September 2, 2019 | By Crystal Harrison

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. The student credited above wrote this story as a class project.

Pamela Myles-Johnson was described as helpful, kind-hearted, and the life of the party. She was a cheerleader throughout her time in junior high and high school. She loved being around others and hanging out with friends.

Pamela married shortly after graduating high school. She and her husband Charles spent many years traveling the country. Pamela never met a stranger in any of her journeys.

Myles-Johnson and her family eventually settled down in Bourg, Louisiana, a small town about 90 miles outside of New Orleans.

For Myles-Johnson, family was everything. She went out of her way to do whatever she could to help others. She always put the needs of others before her own. The Johnson family grew when they adopted a daughter, Christina. Christina Johnson remembers her mother as being a fierce protector.

“Everyone knew mom. She chaperoned every trip and it was always me and her,” said Johnson.

Pamela was also the primary caretaker for her two young nieces. She took in the two girls as her own children, wanting to give them a happy, healthy life. Pamela often received help from her sister, Lisa Myles, with watching the girls, since they attended separate schools.

“Pamela would always try to pay me after watching the girls, even after I told her no. I would later find she snuck money into my purse, and after a while I had to leave my purse in the car. She always put others first,” Myles said.

She loved to shop at stores like Ross and Marshalls and Pamela was not afraid to spend a good amount of time searching the racks to find a good deal.

Pamela also loved to party. She loved to throw parties and used any excuse to have people over. “She was a party machine. She could plan a party in two weeks and have a packed house,” said Myles.

She would often help friends and family members around when no one else was available. She would drive her sister to appointments and was always supportive to those around her.

At work, in the Social Security Administration office, Pamela was the one that clients knew would go above and beyond to help them. She knew her job and took pride in assisting others.

As friendly as Myles-Johnson was, she did not often share her personal business. Even while lending a helping hand to others she kept her private life private.

On December 1, 2015, Pamela’s two young nieces approached a woman on Wade Street in Houma, Louisiana and reported that they had been kidnapped from their home in Bourg, about 15 minutes away. The girls were found near Pamela Myles-Johnson’s abandoned 2013 Gray Buick Enclave. When investigators responded to Myles-Johnson’s home, they found Pamela deceased inside.

56-year-old Pamela Myles-Johnson had been shot once in the head.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office announced they were looking for a tall, thin black man between the age of 25 to 35, per a 2016 article on Houma Today.

While interviewed by investigators, Pamela’s family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and employers all spoke highly of the woman who dedicated her life to others.

“She showed me how to help others without getting anything in return, she showed me the meaning of being a blessing to others,” Myles said.

Anyone who has any information about this case, the identity, or location of the suspect(s) is asked to contact the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office 985-876-2500. To remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-877-743-7433.

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