Sophie was last seen in Fort Lauderdale, Florida late on May 19, 2017. Surveillance video showed her walking alone down Davie Boulevard near the Brightline tracks, heading eastbound past a business between the 100 and 400 blocks of west Davie Boulevard.
She left all her belongings behind, including $300 cash in a bag near her bed, and also left a candle burning in her bedroom. She has never been heard from again.
Prior to her disappearance, Sophie often hung out in the area of Stranahan High School, which she had attended for a short period. She used the bus to get around. Her parents were divorced and she lived with her father, who had been granted full custody in 2015. She had been experiencing mood swings and was seeing a therapist to deal with her emotions.
She had transferred to a virtual school and took classes online with her computer. After she went missing, alcohol, drugs and some adult-type undergarments such as stockings and garter belts, all believed to be hers, were found in her bedroom. There was also a calendar with the day’s date, May 19, marked.
Sophie had run away once before, but only for a day, and investigators don’t believe her disappearance was voluntary. She has two cellular phones, but neither of them have been active since her disappearance. The last phone ping was in the vicinity of southwest 11th Court; after this, it was either turned off or the battery died.
Prior to her disappearance, Sophie often called Leonard “Jay” Jennings, a man who lived in the neighborhood. She often went to his apartment to buy marijuana. She visited his apartment on the night of her disappearance, before returning home. Her phone records indicate she called Jennings at 3:07 a.m. and was at his home until 9:13 a.m.
Jennings and his two brothers, all of whom have long felony criminal histories, have been questioned in Sophie’s case. All of them denied having ever known, seen or communicated with her. Police searched Jennings’s apartment for evidence in Sophie’s case and took away items including 25 cellular phones, three tablets and other electronic devices.
Evidence on Sophie’s computer has lead authorities to believe she may have been the victim of a human trafficker or other online predator; Sophie had visited websites dedicated to finding “sugar daddies”, or wealthy men who pay to have relationships with young women. She had told friends about performing commercial sex acts, mentioning that one man paid her $400. In her diary she wrote that she wanted to “Get 10 sugar daddies”.
Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected.
