Wanda Floyd, at age 60, led a transient lifestyle in Courtland, Alabama back in the summer of 2020.
The world was amidst the pandemic full force, and friends would check in with Wanda periodically.
On July 15, 2020, for reasons that are unclear, the paramedics were called to pick up Wanda at a home in Courtland. She was taken to the hospital, treated, and released.
She received a ride back to the Courtland area.
After a couple of weeks, a friend was notified that Wanda hadn’t been picking up her checks at the post office- which was very out of character for her. Her friend contacted authorities, who weren’t really interested in searching for Wanda. She was a transient after all, with no address and nothing really to track her with.
So her friends gathered together and formed their own search.
But while some clues would surface, Wanda would not be seen or heard from again.
Answers would be forthcoming, however, it just sadly took 2+ years to uncover them.
In July of 2020, Wanda was essentially homeless. She was possibly couch surfing and in and out of homeless shelters.
On the morning of July 15, 2020, Wanda was at a home on Jefferson Street when the paramedics were called for her. We don’t know the exact reason for that call, but she was transported to a hospital about 20 minutes away. Wanda was treated and released on that same day.
There is speculation that someone picked her up from the hospital to take her back to Courtland, but we really aren’t 100% sure how Wanda would leave the hospital.
After a few weeks of a friend trying to check in with her, and not being able to reach her at all, this friend started becoming concerned.It was escalated when she heard from someone at their local post office that Wanda hadn’t stopped in to pick up her checks- which was very uncharacteristic of her.
It was then that Wanda was reported as missing.
Even though Wanda was homeless at the time and had a transient lifestyle, she kept in regular contact with some friends. One friend, in particular, would become worried and start to check with other people and the shelters, looking for Wanda, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
Law enforcement wasn’t too interested in looking for Wanda either. She was a transient, so they figured she had just left and was staying somewhere else. They also really didn’t have any way to track her- no bank accounts, no cell phone, or other ways to find her, so there was no official search for her in the beginning.
Wanda’s friend, however, wasn’t having it. She organized her own search party and they hit the streets of Courtland, Alabama looking for their friend.
They did find some clues that left them very unsettled. First, they found her Medicaid card and her ID lying on a sidewalk in Courtland, which was very strange. Then, after searching some abandoned homes in the area, they found some of Wanda’s personal belongings, essentially some clothing.
But still no Wanda.
Wanda was living a transient, homeless lifestyle, which had a lot of people dismissing her case right away. Wanda was not on drugs, nor did she drink, but she did suffer from some mental illness. Friends were exceptionally worried for her.
One friend came forward to say that in the weeks leading up to Wanda’s disappearance, she had expressed some fear over a man she believed was stalking her and trying to attack her one knew if this fear was real, but to Wanda, it certainly was.No one knew anything about this man either- no name, no description- no specifics at all.
While the volunteer searchers did their own investigating, they learned that Wanda was seen in Courtland after being released from the hospital on July 15, and she was with a man in a black truck. That was all that was said- and to date, no one is sure who this man is. He might have crucial information on Wanda’s disappearance, however, and everyone does hope this man will come forward and identify themselves.
Courtland, Alabama is a very small town, with a population of just under 1,000 residents. It seems like one of those places where everyone knows everyone, so if something happened to Wanda there, it seems likely someone would know.
Courtland is also close to the Tennessee River, the main river running through Tennessee and Alabama. The river is about 10–12 miles from Courtland.
Huntsville, Alabama is the closest big city- about 45 miles away- a 50-minute drive.
It doesn’t seem the search for her has been very broad, especially outside of Courtland, and the media sure hasn’t picked up on it much.
If something happened to her in Courtland, where is she? It doesn’t seem that there are that many places for her to hide.
The worrisome part is that she lost her ID, and Medicaid card and never picked up her checks, something she did often. She was also under a doctor's care and on medication, and none of that has been followed up on either.
Wanda did go missing on July 15, 2020, but she wasn’t entered into NAMUS- the National and Missing Unidentified System- until December 16, 2021, a year and a half later.
NAMUS Profile Snapshot for Wandy FloydPhoto byNAMUS
They also list Decatur, Alabama as her last known whereabouts. Decatur is where the hospital that Wanda was taken to. So while many believe she did make it back to Courtland, we can’t be 100% sure.
Decatur does sit about halfway between Courtland and Huntsville and also happens to sit on the banks of the Tennessee River.
Sadly, NAMUS also has the bare minimum information for Wanda, and just one photo.
Why do you think it hasn’t received attention?
Her ethnicity?Her age?Her lifestyle?Maybe all of the above.
UPDATE.
In July of 2022, two fishermen came across the body of a woman floating in Flint Creek.
Detectives asked for help from the public to identify the woman, describing her as between the ages of 25 and 50 years old and about 5 foot, 9 inches tall. DNA was collected from the remains and sent for analysis, but there wasn't a match, the sheriff's office said.
Lawrence County Sheriff's Department continued to investigate Wanda Floyd as a missing person.
In 2022, the cold case unit in Mobile, Alabama began using genetic genealogy as a tool to help identify this Jane Doe. A family member of Wanda's was asked to submit DNA, and finally, in 2022, it was determined that the Jane Doe found in July 2020 was indeed Wanda Floyd.
A cause of death has not been released.
Investigators did issue a statement that the news was bittersweet, they were happy to finally provide the family with some answers, however, they had truly hoped to find Wanda alive and well.
We send our thoughts and prayers at this time to the family of Wanda Floyd.
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