NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A family’s desperate search for a missing Middle Tennessee woman has ended in heartbreak — and unanswered questions.
Months after Cassie Hulsey vanished, her sisters learned she had been found dead in Nashville on Tuesday. Now, they’re remembering her life and pushing for answers about what happened.
Reading a letter from last year is still difficult for Paige Cyree. In it, her younger sister poured out her love.
“Paige, I love you. You’re an extremely pretty girl and you mean the most. May Jesus bless you each day,” the letter reads." On the back, Cassie had written another note — this one to their older sister Rachel Cyree.
Neither thought they would be planning their baby sister’s funeral at just 35 years old.
“I don’t cry much in front of people,” Rachel said. The sisters said Cassie had been missing for months before her body was found. Paige said they originally thought she disappeared November 6, but later concluded she was dropped off in Nashville on November 9.
Disappearing for stretches of time wasn’t unusual for Cassie. Her family said she struggled with addiction and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The family first filed a missing person report in Tullahoma, then later in Nashville when they learned her last known location. The last confirmed contact with Cassie was November 12.
Months later, Paige said she got the call she dreaded from police.
“They’re like, ‘We found her body down past the bus station. There’s homeless people around an encampment down there, but she was back in a wooded area,’” Paige recalled. “Found out she was in a sheet. They believe she’d been there since around November 12th, but the autopsy hasn’t come back.”Her sisters say Cassie’s debit cards and phone were missing.
“I just want answers, really,” Rachel said. The family wants Cassie remembered for more than her struggles.
“A lot of people looked at her different because she was different, but she was full of life, very giving, a pure heart — and always talking about God,” Paige said.
They also hold on to her plans to turn her life around, written in the same letter that now serves as one of their last keepsakes. “I’m going to completely leave the streets alone. Drugs are too much for our family. If you don’t do more things with love, you will be destructed and sad and full of hate in your life. I love you so much. Love, Cassie,” it reads.
Metro police said Hulsey’s body was found off 6th Avenue South in what they described as a sleeping bag, in an advanced state of decomposition.
Investigators said a man searching for scrap metal made the discovery. The cause of death remains under investigation.
Since the family said Hulsey did not have life insurance, they have started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses, which you can donate here.
This story was reported on air by journalist Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Aaron and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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