Texas Rangers Cold Case Unit officially investigating Hailey Dunn murder

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - It’s been a little more than 14 years since the last time anyone saw then-13-year-old Hailey Dunn, and law enforcement is still trying to find her killer.

Hailey was an 8th-grade student and cheerleader at Colorado City Middle School. She was last seen leaving her mother’s house and heading to her friend’s house on Dec. 27, 2010.

She was reported missing by her mother the next day. Many changes in the case since then, with multiple authorities getting involved, including Scurry County, Mitchell County, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers.

Hailey’s body was found in March 2013, and in 2021, the boyfriend of Hailey’s mom at the time of her disappearance, Shawn Adkins, was arrested and charged with Hailey’s murder.

The charges against Adkins were dropped in June 2023, with court documents stating a further investigation was needed. Erica Morse, a private investigator working on the case at the time, had this to say following Adkins’s release.

“Why in the world has this happened?” Morse said. “Why is Shawn out, and what are we going to do moving forward to close this case?”

On Friday, Hailey’s family posted a significant update on the Who Killed Hailey Dunn Facebook page. The Texas Rangers Cold Case Unit is now officially handling Hailey’s case.

If you have any information relating to this case, you can submit a tip online or call 1 (800) 252-8477 with the reference number 153.

KCBD also reached out to Erica and Hailey’s father, Clint, for comment. Clint says the Texas Rangers are dedicated to putting Hailey’s killer behind bars and people should be outraged that this case still hasn’t been resolved.

Erica says she does not believe there’s ever been any anonymity involved in Hailey’s case, so if anybody has information and can bring that information forward, now is the time to do it.