The Disappearance of Kaitlyn Ledbetter

Kaitlyn Ledbetter lived in Hilham, Tennessee with her father Scott, and Scott’s girlfriend, Crystal Tyson. She was newly engaged to a man named Dustin and was a month away from turning 26. Kaitlyn was looking forward to planning her wedding. Sadly, it would never take place.

On the evening of May 2, 2021, Scott informed Kaitlyn’s younger sister Kaylee, who lived five hours away, that she was missing. He claimed that Kaitlyn jumped out of her bedroom window during an argument with Crystal and ran off into the woods barefoot and in her pajamas.

Bizarrely, Scott told Kaylee not to bother driving down to Hilham but she did so anyway. They went out looking for Kaitlyn together and when they returned to Scott’s home, he sat in a chair and cried for 45 minutes. It was the first and only time that Scott searched for his daughter.

The next morning, Kaylee urged Scott to report Kaitlyn missing until he finally relented, however, they were told that as an adult, she was allowed to disappear. It took several days for the authorities to take Kaitlyn’s case seriously, and another 8 months to conduct a search. Bloodhounds tracked her scent through the woods and to the road where it too, disappeared.

Kaylee and her aunt Tonda received texts from Kaitlyn at 7 am, an hour and a half after she allegedly ran into the woods. However, Kaitlyn did not have data and could only send texts with Wifi. Additionally, Kaylee and Tonda insisted the messages didn’t sound like Kaitlyn and weren’t written by her.

Months later, Crystal told Kaylee and Tonda that Kaitlyn locked herself in her bedroom after they got into an argument about Dustin spending the night. She claimed that Scott kicked the door down at which point a terrified Kaitlyn jumped out of the window and vanished into the night. It’s important to note that Scott and Crystal were reportedly heavy drug users.

On August 18, 2021, three months after Kaitlyn disappeared, Scott called the police to report that his house was on fire — with Crystal inside. After firefighters put out the blaze, they found Crystal’s body in the basement.

It’s unclear whether Crystal’s willingness to share information about Kaitlyn’s disappearance led to the 36-year-old’s tragic demise, however, no autopsy was completed and no one was ever charged with her d*eath.

Kaitlyn Ledbetter remains missing. If you have any information, contact the Overton County Sheriff’s Department at (931) 823–5635.