PAGELAND, S.C. — Deidre Reid, of Pageland, has been missing since Sept. 3, and family members are searching for answers into where she could be.
“Their lives (are never going to be) the same,” her brother, James Reid, said. “They’ll never hear their mom tell them she loves them. Not unless we can find her, and we don’t know where she’s at.”
James Reid said his sister left home that day to take her ex-boyfriend, Emanuel Bedford, to a Charlotte bus station, family members and police said. Bedford, who is the father of Deidre Reid’s 7-year-old son, was named a person of interest Thursday night.
[PAST COVERAGE: Police, family searching for Pageland mom last seen heading to Greyhound station]
Family members said her 2004 Chevy Tahoe got to the bus station, but she didn’t return to Pageland.
“They confirmed they did receive surveillance from the Charlotte Greyhound bus station and they did state Emanuel went in the bus station, canceled his ticket and then (came) out getting in the SUV with my sister and then pulling off,” James Reid said.
Authorities have not said if foul play was involved.
“It’s sad that he was the last person to see my sister alive, and he’s not a person of interest,” James Reid said. “It hurts the family to hear law enforcement keeps repeating that over the television.”
The Reid family said that recent national news coverage of another missing woman, Gabby Petito, has been encouraging to them but also difficult to watch.
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“We thank God they found their daughter, sister, family member,” Deidre Reid’s sister, Jammie Avery, said. “We’re happy for them, but at the same time, Deidre’s been missing since the third and we have nothing. You can’t tell us anything?”
The family hopes that Deidre Reid’s case garners more attention and produces answers to give her children closure.
“These kids are in a nightmare. They’re going through a nightmare,” James Reid said.
James Reid said Friday that he was grateful investigators are focused on Bedford.
“It definitely took a lot of the pressure off of us,” he said. “Going from not having a person of interest, to having a person of interest. I know it’s not much, but to us, it’s a whole lot.”
James Reid said Bedford has not tried to contact the family since Diedre Reid’s disappearance.
“I find it strange that he still hasn’t reached out to the family, if he didn’t have anything to do with our sister’s disappearance,” he said.
Channel 9 reported that officers in North Carolina and Georgia and state law enforcement are helping with the case but so far, they have not given provided information about any leads or potential suspects.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia said Bedford has only faced a DUI in 2017 and drug possession in 2013.
Pageland police said they’ve been to Augusta, Georgia recently to investigate and they want to talk to Bedford.
“Sometimes things go on behind the scenes and for a case like this, some of that information we don’t want to be released,” Pageland Police Chief Shane Whitley said. “We don’t want it to hurt or hinder the investigation.”
Multiple aerial and land searches including helicopters, drones, foot, and ATVs have been conducted in several key locations throughout the entire investigation, authorities said.
Return to this story for updates.
(Watch the video below: Pageland police say woman heading to Greyhound station reported missing)
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