Dean Marie Pyle Peters & Cold Cases: Alice May Sullivan-Missing 27 Years

Photo Credit: Charley Project.org

IT was August 28, 1986 when 20 year-old Alice May Sullivan left her home at the Town Terrace Apartments to attend her morning classes at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. She was in her sophomore year as a business major. She had just moved from Gallatin, Tennessee with her 3 year-old son. Her boyfriend picked her up from the apartments at 8:00 AM and dropped her off at Tennessee State University. Records confirm she attended all her classes that morning. Afterwards, she stopped to visit a friend at a dormitory room in Hankal Hall, which was located on campus. Her friend stated she last saw Alice at 10:00 AM. Alice's friend had to leave her alone in the dorm room because she had classes to attend. Alice was supposed to be home by 2:30 PM, but never arrived. She had a class was supposed to attend a 1:00 PM, but she never arrived. She was never seen again, and never made it back to pick up her son.

Alice was 5'2" tall and weighed 90 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black jeans, a white shirt and a silk, black jacket at the time of her disappearance. Her birthday is on August 3, 1966.

There are many stories out there regarding missing college students. Even more troubling, there are a number of college students who vanish right off the campus. Some disappearances that come to mind right away are the disappearances of Karen Wilson, Suzanne Lyall, Joshua Guimond and Kristin Smart. It is no secret that college campuses can be used as prowling grounds for predators, especially large, busy universities located in the heart of a city that is filled with hustle and bustle. Whereas nowadays, college campuses are equipped with great security, decades back, they were not. It's stories from predators such as notorious serial killer Ted Bundy that remind us how easy it was for a predator to sneak their way in or hang around on campus waiting for a victim. Georgeann Hawkins was 18 years-old when she was last seen walking to her boyfriend's on-campus dormitory, which was only six houses down from her sorority club on June 11, 1974. She never made it. Shortly before his execution in 1989, Ted Bundy confessed to Georgeann's murder. He stated he came up behind her as she walked to her boyfriend's dorm and tricked her into helping him with his brief case, as he wore a fake cast on his arm. He hit her over the head once by his car, drove away and killed her. Her remains have never been found.
Although Ted Bundy was not responsible for Alice's disappearance, it is possible someone like him was. First, I wonder what the friend's alibi was for August 28, 1986. Do records confirm they attended class for most of the day? How was the friend's relationship with Alice? If Alice was not to be home until 2:30 PM, what were her plans from 10:00 AM until then? A friend mentioned she had talked about stopping by the library, but did anyone see her there? I was thinking it is possible she went to her friend's dorm to have somewhere to stay since she did not drive. In a later article, it was reported there was a sighing of Alice by a friend from Gallatin who claimed they saw her walking near the Gentry Center that afternoon. She never made it to her 1:00 PM class.

Alice was last seen on-campus, visiting her friend at Hankal Hall, a female housing building. ( Charley Project.org)

I also wonder if she had any other friends she liked to visit on campus? Being she had to get picked up from campus, it is likely she meant to stay in the area to catch a ride home. They didn't have cell phones in 1989, so if she did leave, she would have no way of informing her ride home. I think it is most likely she vanished off campus. Perhaps it was getting close to lunch time, and she went to grab something to eat, meeting someone on the way. Maybe she did go to the library, only to find people she knew there? I also question her relationship with her boyfriend. How were they as a couple? Was he the father of her 3 year-old son? If not, how was her relationship with her son's father? Alice's case file reads "foul play is suspected," meaning authorities may have additional information that is pointing them in that direction. I assume their relationship was on the negative side, because according to an article in Tennessean, the couple had moved into the apartment together, and a few days later, Alice had planned to move back home and buy a car to commute.Why the sudden move? Was her boyfriend aggressive or controlling? Was he threatened by her leaving or the fact she was following her dreams in life? It appears to me, all this would be a good motive in a personal crime to make someone "disappear".
I also wonder how the climate was at Tennessee State University. Was their tension between African Americans and Caucasians? How was the cultural diversity there? Was the motive behind Alice's disappearance a hate crime due to jealousy and rage, was it a personal one or was she taken by a predator prowling the campus for a victim? Alice was a very petite woman. She was short and very light. It would not be difficult for someone to sneak her off campus in broad daylight because of her small statute. I searched the NAMUS database for other disappearances in Nashville that may have a connection to Alice's and I was surprised at what I found. Three years later, another student would vanish right off the campus of Tennessee State University.

