NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Metro police have turned over evidence in the Nikki Burgess case to the FBI.

Police department spokesperson Don Aaron told News 2 evidence has been sent to the FBI's crime lab in Washington.

Burgess, a mother of two who lived in Hermitage, has been missing since late May and investigators believe she was murdered.

Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess' 10-year-old son, has been named a person of interest in the case but no charges have been filed.

A local radio station will hold a tribute for a Hermitage mother of two who has been missing for three months.

Friends of 36-year-old Nikki Burgess have teamed up with Hippie Radio, 94.5 FM for the event. It will air Sunday at 9 p.m. as part of the “Sunday Night Vinyl” show.

It will feature some of Burgess' favorite songs.

A benefit concert is also planned for Sunday, September 7.

No one has heard from Burgess since May 23.

Investigators have since gathered unsettling evidence and executed a search warrant that led them to believe she was murdered.

Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess' 10-year-old son, has been named a person of interest in the case but no charges have been filed.

A GoFundMe page is also set up in Burgess' honor. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Last week’s fundraiser for missing Hermitage mother Nichole “Nikki” Burgess’ family raised more than $2,600.

The event was held last Saturday at the Blind Zebra Sports Bar & Grill on Highway 80 East in Crossville.

Burgess’ best friend, Stevie Blainey, and other friends helped organize the event.

The 36-year-old mother of two has been missing since May 23.

Investigators have since gathered unsettling evidence and executed a search warrant that lead them to believe she was murdered.

Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess’ 10-year-old son, has been named a person of interest in the case.

Police have searched Cannon’s home in Anderson County outside Knoxville. Several weapons including a gun and an axe were recovered.

Detectives said they have reason to believe Burgess is dead due to the presence of human decomposition detected in both her home and in the trunk of Cannon’s car, but her body has not been found.

Blood-stained bedding, brass knuckles and empty bottles of cleaner were also recovered from the woman’s home.

While Cannon remains a person of interest, charges have yet to be filed.

A GoFundMe account is also set up in Burgess’ honor.

Anyone with information on Burgess’ disappearance is urged to call police at 615-862-8600 or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Friends of the missing Hermitage mother set up a donation booth Sunday to collect funds for the woman's family at a local tattoo shop for their annual fan appreciation event.

Brittany McCann, a friend of Nichole “Nikki” Burgess, will be manning the booth at Kustom Thrills in east Nashville for their Rock n’ Rodz event.

The event is frequented by those associated with Nashville’s “Kustom Kulture,” a group which Burgess was a part of that is devoted to keeping alive vintage trends, such as pin-ups, classic cars and fashion, from the late 1940s-1950s. 

McCann hopes to bring attention to Burgess’ disappearance and help support her family during their time of need.

“We need to raise awareness and money for her family, and hopefully we can accomplish that a little bit here today,” she told News 2.

McCann explained the money will go directly to Burgess’ family to help with several things.

“Nikki’s family is incurring a lot of expenses, travelling back and forth from Nashville to Crossville a couple of times a week,” she said, adding, “Nikki also has expenses that are not being paid, and since she’s still missing, somebody has to come up with those funds.”

A GoFundMe page is also set up in Burgess’ honor, and her friends are also planning a large fundraiser for August.

Burgess went missing on May 23 and investigators have since gathered unsettling evidence and executed a search warrant that lead them to believe she was murdered.

Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess’ 10-year-old son, has been named a person of interest in the case.

Police have searched Cannon’s home in Anderson County outside Knoxville. Several weapons including a gun and an axe were recovered.

Detectives said they have reason to believe Burgess is dead due to the presence of human decomposition detected in both her home and in the trunk of Cannon’s car, but her body has not been found.

Blood-stained bedding, brass knuckles and empty bottles of cleaner were also recovered from the woman’s home.

While Cannon remains a person of interest, charges have yet to be filed.

The couple’s son remains in custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Anyone who wishes to attend Rock n’ Rodz and make a donation for Nikki’s family can do so between 5 and 10 p.m. Sunday at Kustom Thrills, located at 1000 Main Street.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -It has been one month since anyone saw or heard from 36-year-old Nichole "Nikki" Burgess and still no arrests or charges have been made in the case.

