Gary Murders Raise Questions About Missing Persons Reports
(CBS) -- Part of the search for more victims in Gary includes the tedious process of reviewing past missing persons reports.
As CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports, police were familiar with at least two cases.
At least two of the bodies found in abandoned houses in Gary, suspected victims of Darren Vann are among the 70 reported missing since 2010. With Vann telling police he murdered seven women, and indicating there could be more Gary police are reviewing every case.
"I knew something had happened to her when she didn't come home," said Teaira Batey's mother Gloria Cullum.
The 28-year-old was last seen leaving her family's home in Gary going to visit a friend.
Cullum filed a police report January 29. In it, "Ms. Cullum reports that her daughter suffers from schizophrenia, bi-polar, and depression." Once police took the report, Cullum says she heard little from them.
"I called the commander. He didn't answer. They gave me the sergeant number and I called that number and they never called me," Collum said.
Anith Jones' sister, a Chicago police officer, filed a missing persons report just ten days ago. That's when police found Jones' car in the driveway of an abandoned house.
According to the report, "Officers checked the vehicle and noticed what appeared to be blood on the back seat."
Yolanda Moore remembers seeing the car, and the police.
"They checked the car, they had dogs sniffing," Moore said. "They went behind our house. On the next block there are a lot of abandoned houses."
Jones' body was found a mile a half from where police found her car. Of the other two women that have been identified, neither Hammond nor Gary police say they have missing reports on file. Gary police say they take every missing person report seriously.
