Boonville Police Department calls for renewed attention on missing Indiana woman Donna Hatfield, last seen in 2019

NBC News

14-05-2025

Mother's Day is a time to come together to celebrate the women in your life.
The women who raised you, taught you, and nurtured you throughout your childhood and into adulthood.
But Shannon Martin hasn't been able to celebrate with her mother, Donna Hatfield, for six years now.
'Mom could do anything. Mom could do anything she put her mind to doing,' Shannon told Dateline. 'And if somebody told her she couldn't do something, she was stubborn enough she was going to plow through and get it done. She was determined.'
Donna, then 72, vanished from Boonville, Indiana, in 2019. And her family has been looking for her ever since.
On Friday, May 10, 2025, the Boonville Police Department held a press conference about Donna's disappearance. Lead Investigator Adam Wilmes said they had three goals with their press conference: 'To bring the case back to the public's attention, to give a background on Donna, and to find Donna so she can have a proper burial amongst her family.'
Shannon Martin also spoke at the press conference to paint a picture of her mother. 'She had a beautiful smile and I loved to hear her laugh,' she said. 'She juggled many jobs all at once while raising her family. Looking back, I really don't know how she did all of that.'
Donna grew up in southwest Indiana. 'She was 17 when she got married, and they lived in Evansville,' Shannon told Dateline. Donna and her husband, Thomas Rainey, had three children.
Donna held multiple jobs over the years, from being a sales associate to a pharmacy tech and later working as the bakery manager of a grocery store before retiring. 'She really enjoyed her job. She liked seeing her customers and, um, was really proud of her decorated cakes,' Shannon said at Friday's press conference.
In the early 2000s, Donna and her husband got divorced and she moved to nearby Boonville. 'She had many friends here,' Shannon said. 'Mom had remarried, and she was devastated and extremely lost when he passed away two years later.'
That's when Donna's health began to decline — Alzheimer's. It started with forgetting small things or being disoriented. 'As time went on, it was, you know, other things,' Shannon told Dateline. 'She really wasn't interested in food and eating.'
As the disease started to progress, Shannon really began to worry. 'At that point, I was concerned, you know, because here she was by herself,' she said.
'About 2015, my brother Thomas Rainey moved in with my mom,' Shannon said at the press conference. 'After being there several months, he decided he would stay and officially take care — take — take care of her.'
At the press conference, Det. Adam Wilmes gave a quick briefing on Donna's disappearance. 'On August 26th, 2019, Donna [Rainey Hatfield] was reported missing by her family,' he said. 'It is believed Donna was last seen alive around the end of May to early June 2019.' Detective Wilmes stated that Donna was last seen at a residence on the 600 block of North 1st St. in Boonville, Indiana, where she lived with her son. Donna's medication, identification and clothing were left behind at the residence.
Shannon told Dateline she was in disbelief when she learned her mother was missing. Her family did what they could to get the word out. 'We posted flyers. We went, um, into Boonville and posted flyers around town,' she said.
Over the last six years, 'numerous leads' have been followed up on, according to Det. Wilmes. 'Search warrants have been executed, outside agencies have been contacted for assistance, and so on,' he said at the press conference. 'Despite this, Donna is still missing.'
Dominique Evans, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI Indianapolis field office, also spoke at the press conference. 'The FBI was notified of Donna's case in November of 2022, following a request from Boonville Police,' she said. 'Our team of experts are highly proficient at analyzing location based upon the use of mobile devices. The FBI has provided tech — tech assistance on vehicles, has assisted on interviews and in the search of a home connected to Donna.'
Evans announced that following the press conference, the FBI would have billboards in the Boonville area featuring Donna's photo and a number to call with tips. 'Even the smallest detail can be crucial,' she said. 'A piece of information that might seem insignificant to you, can help solve this case.'
Mike Perry, the Warrick County prosecutor, also spoke at the press conference, and stressed that Donna's case has not gone cold. 'We want to emphasize that this is an active investigation and that absolutely nothing is being ruled out at this point,' he said. 'Whether Ms. Hatfield died of natural causes or under criminal circumstances is still unclear. As Detective Wilmes said, we truly believe that there are people out there — persons or person — that have information that will help us find Donna Hatfield.'
At the end of the press conference, Boonville Police Chief Brandon Wells answered some questions submitted by Dateline and other news outlets. When asked if there was any evidence Donna could be living elsewhere, Wells replied, 'It is hard to imagine Donna still being alive without her having access to her medications.' He noted that through their investigation, however, some things were uncovered that 'indicate she had connections to Florida through others.'
When asked if there was any record of Donna being at a hospital or nursing home before she vanished, the chief stated that this had been looked into. 'Immediately upon receiving the missing person report back in 2019, numerous phone calls were made around the surrounding area to check for Donna. No one had record of her being at their facility recently,' he said. Wells stated that through their investigation, they learned that the Southwestern Indiana Regional Council on Aging was contacted in the summer of 2019 for possible assistance, 'but ultimately services — services were denied by Donna's caregiver.'
Chief Wells also shared some details on the search efforts to find Donna. They utilized many teams to coordinate dives and sonar detection, plus a cadaver dog and ground-penetrating radar in specific areas of interest.
When asked what prompted last week's push for attention in Donna's case, the answer was simple. 'We felt a renewed sense of urgency since Mother's Day is Sunday and her children would like to know what happened to their mother,' Wells said. 'Every single person matters in our community, and we'll continue to search, to plead for answers, tips, et cetera, until we can answer the question as to what happened to Donna Hatfield and we can bring her home.'
That's what her family is hoping for. 'She was really big on her whole family, you know, like at the holidays, and she would, you know, cook and bake and make pies and make candy. She loved doing that,' Donna's daughter, Shannon Martin, told Dateline. 'Fixing meals, um, big meals for our family get-togethers, you know, that would include her brother and sister and my cousins.'
Shannon says this experience has been taxing on the whole family. 'My husband and I, and our three children — Mom's grandchildren — just have been in shock,' she said at the press conference. 'For me, devastation and fear set in. I was beside myself. The stress has been overwhelming for our family.'
Despite the devastation, Shannon is still holding on to hope. 'I'm hopeful that she's going to be found,' she told Dateline. 'I'm hopeful that someone comes forward. I really do believe someone knows something.'
'Should any tip lead to the discovery of Donna's remains, a reward of up to $10,000 will be strongly considered by the family of Ms. Hatfield,' prosecutor Mike Perry stated at the press conference.
Donna is 5'4' tall and weighed 125 lbs. at the time of her disappearance. She has grey hair, hazel eyes and wears glasses. She would be 77 years old today.
If you have information about Donna's disappearance, please contact the Boonville Police Department at [phone], Warrick County Dispatch at [phone], the Warrick County Prosecutor's Office at [phone], the Indiana State Police at [phone] or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be submitted online to tips.fbi.gov.