The Missing Women of Pinellas County, Pt 1: Margaret Dash, Retha Hiers, and Donyelle Johnson

Three women disappeared from Pinellas County, Florida over the course of fifteen years.
They came from different backgrounds. Their lives followed different paths. But their disappearances would eventually point investigators toward the same man.
In 1974, Margaret Dash left home to buy medicine for a sick relative and never returned. In 1982, Retha Hiers drove out to buy laundry detergent and vanished. In 1989, college student Donyelle Johnson left for class but never arrived.
Each woman left behind a family searching for answers. Decades later, investigators would come to suspect Cleveland Hill Jr., a married former minister and asphalt contractor with a documented history of violence who was repeatedly investigated but never charged in connection with their disappearances.
This week, we examine the lives of Margaret Dash, Retha Hiers, and Donyelle Johnson, the evidence that links their cases, and the unanswered questions that continue to haunt Pinellas County more than fifty years after Margaret first disappeared.

📍 Pinellas County, Florida
📅 1974–1989
If you have information about the disappearances of Margaret Dash, Retha Hiers, or Donyelle Johnson, please contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.

📖 Featuring an original poem written and read in her honor by Malynda Hale.

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More about Malynda Hale:

Malynda Hale is an award-winning actress, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and storyteller based in Los Angeles. Working across film, television, music, and digital media, her work explores themes of identity, humanity, faith, race, and emotional connection through cinematic storytelling and character-driven narratives.

Most recently, she starred in the feature film Bull Street alongside Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan and made her directorial debut with the short film Curtain Call, which screened at festivals internationally including Bend Film Festival, GAZE International LGBTQIA Festival, and Middlebury NewFilmmakers Festival. Her second short film, Au Gratin, starring Tiffany Daniels, Loretta Devine, and Jay Donnell, was selected for the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival and Wyoming International Film Festival, and will also screen at the LightReel Film Festival in Washington, D.C. and the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August, an Oscar-qualifying festival. She is also the founder of JMV Entertainment, a production company focused on developing film, television, and media projects rooted in meaningful storytelling.

Before expanding into filmmaking, Malynda built a career as a singer-songwriter and performer, releasing multiple independent projects and opening for artists including Smokey Robinson and OTOWN. Her music has appeared on television, including CBS and Disney productions, and she has performed for audiences ranging from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the California Democratic Convention. Across every medium she works in, Malynda is passionate about telling stories that create empathy, challenge systems, and connect people more deeply to one another.