A Texas woman's quarter-century quest to find her missing father has reached a poignant and heartbreaking conclusion, after she discovered he had been laid to rest just miles from her home all along.
A Disappearance That Echoed for Decades
Lovetta Little-Smith, a 55-year-old certified nursing assistant from Houston, carried the agonising unknown of her father's fate since 1999. Her father, Almond Gene Little, was 49 years old when he vanished. The emotional ordeal began when Lovetta was 30, though the complexity of her family situation meant she did not formally report him missing until 2011.
"In 1999 was the last time I saw Almond Gene Little, my father," Lovetta recounted. The search became a family effort, but answers remained elusive for years. Her father was legally married to another woman, Beverly, 73, which added layers to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
The Intensified Search and Public Campaign
Determined to find answers, Lovetta's hunt intensified in 2021 when she enlisted the help of the Texas Center for the Missing. The organisation helped amplify her plea through media appearances on outlets like Fox 26, community campaigns, and even billboards across the Houston area.
To process her emotions, Lovetta penned a book titled "Dear Dad," detailing the life events her father had missed. "I wrote a book... just to express my feelings and to also let him know what he has missed out on in my life within the last 25 years," she explained. The mother of three never relinquished hope.
The Crucial Breakthrough and Bittersweet Closure
The turning point came in November 2025. A detective from Houston's Missing Persons unit contacted Lovetta with potential leads. After a meticulous investigation into archived cemetery records, the truth was confirmed. Almond Gene Little had died on September 4, 2000, at Doctors Hospital in Houston—just one year after going missing.
He was buried at the Harris County Cemetery under the name Gene Little. Lovetta recalled a tip from a neighbour during her searches, who mentioned her father had gone to hospital after "turning yellowish." This detail later aligned with the detective's findings. The family held a memorial for Little this month, where Lovetta brought a Winnie bear, one of her last gifts from him.
A Legacy of Tragedy and a Pledge to Help Others
The family had already endured profound loss before Almond's disappearance. Lovetta's brother, Almond Gene Little Jr., was just 22 when he was murdered in a 1996 home invasion linked to drug dealings, a tragedy that deeply affected her father.
The 25-year search took a significant toll. "It has caused me emotional distress. It includes anxiety, fear," Lovetta confessed. Now, with a form of closure, she vows to continue supporting other families through the Texas Center for the Missing. Her message is clear: "Never give up, to never lose hope."
