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Chase Stafford, a 25-year-old Tennessee woman, disappeared after she was dropped off on Chapmansboro Road in Ashland City on May 10, 2023. Authorities said that Stafford was last sighted on the day of her disappearance at the same location.
Stafford was reported missing on May 11 by concerned family members after finding her backpack on Highway 49 with her phone and glasses still inside it.
More than a week after Stafford disappeared in Cheatham County, authorities confirmed her body was recovered from the Cumberland River below the Cheatham Dam on Thursday, May 18.
In a Facebook post on Friday, authorities confirmed that the body found in the Cheatham Dam was that of the missing Tennessee woman, Chase Stafford. According to the Cheatham County Sheriff's Office, Stafford's remains, which had been trapped under debris that accumulated in front of the dam, were found after crews cleared the debris by opening the floodgates.
The post read:
“Ms Stafford’s remains had apparently been trapped under debris that had accumulated in front of the dam. During routine clearing of that debris by opening the floodgates, her body was able to rise to the surface. The Tennessee Medical Examiner’s Office was able to confirm her identity today.”
Chase Stafford's family last spoke to her a day before she disappeared
Chase Stafford's disappearance from Cheatham County launched a week-long search, that tragically ended with her body being recovered from the bottom of the Cheatham dam. WKRN reported that Stafford's family last spoke to the missing woman on Tuesday, May 9, a day before she was last seen on Chapmansboro Road in Ashland City.
Authorities investigating the missing person case said that they are still exploring the circumstances behind Stafford's disappearance and subsequent death. In a Facebook post, Cheatham County Sheriff's Office said that her cause and manner of death have yet to be determined.
They said:
“The Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office is still considering this to be an active investigation and now have shifted our focus to the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent death.”
As authorities continue to investigate the case, they have urged anyone who contacted Chase Stafford between Monday, May 9, 2023, and Wednesday, May 11, 2023, to get in touch with law enforcement officials.
They said:
“We still need the help of the public and ask that anyone who may have had contact with Chase Stafford between Monday, May 9th, 2023 and Wednesday, May 11th, 2023 to please contact the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at: (615)792-2021 Detective David Diaz or Lt. Ken Miller or (615)792-2098 Cheatham County Dispatch.”
In a similar incident, Lahari Pathivada, a 25-year-old woman from McKinney, Texas, was found dead on May 13 after vanishing on her way to work a day earlier. Pathivada was last seen driving to work in a Black Toyota Rav 4, X NCT-4059 around El Dorado Parkway and Hardin Boulevard in McKinney. She was reported missing by friends and family after they tracked her phone and learned that it was in Oklahoma.
