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TEXARKANA, Texas (KTBS) — A Texarkana, Texas mother is appealing to the public, desperate to find her daughter 13 years after she disappeared.
LaToya Grissom was reported missing in 2007. While investigators have followed several leads over the years, they say the case now has new momentum.
“For the past 13 years, I’ve isolated myself from the world. I just don’t understand why someone would take her,” said Jackie Grissom, LaToya Grissom’s mother.
Grissom says not knowing what happened to her daughter has been unbearable. She misses her everyday.
“LaToya liked to live life. She was a happy person. She liked having fun. She liked to laugh and crack jokes. She was a happy person,” explained Grissom.
The 25-year old mother of two was last seen getting into a small dark vehicle near the Sunset Apartments in Texarkana. She had been living at the complex with her grandmother.
Family members haven’t heard from Grissom since Sept. 5, 2007. She was reported missing about a week later.
“In 2007, the contact wasn’t as constant, so someone being gone for a day or two was not as uncommon as it is today,” said Det. Cliff Harris, of the Texarkana, Texas Police Department.
In October 2010, Harris says a water utility crew found Grissom’s purse, a flip phone and some other belongings along a creek in Texarkana. Foul play is suspected in the case, but hard evidence has been difficult to come by.
Harris believes they just need one good tip to solve the case.
“We are very confident that somebody out there has a tip that could lead us in the right direction,” said Harris.
In just the last few months, investigators conducted several interviews, executed a search warrant, and are waiting on new evidence to return from the crime lab.
“The case has gotten some new energy here lately and we’ve got a team of detectives that are working on it. We want more than anything to solve this case and to give the Grissom family some closure,” said Harris.
Police say they have a suspect, but have not yet been able to tie everything together enough to make an arrest.
“I believe there is someone out there that knows something. I wish that they would tell us,” said Grissom.
Grissom says she thinks about her daughter everyday and wants closure.
“She couldn’t have done nothing that bad, that someone would want to do her like that. My life hasn’t been the same,” said Grissom.
Anyone with information that could help police solve this case, is asked to contact the Texarkana, Texas Police Department.
The Grissom family is also seeking donations to rent a billboard to keep the community aware that she is still missing.
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