Hailey was last seen at her home in the 1800 block of Chestnut Street in Colorado City, Texas at 1:00 p.m. on December 27, 2010. She told her mother's boyfriend, Shawn Casey Adkins, that she planned to go visit her father, then spend the night at a friend's home. Adkins stated she wasn't wearing a jacket when she left, although it was a cold day. She never arrived at her friend's home or her father's home and has never been heard from again. Hailey's mother, Billie Jean Dunn, reported her missing the next day. Bloodhounds traced her scent to the parking lot of the Western Suites hotel in the 2200 block of Vine Street off Interstate 20. An extensive search turned up no sign of her, however.

The friend with whom Hailey was supposed to stay the night said they didn't often visit each other's houses and Hailey had never spent the night at her home, and she didn't know Hailey was coming over that day. The last time the two girls communicated was the day before Hailey vanished; she sent her friend a text message at 2:18 p.m. Her friend didn't reply to it.

Authorities don't believe Hailey left of her own accord. She left all her belongings behind, including money, clothes and her iPod. She was an eighth-grader at Colorado City Middle School and an excellent student who was involved in cheerleading, track, basketball and volleyball and played first chair saxophone in the school band. She was popular at school, has no history of running away from home and wasn't showing any signs of being unhappy with her life.

Hailey's parents are divorced. She lived with her mother, her sixteen-year-old brother and Adkins at the time of her disappearance, and her father, Clint Dunn, lived nearby with his girlfriend and their baby daughter. Photos of Clint, Billie and Adkins are posted below this case summary. They were all involved with drugs: Clint was on probation for a marijuana conviction at the time of Hailey's disappearance, and Billie admitted that she withdrew $140 from her bank account on the day of Hailey's disappearance in order to buy narcotics for herself and Adkins. Adkins claimed Hailey also used drugs on a regular basis. Her cousin and one of her friends said she might have tried marijuana, but they denied that she was a regular drug user.

According to a police search warrant affadavit, Billie and Adkins were asked to take polygraphs after Hailey vanished. The first time Billie was scheduled to take a polygraph, she was under the influence of drugs and consequently unable to take the test. She failed the test on the second attempt. Adkins volunteered to take the polygraph three times: the first two times he changed his mind and refused to take the test, and the third time the initial results indicated deception and he refused to complete the test. Adkins reportedly gave inconsistent reports of his activities on the day of Hailey's disappearance. He claimed he had been fired from his job that morning, but his employer said this was untrue. He also said he spent the whole morning at his mother's home in Big Spring, Texas, but his cellular phone records contradict this. He was the last person known to have seen Hailey; no witnesses saw her walking in town after she left home. Hailey's older brother said he came home at 4:00 p.m. and pounded on the door for several minutes, but no one would let inside. He finally climbed in through the window and found Adkins standing in the hallway. Hailey's brother said Adkins had a "deer in the headlights" stare at the time. In a television interview, Adkins said most of the information contained in the affadavit was inaccurate.

Adkins and Billie broke up in January 2011 and Adkins moved in with his grandmother. Billie at first defended him in media interviews, but within two weeks after Hailey's disappearance, she said she thought Adkins might have been involved in her case. In mid-January, authorities named Adkins as a suspect in Hailey's case; he has been the only person thus designated.

In March 2011, Billie was arrested after lied to the police when they came to home with a warrant seeking a DNA sample from Adkins. Billie said he wasn't home, when in fact he was. Investigators searched the residence and found Adkins, as well as prescription drugs. Billie was charged with three misdemeanor counts: hindering apprehension, lying to police and possession of dangerous drugs. After her release from jail, she obtained a protective order against Adkins. Investigators stated they had found pornographic images on Adkins's cellular phone, his USB memory stick, and computers belonging to his mother and grandmother. (He himself did not own a computer.) Almost all the images were of adults, but at least one picture appeared to be child pornography. Adkins denied having possessed any child pornography and noted that other individuals had access to the electronic devices. He has not been charged in connection with the pornographic material. In June, Billie pleaded guilty to one charge of making a false report to authorities. The other charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, suspended, and one year of probation. She now lives in Austin, Texas, about 250 miles from Colorado City.

Adkins strongly denies having harmed Hailey, and neither he nor anyone else has faced any charges in her disappearance. Investigators have stated they believe Hailey is deceased. Her case remains unsolved.

Left: Billie Dunn;
Center: Shawn Adkins
Right: Clint Dunn