NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Saturday marks 24 days since a Newport News family has seen their loved one, Ty'Nesha Taylor.
While police said detectives are searching for the 30-year-old mother, family said more needs to be done to find her.
"I just need help. I need answers. Please help us," said Francine Bragg. "We've been looking out there for weeks."
Bragg said her daughter has been missing since September 1.
"We called the police immediately. We told them that she had a mental illness, we already fought with a hospital system that let her out, numerous times," said sister Paquita Edmonds.
Her family said Taylor lives with bipolar schizophrenia and they've tried to get her the help she needs, but they said that the system failed her. They don't believe she should have been released from the hospital citing her declining health.
Taylor was last seen near her mother's house in the Christopher Newport area. That's where an army of her loved ones met on Saturday morning for, yet again, another search party.
They walked the trails near J. Clyde Morris Boulevard and Warwick Boulevard, looking in bushes and wooded areas. Their eyes were peeled for any clues indicating Taylor had been nearby. As they traveled, they placed "missing person" fliers on light poles and windshields and also handed them to people walking by.
Their hope is that someone, somewhere knows something.
"She was last seen over here at my mom's house in the Christopher Newport area. She would generally track from my mom's house up to her dad's area and then up to Menchville Housing area," Edmonds said. "Pretty much from J. Clyde on up, that's where we are focusing on, but you never know. It's as if my sister just vanished."
Taylor's family said if you see her, or anyone that looks like her, don't approach and instead take a picture and call local authorities. Edmonds can also be reached at 757-567-8931. Taylor was last seen wearing black sweatpants and a black top with a white stripe on the sleeve, holding a black backpack.
While friends have shown up with signs in hand and matching t-shirts, Edmonds said they want to see more done by authorities.
"There's never coverage on minority people who are missing, who are hurt, who are lost. The system needs to change. We are as important as anybody else," she said. "We need some kind of alarm system that would cover people like my sister with disabilities, whether it be a physical or mental disability. This is not fair to our family. We do not want another Ty'Nesha Taylor to be out there."
They said they will be out looking every day until Taylor comes home.
Newport News Police issued a missing persons report on Wednesday, September 22. They originally said, "there’s no reason to believe she's in any danger."
On October 13, police said Taylor was found out of state and unharmed.
