What Happened to Tejuana (Adcox) Burnett, a Young Mother Who Vanished in 1979?

May 16, 2023 — UNDERGROUND MYSTERIES
Updated on August 30, 2023

Tejuana Jane (Adcox/Hand) Burnett vanished suddenly under mysterious circumstances on June 19, 1979 when she was just 19 years old, after her husband picked her up from the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. 

As of the day I am writing this article, there has been no social media awareness on this case.  I have only recently learned of this case, as it was a new entry into NamUs (the national database for missing people).  Hopefully, with this being the very first news article on this unrepresented / underrepresented cold case, more people will share this case until it becomes more popular.

I have attempted to re-create Burnett’s timeline, in hopes that it would help piece together her life at the time of her disappearance.

Born in Shelby, Texas on January 9, 1960 to Robert “Bobby” Neal Adcox and Flora Jean Henson / Hanson, Burnett was raised in several different states.  She comes from a large family, having 8 siblings.  At some point, she and her immediate family moved to Wellton, Yuma County, Arizona, where she had resided at the time of her disappearance.  After her high school career, she got married and had one child, a son.  She began taking courses at the Marine Corps Air Station. After her disappearance, her parents both passed away, never having known what became of her.  Her paternal grandfather and grandmother, who had also been living in Arizona at the time of her disappearance, passed away in 1986 and 1998, respectively.

Burnett can be described as a Caucasian female who is about 5’2″ in height with sandy hair and brown eyes.  At the time of her disappearance, she weighed about 115 pounds.  She has at least two tattoos: one on her left breast of a marijuana leaf and the letters “DINK”  on the outside of four of her left fingers (one letter on each finger).  When she was last seen, she was reportedly wearing blue denim shorts, a light blue shirt, and flip flops.

Because Burnett went missing only a short drive from the Mexican border, there is a possibility she could have traveled there.  She also has ties to Arkansas and Texas.

If Burnett is still alive today, she would be 63 years old. Although it is unknown if she had encountered foul play, decided to start anew, suffered an accident, or something else, her living family is seeking closure on this case.

If you have any information on Burnett’s whereabouts, please contact Sergeant Jason Hemstreet at the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 783-4427.

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