Missing: Dead or Alive? is a four-part limited series looking meticulously at cases of missing people in Columbia, South Carolina. One of the cases was Amirah Watson, who was eventually found after being embroiled in a desperate custody battle between her mother and father.
Vicky Raines and a team of officers investigated four cases; she is a veteran cop of 22 years transferred to the Missing Persons Unit after working in major crimes. She is assisted by JP Smith, forty years in service, and also works in the department specializing in juvenile cases. To look into the missing 10-year-old Amirah Watson, the team had to look close to home, after the father stated the mother was missing too.
Where is Amirah Watson now?
Amirah Watson’s father made a plea on TV for the return of his daughter, and a nationwide operation was launched to find her. Thankfully, Amirah was located in Atlanta, Georgia, with her mother by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in 2020.
The pair were staying with an unnamed relative. Amirah is alive and well and is back with her father. She stated in the show: “My dad, he’s my number one.” In an interview in the third episode, Amirah also says, “He is my hero.” The father did not press charges against Amirah’s mother.
What happened to Amirah Watson?
The story of Amirah starts with her father reporting the disappearance of his daughter and her mother. The father, Mansoor, reveals that his ex-partner, Amirah’s biological mother, had taken her. As Mansoor explains the entire matter, it is revealed that the man and his ex-partner had only been involved with each other for a few years. It is also clear that the relationship was not good.
After seventy-two hours, an official Missing Persons investigation is launched. The police learn that after Amirah was born, the couple split and custody of young Amirah was given to her dad. It seems that her mother did not agree with this, and wanted her child back.
Amirah Watson and her father, Mansoor Watson (Credit – Netflix)
Mansoor also explained that an aunt of his ex-partner knew where Amirah and her mother were, but the initial requests for help from the woman’s family fell on deaf ears, and no information was forthcoming.
The mother and the family were unhappy with the court ruling, which is the real reason for Amirah Watson’s disappearance. Allegations have been made against Mansoor by the family, who believe that Amirah was at risk from her father. The claims were all dismissed by the authorities involved in the case. No evidence pointed to Amirah being in any danger from her father.
Petition to get Missing: Dead or Alive? removed from Netflix
On May 18, 2023, shortly after the release of the docuseries, someone named Angelique Ferra started a Change.org petition seeking support in strongarming Netflix into taking the docuseries off the air, citing claims of bias.
From the petition’s description:
The heavily scripted docuseries went on to portray the mother as a mentally unbalanced criminal who had merely taken her child ‘because she didn’t like a court order’. The police even went as far as to say they had real concerns the mother would murder her daughter! All the while they depicted the father as an angel, featuring footage of him praying to God in church to support their narrative.
At the time of writing (March 14, 2024), the petition has 382 signatures. Missing: Dead or Alive? remains on Netflix.
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