Donald Johnson vanished off the campus of Tennessee State University three years after Alice did. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

On November 18. 1989, 20 year-old Donald Lewis Johnson on campus at Tennessee State University. He was currently a student there, but was suspended from attending his classes in November because of financial problems. He was last seen on campus at Boyd Hall. He had never been seen or heard from again. I question if Donald went on campus with the intention of meeting with admissions or the finances office there in regards to paying for his classes. Taking a month off of school would be very frustrating, and could have resulted in him failing all his classes for that fall semester. Still, it seems like more then a coincidence that two, 20 year-old African American students vanished right off the college campus three years apart. I wonder what Donald and Alice had in common besides both being students there. Did Donald major in business as well? Did they have some classes together? Were they friends? Did they know each other? It would not be as common for a random, sexual predator prowling the campus to take a male, although it could happen. Once again, was Donald's disappearance due to a hate crime or a personal one? Can anyone testify he made it off campus? There is still a chance these cases are not connected, but they have a lot in common and happened only three years apart. The most important question in this idea is if Alice or Donald had any type of connection to each other?

Alice would have never left her 3 year-old son behind, and was dedicated to her education. ( Photo Credit: Charley Project.org)

I wanted to get more familiar with the campus of Tennessee State University, and I discovered it is located only ten minutes from down town Nashville. It is located on 500 wooded acres and is across from the Cumberland River. It is actually a very beautiful campus. You can see a picture of the layout of the campus and college dormitories by clicking Here. I also discovered the Campus Map. If you place your cursor over the markers, a box will pop up that tells you what is located there. All the red arrows indicate student housing.
Boyd Hall, where Donald was last seen, is located by 33rd Ave and Almeda Street. It is the most northern of all the male housing buildings and is located by Watson Hall (housing building), the library, post office, Kean Hall and a parking lot to the East of the building. It is also kitty corner to the post office on campus. As for it's overall location on the entire campus, it is on the South East part. Hankal Hall, where Alice was last seen, is located opposite from Boyd's Hall, within the North West part of the campus. It is west of the Howard Gentry Athletic Complex, Wilson Hall (female housing) and the health center. A track area for runners is also to the west of Hankal Hall. Dr. Walter S. Davis Boulevard, a main road, is also not too far from the dorm building, and a parking lot is located a few feet to the north of the building. Her business classes were located at the very South West end of the campus, so it was quite a walk from her classes to her friend's dorm room. I also find her dorm room to be very different from other buildings on campus, because it seems to be more isolated then the others. We can also assume her friend is female because she lived in female housing. In conclusion, it would not be difficult for someone to abduct an individual in plain sight at this campus, with all the hustle and bustle.

The remains of a woman were found in a field in Sutherlin, Virginia. Alice has been ruled out as a match. Both cases remain unsolved. (Photo Credit: NAMUS.org)

On July 1, 1988, skeletal remains of a woman, who is believed to be 25-35 years old at the time of her death, was discovered by an individual who was bush hogging a field adjacent to his home, at Kerns Church Road in Sutherlin, Virginia. The remains were on the edge of a field, adjacent to the wooded area. Alice May Sullivan was considered as a possible match for the unidentified woman, but was ruled out as a match, along with 68 other missing women. The woman remains unidentified to this day.

Both cases remain unsolved. I wish they would have gotten more publicity, because I feel that would have helped enormously in solving the case. The college was a very heavily populated area, especially at that time of day. With so many people around, someone had to have seen something or noticed Alice on campus. I feel if both their disappearances were publicized more, even in a recent anniversary article, it could have assisted in sparking some memories. Even the littlest detail or memory could help solve either of these cases.
My heart goes out to Alice's little boy, who is now a man. There was never the question in my mind if Alice was a run away, because she would never leave her little boy behind. She had just settled them in a new home, and was trying to get a degree in business to make a better life for her and her son. She was in her second year of college, going strong. She was dedicated, to school and her son. She dreamed of being the first person in her family to successfully complete college on top of being a Teen Mom. She was very close with her mother and dreamed of being able to support her son and her mother.
I hope all my readers will share Alice's story so her son can some day have some answers as to what happened to his young mother, who was only 20 years-old when she vanished. With her son being 3 years-old, that means she had him when she was 18 years-old. I admire Alice so much because she was a young, independent mother who provided for her son and was still going to school. That's love AND dedication right there. Alice deserves justice!

Please, if you have any information about the disappearance of Alice May Sullivan or Donald Lewis Johnson, please contact