07/25/2025
DA adds $10,000 to reward for information that
solves case of Demopolis woman missing since 2015
DEMOPOLIS -- Seventeenth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Rachel England told The Leader that her office has posted a reward of $10,000 for information that leads to finding Rebecca Anne Henderson Paulk or to the arrest of the person or persons involved in her disappearance nearly a decade ago.
The Henderson family's own reward of $20,000 still stands, along with a $1,000 donation from an anonymous donor. Coupled with the additional $10,000 from the DA's office, that brings the total reward to $31,000.
"If anyone has information, please contact the District Attorney’s Office," England said.
The unsolved disappearance of a child is any parent’s worst nightmare, and for Wes and Janet Henderson, of Demopolis, that specter became a heartbreaking reality for them on Sept. 8, 2015 -- the previous afternoon, about 5 p.m., was the last time that Janet spoke to their daughter.
Paulk, 26, left her Marengo County home on the morning of Labor Day, heading to nearby Meridian, Miss., on a shopping trip.
The next day, Paulk -- or a woman who looked like her -- was seen on security videos in two Meridian businesses, and on Wednesday evening, her 2006 Honda Civic, bearing Marengo County tag 48AF680, was found abandoned in a ditch on a logging road in the Whynot community of Lauderdale Co., Miss., about 10 miles southeast of Meridian.
Inside the car, police found Paulk’s personal belongings, including her purse, laptop computer, and iPad®.
An air-and-ground search by law enforcement authorities, drones and tracking dogs turned up no additional clues other than her cell phone, which was found a few days later in a wooded area about a mile from the vehicle.
According to published reports, the surveillance videos show the woman in the company of a man identified at that time as John Bentley Poisso Jr., then 57.
Poisso was arrested Sept. 15, 2015, on misdemeanor charges unrelated to the Paulk disappearance but was said to be a "person of interest" in the case because he was seen on video with the woman who resembled Paulk.
Eleven days later, authorities executed a search warrant at Poisso's residence off Old Wire Road but, reportedly, no evidence was found linking him to the missing woman.
He was later reportedly sent back to prison for an unrelated probation violation and, in 2020, according to published reports, was busted by Lauderdale County authorities and the East Miss. Drug Task Force for possession of about one pound of methamphetamine, two guns, he**in, and other illegal items found at his residence.
The case made headlines across the country, in the United Kingdom on the BBC, and was featured on NBC-TV’s “Dateline”.
Now, nearly 10 years later, Janet Henderson told The Leader, the family is still at a loss as to what happened to their daughter, but believe “someone, somewhere” knows what happened.
The family has no clue why Rebecca would have been in the Whynot area.
The young woman was close to her family and friends and it was unlike her to go for long periods without contacting them, many of whom described her in social media posts as “a sweetheart”.
The 2007 Demopolis High School graduate had just completed training to be an OSHA inspector when she disappeared.
She loved to hunt and spend time outdoors, and was “absolutely crazy about her dogs”.
At the time of her disappearance, the strawberry blonde, who has green eyes, weighed about 145 pounds and stood five feet and six inches tall. She has a tattoo on her left wrist with some designs and the word ‘LOVE’.
The “missing person case” is still an open investigation, Lauderdale County (Miss.) Sheriff Ward Calhoun told the Leader.
But while the case is still open, fresh information is needed to move it forward, he said.
"It's certainly not closed, we just don't have anything new to work on," Sheriff Calhoun said.
"One minute you want to think, well, there's hope that she's out there somewhere and that she's alive and we will get to see her one day, and then you think, well, maybe not, it's been so long and maybe she's no longer here on this side of Heaven," Janet Henderson said. "It's really like a rollercoaster. Some days I still cry for Rebecca. I will always cry for my daughter. Somebody knows something and they need to speak up and let us have closure. It's a nightmare that you want to wake up from but you can't."
From a mother's heart, she said, she frankly doesn't understand how anyone who knows something, who saw something -- even the smallest detail -- can remain silent.
“Every scenario has gone through my mind,” she said. “Unless you’re going through it, you will never know."
The Hendersons know that law enforcement officials are doing everything in their power to keep the case alive, but are convinced that someone out there has vital information that could help solve their daughter's disappearance, and are hopeful that the additional $10,000 added to the reward fund will prompt someone to come forward with what they saw, heard or know.
The family is grateful to all of the investigators, law enforcement agencies and volunteers that have been involved in the case, and expressed gratitude to DA England for posting the additional reward money.
"I do appreciate Rachel increasing the reward, it means the world to Wes, me, and John," Janet told The Leader. "It really touches out hearts. We hope that this increase will encourage someone to come forward and let us have some closure for Rebecca. Labor Day will be 10 years since Wes and I have seen Rebecca and we would like for someone to speak up and let us know so that we can bring her home. We deserve that."
The family is also grateful for all of the prayers from friends, family and total strangers over the years, she added.
Anyone with any information in the case -- no matter how small or insignificant it may seem -- is asked to contact any of the following:
• The Lauderdale Co. (Miss.) Sheriff's Department at 601-482-9806;
• The Demopolis Police Department at 334-289-3073;
• The District Attorney's Office, in Demopolis, at 334-289-2149;
• Or the nearest law enforcement agency or E-911 Dispatch Center.