Police are, however, calling the father of her 10-year-old son, Caleb Cannon, a person of interest in the case.

Officials searched his Anderson County home two weeks ago. According to the search warrant, they found several weapons, including a gun and a knife. 

Authorities said cadaver dogs also alerted to the presence of human decomposition in the trunk of the car registered to Cannon and at Burgess' home.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron told News 2 Friday that police are still actively working to find Burgess, who went missing May 23.

He said police are investigating the case as a homicide.

“The case remains very much under investigation. There are pieces of the puzzle that have not come together to this point. We are working this case diligently, persons are being interviewed,” Aaron said, adding, “Our priority is to find Ms. Burgess. Frankly, we expect ultimately it will be the remains of Ms. Burgess.”

Aaron said police continue to receive tips from the community and that those tips have proven to be helpful.

He also said police continue to conduct interviews and had several this week.
One of the people interviewed was Jamie McCavanaugh, who shares a duplex on Oak Cake Drive in Hermitage with Burgess.

"A couple of days ago, I went to the police station downtown and gave a verbal recording of what I saw that Saturday evening," said McCavanaugh.    

He said he witnessed two people carrying something out the back door of Burgess' home two days after she disappeared.
"All the lights were out. It was a very strange situation," explained McCavanaugh.

He told News 2 he is sure it was Cannon because he saw him several times before. Cannon would pick up his ten-year-old son every other weekend from Burgess' home. 

The boy is now in state custody.

While police continue to investigate, friends of Burgess will take up donations for her and her family Sunday.

They will have a booth set up at the “Rock N’ Rodz" event. It will be held at Kustom Thrills Tattoo located at 1000 Main Street in east Nashville beginning at 5 p.m. 

Click here for more information. To make an online donation to the "Bring Nikki Burgess Home" fund, click here. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Blood-stained bedding, brass knuckles and empty bottles of cleaner were among the items recovered during a search of Nichole “Nikki” Burgess'p Hermitage home, a search warrant obtained by News 2 has revealed.

The 36-year-old mother went missing May 23.

On May 29, police searched the Oak Vale Drive home Burgess shared with her 10-year-old son.

They confiscated several items including a sheet, comforter and mattress pad stained with blood and a piece of carpet from the master bedroom that was also bloody.

Brass knuckles were also recovered from the home, in addition to empty bottles of carpet cleaner and bleach.

Burgess was last heard from when she sent a text message to a friend on the afternoon of May 23. The message indicated she was with her son’s father, Caleb Cannon, and the two were arguing.

Two days later, during the early morning hours of May 25, Burgess’ neighbor, Jamie McCavanaugh, told police he saw two people carrying something that appeared to be furniture out of Burgess’ home. He believes one of those two people was Cannon.

Police have also searched Cannon’s home in Anderson County outside Knoxville. Several weapons including a gun and an axe were recovered.

Detectives said they have reason to believe Burgess is dead due to the presence of human decomposition detected in both her home and in the trunk of Cannon’s car but her body has not been found.

Cannon remains a person of interest in the case. No charges have been filed.

The couple’s son remains in custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -For the first time, one of those closest to missing Hermitage mother Nichole “Nikki” Burgess is talking about the suspicious activity he witnessed in the days after she disappeared.

Jamie McCavanaugh shares a duplex on Oak Vale Drive with Burgess and is a good friend of hers.

“She is a fantastic person, so it's a huge potential loss,” he said.

McCavanaugh told News 2 he cannot stop thinking about what he witnessed in the early morning hours of May 25, two days after Burgess went missing.

McCavanaugh said he saw two people carrying something out of the back of Burgess’ home as he was walking through his back door.

He said it was dark outside but he believes one of the two people was Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess’ 10-year-old son.

“Just his height and his whole, exactly how he is you know, the piercings, the whole nine yards. I don’t question it,” McCavanaugh said.

He said he saw Cannon several times before when he came to Burgess' home to pick up his son every other weekend.

