Family seeks answers in woman’s disappearance on Mother’s Day

The Mississippi family of a woman who was reported missing in Richardson is seeking answers.

Gina Capley, of Pascagoula, Mississippi, said she and her husband, Gary Bardwell, knew something was wrong when Bardwell’s daughter, Jessie Bardwell, did not call home on Mother’s Day.

Jessie Bardwell, 27, had moved to Richardson just after Christmas. Capley said she moved there with her boyfriend, Jason Lowe.

Capley said Jessie Bardwell’s mother, Carla Bardwell, called her husband May 8 when their daughter had not called.

Jessie Bardwell had no phone, so Capley said Gary and Carla Bardwell tried reaching her by calling Lowe’s phone. She said Lowe told them she was out shopping.

“Both agreed this was kind of strange,” Capley said, as Jessie Bardwell is very close with her parents, both of whom live in Jackson County. “By lunch time, she had not heard from her, and Gary had not heard from her.”

Capley said Gary Bardwell called the Richardson Police Department and they sent officers to the apartment Jessie Bardwell and Lowe shared but she was not there.

On May 9, Capley said she and her husband drove 11 hours to Richardson to file an official missing person report.

A detective on the scene at Jessie’s apartment assisted in filing the report, Capley said, and she is now listed in the national missing persons database. Police checked the apartment for Jessie Bardwell three additional times Monday.

Richardson police Sgt. Kevin Perlich confirmed the department is investigating her disappearance.

“We’re trying to find her. We are attempting to locate her to check on her welfare,” he said.

Capley said Lowe told them he last saw his girlfriend the morning of Mother’s Day and has not heard from her since. She had said things at home are tense.

Capley said the family is grateful for the help from Richardson police.

“I feel real confident that they are doing everything that is humanly possible,” she said. “It is extremely unusual for Jessie.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Family seeks answers in woman’s disappearance on Mother’s Day."