It has been 35 years since 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield disappeared in the middle of the night in Killeen, Texas — and for her family, that’s 35 years of living with unanswered questions. The Killeen Police Department considers this their only runaway case on record they have never solved.
The Night She Vanished
Deanna’s family was going through serious difficulties in the summer of 1990, and she was staying with her grandmother on Alamo Avenue in Killeen. She had just completed seventh grade at Manor Middle School and was due to enter eighth grade at Fairway School in the fall. On the evening of July 21, she and her grandmother stayed up late watching movies.
After her grandmother went to bed, Deanna sneaked out of the house and walked to visit her fraternal twin sister, Rebecca, who was living with an uncle two and a half miles away at the Oak Springs Trailer Park. Rebecca says Deanna arrived at around 3:30 a.m., riding in a brown or bronze four-door vehicle driven by two white or Hispanic men.
The two sisters talked for a while through the trailer window, but their conversation woke up their uncle. Deanna then left with the men in the vehicle — and was never seen again. When she hadn’t returned the following morning, her grandmother reported her missing.
A Family Already Broken
To understand Deanna’s disappearance, you have to understand the hardship that surrounded her short life. The second of four daughters, she was known for her love of She-Ra, bike rides, and exploring creeks near her home. But the family was fractured.
Their mother, Laurel Merryfield, struggled with alcoholism. In 1986, she married Roy Kaopuiki, a man who was not the father of any of the girls. By 1989, allegations of abuse within the home would fracture the family and alter the course of Deanna’s life forever.
By the summer of 1989, Laurel was hospitalized for complications related to her addiction. Not long after, Deanna and Rebecca confided in their grandmother that Roy had been abusing them. An investigation was opened, and ultimately three of the sisters made statements. While one later recanted and another’s case lacked sufficient evidence, Deanna’s report led to criminal charges. In October 1989, Roy was convicted of indecency with a child and sentenced to 10 years’ probation, with mandatory annual registration as a sex offender. For a child who had the courage to speak out, it was a devastating outcome.
After the trial, the family was fractured further. Amy went to live with their grandmother, while Deanna and Rebecca stayed with an uncle. Melissa bounced between aunts. When Amy later left to visit a relative in Virginia, Deanna moved into her grandmother’s home — the very home she would slip out of on the night she disappeared.
Cold Leads and False Hopes
Police initially classified Deanna as a “runaway” because it was reported she left voluntarily that night. When she turned 17, her case was converted to a missing person report due to police protocol. That early classification — “runaway” — meant the case received far less urgency than it deserved.
Over the years, a handful of tantalizing leads emerged, but none led anywhere concrete:
In 1992, Rebecca received a collect call from someone who identified herself as “Deanna” to the operator — but when Rebecca accepted the call, no one spoke. The call was traced to Kentucky, where the family had distant relatives, but no solid connection to Deanna was ever confirmed.
In 1995, a traffic stop in Hurst, Texas flagged Deanna’s name and date of birth in a police computer, but nothing came from the lead.
Between 2000 and 2002, an out-of-state relative reportedly received a visit from someone claiming to be Deanna, who said she wanted to remain hidden and reportedly had several tattoos. Police were never able to confirm this because the relative refused to cooperate.
The Family That Never Stopped
Deanna’s younger sister Melissa Twardowski has been the driving force behind keeping this case alive. In 2007, Melissa discovered that Deanna’s case had been quietly closed. She reached out to Killeen Police Department and worked to get the case reopened. Since then, Deanna’s DNA has been entered into national databases, and a private investigator took on the case.
Melissa says no piece of information is too small. “Our older sister described her as our sunshine. She was just always really smiley and happy and joking and fun, and she was a child — and in my mind, she still is a child. Any child that’s lost needs to be found.”
New Searches, New Hope
In early 2026, new evidence emerged that reinvigorated the search. Family members and trained volunteers from organizations Mark 9 and Alpha Search and Recovery conducted a ground search across approximately 50 acres of land, with trained canines searching for hours. While teams could not share specifics, certain areas were marked off during the search.
Melissa also hosted a candlelight vigil at Lions Club Park in Killeen, with the hope of sparking awareness and encouraging someone to come forward — even after all these years. “I think there are people in Killeen who know something, or maybe remember something,” she said. “And maybe now, they feel like they can talk when they couldn’t before.”
Who Was Deanna?
Deanna Michelle Merryfield is described as a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a scar on her upper lip and fractured her lower left arm two or three years before her disappearance. She loved music by Def Leppard, Whitesnake, and Ozzy Osbourne. The Charley Project Her twin sister Rebecca described her as a free spirit. Melissa called her a protector.
If she is alive today, Deanna would be 47 years old.
What We Know — and What We Don’t
The two men in the brown or bronze vehicle that night remain unidentified. Police attempted to locate a man named “Tony” who was reportedly living in the area at the time and was identified as one of the men in the car, but were unable to find a good match. Whoever those men were, they may hold the answer to what happened to Deanna.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Deanna Merryfield, please contact the Killeen Police Department at 254-501-8830, submit a tip to Bell County Crime Stoppers, or reach out anonymously through our tip form at TheColdCases.com.
