On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, Bonnie Morris Triplett was surprised by a visit from her daughter, Kaila, who “popped over,” to chat with her mother about, among other things, a pair of bulldog puppies.
“She was in a good mood,” Triplett recalled. “She was laughing, funny.”
Triplett was preparing to leave for a Florida vacation and school had just begun again for Morris, 21, a student at Mississippi State University, so the two had a lot to discuss as they dined at Caney Fork restaurant, before going their separate ways.
“I gave her a hug in the parking lot and told her I”d see her soon and I love her,” Bonnie said of the daughter whom she never saw again.
On the evening of Sept. 17, 2009, Morris” stepfather, Robert Warren Triplett Jr., was in his bathroom, near the garage to the family”s ranch-style home off quiet, remote Golding Road, when he heard a vehicle on the gravel driveway approaching the house.
He said Morris subsequently left the home in a dark-colored van or sport utility vehicle, with an unknown person or persons; the following day, at the urging of Bonnie Triplett, who was in Florida, Robert Triplett reported Morris missing to the Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office.
A grim anniversary
A year later, Robert Triplett — who has past arrests for sex crimes in Mississippi and Louisiana and was on non-adjudicated probation from 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County — is serving a 10-year sentence in the State Penitentiary at Parchman, his probation revoked after he was arrested for possessing child pornography, a charge to which he recently pleaded guilty in federal court.
And Morris” family still seeks answers, issuing a desperate plea for help in finding her and substantially increasing a reward offered for her return.
“I”ve been authorized to offer a $100,000 reward to the individual that will call 662-687-2262 and carry me to (Kaila),” David Hill, a private investigator hired by Bonnie Triplett, said Thursday. “We want to be carried to her, personally.”
The sheriff”s office continues to follow leads but has “nothing new to report,” said Detective Tony Perkins.
“My family and I desperately need help to bring her home, in whatever condition that is,” Bonnie Triplett said. “I hope there is someone out there that may have seen something unusual that stuck out in their mind. I think I could bear anything or deal with anything, if I could just see her again and know she”s all right. Or if she”s not all right, just bring her home. I need so much help from the public to find her.”
“We have compiled a great deal of evidence,” Hill said, declining to speak in specific terms about the investigation into Morris” disappearance. “We feel like, at this time, we know what happened. We feel like we know who is involved. We think, in a short time, it will be brought to a close.”
“We”ve learned so much over this past year,” Bonnie Triplett said. “But there are still things we need to learn to bring this to a close. It”s not just me; it”s her aunts and uncles and grandparents and friends that still need to know what happened.”
Asked what she most missed about her daughter, Bonnie Triplett didn”t hesitate.
“Her laugh,” she responded, through tears. “She had a wonderful, infectious laugh. Her eyes sparkled.
“She was a quiet person,” she continued. “We took her everywhere — we were so proud of her — so she was used to being around adults. She was engaging, but she could be a bit of a homebody. She loved to do things with her family. She loved to read and she loved music. She loved to dance. Oh, she loved to dance!”
“I miss that laugh so much,” she finished.
Kaila Morris timeline
- Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009: Kaila Morris pays surprise visit to mom, Bonnie Morris Triplett, in Columbus.
- Saturday, Sept. 12: Bonnie Morris Triplett goes on vacation in Florida.
- Thursday, Sept. 17: Kaila Morris chats with mom on Facebook at 1 a.m.,, plans to leave to visit best friend LaBriska Walker in Carrollton, Ala.; reportedly leaves with unknown persons in dark-colored van or SUV.
- Friday, Sept. 18: Bonnie Morris chats with LaBriska Walker on Facebook. Neither have heard from Kaila Morris. Morris” stepfather, Robert Warren Triplett Jr., reports Kaila missing at the behest of Bonnie Morris Triplett. Morris Triplett plans to return early from Florida since Morris is missing.
- Saturday, Sept. 19: Investigators call local media to release missing person information.
- Saturday, Oct. 3: Volunteers search rural areas of Lowndes County for Kaila Morris. Prayer service held for Morris at the Annunciation Catholic School grounds. Morris” stepfather, Robert Warren Triplett Jr. arrested on charges of possessing child pornography.
- Thursday, Oct. 8: Bonnie Morris Triplett and family publicize $10,000 reward for information leading to Kaila Morris.
- Friday, Oct. 23: Search for Kaila Morris continues with National Guard helicopters, GTR K-9 Search Team Belgian Malinois dogs specializing in human-remains detection.
- Wednesday, Dec. 2: Robert Warren Triplett Jr. pleads not guilty to possession of child pornography.
- Thursday, April 8, 2010: Robert Warren Triplett”s probation revoked for 2003 charges of attempted sexual battery in Jackson County.
- Wednesday, July 21: Federal court hearing in Oxford to suppress child-pornography evidence found at Robert Warren Triplett Jr.”s home during the Kaila Morris investigation. (The motion was denied
- Friday, Aug. 20: Judge rules to allow computer evidence and statements made to his son in child-pornography case against Robert Triplett Jr., suppresses statements made to his wife.
- Friday, Aug. 27: Robert Triplett Jr. pleads guilty to child-pornography charges. (Triplett awaits sentencing.)
- Friday, Sept. 17: One-year anniversary of Kaila Morris” disappearance.
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