Raylene and her sister were living with their father in Ruston, Louisiana in 1983. Raylene's eight-year-old sister, Candace, told authorities that their father, Raymond Helsley Jr., had severely abused Raylene during the morning hours of January 5, 1983. Candace said she saw her father strike Raylene repeatedly with a piece of PVC pipe and a silver 14-inch pipe wrench. When Candace left for school, Raylene was laying immobile on the couch. Candace said when she returned home in the afternoon, Raylene had disappeared. Raymond maintains that he only left Raylene alone in their residence for approximately one hour during the day; when he came home, she had vanished. He stated he believed she had run away. Raylene has never been seen again. Raymond was later charged with cruelty to a juvenile and Candace testified against her father at the trial. Raymond was convicted in August 1983 and sentenced to ten years in prison. He was also convicted of an unrelated charge of unlawful transportation of explosives. Raymond failed two polygraph tests about Raylene's disappearance. Due to the conflicting reports from family members and the lack of evidence, Raylene's case is still classified as a non-family abduction.