(photo source
ncmissingpersons.org)
It’s a mystery that authorities won’t forget. Dale and Teresa Butler sons, Gavin and Garrett, were just four and two years old. Dale came home from his overnight shift to find the two boys in the family bed, their mother nowhere in sight.
Investigators from across southeast Missouri ran down every lead. “We don’t take anything for granted. We don’t think, ‘well that’s not important.’ We treat everything like it could be the linchpin to solve this case,” according to New Madrid County Sheriff Terry Stevens.
Sheriff Stevens grew up in Risco, so Teresa’s disappearance hit him hard. Back in 2006, authorities quickly activated the major case squad and interviewed her husband, family and friends. It appears she may have known whoever came to her house that night.
That person, or persons, stole a few things of value, but left other items behind. As the years passed, the calls and new clues began to dwindle. “We still get information from time to time but it is getting fewer and far between,” Sheriff Stevens admitted. “And we haven’t had anything new or exciting in a while.”
Sheriff Stevens said, “We want Teresa Butler’s name to stay fresh in the public’s eye because we feel confident that there’s people out there, one or more, that have information about this case and they may not even realize that it’s something that may be vital to us. And we want them to come forth with it.” We have already started working with authorities on reenacting Teresa’s final known moments, along with the morning Dale discovered her missing.
If you have any information you think might help, please call the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department at 573-748-2516.