RICHMOND, Va. — Authorities are searching for a missing woman and her great grandchild last seen on Christmas Eve.The two are from New Jersey but could be in Virginia, according to police.
Authorities say Barbara Briley and 5-year-old LaMyra Briley were headed to Morven in Anson County, North Carolina from New Jersey, but were last seen about 30 minutes north of Richmond.
Family members said Monday night that the FBI is now involved in the case, WBTV reported.
Police say Briley stopped at an Exxon gas station in Ruther Glen around 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
They have not been heard from since.
Joanna Strange works at the Exxon in Ruther Glen and said she couldn’t believe it when she saw Barbara Briley was missing.
“I can’t believe that I actually physically spent time with her and helped her get to her destination and she didn’t make it,” Joanna Strange said.
While she didn’t remember her name, she said she wouldn’t forget her face.
“The fact that, now, this poor lady is missing is heartbreaking,” Strange said.
Barbara Briley and her granddaughter were heading to Anson County, North Carolina.
“She said she was lost and she needed directions to where she was going but she didn’t know how to work the maps on her phone,” Strange said.
Now, Strange is hoping she wasn’t the last person to see her alive.
“I’m hoping and praying she’s somewhere safe and she just hasn’t contacted anybody,” Strange said.
The Anson County Sheriff’s Office said she was driving a 2014 silver Toyota RAV4 with a New Jersey license plate of C80ELS.
