MISSING: Kristi Cornwell
Hard to believe it’s been one year since Kristi Cornwell was abducted in Georgia. Kristi’s mom, Jo Ann Cornwell, told me over the phone on Tuesday, “I am not giving up hope, I have not been given any reason to believe she is not alive… it hurts my heart.”
The last anyone heard from Kristi was one year ago today when she was exercising in Blairsville. Investigators say around 9:00 p.m. Kristi was on the phone with her boyfriend, who was in Atlanta at the time, when a car approached her. There was a struggle, and she was never seen again. A reward of $50,000 is offered for information leading to the safe return of Kristi, or the arrest/conviction of the person responsible for her disappearance.
Kristi’s family is extremely proactive in this case. They started a website, they have frequent, sometimes daily searches of the area where she went missing, and they even auctioned off the family’s lake house property over the weekend to raise money to help find this missing mother. More than 80,000 post cards have been purchased and distributed with Kristi’s face on them. “Somebody out there has got to know something, or someone has seen something and doesn’t think it’s important yet,” said Jo Ann.
Kristi left behind a 16-year-old son who Jo Ann says is trying to move forward with his life. She said he is in school, is an active member of the band and had a local job at his father’s convenience store over the summer “I try to spend time with him, and I feel he is reaching out through me to his mother,” says Jo Ann.
Over the last year, investigators say an anonymous grandmother wrote a letter into the Cherokee County Sheriff’s department and said her grandson was working in the area at the time Kristi was hit and abducted. That letter and the envelope it was sent in is being released for the first time today (see below). The Cherokee County Sheriff’s office in a statement said, “Evidence has been obtained which lead investigators to believe that between August 1st and August 25, 2009 he described person was in the Western North Carolina area working for a relative, specifically his grandmother, and that he was doing some handy man work. The person was believed to have been driving a white Nissan Xterra with a brush guard and would have been bearing a Florida tag.” Kristi’s family is begging that grandmother to come forward today with more information to help solve Kristi’s case.
Possible suspect & SUV
Investigators say Kristi’s case could be tied to an attempted abduction that happened in Cherokee County, N.C. just a few days before her alleged abduction. Thankfully, that woman was able to escape. Authorities say they are looking for a white male, in his mid-20’s with dark hair who may be driving a silver Nissan Xterra with tinted windows and a brush guard on the front of the vehicle.
Kristi is a former probation officer who is trained to fight back in situations like this. Her family believes she is alive somewhere, and they will do whatever they can to find her. www.kristicornwell.com
Envelope (Georgia Bureau of Investigatons)
"Concerned Grandmother" Letter (Georgia Bureau of Investigations)
Dear Concerned Grandmother,
I was pleased to receive your letter in reference to your concerns about your grandson. I had hoped to hear from you as a result of our pleas for information. My name is Brian Whidby, I am a Special Agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and I am responsible for finding Kristi. I have worked towards that goal since her disappearance.
I understand from your letter that you believe that your grandson may be involved with Kristi’s disappearance. You cannot ignore the chain of coincidences surrounding your grandson’s twelve day stay with you in August 2009.
I believe you are a Godly and caring person. You made the right decision by contacting us with your letter. I now ask you to continue your journey with us and contact me. I understand that you have concerns about your family and I ask that you pray about your decision and do what is right.
I ask that you contact me and we can eliminate any doubt in your mind about your grandson. We can learn together if your suspicions are mistaken about your grandson. I pray you can understand why I must ask you to take the next step in our journey and contact me. You can call me on my cellular telephone at 706-969-5706 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 706-969-5706 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, email me at bwhidby811@yahoo.comor write me at 79 Cobb Vantress Drive, Cleveland, GA 30528.
Sincerely,
Brian Whidby
Tags: abduction, anniversary, brush guard, family, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Jo Ann Cornwell, kristi cornwell, letter, nissan, probation officer, released, suspect, windows, xterra
