Episode 033 - The Disappearance of Heather Elvis

On December 17th, 2013, twenty year old Heather Elvis went out on a first date.  After her date dropped her off, at approximately 1:15am.  Investigation would later show that Heather received a call from a payphone from a former flame - Sidney Moorer.

Heather had carried on an affair with the married Moorer, 38 at the time.  After Moorer’s wife discovered the affair, Sidney cut off contact with Heather, though his wife Tammy would text and call Heather, harassing and threatening her.  

After receiving the call from Moorer, Heather called her roommate explaining that he wanted to meet up with.  The roommate advised Heather not to go.  The call lasted approximately two minutes and Heather was never heard from again.

After being reported missing, two days passed before investigators found Heather’s car.  It was parked sideways at the Peachtree Landing Boat Launch.  While the car was locked none of her missing belongings, her purse, keys and phone, were located.  Despite searches of the water and the land around it, no trace of Heather was found.

Cell phone records follow Heather’s movements that night but all records cut off at 3:41am.  While Sidney and Tammy denied any contact with heather, surveillance footage showed that Sidney had in fact called Heather the night she disappeared.  Traffick cameras also captured an image of a truck, the same style and color of truck Sidney drove, heading to and from the boat launch that night between 3:36 and 3:46am.

There was a great deal of suspicion cast on the Moorer’s, though for a time, law enforcement was unable to gather enough evidence to make charges.  On February 21st, however, investigators served a warrant to search their property.  At the conclusion of that search, both Sidney and Tammy were arrested and charged with kidnapping, murder, obstruction of justice and indecent exposure.

While the murder charges were dropped, Sidney went on trial in relation to kidnapping charges.    The jury was hung, unable to come to a unanimous decision which resulted in a mistrial.  

CASE UPDATE

Sidney went to court once again, this time being charged with obstruction of justice related to lies he had told investigators about his whereabouts and the phone calls from the night Heather vanished.  After a three day trial, Sidney was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison.

In April of 2018, both Tammy and Sidney were indicted on charges of kidnapping by a grand jury.  Tammy was ultimately sentenced to thirty years in prison.  Sidney received the same sentence when he was found guilty in 2019.

Both Tammy and Sidney, under South Carolina law, were given one year to turn over information related to the location of Heather’s remains which would result in a reduction of their sentences.  While Tammy’s year has since expired, Sidney has until September 18th, 2020, to produce this information.  

Sidney has yet to come forward with any information about Heather, her death or her whereabouts.  While the Elvis family finds comfort in the convictions, they long to know what happened to their daughter and to have the opportunity to lay her to rest.  Tammy and Sidney continue to maintain that they are innocent and played no role in Heather’s disappearance.