Cindy Dale Cathey
Case Number:
Not publicly available
Case Status:
Unsolved — confirmed with LE
Date of Birth / Age:
Not publicly available
Date of Death:
Not publicly available
Date Discovered:
Not publicly available
Cause of Death:
Not publicly available
Manner of Death:
Not publicly available
Location Discovered:
Not publicly available
Investigating Agency:
Not publicly available
Tip Line:
Background
Cindy Dale Cathey was born on February 27, 1970, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Jimmy Dale and Cherry Cathey. She had three sisters, Teresa, Karen and Gayla. At the time of her death she lived on Tooke Drive in Shreveport.
As a teenager, Cindy volunteered at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport. On August 5, 1982, she was among 40 youth volunteers honored by the medical center for their service. On October 14, 1982, Cindy was again recognized when LSU Medical Center honored 115 volunteers for their contributions to the hospital.
Gayla remembers Cindy as pretty and with a personality and way about her that were distinctly her own.
Case Summary
On the night of September 13, 1993, Cindy was in the Cedar Grove area of Shreveport. Her sister Gayla later recalled seeing her leave home on foot [TIME?] wearing a pink jumpsuit, white K-Swiss tennis shoes and silver hoop earrings.
Cindy was last seen [BY WHO] shortly before midnight.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. on September 14, 1993, two couples who had gone to the Wallace Lake area for an early-morning swim found Cindy lying in the parking lot at Cameron Park at the end of Wallace Lake Road in south Caddo Parish. The location was less than three miles from her home.
Cindy had been shot once in the head, below and behind her right ear. A Coke bottle was lying on its side next to her, and its cap remained in her hand. Investigators believed she had been killed only a short time before she was found.
The clothing Cindy was wearing when her body was discovered also differed from what Gayla remembered her wearing when she left home. Cindy was found in red shorts, a white T-shirt and white tennis shoes. Publicly available information does not explain when or why she changed clothes.
Investigators began trying to identify the man Cindy had reportedly left with shortly before her death. People were questioned and alibis were checked, but no suspect was publicly identified.
[SPECIFIC DATE] In early 2014, Cpl. Donnie Laney was assigned to reinvestigate Cindy’s homicide. He reviewed the original case file, crime-scene photographs and physical evidence, contacted detectives who had previously worked the investigation, spoke with Gayla and began reinterviewing people connected to the case. Laney said he compiled a list of approximately eight to ten suspects and worked through them individually.He said a witness reported meeting Cindy somewhere in the area [WHERE ?]. According to that witness, Cindy called someone to pick her up, and while they waited, the witness bought her a 16-ounce Coke. A white man with a ponytail then arrived in a pickup truck and Cindy left with him. Accounts differ on the color of the truck, with some describing it as maroon and others as blue. The original 1993 investigation described the vehicle as possibly being a maroon Chevrolet pickup driven by a white man.
Laney said he located what he believed could be an important piece of evidence that may have been overlooked during the original investigation. He declined to disclose whether it involved DNA but said the evidence could potentially help account for part of Cindy’s final hours if investigators could determine to whom it belonged.
Laney believed Cindy was killed in the Wallace Lake Road parking lot rather than somewhere else and later dumped there. Based on the position of the gunshot and the fact that she was still holding the Coke bottle cap, he believed Cindy was caught completely off guard. He also believed she likely knew her killer and felt comfortable enough with that person to go with them to Cameron Park.
Suspects/Persons of Interest
No suspects or persons of interest were publicly identified.
Timeline
| 09/13/93 | Last seen shortly before midnight in the Cedar Grove area, leaving in a pickup with an unidentified white man. |
| 09/14/93, 3:30 am | Found shot in the parking lot of Cameron Park at the end of Wallace Lake Rd. |
| 09/16/93 | Interred at Williamson Cemetery in Bryceland, Louisiana. |
Limited Available Information – Can You Help?
Publicly available information regarding Cindy and the circumstances of her case remains limited. If you have photos, records, or firsthand details to share, please consider submitting them through the Case Contribution Form.
Pages Dedicated to Cindy
None found.
Have a Tip?
Contact the Xx Parish Sheriff’s Office at (318) 473-6727 or Crime Stoppers at (318) 44Xxx3-7867. Whenever possible, firsthand information should be reported directly. If you prefer, you may submit information through our Tip Form for forwarding to the appropriate authorities.
S&J Investigative Notes
This profile will be updated as requested public records are received.
Sources
- The Shreveport Journal, “Volunteers Honored,” August 17, 1982.
- The Times, “Med Center Volunteers Honored,” October 15, 1982.
- The Times, “Swimmers Find Dead Woman in South Cadd,” Fernando Pizarro, September 15, 1993.
- The Times, Caddo Parish death notice for Cindy Dale Cathey, September 16, 1993.
- The Times, obituary for Cindy Dale Cathey, September 22, 1993.
- The Times, “Murder Suspect Eludes Deputies,” September 24, 1993.
- The Times, “Woman’s Murder Still Unsolved,” March 2, 2010.
- , “Who Murdered Cindy Cathey?” January 22, 2016.
- Caddo-Shreveport Crime Stoppers, Cold Cases — Cindy Dale Cathey.
rev 08/29/26