CARROLLTON – Despite earlier reports that robbery did not seem to be a motive in the disappearance of Linda Gail Reed of Carroll County, stepson Chris Reed says the family knows a substantial amount of money is missing from the trailer where she resides during the week.
First re-ports said some cash and credit cards were found with her purse and vehicle, located about four miles from her work site, but Chris Reed said she did sometimes transport money for the company.
Linda Reed works as an accountant for Moore’s Metal Fabrications, a company in Gallman next next to Sanderson Farms.
Employees come in whenever something breaks at one of the companies they work for, so they were there April 29, Chris Reed said. When they were going to leave, Linda Reed told them not to lock the gate because she planned a return trip to Walmart, where she was earlier seen on surveillance cameras. She was not seen again on their videos or by anyone who has come forward in the case. When she did not show up for work the next morning, coworkers began to call family members looking for her.
Members of the Reed family have said they are frustrated with Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones’ handling of the case.
“He said he would keep us informed. He has not done it. We have only seen one investigator once that I know of,” Chris Reed said. “His original statement was that she was an elderly lady with dementia. She is a CPA and teaches accounting classes.”
The family was led to believe the FBI and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation were on the scene early in the investigation, but they have only now been asked to join the investigation, Chris Reed said.
“We are very happy that they are doing so. They were willing to do so early on, and so was the Mississippi Game and Fish Department, which has a search and rescue team, but they had to be asked by the sheriff, who has jurisdiction in his county,” he said.
Jones said this morning that he has been hard at work on the case since the beginning but has felt it is not a good idea to tell the family everything he is doing.
“We’ve tried to run down every lead,” he said. “I’m getting ready to polygraph some people. I drove the car away from the scene after family members agreed with me that she wasn’t there and called off the search in that area after six hours, using 150 volunteers, dogs and a helicopter.”
He said the MBI has worked with him.
“They processed the car the next morning. I am doing due diligence, I promise you,” he said. “It has rained on us pretty good here. We had a murder at a local motel, and I was afraid the female was Mrs. Reed, but it was not. And we had another incident of someone being badly beaten.”
Also, he said, “I have put the Reed disappearance on the National Crime Information Center after we made the decision she might not be in the area. We’ve got Crime Stoppers on it, and the family has gotten up their own reward.”
The Reed family has set up a search headquarters and has put out fliers asking for help in finding Linda. “We are still hoping she will be found alive,” Chris Reed said.
He said family members and friends have called everyone from the governor’s office down and have spoken to a state senator who offered help in getting the MBI to come into the investigation.
Chris Reed said his family has done most of the searching, with the help of citizens in Copiah County and from other places.
“People have gone out on foot, on four-wheelers,” he said. “The only thing the sheriff said was, ‘See they don’t get caught with four-wheelers on the roads.’ He didn’t give anyone any instruction.”
He also said they are very concerned that evidence was compromised when Linda Reed’s vehicle was driven from the scene and parked behind the sheriff’s office, where it was rained on before any prints were taken.
“People have told me it should have been sent to the state crime lab or at least locked up inside,” he said.
Reed said his father, James, and other family members are available to help in any way.
Jones said he had talked with James Reed in his office. He said Reed came to him to ask what he can do.
Jones said his experience as a law officer since 1973 has equipped him to carry out this investigation properly.
He did say he could do a better job of informing family members, though he doesn’t want too much information about the search to get out. “I will talk to Chris Sessums (her son), and James. I don’t know Chris Reed,” he said.
“You can bet we’re not sitting here playing dominoes,” he said.
Chris Reed said the family has received an offer of help by EquuSearch of Houston, Texas, a volunteer nonprofit group that assists in searching for missing persons. They have posted a notice about Linda Reed on their website and have come to the area to offer assistance, he said.
“We appreciate everything people have done. Please keep us and Linda in your prayers,” Reed said. “We have gotten the reward up to $10,000 for information leading to her recovery.”
