Suvechha Sarkar
On a quiet November night in 2023, Shandon Tymiere Floyd headed out for a store in Columbia, South Carolina, after bidding her friend goodbye. However, the 20-year-old never expected that her life would come to a sudden halt. She was a proud black transgender woman who suddenly went missing for around a week before her remains were discovered. Netflix’s ‘Missing: Dead or Alive?’ focuses on this heartbreaking case and how homicide was later ruled out. It also features the real-time investigation footage along with the officials who worked swiftly on the case.
Shandon Floyd’s Remains Were Found Almost a Week After She Went Missing
Shannon and Amecil Floyd welcomed Shandon Tymiere Floyd into their lives on December 27, 2002. She grew up in a household filled with the love and laughter of her parents, brothers Ahmel, Tayvion, and Y’Drequis, and sisters London, Mya, and Tiffany. Shandon had always been one of the favorites of her grandparents, B.C. Platt, Mary Louise Platt, Eva Floyd, Bonnie Scott, and Leroy Floyd. Unfortunately, her parents’ marriage didn’t work out, which led them to part ways. Amecil eventually married Jeffrey Crawford. Shandon possessed a fun-loving personality and enjoyed interacting with diverse groups of people. As a woman of faith, she also joined the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church at a very young age. Shandon built her academic foundation by first graduating from Mullins High School in 2021.
Shandon was then driven by her calling to serve people, leading her to pursue a Nursing degree at Newberry College in South Carolina. In her free time, she immersed herself in traveling or simply working as a hairstylist. According to her mother, Shandon was originally assigned male at birth but later came out as a transgender woman. Amecil stated that she welcomed the daughter that she always wanted with open arms. It forged a connection between both of them that was truly unbreakable. On November 8, 2023, Shandon was traveling with a group of friends in Columbia, South Carolina. During the trip, they stayed at the Roadway Inn, located on Berkshire Drive. However, things took a dark turn when Shandon borrowed her friend Michael Eaddy’s car around 3 am on November 9 to go to the store.
When Shandon didn’t return even after 7:15 pm on that day, Michael tried to contact her through calls and social media. However, he grew concerned when he received no response, prompting him to report her missing. After an intensive search by officials, they reportedly located the car shortly before midnight on November 14 in the 10000 block of Two Notch Road. Detectives sadly discovered Shandon dead in the front passenger side, under blankets. Further inspection reportedly revealed no signs of foul play. According to the officials on the show, the autopsy uncovered multiple drugs, such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and several others, in her bloodstream. They also stated that the autopsy determined her cause of death to be a drug overdose. The coroner’s office reportedly ruled out homicide as the manner of death.
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The Persons of Interest Were Cleared of Their Charges, Leaving Shandon’s Family to Face Their Grief
After the initial missing persons report, investigators reviewed the CCTV footage of the hotel’s parking area. According to police records, it captured Shandon being followed by a man into her car, and they drove off around 15 minutes later. Within a few days, they discovered another hotel lobby CCTV footage, which revealed the man following Shandon out of the hotel around 3 am. Reports state that her mother informed the officials that Shandon had her grandfather’s credit card. As per her statements, the card had been used after Shandon went missing, and they had to close the account. Detectives then reportedly traced the last transaction back to a gas station. Another piece of footage from that location revealed the man who followed Shandon driving the car, and another woman exiting from the back seat.
It reportedly led the officials to believe that Shandon was most likely in the front passenger seat of the vehicle during that time. They also noted that the woman tried to use the credit card in the store. According to official records, Shandon’s cousin, Ashley Davis, revealed that she knew the brother of the man captured in the video. After the remains of Shandon were uncovered, investigators tracked down the woman from the car. Upon questioning, she claimed that Shandon had asked her to use the credit card at the gas station. As per police reports, the woman claimed that the man had woken her up in the early morning of November 9 to let her know that he was doing drugs with Shandon when something went wrong. In her statements, she claimed that he tried to wake Shandon up, but his efforts were in vain.
According to records, the woman admitted that after three days, the man moved the car and had allegedly asked her not to say anything to anyone. However, she claimed that he wanted Shandon to be found but was allegedly worried that his past criminal record wouldn’t work out in his favor. Ultimately, after a thorough investigation, the detectives cleared both of them of any charges regarding the death of Shandon. Officially, the case was not classified as a homicide since the experts found no signs of foul play. However, reports indicate that Shandon’s family believed that she was killed because of her sexuality. Unfortunately, there were no criminal charges filed, leaving her family members grappling with the profound grief of losing their loved one.
