Stolen in the Night: Where is Jaquilla Scales?
A 4-year-old girl was missing from her bed one morning, and her family is still searching for her nearly 20 years later
It was extremely hot in Wichita, Kansas on the evening of September 4, 2001. As Mattie Mitchell got her two great-grandchildren ready for bed at 8:00 pm, it was still nearly 90 degrees outside. She turned on the air conditioner in her small bedroom, then helped 4-year-old Jaquilla Scales and 2-year-old Marcus Scales climb up into the big bed the three of them shared. It had been a busy day for Jaquilla; she had attended her first day of preschool that morning. She loved being around other kids her age, and was looking forward to going back the next day. Both she and Marcus fell asleep almost immediately after getting into bed.
Mattie got herself ready for bed and took her arthritis medication. She checked to make sure the door that led from the bedroom to the backyard was tightly closed, but she had to leave it unlocked as the lock was broken. She wasn’t too concerned; the family’s chow-chow, Bebe, slept in the backyard and would bark loudly if anyone approached. Mattie got into bed and turned the television on, taking care to keep the volume low so she wouldn’t wake up the children. Her arthritis medication always made her drowsy, and she…