McCavanaugh told detectives what he witnessed that night.

The day McCavanaugh noticed activity coming from Burgess’ home was the same day her best friend, Stevie Blainey, reported her missing.

The last time Blainey heard from Burgess was through a text message on the afternoon of May 23.

According to a search warrant executed on the home of Cannon, the text said Burgess was with Cannon Friday afternoon and the two had been fighting.

“I know that something happened there. Looking back I just go, 'Oh my gosh,' when I realized what that could have been. That really attacks your brain and your heart big time,” said McCavanaugh.

The search warrant also mentioned a friend of Burgess’ son, who saw Cannon place two black nylon bags into the trunk of a car in Burgess’ driveway.

Police said his description matches the car registered to Cannon.

The search warrant also said cadaver dogs "alerted to the presence of human decomposition" in Burgess' home and in the trunk of the car registered to Cannon.

Police say Cannon, who is a person of interest in the case, has not been cooperative with their investigation.

No arrests have been made and no charges filed in Burgess’ disappearance.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Metro investigators think a cord or string could have been used to murder missing Nashville woman Nichole “Nikki” Burgess.

It’s one of many graphic and sad details in a search warrant obtained Friday by News 2 from Anderson County authorities.

The search was conducted Thursday in Anderson County at the home of Caleb Cannon, the father of Burgess' 10-year-old son. Cannon has since been named a "person of interest."

The warrant's affidavit from a Metro investigator said the couple's son told a friend he "might not be seeing his mom anymore because she is probably dead."

The detective said the boy continued telling his friend he "was pretty sure that his dad had killed his mom."

In the document, the detective writes cadaver dogs twice "alerted to the presence of human decomposition."  One of the hits from the dogs was in Burgess’ Hermitage home. The second was in the trunk of a vehicle registered to Cannon.

That vehicle has been impounded by Metro police.

A detective says in the warrant's affidavit he believes Burgess' "body was transported, from her residence in Metropolitan Nashville"..."to an unknown location inside the trunk of the aforementioned vehicle" belonging to Cannon.

The warrant's affidavit said a text message received May 23 from Burgess to a friend indicated Cannon "was with the alleged victim and they were involved in some sort of altercation."

When asked if Cannon had been cooperative, Metro police spokesperson Don Aaron told News 2 "not overly so."

The search warrant indicated an effort to obtain DNA from Cannon because it’s "needed for comparison of DNA evidence recovered from the likely crime scene."

Among the things the document says detectives took away from Cannon's home are an axe, knives, a gun, ammunition and several personal hygiene items.

The investigators affidavit concludes by saying "the evidence recovered includes cords and string, and or all of which, were possibly used to murder the alleged victim."

Investigators also say in their affidavit that a black nylon case was recovered from Cannon's home.

The document indicates Cannon was seen loading two black nylon bags into his car at the Burgess home. 

Metro police have not commented on the case since Friday. 

When asked about anything Cannon might have told investigators, Aaron told News 2, "We can't discuss the statements he has given, what he has said, but suffice to say the police department believed, it necessary to obtain court search warrants."

WATE-TV in Knoxville said Cannon did not say anything publicly during the search of his Anderson County home on Thursday. 

The television station added he did not answer a knock on his door the following day. 

Aaron indicated that Metro's cold case unit has been to Anderson County "on a number of times since the investigation began into the disappearance of Ms. Burgess." 

Several close friends of Burgess have said on Facebook that the young woman's family has asked for its privacy.

Burgess’ son remains in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

ANDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -

Metro police are searching an east Tennessee home Thursday in connection to the disappearance of a Hermitage woman who is now presumed dead.

The home in Andersonville, outside Knoxville, belongs to Caleb Cannon, the father of Nichole Burgess’ 10-year-old son.

Burgess, 36, was last heard from on May 23 when she sent a text message to a friend that mentioned “Caleb.”

Later in the afternoon, Cannon, who had visitation privileges with the 10-year-old every other weekend, picked him up from school.

They then went to Burgess’ Oak Vale Drive home in Hermitage.

