MIDFIELD, Ala. – Police in Alabama are looking for the mother of a 3-month-old baby who disappeared three weeks ago.
Tiffany Smitherman Osborne, 30, hasn’t been seen since Feb. 17 in Midfield.
She was reported missing two days later, according to Midfield Police Department.
“She would never just walk out on her children,” Tiffany’s mother, Cathy Smitherman, told NBC News. “And she would never not let anyone know where she’s going. That’s just not her.”
According to Det. Michael Jeffries, Tiffany’s boyfriend said she left that Monday evening around 11 p.m. to walk about a block away to a convenience store to get some cigarettes. Jeffries said the store was closed by that time and the people who worked there said they never saw her that night.
Tiffany and her boyfriend have been together for two years and have a 3-month-old baby boy, according to Tiffany’s mother. The baby was at their home with his father when Tiffany disappeared, she said. Her boyfriend told investigators both he and the baby had fallen asleep and when they woke up, Tiffany still hadn’t returned. He reported her missing on Wednesday, according to Det. Jeffries.
Cathy, who last saw Tiffany earlier the day she vanished, is afraid something terrible happened to her daughter.
“What I don’t understand is why she would walk to the store so late at night, especially when they have more than one vehicle sitting in the yard,” Cathy said.
Moreover, police said Osborne left without taking her cellphone.
“She always had her cell phone with her, really, like anyone these days,” Cathy said. “And it just doesn’t make sense.”
Friends knocked on doors Saturday and distributed flyers with Osborne’s photo, WIAT-TV reported.
“I’m amazed by the support and all the people that’s reached out to me and been helping,” Cathy told the station. “It’s overwhelming because there’s people here that I don’t even know.”
Osborn lived with her mother, who is now taking care of the baby and her daughter’s other two children, 12 and 7.