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For 57 long and painful years, William “Buddy” Powell still clings to the hope of finding out what happened to his little sister.

Five-year-old Phyllis L. Powell of Woodland suddenly disappeared on Jan. 11, 1963. It was around 12 noon on that fateful day when little Phyllis vanished in thin air while playing outdoors in an area of NC 35 and Ashe Street in Woodland.

Despite a massive search, there were no clues discovered on the little girl’s whereabouts.

There have been all sorts of claims and theories over the years about the young girl’s disappearance. At the same time, there have been highs and lows for the Powell family as new light is shed on the case.

Several years ago, human remains were found in the northwestern part of Northampton County. However, DNA tests performed on those bones failed to produce a match to Phyllis Powell.

Meanwhile, a Winston-Salem woman, Betty Brown, began to express a great deal of interest in the Powell case. As a member of a family with a missing relative of their own, Brown played a pivotal role in building a database of DNA from surviving members of the Powell family in the hopes of one day producing results.

Brown was also at the forefront of an effort to have a retired FBI sketch artist perform an “age progressed” drawing of Phyllis Powell.

It’s for those reasons that we express our support and offer encouragement to people like Brown and others associated with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

We also admire the courage and determination of Buddy Powell as he pushes forward in a never-ending quest to find out what happened to his little sister. We admire that he harbors no ill will towards the person responsible for her disappearance.

“To whoever is responsible for taking my sister, I say to you that my family loves you and what’s more important, God loves you too,” Powell said in an interview for a story that previously appeared in this newspaper. “We only want the pain and the heartache to go away.”

“Put yourself in our shoes; wouldn’t you want to know what happened to your child,” Buddy Powell questioned. “We ask all to pray for our family and to please pray for whoever is responsible for taking Phyllis away from a family that truly loved her.”

Quoting Matthew 10:26, Buddy Powell pointed to God’s words to help solve the 50-plus-year-old case… “Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.”

Before you head hits the bed pillow tonight, we encourage you life up a small prayer for the Powell family as well as others who are forced to wake up each morning not knowing where a loved one has gone.

– The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald