Shivangi Sinha
In June 2023, Haleigh Murphy had planned an exciting weekend for herself. Her sister, Harley Murphy, dropped her off at a bar in Austin, Texas, where she intended to spend the evening with friends. The following morning, Haleigh was supposed to rent a car and drive to meet an ex-boyfriend, but she never picked up the vehicle or arrived at his home. What followed was a lengthy investigation as detectives worked to reconstruct her final known movements and gain a clearer understanding of the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Missing in America’ podcast explores the case in detail and provides insight into the extensive police efforts dedicated to finding answers.
Haleigh Murphy Disappeared After Her Sister Dropped Her Off at a Bar
Haleigh Breann Murphy was born on July 1, 2000, and grew up in Killeen, Texas. She and her sister, Harley Murphy, were raised by their mother, Becky Mitchell, who taught them the importance of independence and building a life for themselves. Haleigh embraced those values when she enlisted in the Army and was stationed at Fort Hood. In April 2020, when fellow soldier Vanessa Guillén was reported missing from the base, Haleigh was among the first to raise concerns about her disappearance. Months later, Vanessa’s remains were discovered. Haleigh was always looking out for others and made every effort to support the people around her whenever they needed help.
After three years of service, Haleigh was medically discharged from the Army due to ongoing hip problems. By 2023, she had settled in Temple, Texas, where she was raising her two-year-old son. She was preparing to begin her first semester at a business college and was also studying to obtain her real estate license. On the morning of June 16, 2023, she told her mother that she planned to change her phone number because too many people had access to it. The two spoke for about 45 minutes, during which Haleigh shared her plans for the weekend. She intended to leave her son with her sister, who would then drop her off at a bar. Haleigh planned to spend the night with a friend and, the following morning, rent a car and drive to the birthday party of her ex-boyfriend.
At around 9 pm, Harley dropped Haleigh off at Slick Willie’s in Austin, Texas. She later recalled seeing her sister get into a car with a male friend before driving away. About an hour later, Haleigh called her sister to make sure she had reached home safely, as heavy rain was falling that night. The following morning, when neither Harley nor their mother could get in touch with Haleigh, they became concerned. At first, however, they assumed she was simply away enjoying the weekend as planned. As time passed and their messages were no longer being delivered, their worry intensified. They began flooding her social media accounts with messages in an effort to reach her, and on June 20, 2023, a missing person’s report was finally filed.
Haleigh Murphy’s Case is Still Under Active Investigation
Investigators working on the case spoke with witnesses and learned that Haleigh Murphy had been seen at Eddie’s Tavern, a sports bar in Round Rock, at around 11:30 pm that night with the same friend Harley had seen her leave with earlier. However, Haleigh never picked up the rental car she had reserved and never arrived at her ex-boyfriend’s birthday party as planned. Authorities also found that her bank accounts and social media activity ceased after that night, with no signs of use thereafter. The case remains officially unsolved and is still classified as a missing persons investigation. Haleigh’s family has organized numerous vigils in an effort to keep attention on her disappearance, but because the investigation is ongoing, law enforcement has released very few additional details about the case.
You must be logged in to post a comment.