Black Girl Missing: The abduction of Kyla Flagg
According to the Black and Missing Foundation, BIPOC women and girls face a disproportionately higher risk of abduction than their white counterparts. Alarmingly, it takes police officers about four times longer to locate victims — which is often far too late for a happy ending.
With help from the non-profit organisation above, Kyla Flagg didn't become part of these horrendous statistics. The 14-year-old black teenager from Atlanta, Georgia, was eventually found a month after her disappearance on 15th May 2021.
In the following article, the Crime+Investigation team take a closer look at the abduction, investigation and subsequent arrest of paedophile Robert David Fyke.
The dangers of social media
Kyla Flagg was an ordinary teen from Atlanta, Georgia. She went to school, met up with friends and, according to her parents, spent a little too much time online. She was an avid gamer and social media user who was particularly active on Kik — a messaging platform popular with Gen Z.
Like any responsible parents, Wayne and Stacy Flagg tried to protect their daughter from the dangers of the online world. They were worried about who she was talking to and what she might be exposed to, so they would regularly monitor her interactions and restrict her usage.
Despite their best intentions, and as many teenagers do, Kyla rebelled. She became secretive and smarter about hiding her communication. Finally, on 15th May 2021, her virtual double life bled into reality. After saying goodbye to her dad, she walked out of the family home and straight into the car of a man she had met online.
The appeal for help
Distressed, Wayne and Stacy contacted the police, who initially reported Kyla as a runaway. Unfortunately, this happens frequently to the families of black victims, who often have to fight harder for their voices to be heard.
This wasn't good enough, and time was running out. Kyla's parents knew she hadn't run away, so they contacted the Black and Missing Foundation for advice. The organisation raises awareness of missing people of colour and helps families navigate the often complex legal processes and terminology.
A dedicated team worked tirelessly to keep Kyla in the public eye. Behind the scenes, they also convinced law enforcement to correct the runaway report — Kyla had been abducted, and the documentation needed to reflect that.
Together with detectives, and thanks to widespread media coverage, they eventually located the vulnerable teen, an agonising 39 days later in Connecticut.
Groomed by predators
Kyla was found alive, but she had to endure a horrific ordeal at the hands of two men. Whether or not the pair had preyed on Kyla because of racial prejudice is unclear. However, both took advantage of her mental health and naivety.
34-year-old David Fyke had started communicating with Kyla through an online game. He initially claimed he thought she was 19. During a subsequent lie detector test, he admitted he knew she was only 14 years old. Over several months, he groomed her for sexually explicit images before ultimately kidnapping her to Texas.
Once at Fyke's home, he continued and recorded the sexual abuse. Police eventually found videos on his phone, which led to his arrest. However, Kyla wasn't with Fyke when police turned up on his doorstep. She had allegedly been taken by another man, 35-year-old Wayne Marcell, who lived in Connecticut.
Fyke said that Kyla had stayed with him for a month. One day, while he was at work, she texted to say that she was leaving him for another man. He didn’t believe her at first, but she was nowhere to be seen when he came home.
Trial and sentencing
Finally, after more than a month of desperately praying and waiting, Kyla was reunited with her parents. The path to healing would be long and challenging, but at least their daughter, unlike so many others, had been found alive.
During his trial, Fyke pleaded guilty to producing child pornography. He received the maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison — plus 15 years of supervised release. He'll be 79 years old before he's allowed to live as a free man.
Marcell was charged with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. As of March 2025, according to court records, his case is still pending.
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