Jul 13, 20223 min read

The Mysterious Disappearance of Tammy Jean Daniel

Updated: Oct 15, 2022

In the early morning hours of June 2, 1987, the parents of Tammy Jean Daniel, (Norma and Jeff Hensdill), received a call from Beckley PD explaining that their daughter needed a ride home from Joey’s El Cid Club in Beckley. They picked her up at 3:00am and drove her to her residence in Stanaford, WV which she shared with her husband Ronald ‘Gene’ Daniel. The door was locked, and Gene remain inside the residence presumably asleep. En lieu of waking him up, and causing an argument, Tammy told her parents that she would sleep in a tent that had been erected in the couple’s front yard. Her mother cautiously left, but returned only moments later to find Tammy nowhere to be seen. Assuming she made it inside the residence, Norma and Jeff proceeded home.

The following day, Norma returned to the residence to check on Tammy, but according to her husband, the couple had gotten into an argument and Tammy had taken off around 5:00am on foot. Gene promised to keep the family informed if he received word from Tammy, and Norma left, albeit cautiously. The family continued to try and make contact with their daughter over the next five (5) days, but Tammy was nowhere to be seen. The trailer that the couple shared appeared dark and abandoned.

On June 7, 1987, Norma and Jeff Hensdill contacted the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department to report their daughter missing. The Department took a report of the last encounter they had with their daughter and immediately jumped into action. Tammy’s face adorned newspapers and flyers in the weeks that came. After conducting an interview with Tammy’s husband, Gene, they learned nothing more than what had been expressed to them by the Hensdills: that they had fought and Tammy left him.

Gene Daniel moved out of the Stanaford residence shortly after Tammy went missing. Law Enforcement took to interviewing neighbors of the couple who claimed to hear arguing coming from the Daniels’ trailer around 4:00am. But that wouldn’t be all. One neighbor came forward to authorities with a vacuum cleaner that they claimed Gene Daniel had asked to borrow in the days following the disappearance. When it was returned, it permeated a sickly odor, and was covered with a sticky substance. The vacuum bag and its contents had since been discarded, but police were able to test the unknown substance and determine it to be human blood.

Now armed with reasonable means, Law Enforcement obtained a search warrant which

allowed them access to the couple’s trailer. It had been recently vacated with only a sofa remaining inside. However, in the master bedroom, a stain (presumably blood) was found on the carpet which penetrated the padding beneath. Could this be the undeniable proof they need that Tammy Daniel was in fact murdered?

Despite all fingers seemingly pointing in one direction, authorities have been unable to definitively prove what happened to Tammy Daniel. In the year following her disappearance, her husband was subsequently arrested on unrelated charges of manslaughter and malicious wounding. He was sentenced to life in prison with the recommendation of mercy, but has since been paroled.

Tammy Daniel has since been declared legally dead. Her remains have never been located. We need your help to bring Tammy home. Someone holds the key to unlocking the mystery of what happened that night. Her father, Jeff has since passed but her mother still holds out hope that she will one day learn what fate befell her only daughter. In the meantime, her mother has erected a flower garden in memorial of Tammy’s life, until she can finally be brought home to a proper burial.

If you or anyone you know has any information on the disappearance and murder of Tammy Jean Daniel, please contact Crime Stoppers at (304) 255-STOP. You can also submit a tip online at www.crimestoppersofraleighcounty.org . You are not required to give your name and are able to remain anonymous. If you know something, the time is now. Please come forward.