Stacey English Missing: Atlanta Police Deny They Stopped Looking For Local Woman

Atlanta police announced Thursday that they found the car of Stacey Nicole English, a 36-year-old Georgia woman who went missing days after Christmas. They also named a person of interest in the investigation.

What they couldn't explain was why they didn't realize that the car, impounded the day she disappeared, was in the possession of local authorities all along.

According to WSB-TV, authorities have now named Robert Kirk, a resident of St. Louis, a person of interest in the case.

Since Kirk has crossed state lines, the FBI is assisting in the investigation, the news station reported.

According to English's step-father, Kevin Jamison, Kirk was allegedly visiting with English at her home in the exclusive Vanderbilt complex on Lenox Road in Buckhead. On the night of Dec. 26, the two allegedly got into an argument and she asked him to leave. Nobody has seen English since that night.

Contacted by The Huffington Post Thursday, Kirk referred questions to Atlanta police.

Relatives reported English missing on Dec. 27. Authorities announced early Thursday her car was found still running and abandoned on Dec. 27 in Atlanta.

HuffPost attempted to get comment on the latest developments from the Atlanta Police Department, but was refused comment on the phone by Sgt. Curtis Davenport.

On Wednesday, Davenport told HuffPost the police department was not actively conducting any searches for English. When asked what, if anything, authorities had done to locate English, Davenport said, "We have disseminated flyers to all the local media."

Earlier today, Carlos Campos, the Public Affairs Manager for the Atlanta Police Department, said that information given to The Huffington Post was incorrect and reported that an active search was currently underway. He attributed the discrepancy to an an internal disconnect.

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According to Atlanta Police Major Crimes Commander Maj. Keith Meadows, English's car was impounded by the Atlanta Police Department on Dec. 27. The vehicle was found running at 215 Lakewood Way in southeast Atlanta.

"When my missing persons detectives ran the vehicle, it didn't show as being in impound," Meadows said at a press conference. "What we're trying to find out is what happened during that process."

In a follow-up email, Campos said police have not named Kirk as the person of interest.

"Maj. Meadows did not name him and declined to do so when asked at the briefing," Campos said. He added, "We did not [release the name]. Just wanted to be clear on that."

English is 5-foot-3-inches tall and weighs approximately 120 lbs. She has brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with blonde highlights.

The family is asking anyone with information regarding English's whereabouts to contact the Atlanta Police Department at 404-614-6544. They have also started a group about her case on Facebook.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Kevin Jamison as the father of Stacey English. He is the step-father. English is the biological daughter of Anthony English.

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Comments

[MajorCJefferson]

05:58 PM on 01/16/2012

If ATL PD was looking for her, they would have searched their database for her GA car license tag and would have seen that her car had been impounded. They were not looking for her. That would have required minimal energy to do, being that the family reported her car missing.

[MrWilli]

01:27 PM on 01/14/2012

Yep, that must be it; an, 'Internal Disconnect'. Yep. Gotta be the explanation. Race has NOTHING to do with it.

And if you accept that, I have this bridge. It's a real antique, and is located out in Arizona...

[ladyrose62]

06:37 PM on 01/11/2012

stop with the race crap, the holloway case was because it happened in a different place, its very hard to keep focused on a missing person case because the missing children are also so many and its almost impossible to find them.. after a while what can you do you hope for the best but most of the time it doesn't come out good. people especially the young women have to just be aware of their surroundings and never trust anyone alway watch your back, if it is a person they know there really isn't much the authorities can do about it if there isn't enough clues. Their are so many missing people it would be so hard to take care of them all no matter what race or person it is. look at smart they forgot about her they never looked in the back she wasn't found fast and it just happened..... stop blaming it on race whatever goes wrong its always race, everyone is just needs to blame the horrible world we live in.....

[cemq]

01:48 PM on 01/11/2012

She is African American, missing and in the capital of the South, of course the cops are not looking!

[shawondasse]

02:44 PM on 01/11/2012

Um, yeah they are. You are not following the story very closely. She is being connected to a case in St. Louis and the two police forces are joining their efforts. And in Atlanta, this is being handled by the Major Crimes division.... so, I think you are equating lack of results with lack of effort.
Plus remember that investigative teams often withhold information from the press during the course of their investigations, often for very good reasons, like, for instance, to avoid tipping off a potential suspect who might possibly flee.....

