Naman Shrestha
Paramount+’s ‘Never Seen Again’ is known to cover some of the most mysterious disappearance cases in recent times, and its season 4 episode titled ‘Aubrey Dameron, A Bright Star Dimmed’ is no different. The episode delves deep into the 2019 vanishing of the indigenous transgender woman Aubrey in the middle of the night and how her uncle and aunt led the investigation. Thus, if you are intrigued about the case and wish to know if she has been found or is still missing, we have got all the necessary details for you!
What Happened to Aubrey Dameron?
Born to Jennifer Byrd on October 22, 1993, Aubrey Dameron grew up with a brother and a stepfather. Unfortunately, she faced intense bullying in her school, especially due to her being a transwoman. A big fan of rock and roll with dreams of becoming an actress or a singer, Aubrey came out to her family while she was in junior high. Described as a loving and caring person, she spent a significant amount of time living in New Mexico with her boyfriend, Jay Pierson.
In August 2018, according to Jay, Aubrey moved back home to the outskirts of Grove, part of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, in order to get treated for alcohol and drug abuse. Although she shared the house with her mother, brother, and stepfather, she described herself as a Two-Spirit and was particularly close to her uncle Christian Fencer, who was just six months older than her.
As months went by, Aubrey’s communication with her family decreased gradually. Then, at around 3:30 am in the morning of March 9, 2019, her mother, Jennifer, saw her leave the house to meet someone, supposedly a friend. Before leaving, she had reportedly texted many people on her Facebook friend list to pick her up, but it is still unknown if anyone actually picked her up or not. At 3:42 am, her mobile phone pinged for the last time at a mobile home park, after which her phone either died or got powered off on purpose. That was the last night Aubrey was seen by anyone as she did not return home.
Search Continues For Missing Aubrey, No Clues Found
A couple of days after her disappearance, on March 11, 2019, Aubrey Dameron was reported missing by her family. Just a day later, a strange woman contacted Aubrey’s ex-boyfriend, Jay, with false information about her whereabouts. When the authorities began investigating her disappearance around her Grove home, they discovered a bloody sock, about half a mile away from the property. Unfortunately, DNA tests on the sock were inconclusive. When her aunt and uncle, Pam Smith and Christian Fencer, respectively, found out about her disappearance, they were concerned.
Since Aubrey had epilepsy, she required anti-seizure medication frequently that she did not take with her on the night she went missing. While her ex-boyfriend Jay gave different reasons for her move to Oklahoma, her aunt Pam claimed that Aubrey told her that Jay threatened to kill her if she decided to break up with him, which was the actual reason why she moved back to Oklahoma. Although the authorities failed to collect any significant information about Aubrey’s whereabouts, the family did not give up and continued their own search.
For instance, in March 2019, the concerned family members created the “Missing-Aubrey Dameron from Grove, Oklahoma” Facebook page to raise awareness about the disappearance case. A couple of months later, in late May 2019, a rally was held at the Delaware County Courthouse in Oklahoma to help raise awareness in Aubrey’s case as well as other missing people. Despite all these constant efforts, no incriminating evidence has been found in connection to Aubrey’s disappearance, and hence, no suspect has been found.
Over the years, Aubrey’s family has received several leads regarding her whereabouts, including an anonymous tip that her body was buried on a hill close to her friend’s house. The authorities put their specially trained K-9s at work and discovered a black leather jacket, quite similar to the one she was wearing before she vanished, nearby. But it turned out to be yet another disappointing lead as no sign of a body was discovered in the area and the jacket had no forensic link to Aubrey.
However, in July 2022, the case made some progress when new investigators took on the case and attempted to piece together what really happened to Aubrey. Their fresh investigation led them to a shed on her family’s property, where they came across a tarp with a blood-like substance on it. Believing that it could be linked to the case, the authorities started focusing on Aubrey’s closest family members. Although they are trying to get to the bottom of the case, what happened with the beautiful 25-year-old still remains a mystery.
While Aubrey’s aunt Pam suspected that she was a victim of hate crime for the fact that she is a transgender woman, her mother Jennifer believed that she had lost her daughter long ago. When a NewsNation crew visited her home in November 2021, Jennifer said, “I felt my child pass. A year ago. A mother and a child have a bond. And I felt it. I hit the floor.”
As far as Aubrey’s beloved uncle Christian was concerned, he still believed that they would find out the truth about what happened to his niece someday. He said, “I believe that we will eventually get the answers that we received, we deserve. I believe that someone’s going to come forward, and the entire thing’s just gonna blow open.” With Aubrey Dameron still missing, if any of you happen to have any kind of information that can help progress the case further, then you must contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Cherokee Nation Marshal Service at 918-207-3800.
Read More: Kristen Galvan: Found or Missing? Is She Dead or Alive?
