The Coastal True Crime Club is working to shed light on the unsolved disappearance of Kemberly Ramer

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WTVY) – Librarians at the Walton County Library took note and decided to use that popularity to shed light on an unsolved case that hit close to home.

Deanna Smith and Daniel Bradley both work at the library.

“I know for me personally,” Bradley said, “the reason I started doing what I do is to help the community.”

Serving their community took on new meaning for the pair with the founding of a new club.

What could have been a typical library program proposal turned into anything but when Smith suggested the idea of ​​a true crime club.

This proposition sparked the fire that is the Coastal True Crime Club and podcast: Missing or Killed: What Happened to Kem?

Both the club and the podcast are focused on the unsolved disappearance of Kemberly Ramer. Ramer, 17, disappeared from Opp, Alabama in August 1997.

“The first thing I said was Kem Ramer because I was born in Opp and, you know, I was familiar with the case,” Smith recounted, “I graduated high school in 1996 and she disappeared in 1997.”

Before starting, Smith was careful to make sure this group honored Ramer and her family.

“If we’re going to do this, we have to do it the right way,” Smith said. “We have to make sure we have Kem’s mom, Kem’s family and friends on board because I don’t want to push the boundaries.”

Ramer’s mother, friends and community gave the enthusiastic green light – eager to tell about her disappearance.

The club invites guests to each meeting, including officials working on the case, such as Assistant Chief David Harrell of the Opp Police Department.

“It was helpful for me to see where some of the community concerns were, you know,” Harrel said, “like ‘is this something we’re going to have to experience or it could happen again in the city of Opp.’ ?”

Another notable guest at the club: Susan Ingram, Ramer’s mother.

When asked about the club, Ingram was excited.

“I’m so excited about it,” Ingram said, “because, you know, I think I’m bringing more and more information.”

The group started with just 25 members in person, but their online presence has grown exponentially.

“We do lives where we do, like, Q&As with the community, and then we also record our in-person meetings, and I know we’re in the thousands of those,” Smith said.

Between the podcast, club meetings and online following, their mission remains the same.

“We’re not trying to be detectives, we’re not trying to be investigators; we’re just trying to help,” Smith said. “If we could have a perfect ending to this, it would be to bring Kem home to her mother.”

To find information on Coastal True Crime Club meetings, live streams and Missing or killed podcast, click HERE.

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