Waffle House Disappearances: Michelle Whitaker, Heather Sellars & The Murder of Dana Satterfield.

32 year old Michelle Whitaker had problems with substance abuse. She was working at a diner called Waffle House. She was arrested for drunk driving and public drunkenness. Her mother, Laura Andrews, tried “tough love”, hoping that a court ordered rehab program would help her overcome her problems. This made Michelle angry.

It was August 16, 2002  and after being released on the public drunkenness charge, she found a friend who took her to a truck stop in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Michelle seemingly disappeared without a trace. The friend who dropped her off at the truck stop was questioned by police, and after passing a polygraph he was ruled out as a suspect. 

A month after Michelle's disappearance, Heather Sellars, one of Michelle's co-workers went missing as well. On the afternoon of September 24, 2002, twenty-year-old Heather was dropped off at her job at a Waffle House restaurant in Spartanburg, by her grandmother Norma. She was carrying a bag containing her work uniform and another outfit. She planned to spend the night at her aunt's home. After her shift was over, she went there. Shortly afterwards, Jonathan Vick, her boyfriend and former fiance, picked her up. The couple then went to two local bars. This was the last time she was seen alive.When Heather didn't pick up her paycheck at the Waffle House, her family knew that something was wrong. Vick was the last person known to have seen her alive. He was considered a suspect in her disappearance. Her family claimed that she had been abused by him. However, she never reported the abuse to the police. 

Heather was born on July 27th, 1982 was 5'1 - 5'3 feet tall, 100 - 110 pounds pounds. She was last seen wearing a beige tank top, blue jeans and some jewlery. She had blond hair, blue eyes, a tattoo on her arm and a mole on her cheek. She enjoyed camping, dancing and going the beach. Her case remains unsolved.

Dana Satterfield was 27 years old in 1995 and owned and operated her own beauty salon off of State Highway 221 in Roebuck, South Carolina. She was a mother of two children and had recently separated from her husband, Mike. Around 6:30 p.m. on July 31st,  she bought a bottle of cleaning fluid from a door-to-door saleswoman named "Shirley". At 8:11 p.m., Shirley passed by Dana's salon, saw her cleaning up, and waved to her. She then went to visit two other stores.

At 8:30 p.m., Shirley returned to the salon to wait for her ride home when she heard strange noises coming from inside. She then saw the lights turn out, heard a very loud sound, and saw a man jump out of one of the windows. She ran to a nearby liquor store to call the police. However, she crossed paths with the man in front of the liquor store. Fearing for her safety, she ran toward the street to flag down a motorist. When that was unsuccessful, she ran to the nearest house and called the police.

A deputy sheriff arrived at the salon and found Dana's body in a closet. She had been beaten, raped, and strangled. Authorities ruled out robbery as nothing appeared to have been stolen. 

Another witness, Ken Smith, later came forward. He was driving past the salon at around 8:40 p.m. that same night, when he saw a suspicious man nearby. The man was standing next to a car and gave him a dirty look. Based on the time frame and description, it is believed that he was the killer. Despite the witnesses, no one was ever arrested in her murder. A $50,000 reward was being offered for information in the case.

Police first suspected that Mike was the killer. His fingerprints were found on the water heater which was next to her body. Mike told police that he had installed the water heater. He also said that their breakup was amicable. He also did not fit the description of the suspect. They also looked into the possibility that he had hired someone to murder her, but could find no evidence to support the theory. 

Police suspect that the killer may have stalked Dana. They believe he was a predator, possibly a serial killer. A composite was made of the suspect. Authorities estimated that the killer at the time was eighteen to twenty-five years old, 5'6" to 5'9" tall, 145-170 pounds, with blond or light brown hair. They believe he drove a blue Ford Bronco with custom rims and out of state license plates.

Ten years later, in October of 2005, authorities arrested a local man named Jonathan Vick and charged him with Dana's murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. Authorities had investigated Vick back in 1995, but they did not have enough evidence to connect him until a witness, his friend David Pace, came forward. He claimed that on the day of the murder, Vick told him that he was going to meet with Dana later that night. and  threatened to kill him if he told anyone about visiting her. David was overcome with remorse years later, after meeting Dana's daughter.

Authorities matched semen from Dana's body to Vick's DNA. Vick  matched the physical description of the suspect and owned a Ford Bronco with custom rims. He also had been a customer at Dana's salon prior to her murder. His ex-girlfriend claimed that after the murder, he drove her to the salon and said that if she didn't listen to him, she would end up like "that woman". Vick was and ex-marine and assaulted several people and was known for having a "violent temper".

In December of 2006, he was convicted of the charges and given a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2035. He is also a suspect in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Heather Sellars.

Also in 2006, authorities found bloodstains and blonde hair in an abandoned vehicle registered to Vick. They believe the blood and hair may be from Heather, but there has been no release of the results of the forensic analysis.

Vick was a suspect in Michelle's case until the summer of 2008 when a woman that watched an episode of Forensic Files, that featured Vick's murder conviction, showed a photo of Michele. The woman was shocked because the photo was of her neighbor. She called the police to let them know Michelle was alive and well and living in Oregon. Michele Whitaker contacted her family a short time later, and attended her sister’s wedding. She told family members she disappeared because she wanted to start a new life and that she was ashamed of her past indiscretions.