ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- The Roane County Sheriff's Department is asking East Tennesseans for help solving a nearly six year old cold case.

Cheryl D. Payne, 38 hasn’t been seen since December 27, 2003. She was last seen around midnight at a Harriman tavern after an argument with her boyfriend. They drove off together but he reportedly stopped the truck and she got off on the side of the road. Her personal belongings had been left behind at the tavern.

No leads have been turned in but authorities are hoping the newly formed Roane County Cold Case Unit can crack the case.

"I'm sure there are many witnesses to the incident and what may have occurred that night," said Det. Steve White.

Det. White is a 30 year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department. He recently took over the Cold Case Unit and has made solving the Payne case its first priority.

"Basically what we're doing is starting all over,” Det. White said. “We're going back and interviewing everyone involved."

Payne left behind a son named Jamie; whose father was killed in a car accident two years before Cheryl’s disappearance.

"We feel it's important to this victim’s family,” he said. “She's been missing all these years and we'd like to have some closure for them."

Payne is described as 5’6”, 120 lbs with a tattoo of a heart on her upper left arm. She was last seen wearing black jeans, a black top with white tweed over the shirt, black shoes and a black leather coat.

She is believed to have gone missing under “suspicious circumstances” and is presumed to be a victim of homicide. Anyone with information about the night she went missing or her whereabouts is asked to call the Cold Case Unit at (865) 376 5582 or (865) 399-1315.