Christina Lynn Carter-Missing 37 Years

(Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org) 

Christina Carter was 3 years old when she vanished on September 17, 1973 from Hueytown, Alabama. Before she vanished, she lived only with her mother, Janet Gail Carter. She was employed by an insurance company in Birmingham, Alabama before she disappeared along with her daughter, Christina.

On October 7, Janet's body was found in a duffel bag along Clingman's Dome Road, which is located inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Her body was nude and bound. It is believed she died of suffocation the same day she was found. Christina was not found with her mother and an extensive search for her in the park yielded no results.

Janet's remains were not identified until a month after they were found, and officials did not even realize Christina was missing until after that. It was also confirmed that Janet divorced her husband a couple months before they went missing, and Christina's father wanted custody of her. As a result, it is believed Janet and Christina went into hiding.

When Christina went missing she was 3 years old but would be 40 years old in 2010. She weighed 30 lbs. when she vanished and was 3'2". Christina has blonde hair and blue eyes and walked pigeon toed when she vanished. She went by the nickname Christy.

There was not much information about this case, but a theory I have read up on seems credible. Authorities are guessing that Janet may have given Christina to someone else before she herself went missing. Now, if this theory is true, it could mean that Christina was in safe hands and may still be alive today, unaware of her real identity due to her age at the time she disappeared. This could also mean that Janet gave her away because she felt they were in some kind of danger, which resulted in Janet being murdered. If this theory is true, then the person(s) who have had Christina this whole time may never come forward, because Janet's killer has never been caught and is still out there somewhere.

Janet Gail Carter, mother of Christina Carter, was found murdered in the Great Smokey Mountains. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org) 

However, there is still the possibility that whoever took Christina is the person who killed her mother, Janet. Did Janet leave Christina with someone to baby sit her, or did she take her with? If she took her with, did the person kill Christina too? Did they leave her there in the wilderness alone? Did they end up taking Christina? And why was Janet in the Smokey Mountains? Who was she with? Surely, she wouldn't venture there alone. Is there anyway to find out the crime scene where her death took place? Most importantly, who was the last person to be seen with Janet? With there being a one month delay in the identification of Janice's remains, there was never an extensive search right away for Christina. In finding a missing child, especially in a place as vast, rugged and easy to get lost in as the Great Smokey Mountains, the first 48 hours are the most important. If Christina was there with her mother when she was killed, it may be nearly impossible to find her in those Great Smokey Mountains. For that one month, no one even knew the little blue-eyed, blond girl was missing.

"Sharon Marshall" was kidnapped as a young child by Franklin Floyd (L). To the right is a rare picture of Christina Carter before she went missing. Both girls were thought to be one and the same. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org and Photobucket.  

For awhile, there was quite the buzz about Christina Carter being the unknown woman whose fake name was Sharon Marshall. The story of Sharon Marshall is quite tragic. She was abducted by Franklin Delano Floyd at a very young age. She was so young at the time, that she never had any recollection of who her real mother was and what her life was like before. She grew up her entire life, moving from state to state with her captor Franklin Delano Floyd to avoid detection. Sharon faced constant rape and sexual abuse from her abductor. In a twist of events, Sharon changed her identity once again, choosing the name Tonya Dawn Tadlock as she was forced to marry her captor.
 Working as a dancer in Oklahoma, she met someone she actually had feelings for and decided she was breaking free from her captor and leaving with her son, Michael Hughes. (Franklin Delano Floyd was NOT Michael's father. In a very sad second set of events, Franklin Floyd would be arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Michael. His remains have yet to be recovered). In April of 1990, Sharon was murdered by her kidnapper in a hit and run. It was then FBI figured out she was actually an abducted girl, being held captive and sexually abused for her entire life. Christina Carter was thought to have been Sharon Marshall because they both looked alike and went missing or were abducted around the same age. DNA tests later revealed they were not a match. All these mysteries remained unsolved.

Michael Hughes was the son of an unknown woman who went by the name of Tonya Tadlock or Sharon Marshall. He is thought to at least the third murder victim of Franklin Floyd. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

I wonder if Janet's husband was ever investigated in her murder and Christina's disappearance? It would certainly make sense because these events occurred after the divorce, and he wanted custody of her.

This case reminds me of many others where the mother and children go missing, and it turns out the husband was at fault. Not all, but many turn out this way. Since Janet was single, was she dating anyone at the time? Did she have any close friends who remember Janice talking about being in a relationship with? Was the relationship a forbidden one? I have not researched other cases because it seems like Christina's disappearance and Janet's murder was done by someone who knew them both and had personal problems that they direct toward them. It's even possible they would have a past history of violence towards women. It seems most likely this was an isolated crime versus a serial killer or someone like Ariel Castro. Janet's murder has never been solved and Christina has not been seen or heard from since. There is a great chance Christina is still out there, so please share her story, along with all the other unsolved ones I have mentioned that have interlocked with her case.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Christina Lynn Carter, please contact

Christina Lynn Carter age progressed photograph.

Hueytown Police Department
 205-491-3587

If you have any information about the murder of Janet Gail Carter, please contact

Janet Gail Carter. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Hueytown Police Department
 205-491-3587

If you have any information about the real identity of the kidnapped girl "Sharon Marshall" or her missing son, Michael Hughes, please contact

Sharon Marshall and her son Michael Hughes. Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org

Oklahoma City FBI

405-290-770

OR

Choctaw Police Department

405-769-3821

You can remain anonymous.

Site Source:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/carter_christina.html
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ginad42/media/Carter_Christina_Lynn.jpg.html
http://deaniepeters-missingangels.blogspot.com/2013/08/michael-anthony-hughes-missing-19-years.html