plainly stated that they were, in fact, “here for you, ma’am.” After arresting Debra, the authorities walked to her home and delicately informed Michelle – now age 46 – of her real identity and that she had been missing for the past 42 years. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Newton has since been reunited with her father Joseph in Louisville on Thanksgiving 2025. Meanwhile, Debra appeared in person for her indictment and arraignment at a Jefferson County court. Both Newton and her father were present. She was released on a bond posted by a relative. [1] [2] [3] [4]