BALTIMORE, Md. — A Baltimore family shared their story about a missing loved one who disappeared more than four years ago.
Shawntay Wallace was 30 years old when her loved ones said a family friend gave her a ride to 25th Street and Greenmount Avenue in north Baltimore, in October 2017.
As far as what happened to Shawntay after that, her family doesn’t know. They said they haven’t seen or heard from her since.
Shawntay’s mother Karen Spencer said “I have my moments where I just break down and just cry because I don't know where my child is at.”
Shawntay’s sister Tiffany Spencer said “she's not just a sister that's missing, she's a mother of six. So, I think that's what's making it a lot more difficult for us.”
Tiffany believes she knows what might have led to her sister's disappearance.
“She was a young woman that unfortunately got addicted to oxycodone and it turned into other street drugs,” Tiffany Spencer said.
“I honestly believe that she went on a drug binge and that's what I believe, but I believe that she's still out there. I really do. I believe she's still out there. I believe that she still needs help to get herself clean,” Tiffany Spencer added.
Shawntay's mother said this isn't the first time her daughter went missing.
“She loved her family, no matter what. And this is just something that even though she did it once before and I found her when she did it once before, but this is not like her to leave like this and not call me,” Karen Spencer said.
“The first time, it definitely was a choice. Like I said, she would tell my mom that I don't want my kids to see me like this. I don't want my kids to see me this way,” Tiffany Spencer said.
In the days after Shawntay disappeared, her mother said she reached out to officers at the Baltimore Police Department's Northern District for help, except she says they were not as helpful as she hoped.
“Because they say the age that she was maybe she didn't be not missing. Because of the age that she was, they gave me the runaround, ok, call missing people. I call Missing People, they would give me the runaround, ok you have to call back to Northern District. So, this is what I’ve been going through when I do get up to call them,” Karen Spencer said.
Shawntay has had a few past run ins with the law. She has a warrant to appear in court for violation of probation on a guilty plea for assault charges.
Despite her inner battles, Tiffany says Shawntay is still a mother, a sister, and a great friend.
“I think we all have our demons. And you know for most people, they are hidden. They're behind the walls of your home, and you can mask them up, however you want to. You walk outside and you put on the face you want the world to see, so those are her demons,” Tiffany Spencer said.
Shawntay's loved ones believe they have a few clues about her disappearance but they hope someone will come forward with the right information they need to bring her home.
“Some nights I have sleepless nights when I can't really go to sleep. I twist and I turn trying to go to sleep. All I can do is ask God to give me the strength and just keep her covered wherever she's at, and just hope that everything is OK,” Karen Spencer said.
“If she has passed, I would just want to know. I would just want to know so we can bury her properly but if she is alive, I want to know also. We want her to come home, and we want her to know that we are here to help her, and that we miss her, and that her boys and her girls miss her,” Karen Spencer said.
We've have reached out to the Baltimore Police Department several times to find out what's being done to help solve this missing persons case but they have not responded with any answers as of yet.
