Kriti Mehrotra
It was on April 30, 2009, when the entire nation was left baffled to the core as 26-year-old Registered Nurse Micah Denise Rine Pate suddenly disappeared without a trace left behind. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of detectives, loved ones, and volunteers alike, it was her cold remains that were found less than 48 hours later near the Loosahatchie River in Tennessee. Though the worst aspect of this whole ordeal is that she had been killed by someone she once trusted with her entire soul, as explored in Paramount+’s ‘Murder 260: Where’s Micah?’
Micah Rine Pate Was Found on Muddy Soil Near a River in Tennessee
Born on April 28, 1983, in Searcy, Arkansas, to Terri and Dennis Rine, as the youngest of their two kids, Micah Denise Rine Pate grew up surrounded by care and love. The parents had decided early on that they wanted to raise their little ones in God’s path, so she and her elder brother Casey grew up to be rather devout in their faith, too. However, she was on another level by all accounts because the way she navigated every social situation and was dedicated to helping others made it clear she had a really pure heart.
In fact, upon graduating from high school, Micah attended the College of Nursing at Harding University to earn her degree in 2006 before embracing her calling as a Registered Nurse. During this time, she also met the man she believed to be the love of her life through mutual friends, Thomas Pate, with whom she tied the knot in a small, intimate ceremony in 2005. Her family didn’t entirely approve of this relationship. However, she had given her heart and agreed to settle down in Shelby County, Tennessee. She was serving as the primary breadwinner of her household by the time 2009 rolled around, and she was doing so gladly since it was in a field of her own choosing.
Micah was a Medical Aide at the Memphis Obstetrics and Gynecological Association (MOGA) women’s health clinic, just on the outskirts of the main city in Bartlett, Tennessee. It seemed like the 26-year-old was leading a comfortable, stable life, but everything changed when her husband reported her missing around the late evening of April 30, 2009. As per Thomas’ accounts, she had gone jogging at around 8 pm but failed to return even after a severe rainstorm started, so he contacted her family before getting in touch with officials. Unfortunately, though, despite an extensive search for the young woman, she was never seen alive. Her remains were recovered from the muddy ground near the Loosahatchie River. The subsequent autopsy revealed she had been shot in the back of the head at a rather close range, killing her instantly.
Significant Efforts Were Made by Authorities and Loved Ones to Find Micah Rine Pate
According to reports, among the first people Thomas contacted when he seemingly grew worried about his wife were her parents, to ask if they knew anything regarding where she was. He indicated that while they hadn’t had any arguments or fights, the fact that she hadn’t returned home from what was supposed to be a jog made him nervous, so he wanted to cover all his bases. It was actually Micah’s father who told him that he should contact the police after a couple of hours had passed, so that’s why he did, while the Rine family traveled from their hometown to Tennessee. They thought they would help search for her, and they did spend the entire night either looking for the 26-year-old alongside investigators or answering their questions.
Dennis even went as far as to go through all the routes he thought his daughter could have taken from her home himself in the hopes that maybe he would find her along the way. However, their concern grew tenfold when they realized that while Micah was an avid jogger, it wasn’t like her to step out at night, and that too without her cell phone or her beloved dog. Both of them were safe at home while a storm raged on, the warning for which had been given hours prior. The fact that Thomas tagged along when a deputy tried to search the home also made them feel uneasy, resulting in officials eventually separating him from the rest of the family to be questioned.
That’s when officers told Micah’s family that it was routine for them to first clear the spouse before asking them about their relationship, which is when they opened up. They didn’t hold back in revealing that they thought he was changing her and limiting her social interactions because they had noticed her caving in to his preferences of staying in despite her being an extrovert. As if that’s not enough, they even indicated signs of domestic violence, clarifying that while they never saw any physical signs of hurt on Micah, they did see him shouting at her and belittling her several times.
Micah Rine Pate’s Killer Confessed Within Two Days of Her Disappearance
Thomas was eventually taken into custody to be interrogated while the search for Micah continued in the city and at home, which is how officials also found her prayer diary. That’s when they uncovered that he had been unfaithful, which had not only shattered Micah’s heart but also led her to almost check out of the relationship because she could not forgive this. In her diary, she had even noted that she “gave up her family” for him when the truth was that she always had them by her side, which is why they admittedly didn’t think he was good enough for her.
When faced with this fact, Thomas admitted that he was having an affair with a woman from New Jersey, whom he had met on a flight, before adding that he also spent Easter weekend with her. He did show emotions, but officials believed his heaving whenever they asked him any leading questions was to gain time and distract them. So, it wasn’t until his father came into the station and decided to speak with him that they got a breakthrough. It was Thomas’ father’s anger and persistence that led him to confess that Micah wasn’t missing; instead, she was dead, and he had shot her.
Thomas then led investigators to Micah’s remains, and she was found lying face down on the muddy ground near the Loosahatchie River with no shoes and clean white socks. The latter aspect made it clear to them that she had been moved, leading them to hypothesize that her husband had planned to dispose of her in the river but grew tired of carrying her until he decided to set her down in the middle of nowhere. With this and Thomas asserting that it was an accident, he was charged with second-degree murder and held in a county jail pending trial after he refused a plea agreement.
Thomas Pate is Currently Serving His Sentence in a State Prison
According to Thomas’ accounts, he and Micah had gone hunting when he accidentally fired at her as she stepped in front of him, leading to her passing away. He said he panicked and decided to dispose of her instead of immediately contacting the police. However, neither her family nor officials bought his narrative because both Micah and Thomas grew up with weapons and knew a lot about how to use them as well as safety regulations, so this accident wasn’t entirely plausible. Thomas’ charge was then also upped to first-degree murder, only for him to eventually enter into an Alford Plea deal on the lesser charge of second-degree murder. For this, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, so today, at the age of 42, he remains incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Johnson County, Tennessee. He is expected to remain here until his sentence ends on May 31, 2032.
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