A 19-year-old girl from North Carolina is seeking the public’s assistance in locating her 62-year-old mother, Gwen Collins, from Gibsonville. Gwen went missing on August 9 after leaving their home on Bellflower Road barefoot and dressed in a pink nightgown.
Rhonda Collins told The North Carolina Beat that the past three weeks have been a nightmare since her mother‘s disappearance. On the evening of August 9, 2024, she returned home around 6 p.m. to find the front door open. Rhonda mentioned that her mother suffers from schizophrenia and tends to stay in her room during episodes.
“When my mom is sick (with schizophrenia), she doesn’t open the door; she stays in her back room,” Rhonda said. “So, when I saw the door open, I knew something was off.”
In her search for her mother, Rhonda quickly checked the house and Gwen’s room but found no sign of her. She then called her uncle, who lives next door, and he also hadn’t seen Gwen.
“I looked everywhere and didn’t see my mom, so I called my uncle, who lives next door, and asked him, ‘Have you seen my mother?’ and he said ‘no’,”said Rhonda.
Rhonda next contacted her father, Ronald Collins, to see if Gwen was with him, as they usually go out to eat together on Fridays, but he hadn’t seen her either. When her father arrived, they called 911. Upon the police‘s arrival, they began searching found footprints that led to a river.
“The footprints led to the river, but we still can’t find her,” Rhonda said. Police used divers to search the river, and we still can’t find my mom. “Most of everybody that lives on our road are family, and my cousin saw her but didn’t help her.”
Ronald told WFMY2 that he had just got off work, took a nap, and then got up because he had a yard to cut. He said he told Gwen he would be right back. Rhonda recounted that a cousin of hers said they saw Gwen walking barefoot in her pink nightgown but chose not to help her, instead returning inside.
“You didn’t say nothing…you didn’t call nobody…you went back in the house? “I just don’t understand. How can you do my mother like this? My mother would never do you like this, an emotional Rhonda said.
Greensboro police department investigating
Various agencies have been involved in the search for Gwen, with divers exploring the Haw River, which runs alongside Bellflower Road, all the way to Jordan Lake. At the time, storms were causing the river to flow rapidly and the water levels to rise.
Rhonda told us that during the first two weeks following her mother’s disappearance, investigators provided updates, but in the third week, their calls have gone unanswered, going straight to voicemail.
first week, they kept us updated. The second week, they kept us updated. However, this third week, when my dad is calling them… it’s going straight to voicemail,” Rhonda said.
The circumstances surrounding Gwen’s disappearance remain unclear, but Rhonda wants the public to know that her mother was a kind, faith-driven woman who loved attending church.
“I don’t understand this, Rhonda said. “My mom is so sweet; she will help anybody. My mom went to church… I just don’t understand.”
Feeling confused and overwhelmed, Rhonda expressed her desire for the police to continue searching for her mother and urged anyone with information to reach out to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
