Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series this month spotlighting missing Black women in America.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to finding a South Carolina mother who has been missing for more than a year, WYFF-TV reports.
Alexis Ware has not been seen since January 30, 2022, when she met with the father of one of her kids at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Anderson County to drop off the child.
That man is no longer a person of interest in the case, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office announced this week.
“Several avenues suggest he had no involvement in the mother of two’s disappearance,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release, according to WYFF-TV.
The agency also provided details about its investigation thus far. Multiple law enforcement agencies have conducted physical searches, including use of air resources, police and cadaver dogs, as well as search and rescue teams.
“Countless hours of interrogating, interviewing and investigating continue to uncover invaluable information as recently as last week,” the sheriff’s office said, according to the television station.
The sheriff’s office added that it had received “hundreds of false tips,” describing the information as “pranks” that “not only waste resources but give the family a helpless feeling.”
“We appreciate any concrete, factual information from the community and ask for compassion toward Alexis’ family,” the press release said, according to WYFF-TV.
Investigators located Ware’s red car on February 2, 2022, two counties away in McCormick County, WMBF-TV reports. Her personal belongings were reportedly found inside the vehicle.
Ware’s mother, Alberta, has allegedly received multiple communications from someone who claims to know Ware’s location, according to WYFF-TV.
Alberta said her daughter had told her before she vanished that she was scared because someone in a black truck had been following her for weeks.
“A year has passed and nothing has changed from the first day of disappearance,” Alberta Ware told WMBF-TV. “And we’re just hoping for some closure, and we pray for closure. We need answers. Her children need answers. I have to deal with the fact that her daughter lays down and cries for her mom.”
Meanwhile, lead detective Jason Fowler said he believes Ware is alive.
“I remain positive, and it’s my hope and belief that Alexis is alive. It’s important for me to work every day to locate her and bring her safely home to her children,” Fowler told WYFF-TV.
To report information about the case, call 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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[Feature Photo: Alexis Ware/Handout]
