Twenty years ago Sunday, Becky and David Nix were told their daughter, Elaine, would not be coming home alive after she went missing nine days prior. Sunday, the family, Nix's childhood friends and community members gathered at Nix's grave site to remember her life and to ask someone, anyone with information on what happened to her to come forward.
Nix's loved ones have spent more time missing the 18 year old than they were allowed to love her on Earth. Dozens of people gathered at Memorial Park Cemetery, shared a few words, wrote notes to Nix on balloons, and released them during their annual candlelight vigil. While the pain of missing Nix stung the eyes of her friends, parents and family, there was still hope.
"We're hoping for leads, every year that new come out. We hope that we get new leads and the detectives will eventually help us out," said her mother, Becky. Nix's father, David, nodded in agreement. Jennifer Boyd, one of Nix's best friends, also said they had struggled on communication with police in the later years of the case.
Described by her mother as a loving and friendly person, Elaine was "very happy and outgoing."
"She loved people, loved get to knowing people, she just loved everybody," David Nix added.
Nix's friendly face is one that Hall County residents will recognize in the school photo that still graces fliers, missing persons pages, and picture frames of family and friends. It shows the petite blonde with glittering braces, smiling her signature smile. While the injustice of her best friends' death weighs on her, Boyd remembers Nix as a person who was friendly to everyone.
"[I feel] kind of desperate. I want answers, want justice, these kids out here were her age at the time so, we don't know we're walking amongst a killer," said Boyd. "And who would she be today? She wanted to be a nurse, she wanted children. It's just the missing out...."
According to a police report, on September 20, 1999, the teen received a reportedly upsetting pager message from her boyfriend, prompting her to leave her parent's home, drive to the nearest payphone at Zack's Food Rack on Candler Highway and make a long-distance phone call to speak with him. Phone records show she spoke to her boyfriend for about an hour. She was not heard from again.
Her vehicle, a 1986 Toyota Celica, was located, hood still warm, with the keys in the ignition, purse and cigarettes in the front seat, by a passing state trooper. Her mother found the vehicle the next day and drove it home.
Nine days later, the Nixes received a phone call from police, telling them something no parent ever wants to hear: Elaine had been located in some woods in Gwinnett County, but she was dead.
Nix's jewelry remained on her person, however her clothes were missing. Her cause of death was never determined. The Gwinnett County Police Department took over the case as a murder investigation. The trail has since gone cold.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance and murder of Jacqueline Elaine Nix is urged to contact law enforcement, whether it be local or the Gwinnett County detective assigned to the case. Reach out to Gwinnett County by calling 770-513-5390.
