CLEVELAND (WCMH) – In 2021, surveillance cameras captured Rajah McQueen in the passenger seat of her car, which later reappeared with bullet holes but not the young mother. The vehicle and woman remain missing, leaving her family desperate for answers.
Rajah was outgoing with a huge personality and a variety of talents, such as singing, rapping and doing nails, her sister Shamir McQueen told NBC4. The mother of two young boys, Rajah was 27 when she disappeared. She is one of eight close-knit siblings.
“Such a sweet girl,” Shamir said. “Very religious. She was actually, currently right before this happened, she was in school to study ministry. … She has a beautiful voice.”
Before her disappearance, Rajah had recently come home to Cleveland for her school’s summer break. She went to Madison County's Rosedale Bible College, about two-and-a-half hours southwest of Cleveland and 35 minutes west of Columbus.
On June 24, 2021, Shamir unknowingly had her last conversation with her sister. Rajah had called her, as she frequently did, and the sisters had what Shamir described as a normal conversation.
That Saturday, June 26, one of Shamir’s sisters told her she felt something was wrong, as she was trying to get ahold of Rajah but was not getting an answer. It was unlike her to not answer her phone.
By June 28, family members became more concerned. Shamir said she called a man that Rajah had been romantically involved with and often saw when she was in town, to ask if he had seen her. Shamir said he gave conflicting accounts of when he last saw Rajah.
“So that right there kind of sent a red flag with me,” Shamir said. “It went back and forth with that, with him, with many different stories on if he's seen or didn't see her.”
After relatives and friends repeatedly failed to get in contact with Rajah, a family member reported her missing on Wednesday, June 30. They said Rajah had not been heard from in six days. Cleveland police wrote in the missing persons report that a family member told them the man Rajah was romantically involved with had previously assaulted her.
As police began to investigate, they discovered surveillance footage of Rajah timestamped for June 26, the same day Shamir's sister could not get ahold of her. A camera captured Rajah at a gas station near East 131 Street and Harvard Avenue in Cleveland. At about 7:30 a.m., she was seen inside her Silver 2018 Nissan Sentra with the license plate number JGH3952.
Shamir, who told NBC4 she saw the footage, said there was a man, whom she recognized, in the driver's seat of the car. Police have not released his name and he has not been arrested or publicly identified as a suspect.
“She went into the store, he was in the driver's side,” Shamir said. “Then she got back in the car, which is her car, but she got on the passenger side and he was driving and the car went off the grid.”
Hours later, around 11:40 a.m., other surveillance cameras spotted her car heading west on Harvard Avenue near Broadway and Union Avenue – but Rajah was not seen in the car, which had new bullet holes in the roof and passenger side. The car’s license plate and hubcaps were also removed and a “dealer plate” was placed in the back window, according to the FBI. Rajah and the car both vanished and have never been found.
Shamir believes one of the reasons there have been no arrests is because the car is missing, since it likely holds crucial evidence. But every June that passes with no arrests is difficult for her family, she said. Rajah’s two sons are now 9 and 10 years old.
“Her youngest son hurt me so bad the last time he was here, because he was like, 'I just can't wait to see my mom, so I could give her a big hug and kiss,'” Shamir said. “Because at first, I felt like he thought that his mom neglected him and just left. And that's not the case. She has two boys, so it's affecting those kids really, really bad.”
The family has already dealt with a tragic loss: Shamir said one of her brothers, Demetrius McQueen, was murdered in 2019, and that case also remains unsolved. The sisters’ mom is battling cancer, so Shamir hopes the case is solved in the near future.
“My mom has stage IV bowel cancer,” Shamir said. “This is her second time having cancer, and I feel like my mom is really just holding on for closure for her child, you know, so it hurts me that my mom has to live every last bit of her days not knowing where her child is.”
Shamir said she prays daily for closure and is prepared for the worst outcome. She pleaded through tears for anyone who may have information to come forward.
“If anybody out there knows anything that can help us, I just really wish they would because I miss her so much,” Shamir said. “I really want this all to be over with. I just really want our family to get some kind of closure, especially my mom.”
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Rajah or her missing Nissan Sentra.
At the time of her disappearance, Rajah was 5 feet 6 inches tall, 133 pounds and had black hair and brown eyes. She had a pierced nose and ears, as well as multiple tattoos, including a half-sleeve on her upper arm with images of scissors and a woman with a cross, the date "IV-III-XXI" in red ink on the inside of her wrist, a butterfly on her chest and a rose on her leg just above the knee. As of Wednesday, she would be 30 years old.
Cleveland police ask anyone with any information on the disappearance of Rajah to call 216-623-5262. Anonymous tips may also be submitted to the FBI at 216-583-5383 or tips.fbi.gov.
