The Missing Samantha Ann Clarke

The Missing
Samantha Ann Clarke
Orange, Virginia

💔🕯️ STILL MISSING: What Happened to Samantha Ann Clarke? 🕯️💔

On a September night in 2010, 19-year-old Samantha Ann Clarke left her family home in Orange, Virginia, telling her younger brother she would be back in the morning. She never returned.

Samantha, affectionately known as “Sam,” was last seen shortly after midnight on September 13, 2010, at her family’s home on Lindsey Drive. Her mother, Barbara Tinder, had left for her overnight work shift, while Samantha was watching television in her pajamas and her 12-year-old brother, Hunter, was upstairs.

Around 12:30 a.m., Barbara received a call from the family’s home phone but couldn’t answer. When she called Hunter during her break, he told her that Samantha had hollered upstairs that she was leaving.

Hunter didn’t know where she was going.

Samantha’s pajamas were later found on her bed, suggesting she had changed before leaving. She appeared to have taken only her house key.

Leaving in the middle of the night was completely out of character for Sam. She rarely went outside alone after dark, had no driver’s license or cellular phone, and there was no public transportation available in her neighborhood at that hour.

Although Samantha had left home once before to stay in a nearby town for approximately two weeks, she maintained daily contact with her family. This time, there was no explanation or word from her.

When Barbara returned home around 7 a.m., Samantha was still gone. She and her sister searched the area and contacted people Samantha knew, but no one could tell them where she was. Samantha was reported missing two days later.

💔 THE INVESTIGATION

Investigators focused on people Samantha had recently become acquainted with, including Randy Allen Taylor.

According to police, telephone records established that Taylor was the last known person to speak with Samantha. Her mother also reported that he had called their home six times that night.

Taylor was considered a possible suspect, but he has never been charged in connection with Samantha’s disappearance. Authorities have not established what role, if any, he played.

In August 2013, Taylor was charged in connection with the abduction of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy, who disappeared from nearby Lovingston, Virginia. He was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder in the commission of an abduction and abduction with intent to defile and received two life sentences.

Alexis’s remains were located in December 2020 and identified in February 2021.

Despite Taylor’s conviction in Alexis’s case, Samantha’s disappearance remains a separate, unsolved investigation. No charges have been filed in connection with her case.

Authorities have described Samantha’s disappearance as suspicious and have stated that they suspect foul play. However, the circumstances remain unknown.

Samantha had graduated from Orange County High School just three months before she disappeared. Her mother remembers her as a happy young woman with a wonderful smile and laugh who always found a way to cheer others up.

For Barbara, the years have brought countless unanswered questions and the absence of a daughter who was supposed to come home that morning.

💔 IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Name: Samantha Ann Clarke
Nickname: Sam
Missing Since: September 13, 2010
Age at Disappearance: 19
Date of Birth: July 17, 1991
Missing From: Lindsey Drive, Orange, Virginia
Classification: Endangered Missing
Race: White
Height: 5’1″
Weight: Approximately 145 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:

• Right eyebrow piercing
• Right nostril piercing
• Tongue piercing
• Multiple ear piercings, including a bar in her right ear
• Playboy bunny tattoo on her right arm
• Tigger tattoo above her right ankle
• Black design and two dolphin tattoos on her lower back
• The word “Lucky” tattooed on her left ankle

Samantha has long brown hair, which she frequently wears in a bun, and wears eyeglasses. She has also had her tonsils removed.

📞 ANYONE WITH INFORMATION:

If you have information concerning Samantha Ann Clarke’s disappearance, please contact:

Orange County Sheriff’s Office
540-672-1200

💔 Samantha left home expecting to return the following morning. More than 16 years later, her family is still waiting to learn what happened.

Someone may know something that could finally help bring answers to this case. She deserves to be found, and her family deserves the truth.

🕯️ SHE IS STILL MISSING.

Sources:
Have you seen this child? Samantha Ann Clarke
Samantha Ann Clarke – The Charley Project
Samantha Clarke still missing eight years after vanishing from family home in Virginia
Samantha Ann Clarke (1991-2010) – Find a Grave Memorial