DETROIT – The family of 54-year-old Cordell Boyd is growing desperate for answers as their calls to his phone go unanswered, met only with a chilling message: “The subscriber you have dialed is not in service.”
When they try his work phone, they are met with another dead end.
“You got the wrong number,” a friendly woman told Local 4 Friday. “This ain’t his number no more.”
According to his family, Boyd, a Detroit resident, has been missing since Nov. 2, 2024. Initially, his family wasn’t overly concerned because his sister, LaNise Poole, said Boyd had been busy with his heating and cooling business.
She said he was also busy selling clothing at a trade market near 8 Mile and Dequindre. But as the months passed, the lack of contact became alarming.
Missing Holidays and No Check-Ins
“I’ve personally gone a month without hearing from him before,” Poole said. “But in the past, someone else had talked to him. That’s not the case this time.”
Boyd had been struggling emotionally following the death of his girlfriend, Phebe Williams. She was killed in October of 2023 while at her son’s baby shower, according to Poole. And just months later, Poole said he lost another close friend, leaving him deeply distraught.
When his family began searching for him at the trade market where he sold clothing, another vendor told Local 4 his disappearance was oddly sudden.
“It was really weird,” she said. “It was like he just disappeared… And he left all his printing stuff behind.”
Struggles to File a Police Report
Becoming deeply concerned, Poole said she went to Detroit’s 6th Precinct on Jan. 9, 2025, to file a missing persons report. However, she said an officer and a sergeant dismissed her concerns.
“He told me, ‘Well, sometimes people just don’t want to be found,’” Poole said. “It made me feel like they don’t care.”
Frustrated, she said she called Detroit’s crime tip line earlier this month but hit another roadblock because she doesn’t know Boyd’s current address. Poole and her family said they then took matters into their own hands, distributing flyers, posting on social media, and conducting searches themselves.
“ I need to know where he is — I need to know what happened,” Poole said. “Not having answers is torture. It’s torture.”
On Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, Detroit police listened to her concerns, allowing Poole to file an official report using their mother’s address. Now, with Boyd’s smiling face on their radar and on missing person posters, she and her family hope answers will come.
“At least we got the ball rolling,” Poole said. “I hope we’ll hear something soon. I’m happy with that. I’ll take what I can get.”
Anyone with information on Cordell Boyd’s whereabouts is urged to contact Detroit police.
Some tips when filing a missing person report:
1. This is one of the most important! Police need a good, clear photo of the person without filters applied to it (for example, try not to use photos that have a fun Snapchat filter or photos that are blurry). More than one helps, too.
2. Police also need a complete description, including eye color and information on any scars, marks, or tattoos — anything you can think of that would help others identify them.
3. Please give as many details and information about where they were last seen, who they were with, and the circumstances as you can. A description of what they were last seen wearing or how their hair was styled is useful.
4. Please disclose any physical or mental disabilities, diseases, etc, and if they need medication. This information is not always released to the public but may help the police.
5. Specific phone numbers and addresses that are pertinent to the investigation (for the missing person and for family members). These are never released to the public!
6. Remember: any other details that you may not think would help sometimes end up being incredibly helpful!
