Crime & Safety

Unsolved Cases: Genelle Bradford

The Wilkinsburg teen disappeared just two weeks before she turned 18.

Genelle "Princess" Bradford, 17, had a lot to look forward to in the spring of 1999.

That May, she would turn 18. She was only two months away from her graduation day. And friends told investigators Genelle was looking forward to her prom.

The last time her family saw her was the morning of April 27, 1999, as she left her home for Wilkinsburg High School, where she was an honor student.

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Genelle—who was described as smart, funny, quiet, meek and mild—was raised by her grandparents, Princess and Ira Bradford. Her mother died of cardiac arrest induced by an asthma attack when Genelle was 5 years old. Her father was not involved in her life.

She had never been in any kind of trouble and her friends did not believe she would have run away at that time in her life. However, a May 25, 2003, story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review hinted that she might have begun changing from a good student who enjoyed basketball and attending Bible study to a teen who stopped studying and doing her homework, according to her grandmother.

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Her grandmother began noticing the change after Genelle visited a pair of colleges during her senior year. Her grades began to slip, she told the Tribune-Review.

On the night she disappeared, Genelle was reported to have been walking home from her job at the Wilkinsburg YWCA on Ross Avenue.

Genelle is described as an African-American female with black hair and eyes; 5 feet 3 inches tall; 96 pounds; and with pierced ears. She was last seen wearing tan pants, a white shirt, green jacket and black platform shoes.

Today, she would be 31 years old. Authorities believe she might still be in the area.

If you have any information about this case, contact the Wilkinsburg Police Department at 412-473-3056.

For more information about this and other missing person cases, visit Pennsylvania Missing Persons, NamUs, Doe Network or National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

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