Jamie Fraley

Season 2 – episode one

Last seEn: april 8, 2008 in Gastonia, NC

Intense stomach pain has left a young woman seeking a ride to the hospital for a third time in 24 hours. Her last known phone call at 1:30 am ends abruptly when an unidentified man pulls up to give her a ride. Two months later, with authorities and family desperate – could the answers be connected to the awful smell coming from a hot car trunk?

22 year old Jamie Fraley was described by her mother as sweet and feisty and driven to do good. Jamie had suffered from bipolar and anxiety throughout her life, which had made things like graduating high school or getting a driver’s license difficult. AT the time she was last seen, Jaime was living on social security disability and regularly meeting with a social worker. In the few years leading up to her disappearance the young woman had made huge strides in her life and was now attending a local community college with plans to become a substance abuse counselor – although she had never used drugs her self.

In 2006, Jamie met her fiancé Ricky Simonds Jr and the two moved in together at the Copperfield apartment complex in Gastonia. The happy couple wouldn’t be together long though, Simmonds had a criminal record, and in early 2007, he was sentenced to 15 months in state prison for theft. During this period Jamie would keep in regular contact with him.

Although, her fiancé was in prison, his father, Ricky Simmonds, Sr lived in the same apartment complex just two doors away from Jamie. A former felon himself, Ricky Sr – who worked part time as a maintenance guy at the complex – had served 6 years in prison in the 1980s on manslaughter charges related to the strangling of his then girlfriend.

Now in 2008, Ricky Sr’s love life was on the rocks again, he had recently been dumped by his girlfriend, Kim – who had accused him of stalking, but more on that later. With no girlfriend and a son in prison,- Ricky Sr had some time on his hands, some of which he spent helping out Jaime with errands around town.

It is known that Ricky Sr gave Jamie one ride to the hospital on the last day she was seen. Law enforcement has not released any evidence to tie Ricky Sr to Jaime’s disappearance, but he was a person of interest. Some sources have reported that Ricky Sr was obsessed with his son’s fiancé, and given his own criminal history of stalking and sexual predation, may have crossed one too many lines.

**last seen**

Feeling awful, Jamie attempted to get a ride to the hospital for a third time in the early morning of August 8. After a midnight call to her mother, where she refused a ride – Jaime made a call to an unidentified friend at 1:30 am, which she cut short due to her ride showing up – she reportedly referred to the driver of the car as a “he”, but didn’t say who. That was the last time anyone would see Jamie Fraley. She never made it to the hospital for that third visit.

The next day a healthcare provider visited Jamie’s apartment, but she was not home.

Alarmed by hearing she missed an appointment, Fraley’ s family went to her apartment. The unit was locked and their daughter was not home. Upon entering there were no signs of a struggle or foul play, with only Jamie’s cell phone gone the apartment still contained her wallet, purse, keys, and ID. The family did report that Jamie had vomited several times in the apartment, and also that the shoe laces from her favorite shoes were gone.

It was then Jamie’s family reported her missing to police.

The first clue in the case arrived 2 days later, when Jamie’s cell phone was found by a utility worker in some overgrown grass by the roadside about 3 miles from her apartment. The phone appeared to have been tossed out the window of a vehicle. Despite this clue, finding the phone didn’t reveal any fingerprints or scents for search dogs to follow.

Soon after Jamie’s fiancé, Ricky Jr, was released from prison, and moved in with Jamie’s family joining them in their search. But it must have made for some awkward father son moments.

Since Jamie’s disappearance, suspicion had immediate fell on to Ricky Sr, as he was the last person to have seen Jamie, and had been interviewed by police. Police became more suspicious of him when he became linked to a bag of trash found on a roadside – prompting them to seek a warrant they were never able to fully serve.

Because – The most bizarre thing about Ricky Sr was yet to happen.

As we mentioned, Ricky Sr had been stalking his ex-girlfriend Kim, who had got a restraining order against him in May of that year. On June 7, two months after Jamie’s disappearance, Kim – who recently had her purse and car keys stolen – noticed a strange odor which appeared to be coming from her car. After a few days, Kim opened the trunk to find the lifeless body of Ricky Sr.

Authorities believe Ricky attempted to ambush his ex by hiding in her trunk. Things didn’t go according to plan, and between the drugs and alcohol found in his system and the intense oven like temperatures, the former convicted felon had died from accidental heatstroke – with Kim’s car keys and stolen purse on his body – along with a knife which authorities suspect he planned to use against his ex.

With the death of Ricky Sr the investigation was almost at a standstill. Now a key witness and person of interest was dead, and with him the possible answers about Jamie’s disappearance.

So what did happen to this petite young woman on that night she tried to get to the hospital? Did the answers die in a sweltering hot trunk with Ricky Sr? Or is the unidentified “he” who picked her up the real person with the answers. Given her mental state and physical as well as economic vulnerability it is definitely conceivable that Jamie fell victim to foul play. Or that she was kidnapped and possibly and left the area with the unknown man.

Law enforcement does not believe she left on her own, and since she lacked a license or a vehicle, it would have been nearly impossible for her to do so – so they believe someone else has to be involved.

Although it has been over 10 years, Jamie’s case remains unsolved. Her family’s hope that she may be alive was recharged around 2015 by a tip which suggested Jaimie may be living in Arizona or Nevada and had been seen in an online ad working as an escort. Unfortunately, the lead in question was tracked down, and the woman seen in the ad was not Jaime.

Over the years new clues have dried up, and media coverage has waned – but Gaston County PD revisited the cold case in 2019. Jaimie’s mother is now in a race against time, as she battles her own mortality . As the years go by with no answers, Jaime’s mother remains spiritual and said she is seeking peace and is still hoping for a reunion with her daughter.

Over a decade later this case has scarcely any more clues than it had within the first 48 hours – but Jaime’s mother is convinced someone out there holds the answers – someone out there knows what happened.

At the time she was last seen, Jamie was 22 years old and weighed under 95 pounds, standing only 4’9’’. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and a tattoo of the name Ricky on her ankle. It is believed she may have been wearing blue jeans and a large white t-shirt.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Jamie Fraley please call the Gaston County police department at 704-866-3320  Crime Stoppers at (704) 861-8000.

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