CARROLLTON — The investigation into the disappearance of Linda Reed of Carrollton has turned into a possible embezzlement case.
The FBI and Copiah County law enforcement personnel are looking closely into the books of Moore’s Fabrications in Gallman, where she worked since 1999 as a bookkeeper.
Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones said this morning that he will be meeting with the FBI and others today to further investigate whether there is wrongdoing in the accounting, and how much money may be missing.
After Reed disappeared, business owner Shannon Moore began checking his books and began to suspect something amiss, Jones said.
“Since she does bookkeeping, that’s a natural place to look,” he said.
Reed has had complete check-writing authority for the business and has been a trusted friend of the Moore family for many years, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported Tuesday.
Jones said he has been suspecting something wasn’t just right when Reed’s glasses were found, but they were her old ones, and her cell phone was found but its contents had been erased.
“I spent a day going to Philadelphia to look into a storage facility, but I didn’t find anything,” he said.
The FBI is bringing in a forensic accountant today, and Moore has hired a certified public accountant also, Jones said. Moore is concerned that he could owe back taxes, Jones said.
Reed is married to James Reed of Carrollton but works in Gallman during the week. She has been missing since April 30. After she did not report to work as usual, local authorities began looking into her disappearance, first thought to be an abduction. The fence around Moore’s Fabrications, where she resides in a mobile home, was locked, but her car was missing. Familhy members found her car about four miles away on a small logging road not far from the south Crystal Springs exit on I-55.
Jones says he will make an announcement to the media this afternoon or Thursday morning about what has been found after consulting with FBI personnel today.
Moore could not be reached for comment this morning.
He told The Clarion-Ledger Tuesday that before Reed worked for him, she had worked for his father. And the company had paid for her to go to schools, as well.
“I never thought we’d ever need to look for CPA work outside of her,” Moore said.
Before her disappearance, she had almost total control over his business finances, including check-writing authority.
“I trusted her completely there,” he said.
But since Reed went missing, Moore said he noticed discrepancies in his books.
Moore said he’s worried about his future now, as he’s not sure what comes next as the discrepancies are sorted out.
“My biggest concern is my daughters and their future,” he said. “This is a horrible thing, not knowing what’s going to happen. We’re dealing with the federal government, and we don’t know if we’re going to end up owing back taxes. It’s definitely a trial.”
Reed’s son, Chris Sessums, said Tuesday he believes in his heart that his mother is still alive, but he said he doesn’t know why she would need to take any money.
“If it came down to her needing money, all she needed to do was ask,” he told The Clarion-Ledger. “It’s not like she’s in a financial bind or anything.”
The case is featured on America’s Most Wanted’s website. Reed is listed as a missing person.
Officials from the FBI were not available for comment Tuesday.
Texas search company Texas Equusearch was in town for a week, said Sessums, combing the county for any sign of Reed.
“They didn’t come up with anything, and they believe she’s still close, based on their past cases,” he said Tuesday. “For the resources they have and the research we had to go on, we found nothing. If we’d have had a direction to search in, it would have helped.”
Moore said he and his employees are stunned at the idea that Reed could have left town after taking money, potentially over the entire time she worked for him.
“We’ve got 20 faithful people who work here who have put their trust in this company,” he said.
Sessums asked the public just keep the search for his mother in their thoughts.
“If she did leave, she didn’t go alone,” he said. “Please keep praying for her.”
Reed’s husband, James Reed, talked to his wife around 9 p.m. on April 29, and assumed from their conversation that she was home for the night. She told him she had been to Walmart in Hazlehurst, and investigators found a receipt from the store in her kitchen. She was seen on surveillance video leaving Walmart earlier that evening.
Reed’s family has put up a $10,000 reward for information leading to her return.
Officials ask that anyone with any leads on Reed’s whereabouts call Crimestoppers at (601) 355-TIPS (8477), the Copiah County Sheriff’s Office at (601) 894-3011, or Equusearch at (877) 270-9500.
