UPDATE - JULY 30, 2026 - This case is considered "exceptionally cleared due to the death of the offender" after James Duckett was executed by the state of Florida on July 28, 2026, for the murder of 11-year-old Tereasa McAbee from Lake County. Hear Sheriff Judd's comments here: https://youtu.be/xv-U9TAAdhk. 

ORIGINAL POST:
14-year-old Jeanifer Weldon was reported missing on September 21, 1987, after she failed to return home from a friend’s house. She was last seen on September 19, 1987, near a carnival at US Hwy 98 North and Daughtry Road in Lakeland, walking northbound on US 98 in the area of Shadow Drive.  Her body was found on October 2, 1987, on Gardiner Mine property near Bowling Green Road in Fort Meade. The cause of death is possibly strangulation. 

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at (863) 298-6379, or send an email to coldcase@polksheriff.org.