Murderd Street Woman

Melissa Michelle Ward

Case Number: 04-087386
Race: White
Sex: Female
DOB: 04-12-1971
Age: 33
Height: 5’1”
Weight: 90
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Case Status: Unsolved

On 11-02-04 Melissa Michelle Ward was reported missing to the Chattanooga Police Department.

Ms. Ward had been arrested in the past on prostitution and drug charges and her death may have been related to association with criminals

Missy was last seen on 10-29-04 at about 1900 hours, when she got into a late model red Ford Pick-up Truck with a white camper top, at the BI-Lo parking lot on 23rd Street. The drive of the vehicle was described as a W/M, salt and pepper hair, in his 50’s. Missy was last seen wearing a blue dress and no shoes.

On December 05, 2004 the decomposed body of Melissa Ward was found on Cash Canyon Road.




From the News Channel 3 web site

HAMILTON COUNTY, TN. (WRCB)  --  A man charged with raping two young girls this summer is being looked at in connection with a murder from six years ago.
Earlier this month 46-year-old Christopher Johnson was charged with allegedly raping and kidnapping a relative and one of her friends.
Channel 3 and our partners at the Times Free Press have learned from multiple sources that Johnson has been interviewed in connection with the murder of Melissa 'Missy' Ward.
Ward's remains were found in a remote area of Lookout Valley in 2004.  Her case went cold until two weeks ago when the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office suddenly reopened it.
Dawn Johnson says she was shocked to learn her sister's 6-year-old murder case was not only reopened, but that detectives interviewed a man she's never heard of before.
"She looked up to me," Johnson says.  "She would say all the time that she wanted to be like me."
The last few weeks have been bittersweet for Johnson.
"I'm excited because hopefully we'll have closure," she says.  "Hopefully they'll catch the person that did this."
Two weeks ago, after receiving new information, detectives searched the area off Cash Canyon Road where Ward's remains were found in 2004.
Johnson says investigators told her in 2004 they were looking for a serial killer.
"They were telling us it could be a serial killer," she says.
The Sheriff's Office won't officially go that far.  Johnson says her sister had a drug problem and one prostitution arrest in Hamilton County, but that shouldn't matter.
"She didn't die because she was a prostitute or a drug addict," Johnson says.  "She died because she was with the wrong person."
After two days of searching the woods again, detectives pulled out.  Sheriff Hammond won't say exactly what someone said that led them back to the original crime scene. 
"There's some sensitive information that we need to keep quiet about for the case," Hammond says.  "We can't comment."
Although the sheriff's office won't officially name a suspect, Channel 3 has learned from multiple sources that Christopher Johnson has been interviewed in connection with the murder.
To Dawn Johnson it's all still an unfolding mystery.  She just wants to know what happened.
"You see on TV people say 'why',"  Johnson says.  "You think, 'that's so crazy', but I want to know why she was targeted."
Johnson says her sister was last seen getting into a red pick-up truck outside a grocery story.
Christopher Johnson appeared in court two weeks ago on his latest charges, he is still in custody.


From the Chattanoogan.com site

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office investigators are looking into new evidence involving the 2004 murder of Melissa Ward. They are also searching for the possiiblity of additional bodies near where that of Ms. Ward was found in the Tennessee River Gorge. On Thursday, prisoners helped clear a wooded area at the search site.
On Dec. 5, 2004, bones were located at 1580 Cash Canyon Road in a wooded area that were later identified through a forensic examination as belonging to Ms. Ward.
The victim had been reported missing by her family to law enforcement on Nov. 2, 2004.

Authorities said, "A ground search is being conducted of the area where Melissa Ward’s remains were located in December 2004. Interviews with persons of interest are being conducted by investigators in an attempt to bring closure to this active homicide investigation."

The body had been found by attorney Bryan Hoss in a remote area off Cash Canyon Road.
A month later, then-Sheriff John Cupp said it was that of 33-year-old Melissa Michelle Ward.
He said Ms. Ward had been arrested in the past on prostitution and drug charges. He said her death may have been related to association with criminals.
Sheriff Cupp said she had been murdered.
Attorney Hoss and his wife were looking at a lot near the Tennessee River that was for sale.

