Authorities hope travelers unknowingly photographed a vehicle or person connected to the airport worker’s disappearance eight years ago.
NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia investigators are asking people to search old photos and videos from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for clues that could help solve the 2018 killing of airport worker Shanequa Sullivan.
The renewed request focuses on images taken during the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2018, when Sullivan was last confirmed alive at the airport. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Newton County Sheriff’s Office believe a traveler’s picture or recording could contain useful information in the background, even if Sullivan was not the intended subject.
Sullivan, 23, worked for a janitorial service at the airport. MARTA security video showed her trying to enter the airport train station with a Breeze Card that did not work. She waited near the gate before walking back toward the airport’s North Terminal. Investigators have not confirmed where she went after that.
A fisherman found Sullivan’s body in the Yellow River in Newton County on March 3, 2018, about 40 miles from the airport. Authorities have classified her death as a homicide but have not publicly identified a suspect. Her cause of death has not been released.
GBI agent Amelia Maddox said investigators cannot explain how Sullivan traveled from the airport to Newton County. Sullivan did not have independent transportation, and authorities believe someone may have persuaded or tricked her into entering a vehicle.
The GBI joined the Newton County Sheriff’s Office investigation in 2024, bringing additional resources and a new review of the evidence. Investigators are now seeking images recorded on Super Bowl Sunday, a day when the airport was likely crowded with travelers and workers.
Officials are interested in any photo or video taken at the airport that afternoon, particularly near the MARTA station, North Terminal, roadways, passenger pickup areas and parking facilities. A license plate, vehicle, person or other background detail could help investigators reconstruct Sullivan’s movements.
The search is complicated by the loss of airport surveillance footage that might have tracked Sullivan after she returned to the terminal. Atlanta police acknowledged in 2018 that investigators should have secured all available video after she was reported missing but did not do so.
Airport surveillance recordings were generally stored for 28 days at the time. Sullivan’s body was discovered after that period had passed, and much of the footage had been automatically erased. Police recovered some images of Sullivan returning to the airport, but the available video did not show all of her movements.
The clothing Sullivan wore when she left work also remains missing. Investigators said she had been wearing a burgundy smock bearing the ABM company logo and black pants. She was not wearing those clothes when her body was recovered, authorities said.
That difference has remained an important part of the case. Investigators have not said where Sullivan’s uniform might be or whether it was removed before or after she was taken from the airport. No person has been charged in connection with her death.
Sullivan was 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. Her family said she had developmental disabilities and viewed the world with a childlike and trusting outlook. Newton County sheriff’s Cpl. Joshua Hicks said investigators believe someone targeted that vulnerability.
Early in the investigation, authorities received tips from across the United States and other countries. Those reports eventually slowed, leaving detectives without a clear path to the person responsible. The new appeal is intended to reach people who may still have digital files stored on an old telephone, computer, cloud account or social media page.
Investigators also believe someone other than the killer may know what happened. They are asking anyone who heard a suspicious statement, noticed unexplained behavior or learned information about Sullivan’s disappearance to contact authorities.
The investigation remains open. Authorities have not announced an arrest, identified a suspect or disclosed whether recent testing has produced new physical evidence. The GBI and Newton County Sheriff’s Office continue to review information related to Sullivan’s final hours and the trip from Atlanta to the Yellow River.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 4, 2026.