PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — It has been more than three months since 52-year-old Sherrell Brown of Petersburg went missing. Community members across the city are rallying to bring her home before the Christmas holiday arrives.
Brown was last seen at her home in Petersburg on the evening of Sept. 1. Brown’s mother, Brenda Blackwell told news outlets Thursday afternoon that, since then, she and her family have tried everything — from searching, to posting flyers, hiring a private investigator and partnering with local law enforcement — but Brown remains missing after three months.
“She is a kind, outgoing person who we love, and we need her back. We need to know what has happened to her and we need her back home,” Blackwell said, “Everybody’s looking for her and we need your help to help us find her…please.”
Blackwell was joined on Thursday by community members from local churches, the Petersburg branch of the NAACP and city law enforcement officials, urging the community to help find Brown.
Pat Hines, a member of the city’s NAACP branch, introduced the activist group’s newest initiative, “Help Us Find Her.” The goal comes from the WIN committee or “Women in NAACP,” to help find missing women in the community.
“Too many women of color are going missing and there’s too much silence, and today we want to break that silence,” Hines explained.
Petersburg City Councilwoman Treska Wilson-Smith announced an initial funding of $250 for a reward fund for Sherrell Brown. Along with Councilwoman Wilson-Smith, community groups showed support by adding funds at Thursday’s gathering, totaling $1,450.
“If there is anything that you can do or give for Christmas, this is it,” Wilson-Smith said.
Blackwell said that, along with the great concern for Brown’s wellbeing, there is a greater need due to her health complications, which have caused her to endure multiple trips to the hospital.
“She has diabetes, and she has trouble with low blood sugar that would cause her to faint,” she said. “She also has seizures prior to having aneurism surgery, so they would pop up at different times.”
8News was told Brown was in the hospital shortly before she went missing.
“We even went so far as to check her bank accounts — she hasn’t taken out any money,” Blackwell explained. “She needed medication, she hasn’t gone to the pharmacy or to her doctor…we’ve tried everything.”
Petersburg Police Chief Travis Christian is also calling on the community, saying that despite their efforts, the department has no leads in the investigation.
“There’s someone that has some kind of idea, some kind of information that you can possibly share that you can possibly help us in bringing Sherrell back home safely,” Chief Christian said.
This remains an active investigation, stay with 8News for updates.
