PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Next month will mark one year since a 66-year-old St. Augustine woman vanished in the Ocala National Forest near Lake Delancy.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office conducted another search for Theresa Hartley last Tuesday, along with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee, K9s and the U.S. Forest Service.
Her niece Cara Hartley said she thinks about Theresa daily, and not knowing what happened to her is like being in a "terrible limbo."
"She is really sweet,” Cara said. “She's funny. She's kind."
According to SJCSO, Theresa was in the woods with a friend when their vehicle got stuck.
The man told police Theresa stayed behind while he went to get help, but when he returned, she was gone.
According to Withlacoochee Regional Search and Rescue Chief Samuel Matychak, two days passed before the friend went back for the truck.
Cara said she finds it strange the man didn't report Theresa missing to authorities sooner.
"Why isn't the first thing you do is tell somebody that you left her out there and that you need to go look for her?" Cara said.
In a Facebook post, SJCSO said she may have had a mental condition and gotten lost.
Cara said people who knew her told her Theresa was having memory issues.
She said it's never too late to do the right thing if there is someone who knows what happened to Theresa.
“I hope that person or those people grow a conscience and have some integrity and come forward with the information they have," Cara said.
If she is out there, Cara wants her to know it's okay to come home, but she feels the chances of that are slim.
“I don't think she's alive, so I guess my message to her spirit would be like ‘You’re loved. You have a lot of people who love you and care about you, and we're going to not give up looking for you. And we'll find you,’” Cara said.
Cara said she welcomes any trained civilian search teams with cadaver dogs that would like to organize a search for Theresa in the area where she was last seen.
If you know anything about this case, you’re asked to call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at 904-824-8304.