A memorial service was held for Susan McGirt at Revels Funeral Home in Pembroke on Monday. McGirt had been missing since July of last year, but her skeletal remains were discovered this month by police in Robeson County.
She was 55 years old and was suffering with mental health problems, according to her family members.
McGirt was receiving assistance at the Coastal Southeastern United Care in Pembroke before she disappeared.
Although a silver alert was issued when she went missing, her family said more should have been done.
“We feel like the search was cut off entirely too soon,” her daughter Mary Wesson said. “She walked off around 9 p.m. and the silver alert wasn’t issued until 1 p.m. We feel that if the silver alert was issued immediately, people in the area would’ve known to be looking for her.”
Now, family members want to bring awareness to individuals members who are taking care of adults facing mental health problems.
“Those adults who are fighting mental illness, Dementia, and Alzheimer’s. You know, when these people go seeking, they are not in their right mind. They are not an adult anymore.We feel like these missing adults that are fighting these battles deserve attention that children get too,” Wesson said.
McGirt was missing for eight months. People, who knew her, said she was a caring person.
“She was a loving person, her whole family is. She will be very missed, very missed,” said Yvonnie Oxendine.
The official cause of Susan McGirt’s death has yet to be released.