Help Find Hailey Dunn

Texas cheerleader vanished
by Robert A. Waters

NOTE: Many "persons of interest" turn out to be innocent. A few high-profile examples are Richard Jewel, Richard Ricci, and Steven Hatfill. I have no idea whether Shawn Adkins, now designated a person of interest, is responsible for the disappearance of Hailey Dunn. In this story, I've attempted to report "just the facts, ma'am." Nothing more, nothing less.

The last known person to see Hailey Dunn was Shawn Adkins, the live-in boyfriend of her mother, Billie Dunn. On the afternoon of December 27, 2010, Adkins claims that Hailey walked out the door of their Colorado City, Texas home and headed toward a friend’s house. She never made it.

When last seen, the thirteen-year-old middle school cheerleader wore navy blue sweat pants, a light-colored T-shirt, and pink and white shoes. Five feet, one inch tall, Hailey has hazel eyes and brown hair.

The investigation hit a snag almost immediately. At first, local investigators assumed that Hailey had run away from home. But she left behind her new IPod, a new MP3 player, money, and her favorite jacket. Since it was very cold on the day she disappeared, police began to suspect there might be more to the case than a simple runaway.

Hailey’s biological father, Clint Dunn, lives less than a block from the home where his daughter was last seen. He and Hailey are on good terms, he said. He told investigators that he has been concerned about Hailey's well-being and had moved close by to monitor her living conditions.

Shawn Adkins quickly peaked the interest of investigators. Public documents reveal that in February police had been called to a domestic disturbance at the girl’s home. Reports made by officers at the scene state that Adkins threatened both Billie Dunn and Hailey. After Hailey went missing, he failed one polygraph test and walked out of two others.

ABC News reported that “both [Billie] Dunn and Adkins failed polygraph exams. Dunn took a lie detector test twice. The first test ended prematurely when investigators discovered Dunn was under the influence of narcotics. The second exam indicated that she had been deceptive...”

When police searched the home, they located more than 250 pages of computer-generated documents about serial killers, mass murderers, sexual sadists, and family murders. Billie Dunn stated that collecting such material, including posters from “slasher” movies, was one of her hobbies.

After weeks of investigation, police named Shawn Adkins as a person of interest.

What happened to Hailey Dunn? Did she run away? Was she murdered by a family member? Did she walk out the door of her home and fall into the clutches of a kidnapper?

If you have information about this case, please call Colorado City Police Department at 352-728-5294. There is a $25,000 reward leading to the whereabouts and safe return of Hailey Dunn.