Woman who went missing on Valentine’s Day has been reunited with her husband
By Miya Payton
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ABBEVILLE, South Carolina (WYFF) — In Abbeville County, a woman who went missing on Valentine’s Day is now back with her family just in time for her birthday. Annie B. Tisdale has dementia and was found after several days of searching.
Annie’s husband, James Tisdale Jr., said she left home on Valentine’s Day to pick up food but never returned. He recalled his thought process when she first went missing.
“Are we going find her in time, that you know, she would be still alive?” James said. “I was concerned that she was she’s missing medication.”
Considering his wife has dementia, James asked police to start a search right away. On Sunday, Feb. 15, they tracked her pick-up truck using traffic cameras.
“She had been tracked leaving Abbeville, going to Calhoun Falls, coming back from Calhoun Falls, going to Greenwood, coming back from Greenwood, going back to Calhoun Falls,” James said.
Investigators told the family the last traffic camera spotted Annie in Lavonia, Georgia. On Monday, their son, Jarrett Tisdale, flew into town.
“I was preparing myself for, you know, both outcomes, dead or alive,” Jarrett said.
Jarret shared the posts on social media about her disappearance and navigated search teams.
“We were getting nervous,” Jarrett said.
Annie and James are pillars in the community through their careers in education. Their son says it was no surprise when past students, neighbors, and even strangers joined the search. Yet another day passed with no new leads.
“You’re disappointed and desperate,” Jarrett said.
“Was I sleeping? Well, no. I was just mainly praying,” James said. “Praying that someway, somehow, she would be found.”
Then on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Annie’s truck was spotted on the side of the road in Toccoa.
“She didn’t even know she was lost,” Jarrett said. “She just thought she ran out of gas. She was like, ‘I’ve been here a long time, I just want to go home,'”
A love that disappeared on Valentine’s Day found its way back home, just two days before her birthday.
“It feels like the day we got married,” James said. “We’ve been married 55 years, and we’ve been on this road a long time together, and I want more. I would like for us to be on this road as long as we can.”
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