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by JENN WOOD
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On the night of January 3, 1999, twenty-five-year-old Paula Merchant left her parents’ home in Forest Acres, South Carolina to attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. It was supposed to be an ordinary Sunday evening — marking one more step on her path toward recovery.
Instead, it became the night she vanished without a trace…
Hours later – at 12:23 a.m. EST on January 4, 1999 – Columbia police found her tan 1989 Nissan Sentra on fire behind a vacant building on Commerce Drive near Owens Field. The fire was deliberately set. Paula’s keys were still in the ignition – and her purse was left inside.
No one was inside the vehicle… and Paula has not been seen or heard from since.
Paula Louise Merchant, born August 3, 1973, had recently graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in anthropology. After finishing school, she moved back to Forest Acres to pursue graduate studies at the University of South Carolina. Friends and family remembered her as kindhearted, trusting, and fluent in Spanish. She also struggled with a heroin addiction — a battle she faced head-on by attending recovery meetings like the one she was supposed to be at that night.
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From the beginning, investigators treated her disappearance as a possible kidnapping. Search teams combed wooded areas, drainage ditches, and industrial sites near Owens Field. Helicopters scanned the terrain, and investigators canvassed the neighborhood. Despite these efforts — and despite the fact a burned-out car was left behind — no viable leads emerged. Paula’s trail went cold almost immediately, leaving behind one of the Midlands’ most haunting mysteries.
Police agencies across South Carolina and Georgia were soon drawn into the search. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), the Columbia Police Department (CPD), the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) all reviewed the case.
Still, Paula’s trail remained cold…
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A FAMILY’S DESPERATE SEARCH FOR CLOSURE
For Paula’s parents, Darrell and Irma Merchant, and her brother – Darrell Merchant III – the loss was devastating. They made emotional public appeals, organized vigils, and posted flyers across the Midlands. At one point, they helped raise $10,000 in reward money for information leading to answers.
Irma Merchant rarely left the house in the months after Paula vanished — not wanting to miss a call from her daughter (or from someone with information about the case).
Over the years, investigators have asked whether Paula’s disappearance was the work of a predator.
In 2000, authorities arrested Reinaldo Rivera, a Navy veteran accused of killing four women in South Carolina and Georgia between 1999 and 2000 — all slim, light-haired, and close in age to Paula. He was charged with strangling and stabbing his victims. Paula’s parents publicly wondered if Rivera could be connected to their daughter’s case.
Rivera, who lived in Columbia until just before Paula disappeared, fit the timeline and victim profile. But no evidence has ever tied him to her.
In 2002, another name surfaced: Richard Evonitz. A serial killer linked to the abduction and murder of three Virginia girls, Evonitz grew up in Columbia and once worked in Blythewood and Spartanburg. Investigators looked at Paula’s case, as well as the 1992 disappearance of University of South Carolina student Dail Dinwiddie, for possible connections. Again, no solid evidence was found.
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A MYSTERY THAT STILL HAUNTS
More than two decades later, Paula Merchant’s disappearance remains one of the Midlands’ most haunting mysteries. Her family has never stopped searching for answers — or given up hope.
“We’ll never give up hope until they show us some proof she’s dead,” her father once said. For Irma Merchant, the wait was a constant vigil, each phone call a chance that her daughter might finally be on the other end.
Paula’s case is now part of a troubling pattern of unsolved disappearances in the Columbia area — including USC graduate student Dail Dinwiddie in 1992.
For Paula’s loved ones, the heartbreak has never faded. They still speak of her in the present tense — as a daughter, a sister, a friend whose smile could light up a room. And until someone comes forward with the truth, Paula Merchant’s story will remain unfinished.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is urged to contact the Richland County Sheriff’s Department at (803) 576-3000 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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ABOUT THIS SERIES…
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Unsolved Carolinas – sponsored by our friends at Bamberg Legal – highlights cases which have fallen off of the front page. In every unsolved case, someone out there could know something that provides a missing link – a critical clue that could bring peace to a family in pain and help them write the next chapter of their stories. If you know someone who is missing – or has been a victim of an unsolved homicide – email us your story.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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