Police said Burgess was not present and Cannon took the child to Anderson County later in the evening.

Metro police said detectives have traveled to Anderson County several times over the past week as part of the investigation.

On Tuesday, a search warrant was served on Cannon for a DNA sample.

In seeking the search warrants, the lead detective in the case told an Anderson County judge that based on the investigation thus far, Burgess is likely dead and that Cannon is considered a person of interest.

Burgess’ son is now in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Anyone with information on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Burgess is urged to contact Metro police or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Dozens attended a vigil for a missing Hermitage mother who was last seen more than a week ago. 

Nichole Burgess was reported missing by a friend on Sunday, May 25 after she had not spoken to the woman in a few days. 

News 2 spoke with Burgess’ son at the vigil, which was held at Cumberland County High School’s football stadium, who said he was “freaking out” when he learned the news. 

“[I asked] is she safe? Is my brother safe? Knowing that I wasn’t anywhere near them because I live in Crossville. I was freaking out,” Burgess’ son Tristan Ketchum said.  

Burgess’ boyfriend, Jay Henry, told investigators the last time he spoke with the 36-year-old woman she was getting ready to head to Sparta and Crossville. 

Burgess is from the area and was traveling there to be with family and close friends, including Henry, who lives there.

Burgess’ purse was found in her car in the driveway of her Oak Vale Driver home on May 23. Her two dogs appeared to have been left alone in the home for several days. 

Police previously said they believe foul play could be associated with Burgess’ disappearance. 

Burgess is five feet, one inch tall and weighs 126 pounds.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Metro police believe foul play may have been involved in the disappearance of a mother from Hermitage now missing for more than a week.

Nichole “Nikki” Burgess, 36, was reported missing on Sunday, May 25.

She was last heard from two days earlier, on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, when she sent a text message to a friend.

The friend, Stevie Blainey, reported her missing two days later because she did not hear from her again and “felt like something was off” because the two typically spoke several times a day.

When authorities searched Burgess’ home in the 900 block of Oak Vale Drive, they found her usually tidy house in disarray.

Her two dogs were also found alone in the home.

Family and friends said she would not have left her pets for an extended period of time without proper care.

Her car was also parked outside with her purse inside.

Neighbors told News 2 the only suspicious activity they saw Friday was a car in Burgess' driveway they did not recognize.

Burgess’ boyfriend, Jay Henry, also spoke with Burgess on the afternoon of May 23.

“I personally talked with Nikki at around 1:50 p.m. last Friday afternoon. She was planning to leave Nashville and head to Sparta and Crossville within the hour. That was the last contact I had with this wonderful, beautiful lady,” Henry told News 2.

Burgess is from the area and was traveling there to be with family and close friends, including Henry, who lives there.

Shannon Million, a friend of Burgess', told News 2 the concern is growing as people speculate what might've happened to her.

“I think everybody has their own ideas, hearing the story, and hearing who [last saw] her. We are just hoping she shows up,” Million said.

She added that getting word out and getting Burgess' face out to the public is their primary goal. A Facebook page has also been set up.

“People are very concerned," Million stated.

She told Nashville’s News 2 any information received on the Facebook page goes to investigators immediately. 

“The response so far has been really great,” she said. “We have had thousands of people adding to the site.” 

Million also appeared on the Jane Velez-Mitchell show on HLN Monday night to discuss the story. 

Million and Burgess became friends through Nashville’s “Kustom Kulture,” a group devoted to keeping alive vintage trends, such as pin-ups, classic cars and fashion, from the late 1940s-1950s. 

Police said they are aware Burgess was a part of Kustom Kulture, but cannot say if that is a link to her disappearance. 

“Everyday that passes is of greater concern to all those involved,” Million said, adding, “But hopefully if anyone knows anything, they will come forward with some information.”

Metro police are working with authorities in east Tennessee to find Burgess, but have no real leads.

Burgess is five feet, one inch tall and weighs 126 pounds.

Burgess is the single mother of a 10-year-old boy. Police say he is safe and is with his father.

Anyone with information on Burgess’ whereabouts should call Metro police at 615-862-8600 or Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.