[RJRCHIRO]

06:31 PM on 01/11/2012

ARE U KIDDING? THAT IS SO WRONG! ATLANTA IS OVER 70% BLACK. THE RACE CARD IS NOT THE ISSUE HERE. WAKE UP. YOUR PRESIDENT IS BLACK. BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL, EXCEPTED AND NOT THE PROBLEM. LACK OF EVIDENCE AND TOO LARGE OF A POPULATION WITH NOT ENOUGH DETECTIVES.

[Tanya Gallman]

10:41 PM on 01/15/2012

After awhile, the only person looking is the family. The cops focus their attention on other things. Remember the lady that got kidnapped in 2009 while talking on the phone with her boyfriend? They looked for her long and hard, but it was her brother who found her remains cause he was looking everyday! It took him a year and half but he found her remains, he found them not the cops. It's sad to say but it's up to her family to find her cause the cops don't have the man power to do so everyday. But her family has hired an private investigator, the same one that was hired to find the young lady who vanished from aruba. I just hope she's being held up somewhere against her will. At least she will be alive, I pray the same for Ms. Phoenix Colden.

[katgal1232]

10:11 AM on 01/10/2012

This is Atlanta and she is black, she is on the back burner because she is black and the PD authorities are garbage for doing so. I must say, I am not surprised.

[rubbish379]

01:55 PM on 01/10/2012

57% of the police force, the police chief, and the mayor are black. So you are tryin to say what?

[katgal1232]

04:55 PM on 01/10/2012

Black cops DO not run show anywhere.

[shawondasse]

02:34 PM on 01/11/2012

Well, I really hope that this lady is okay, but it seems unlikely.
You know, the bigger issue here is why women, of whatever ethnic group, are seen as fair prey in this world, from the honor-death, to stonings, to female infanticide, to the female homicide epidemic in Juárez....
Plus this lady is pretty, young, educated, and well-to-do, her story is really not on the back burner, I heard about it on ABC news. If she was poor and a prostitute or drug addict, then it would be a non-story, whatever her race....

[Shatara]

02:56 AM on 01/08/2012

Why is it when a blackwoman goes missing you rarely hear much about it on the news? As when it is a white woman, You will hear about it for weeks and months until they catch the person at fault!

[Klous]

08:00 PM on 01/08/2012

Its been the talk of the town here in Atlanta and she's been plastered all over the net for weeks. It's not always and evil white man conspiracy I promise.

[Shatara]

11:06 PM on 01/08/2012

Woo, Woo, that would be the first!!!

[MrWilli]

01:46 PM on 01/07/2012

Crap! The story of official police search launches for missing African-Americans is the same all over this nation. They ignore the complaints of missing relatives, friends, CHILDREN, reported by concerned family members for days and days, before even starting a genuine search, and then, all to often, that search is half-assed. The message is clear, from this as from all other incidences of racist behavior: YOUR lives are not held to be of as much value as OUR lives.

[maliksmama]

12:27 PM on 01/07/2012

I suggest all black women take a picture in a blonde wig and blue contacts. In case you disappear, that's the photo to give to the police. That way, when they give it to the media, the story will run for weeks, not hours.

[Klous]

08:08 PM on 01/08/2012

In Atlanta (where the young woman was) we have been hearing about this daily since she disappeared. Would it make you feel better if it was national news so people who can't help and have no information on this woman will know all about her? Will that help her to be found any faster?

[maliksmama]

08:54 PM on 01/08/2012

Absolutely. I have had to listen to news reports for years regarding Natalee Holloway and Elizabeth Smart. And I don't live in Alabama or Utah.

[hjo4]

11:33 AM on 01/07/2012

TVONE is beginning a program "Find our Missing" which will focus on Black folks who are missing.

http://tvone.tv/shows/find-our-missing

[Denni]

10:54 AM on 01/07/2012

It frightens me how many women have 'disappeared' lately. I don't know if there is an actual increase in the number of missing women, or if the media is finally paying attention. I think there should be more focus on the wider issue as well as highlighting each of these cases. It feels hopeless to isolate the issue to the few cases the media reports. It would be good to know that there is an attempt to stem the tide.

