Jewel Sykes, 37: Last Seen At North Carolina Residence
It was unusual for Jewel Sykes to not be in contact with her mother, Lisa Sykes. Although they would have their mother-daughter quarrels, the pair were close. So, when a few days went by without Lisa being able to connect with Jewel, she became concerned. The last time the 37-year-old was seen was at her residence which she shares with her boyfriend in Halifax County, North Carolina, on February 2, 2023.
“She’ll stay away from me, maybe a few days, but that’s about it,” Lisa told Dateline. “And she’ll be like, ‘Mom, I’m sorry, I don’t want to be away from you. I love you.’ We have our difficulties because I’m a mother and she’s a daughter, that’s what children do. So she stayed away, and I let it go for the first month.”
Read More: Amanda Little, 32: Reward Offered In Case Of Missing NC Woman
By February 17, Lisa’s worries increased. When Jewel Sykes didn’t call her son on his birthday, Lisa felt something was terribly wrong. Jewel’s children were reportedly living with their grandmother at the time. Despite that, Jewel was described as a dedicated mother. On March 3, Lisa decided enough was enough, and she reported her daughter missing to the Weldon Police Department.
“She never stayed away from her children, nor her sisters. She loved her family,” said Lisa. “She’ll never stay away from us, because she knows we love her no matter what.”
When Dateline spoke with investigators, they did not seem to give much detail on their investigation. Lisa noted that Jewel’s bank accounts did not have any activity since she vanished. Further, Jewel’s social media accounts were shut down, but it is unknown if that as her doing, or someone else’s. Police also wouldn’t comment on whether or not they believed foul play was involved in this case.
Read More: Asia Wilbon, 16: Last Seen Going To Bed At Home In 2020
“I do think she has been endangered, because I don’t think that my daughter is here, right?” questioned Lisa. “Because ain’t no way in this world she will stay away from her mother or her children and her sisters this long. She was a beautiful girl. She was beautiful. And I pray that what I’m saying is not true. But as long as she’s been gone, I don’t think that my daughter is alive.”
“Jewel is the light of the room,” she continued. “When she comes in, she’s going to make everybody laugh, she’s going to make everybody happy. She liked to dress, she liked to keep her house nice. She just got in the wrong hands of people. That’s it. She fell into the wrong hands.”
Meanwhile, Weldon Police Chief Christopher Davis did address questions regarding Jewel Sykes’s boyfriend, who has not been named in reports.
Read More: Tyarra Williams, 19, Was In Her Apartment Complex When She Vanished In 2016
“We’ve attempted to contact him a couple of times. We’re looking into other avenues at this point in time.” He also states police have spoken with “several” people connected to Jewel, many who may have seen her the day she disappeared. “We are in the process of doing a little backtracking right now, since we got all of the other leads and it turned out to be nothing. So we’re catching up on some other things.”
Jewel’s sister, Laquita Whitaker Taylor, told the RR Daily Herald that she last spoke with her sister on January 29.
“She was fine — there wasn’t anything wrong that she told me,” she said. “We just talked for a brief moment. We talked, and then she said she had a call. I called her back and she said she was on the phone with her social worker and that she will call me back, and she never called me back.”
“I’m most definitely seeing something bad happen to my sister,” Laquita said. “I would give it like 99.9 percent chance that something has happened to her. And it’s because this is something I noticed she would never do. Jewel has not had any contact with nobody — not a soul since February the first and up to the morning of the second.”
Read More: Ashanti Billie, 19, was Kidnapped & Murdered By Retired Navy Vet
At the time of her disappearance, Jewel Sykes stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed between 170 to 190 pounds. She turned 38 years old in June 2023. Jewel is listed as officially going missing from Roanoke Rapids.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Weldon Police Department at (252) 536-3136 or their local authorities. Team Cold Case out of North Carolina is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Please share this story about Jewel Sykes to ignite interest into her missing person case. She is our sister and her life matters.
You must log in to post a comment.