Deanna Merryfield Updates | Unsolved

In July 1990, 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield disappeared from Killeen, Texas under circumstances that remain deeply troubling more than three decades later.

In this episode of The Cold Cases Podcast, I sit down with Melissa, Deanna’s sister, to discuss the heartbreaking details of the case, the mistakes made in the early investigation, and the new developments that may finally lead to answers.

Deanna was last seen in the early morning hours of July 22, 1990, when she left her grandmother’s home and went to visit her twin sister at a nearby trailer park. According to her sister, Deanna arrived in a vehicle with two unidentified men. After a brief conversation, Deanna left again in the same car.

She was never seen again.

For years, the case was labeled a runaway, a classification that prevented the urgency and investigative resources that might have helped locate her sooner. Even more troubling, the case was reportedly closed prematurely after authorities received a phone call claiming Deanna had returned home—something her family says never happened.

In this powerful and emotional interview, Melissa speaks openly about:

• The final moments before Deanna disappeared
 • How the runaway label affected the investigation
 • The emotional toll on the family over the past 30+ years
 • New leads and renewed search efforts
 • Why she believes someone still knows what happened

This conversation is not just about a missing persons case. It’s about a sister refusing to let Deanna be forgotten.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the coldcases.com, and I'm here with Melissa, Deanna Merrifield's sister. And Deanna Merrifield um went missing in July 1990. 1990, right? Okay. Yeah, yeah. And Deanna was seen with uh either white or Hispanic, two males, um, at 3 a.m. on July 22nd, 1990. And we're here with Melissa to get some updates as far as what's gone on in the case since we last spoke. So uh Melissa, what what's some updates you can share with us?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

So I think the last time we spoke was early July of 2025. And um since then we have had three more ground searches um with uh Team Texas Canines and the detective that's helping us out. Um the detective is also working on some things there. There have been witnesses to confirm, you know, Deanna was seen in that vehicle. Um so there is there is movement, there are things going on, and and um it's just not a whole lot I can talk about on that front. Um so we're just kind of um as far as us and what we're doing, we're just trying to keep um Deanna's name out front.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

And I and I saw that uh episode with Detective uh forget it, Detective Something Another. I forget his Detective Perspective. Yeah, that was such a great video. He really did that justice, you know?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

And it was it I I had questions while I was watching that show. Um one of the first questions I'm gonna ask you is okay, so the guy that um Edith or I think it was Edith um saw was either uh his name may have been Tony or or something like that, they said. And yeah. And my question was, do you think if you went through the school books, um, because they were preppy kids, um, do you think if you went through the school books um from the area around that time, do you think that would maybe help?

SPEAKER_00 2:15

So it was actually Deanna's twin sister, Becky, was the one who um said that it was uh possibly Tony. Um we have gone through school books. Um we have not been able to link a Tony to Deanna um as far as that night. Uh so it's one of those things, it's kind of we're not sure if it was a mistaken identity type of thing, or if it was, you know, if it was a Tony and we just haven't been able to find him, but I can say that the detective has put um a lot of resources into trying to track down that lead, and we haven't been able to get anything from it yet.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Okay. And the phone call that came from Kentucky, um, my my feelings on that is I I think it was just somebody pranking or something like that. Um, but it it does raise suspicions as far as like, you know, why would somebody do that? And is there any merit to maybe her being in Kentucky or so?

SPEAKER_00 3:28

So I don't feel like there's a whole lot of merit to it. Um, because the only family member that had ties to Kentucky was our grandma, Edith, and she was the one that, you know, was pushing to have Deanna's case reopen. And she was the only one that followed up with police at all. So it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me that she would send Deanna off and then try and bring in law enforcement.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Um so I'm not sure I can't feel like that's a solid lead. Yeah. At least not right now.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

I agree with you.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Yeah. We have more solid leads that um the detective and the private investigator are following up on. You know, if if those start to dry up, then uh maybe we circle back around and try and look into Kentucky a little bit more. But you you you have to keep in mind at that time it was Becky and our oldest sister were living in an apartment together. So the only way they would have been able to even know their number is they would have had to know that Becky and our oldest sister were living in an apartment together and know their full name in order to call information, you know, they would have to be connected to the local information um and then place a collect call. So it doesn't, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

And and here's another thing, always get hung up about your case. I always, I always ask questions, you know, I always have these questions in my mind, uh, because that phone, not not the Kentucky phone call, but the phone call where they said, oh, she's came back or whatever. Now I'm like, I now I'm thinking like, okay, maybe that's like a mother or a significant other like trying to protect somebody or something so that nobody investigated the case in the 1990s, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah, that's possible. Um, even if it wasn't necessarily our mother, you know, if if yeah, it was somebody else's mother is whatever. Somebody else's mother in general. That is that is very possible. And that's something I hadn't thought about. Um, yeah, I'm gonna have to share that with the Detective because I think that's really worth looking into. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

I just I just think there's there's people that know what happened or know of something, and they're just staying quiet. And you know, even some of the people who may have done something may already be dead or something, you know? And you know, there's no use in continuing to protect these people. They're awful people, you know, whoever did this, you know. And and I just think, you know, somebody knows something out there and they need to come forward, you know?

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Well, yeah, and that's the thing. At this point, I mean the case is 36 years old. Um I have no desire to pursue criminal justice as far as uh, you know, Deanna goes. Um I just want to know where she is. I want to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yeah, you want to bring her home.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, bring her home and and put her to rest in the way that she deserves. So I really feel like there are definitely people out there who know something. Um, I think they're worried about getting in trouble, but I think they also need to keep in mind that um this case is really old. There's, you know, any prosecutors or anything like that are going to have to prioritize. And if the family isn't necessarily seeking criminal justice, there's probably, you know, I'm just speculating, of course, but there's probably um no reason to be afraid at this point. I just I just want Deanna home.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Yeah, and that's that's what I think, you know, whoever knows something, they they just need to feel in their own conscience, you know, what they would feel like if they were you, you know. And yeah, and you know, you're not you're not you don't want to just take the you know, you you want to get closure instead of the other stuff, you know. And I think whoever listens to this and they know something, they should come forward. But um, but I I just thank you for your honesty and your your integrity and making sure that her case gets solved and everything. And I I I look I I enjoy speaking to you guys as well because we talk over over Messenger quite a bit, and Luke is there with you. Luke is her husband. But um, anyways, I think that's that's good updates.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Um and thank you. Thank you for taking the time to, you know, um checking in. Uh a lot of times, you know, people get busy with their podcasts and it's kind of a one and done thing, and they don't check in. So I really appreciate that you still check in and continue to cover Deanna's story. I really do appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Well, I I want answers too, you know. Like when I hear about Deanna's case, I I get so many questions and I just I want answers too, you know. But I'm sure you know, I I just feel for you. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Well, thank you, Dustin. I really appreciate it.