[majesticjkr]

04:37 AM on 01/07/2012

whats race got to do with it, im sure the cops are doing everything in their power to find this woman dead or alive, cops dont understand race and protect every human life, they are all robbo cops, three cheers for the brave cops, hip hip,

[Renee Sol]

09:53 AM on 01/07/2012

I disagree with your comments that cops can do no wrong. There are cases were race does play a factor, I just don't think this has occurred with this incident.

[majesticjkr]

10:06 AM on 01/07/2012

LOL, it was a joke comment. I dont do real feelings on any post's, just my own way of making my joke, normally its just me that gets the joke, but im fine with it.

[GQ 336]

02:29 PM on 01/07/2012

Race, unfortunately has plenty to do with it.

[majesticjkr]

11:06 AM on 01/08/2012

I dont think race has anything to do with it, only non white people will say its a race thing, , police dont do race, they just do their jobs, but I know were your coming from just the same, ever thought of why people in general think the way you do, anything to do with the way non whites behave, there are more non white criminals in America than all the whites put together in the world, cops dont waist their time on criminals, but not all non white people in America are criminal, and the ones that are good, I'm sure the police are helping.

[RJRCHIRO]

06:33 PM on 01/11/2012

I DO NOT AGREE. ATLANTA IS ALMOST ALL BLACK, AND SO IS YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. LACK OF EVIDENCE MAY BE A FACTOR. SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL BLACK WOMAN.

[Renee Sol]

03:44 AM on 01/07/2012

I seriously doubt that race has played into this case. We are talking about Altanta here, the population of Atlanta is 61% black, the chief of Police chief is American African and the lead person assigned to this case is African American as well. It appears that the police dropped the ball by overlooking a very important clue in this case ( the impounded car). They allowed days to pass before discovering that the car was in their possession. Makes you wonder, what else have they overlooked? I'd say they need to take a closer look at the person of interest in this case, it appears that things went awye after he entered the picture. Also, it was reported that a heated argument ensued between Miss English and the person of interest.

[amd02148]

09:57 PM on 01/07/2012

Do you remember the serial killer on the loose in Atlanta in the 80's the police the bare minimum then and they're doing the same thing now.

[cemq]

02:03 PM on 01/11/2012

Renee Sol,

So what? The people in charge are still the same Anglo (non Latino whites) wealthy conservatives and Republicans. The Police are not putting in the same effort they would had she been an Anglo (non Latina white) woman.

[rewith85man]

02:35 AM on 01/07/2012

If she was white, I guarantee everyone that this case would already had been solved.

[louisediane33]

07:51 AM on 01/07/2012

Perhaps if she was rich and white- but, should we blame the cops or the media for race being a possible issue? Cops are human beings and follow orders from their bosses, who feel pressure from the media.

I can't believe it took them a week to realize they already had her car in police impound. Maybe they are not racist, just incompetent.

[cemq]

02:05 PM on 01/11/2012

They are racist.

[Klous]

08:14 PM on 01/08/2012

Because in a majority black city the blacks who hold every major position of power only care about white people?

[JDProf]

02:26 AM on 01/07/2012

Before convicting Mr. Kirk, try this scenario: Mr. Kirk and Ms. English get in argument over their relationship, Mr. Kirk says it is over. Mr. Kirk goes back to St. Louis. Ms. English can't handle the breakup and takes her own life. Body found w/in 1000' of her car. Foul play you don't leave car running; it gains attention if you do.

[ywcachieve]

07:53 AM on 01/07/2012

She asked him to leave. Did you even read the story?

[Canexshun]

08:44 PM on 01/21/2012

Yeah she asked him to leave. I believed he may have broken up with her, to be with his baby mama who also resides in Atlanta.

[stwbrypinacolada]

01:46 AM on 01/07/2012

Wow, so her car was in their possession the whole time. I remember when I got my car towed by the city for parking so close to the hydrant. No one could find where it had been towed to and I WAS looking for it seconds after it was towed. I'm not surprised they didn't realize they had their car in the system. The whole towing system in any city seems to be a mess. What a shame, hopefully the "newfound" car can still be a good clue.