One of the most well-known local media figures of the 1990s, Dwanna Wiggins, died suddenly this week from a reported heart attack and will be buried one day after the 26th anniversary of her son's disappearance.
Wiggins was living in North Carolina when she died. If he's alive, her son D'Wan Sims -- whose wide smile broke hearts across the country when he went allegedly missing from Wonderland Mall -- would be 30 years old.
Dwanna's last name was Harris when her son disappeared and she begged for his safe return. Wiggins told police on Dec. 11, 1994, that D'Wan disappeared while they were shopping at the outdoor mall in Livonia.
Police said surveillance video showed the mother inside Wonderland Mall, but there were no images of D'Wan or any evidence that he was ever there. There was also no information released that pointed to anything nefarious happening to the boy who became famous for his cheeky smile.
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"I was here at the department and we looked at all of the video, we checked everything, and we never saw D'Wan with his mother," Livonia police Capt. Ron Taig told local media.
Just a year ago a man came forward to say that he was D'wan Sims and Wiggins broke her silence to say she still had hope. Eventually, the man's claim fizzled, and D'Wan is still listed as missing by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"I have no clue, whatsoever," she told AP from her home in Durham, North Carolina. "You would like to be hopeful."
A service will be held for Wiggins on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 11:30 a.m. at First Calvary Baptist Church on Morehead Avenue.