ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Triad family is searching for answers after their son disappeared earlier this month.
It comes as the nation has been drawn to the Gabby Petito case, the young woman from New York who disappeared while on a cross-country trip with her finance. This week her body was recovered in Wyoming.
On Sept. 8, a Silver Alert went out across the Triad for 35-year-old Aaron Lynn Blalock from Alamance County.
"We're just desperate to find him and bring him home," said Deborah Blalock, mother of the missing man. "We're just devastated to the point that this has never happened to us before and it's just horrible."
Blalock holds on to the hope of finding her missing son. She told FOX8 he suffers from schizophrenia, along with other medical issues, and may be confused.
"I felt like I was living in a nightmare. It's just the devastation, and the loss and the coldness," Blalock said. "I'm almost numb because it's been two and a half weeks and my baby boy is not here."
On Sept. 7, her nightmare began. She realized something was wrong when Blalock left his house without his cell phone and dog.
"The longer they're missing, the less likely you are to find them, and we don't want our son to become a statistic," she said. "We want to bring him home."
Like in the Petito case, Blalock went to the authorities. She said it has shined a light on the important work law enforcement must endure to find loved ones who are gone.
Blalock checks in with the Alamance County Sheriff's Office every day for leads on her missing son's case.
"It all depends on the leads that we get in," said Lieutenant Joseph Hall with the Alamance County Sheriff's Office. "It could depend on the amount of technology we can use. It could depend on the amount of resources we have available at the time."
Hall told FOX8 that investigators have tracked Blalock's last whereabouts to Sept. 10 in Lee County where deputies found his car abandoned on the side of the road.
"From the moment that law enforcement gets the call to the time that we close a case, we're consistently working," he said. "When there may be that lag where people don't necessarily see that things are being done, stuff behind the scenes is happening."
From social media to search parties, flyers and ads, the Blalock family has exhausted every option.
"They've been calling friends, family, anything that was on his cell phone," Blalock said. "Looking at his bank accounts, doing anything to try to track him, but right now we're just very cold."
Blalock told FOX8 she is leaning on her faith and a watchful eye to bring her son home safe.
"I have to just pray to God to help us find him because our fear is his medical issues may have taken and dropped him on the side of the road or in a ditch somewhere," she said.
Blalock does not believe her son is still in Lee County. She said a driver may have picked him up.
If you have seen anyone matching his description — a white male, 5'5", with black and gray hair — contact the Alamance County Sheriff's Office.
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