A woman's agonising 25-year search for her missing father has finally ended with the devastating discovery that he had been laid to rest in a cemetery just a few miles from her home.
A Quarter-Century of Uncertainty
Lovetta Little-Smith, a 55-year-old certified nursing assistant from Houston, Texas, last saw her father, Almond Gene Little, in 1999 when she was 30 years old. The 49-year-old vanished, plunging his family into decades of "emotional distress" and unanswered questions. Lovetta explained that complex family dynamics delayed an official missing person report until 2011. Her father was legally married to another woman, Beverly, 73, who was also seeking answers.
The search intensified significantly in 2021 when Lovetta enlisted the help of the Texas Center for the Missing. The organisation amplified her plea through media appearances on outlets like Fox 26, community campaigns, and billboards across Houston. To process her grief, Lovetta even authored a book titled "Dear Dad," chronicling the life events her father had missed.
The Breakthrough Call
The turning point came in November 2025. A detective from the Houston Missing Persons Unit contacted Lovetta with potential leads. On November 13, after a follow-up call, the detective confirmed a grim truth. Through meticulous investigation of archived cemetery records, they found that Almond Gene Little had died on September 4, 2000, at Doctors Hospital in Houston—barely a year after he disappeared.
He was buried at the Harris County Cemetery under the name Gene Little. Lovetta recalled a tip from a neighbour during her searches in north Houston, who mentioned her father had turned yellowish and gone to hospital. This detail later aligned perfectly with the detective's findings.
Closure and a Continued Mission
The revelation brought a painful form of closure. Lovetta, now a mother of three, held a memorial for her father. She brought a Winnie the Pooh bear, one of his last gifts to her. The family had already endured profound tragedy; Lovetta's brother, Almond Gene Little Jr., was murdered in a 1996 home invasion linked to bad drug deals, an event that may have contributed to her father's struggles.
Despite her own ordeal ending, Lovetta vows to continue supporting other families. She plans to keep working with the Texas Center for the Missing, urging others in similar situations to never surrender hope. "It has caused me emotional distress. It includes anxiety, fear," she confessed of her 25-year quest. Her message is now one of resilience: to never give up the search for missing loved ones.
