For many years, Lincoln Heights Middle School in Milwaukee was viewed as a stable part of its community—a place where generations of students learned, competed, and prepared for their futures. Yet behind its reputation, unanswered questions lingered. Six promising students had disappeared over a span of sixteen years, leaving families searching for answers and a community struggling to understand how so many cases could remain unresolved.
The truth remained hidden until early 2019, when a routine maintenance call unexpectedly changed the course of an entire city’s conversation about school safety, institutional responsibility, and the importance of insisting on thorough investigations. What began as a standard plumbing repair turned into the discovery that ultimately helped clarify what had happened to the long-missing students.
On a cold morning in January 2019, plumber Jamal Washington arrived at Lincoln Heights to address a recurring issue: the basement bathrooms were backing up again. The school had dealt with similar blockages for years, and Jamal’s job was meant to be simple—clear the lines and move on to the next assignment.
As he worked, Jamal used a camera system to inspect the pipes, expecting to find typical obstructions such as sediment or tree root intrusion. Instead, he noticed something that did not match the usual patterns—objects within the drainage system that appeared out of place, including what looked like worn materials and items inconsistent with normal plumbing debris.
Something about the situation didn’t align with years of routine explanations. Jamal remembered the guidance his father had given him when he first entered the trade: “If something doesn’t make sense, don’t ignore it.” That instinct led him to pursue a deeper inspection rather than performing only a temporary fix.
Seeking Access to a Forgotten Part of the School
The key to a fuller inspection was reaching the school’s main cleanout, a large access point located in an old boiler room that had long been sealed and marked as no longer in use. The room had been listed as inaccessible due to structural concerns, though no formal inspection reports were available to support the label.
When Jamal requested access to the room, the longtime school janitor, Jerome Caldwell, attempted to discourage him. Caldwell insisted that the room was unsafe and that repairs could be completed without opening it. However, Jamal believed that avoiding the area would prevent him from properly diagnosing the source of the persistent issues.
After further discussion with school staff, he was granted supervised entry. Inside, the room appeared largely intact, contradicting the posted warnings. It was a space frozen in time—unused equipment, dusty storage shelves, and the kind of quiet stillness that accumulates in forgotten areas of old buildings.
A Discovery That Changed the Investigation
Inside the boiler room was a heavy, cast-iron access panel leading to a secondary area of the drainage system. When Jamal opened it, he detected indications that the system had been tampered with or used in ways inconsistent with standard maintenance. While there were no explicit signs of anything harmful, the presence of personal items and materials trapped deep within the drainage path raised immediate concern.
School administrators contacted authorities to examine the findings. What followed was a careful, methodical investigative process. The objects found in the system, along with additional information gathered by investigators, helped connect previously unexplained disappearances of six students who had attended Lincoln Heights between 2003 and 2019.
The students—Aaliyah Davis, Tyrone Mitchell, Kesha Williams, Darnell Thompson, Jasmine Rodriguez, and Kareem Jackson—had been known for academic or extracurricular achievements. Each had disappeared separately, at different points in the school’s history, and each case had been treated individually rather than as part of a broader pattern.
Institutional Oversight and Missed Connections
One of the most difficult revelations for the families and community was the realization that key warning signs had not been fully addressed over the years. Early reports in several cases suggested that some students might have left voluntarily, leading to limited follow-up. In other instances, the lack of clear evidence made it challenging for investigators to establish a direction.
Administrators had also struggled to explain the repeated plumbing issues in the school’s lower level, often opting for short-term maintenance rather than exploring deeper causes. These decisions, while not intentionally harmful, prevented underlying problems from being detected sooner.
The subsequent investigation found that the recurring drainage complications, the missing students, and irregularities in the school’s maintenance routines were interconnected. Exhaustive reviews of school records, maintenance logs, staff assignments, and access points helped clarify how long-standing vulnerabilities may have contributed to the extended lack of answers.
Accountability and Community Reflection
The investigation included interviews, document reviews, and cooperation between school officials, law enforcement, and city agencies. As details emerged, the school district initiated internal policy reviews. A number of administrative decisions from previous years—including the handling of missing-student reports, internal communication protocols, and maintenance logs—came under scrutiny.
The janitor, Jerome Caldwell, who had discouraged Jamal from entering the boiler room, was found to have withheld essential information from administrators regarding access to restricted spaces and prior maintenance issues. Law enforcement ultimately charged him with serious offenses related to evidence concealment and obstruction. His actions had significantly delayed the discovery of relevant information tied to the missing-student cases.
The community reaction was one of deep concern, followed by a determination to improve oversight systems. Parents demanded clearer reporting protocols, stronger safety infrastructure, and more transparent communication between schools and families. City officials responded by launching initiatives aimed at modernizing school facilities, strengthening internal review processes, and reinforcing the importance of multidisciplinary cooperation.
Honoring the Students and Restoring Trust
In the aftermath, Lincoln Heights Middle School underwent significant changes. New leadership was appointed, safety audits were implemented, and infrastructure improvements were prioritized. The school also adopted a new name: Remembered Six Academy, in honor of the students whose disappearances had left a lasting impact on the community.
A memorial courtyard now features six bronze sculptures representing each student’s aspirations—athletics, science, debate, music, community leadership, and academic achievement. The goal is not to dwell on tragedy but to celebrate the potential each student carried.
Families of the students expressed gratitude that answers, long delayed, finally came to light. They acknowledged the emotional difficulty of learning what had happened, but also the relief of gaining closure after many years of uncertainty.
A Plumber’s Persistence Sparks Systemic Change
Jamal Washington, the plumber whose diligence set the discovery in motion, became an unexpected symbol of accountability and civic responsibility. His insistence on addressing the cause rather than the symptom prompted the entire investigation to unfold. The city later hired him as part of a task force dedicated to improving school infrastructure monitoring.
At the dedication of the memorial courtyard, family members thanked him personally for refusing to accept temporary solutions and for trusting his instinct to look deeper.
A Broader Lesson for Every Community
The Lincoln Heights case serves as a reminder that safety depends not only on visible systems like locks and cameras, but also on vigilance, transparency, and the willingness to question assumptions. When even small inconsistencies go unexamined, larger truths can remain hidden.
This story underscores the importance of thorough investigations, clear communication, and a commitment to ensuring that every student’s well-being is treated with the highest priority. The legacy of the “Remembered Six” calls for ongoing reflection on how institutions can better serve, protect, and remain accountable to their communities.