Murder of Joshua Lee Walden

On Friday December 8th, 2000 around midnight Johnny Walden and his Wife Ann Walden reported there son Joshua Lee Walden missing. Josh was last seen wearing a red shirt and black jeans while riding a 20 inch Magnum bicycle which he had painted with a dull red paint. Before he went missing Josh was seen several places around the neighborhood riding on his bicycle but was last seen on the 4500 block of Fourteenth Avenue near him home. Friends, neighbors, and police search or two day but the search came up empty. On Sunday, December the 10th day Josh’s brother Jonathan Walden and some other boys were playing in a wooded area off the 3100 block of Sixteenth Avenue on the western slope of Missionary Ridge discovered the the body of young Walden about half a mile from his home.

riday December 8th, 2000 around midnight Johnny Walden and his Wife Ann Walden reported their son

The body was found laying in a depression in the ground and was covered in leaves. An inspection of the body found some superficial abrasions on Josh’s nose as well as on the right side of his face other then those abrasion there were no signs of trauma to the body nor where there any sign of a sexual assault. Also a chemical was found on and an under the body as well as on some nearby leaves. The one odd thing that was noticed about the body is that the shoes and socks were missing.

Tests later revealed that the chemical was an acid that is historically known as Muriatic acid. The acid is also known as Hydrochloric Acid or HCI. This is a strong inorganic acid which is made by dissolving hydrochloride in water. This acid used for things such as cleaning metal, concrete, pickling steel, the production of organic compounds, the production of inorganic compounds, the controlling and neutralization of ph, the Regeneration of ion exchangers, leather processing, building construction, and in household cleaning. When one is handling this acid they need protective gear such as rubber or PVC gloves, eye goggles, and chemical-resistant clothing and shoes.

It has been about twelve years now and this boys killer has yet to be brought to justice. The news media has made a number of reports in the years since the boy's murder. In one they report on how some years up till 2008 someone kept a small memorial at the place were the body was found. The latest news report was in August of 2010 where it was talking about a man by the name of Earl Teague who is now looking into the cold case murder. In the report it says Teague has looked over the police and autopsy reports, made and put up posters, and has talked to tipsters. Teague says that he started out with a list of 19 suspects and he now has it down to one person. That person is a known sex offender that was living in East Lake at the time on the murder. Mr. Teague’s case is centered around a house that once sat on the corner of 39th street and 14th Avenue that burned down just days before young Josh Walden was murdered. The people who lived in the house said that they had given their son's smokey clothing to a man in the neighborhood.

 

Someone out there knows what happened all those years ago. Someone has the answers to the mystery. Some people out that may have the missing pieces of this puzzle of who killed this small boy and I ask anyone with any info about this case no matter how small to please contact me at dark.ghost.0001@gmail

UPDATE:

Well I am now working on a list of people I would like to talk to about this cause.

Crystal Walden the boy's sister

Dallas Cecil Walden the boy's brother

Johnny Cecil Walden Jr the boys father

Now I am not sure where the brother and sister are but I do know that the father has moved to Flintstone GA.

I would also like to talk to the boy's friends, neighbors, his teacher and classmates. Now I do not have any of those names yet but I hope to and will if I just keep digging.

UPDATE:

 

Thanks to an Email tip I have made contact with Joshua Lee Walden's sister. I hope that she will help me and not just turn me away due to me being an RLSH. I want to and will find this boy's killer and see that he goes behind bars cause there is not statue of limitations for murder.

Dark Ghost of Chattanooga TN

Greetings to those reading this I am Dark Ghost the Masked Detective. I am a member of the Real Life Super Hero Community on the Heroes Alliance  and I am in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Now what I do is I patrol the street and parks of Chattanooga, I investigate the unsolved crimes of the city. The Chattanooga Police have many good cops but they are still outnumbered by the gangs, drug dealers, murderers, sexual predators, and muggers. Thieves who walk in to stores with guns to steal the money in the cash drawer and break into people's homes to just take what they want. I have watch the crime rate in the city slowly rise now I can no longer just stand by so I have put together a uniform, bought the gear that I needed and got a mask. Now I haunt Chattanooga's streets, alleys, and it's parks. I will see that these criminals are brought to justice, be a friend to the people of the city, and an ally to it's Police. I will watch over the city of Chattanooga from the darkness. I will do my work under the cover of the night. I will strike hard and fast then fade into the shadows. I want a Chattanooga where kids can play in the parks and their parent's do not have to fear someone will take their children. I want Chattanooga to be a place where families can feel safe in their homes again. I want a Chattanooga people can walk down the streets without fear. I am skilled in Martial arts, I have knowledge of first aid, and I have studied Criminal Justice. I do not use lethal weapons and I also carry a variety of tools.