It’s been nearly a month since Reshaunda “Sasha” Gerald has seen or spoken to her family.
The 32-year-old mother of three vanished from Norfolk on Jan. 4. Her mother last saw her leaving her Coleman Place home with a man she knew, said Gerald’s cousin Latoya Willoughby.
Gerald and the man had an argument the weekend before he picked her up. The pair were reconnecting to sort out issues, her cousin said.
Gerald told her mother she’d be home by 3 p.m. to pick up her daughters from school. She was never heard from again.
“I don’t think she’s here anymore,” Willoughby said. “I don’t want to feel like that, but it’s been too long for her to not be in contact.”
Norfolk Police Officer Daniel Hudson confirmed that a man was questioned in connection to Gerald’s disappearance, but no one has been charged with a crime.
Gerald’s disappearance in person and on social media has been troubling to her family, who say she was a good mother and an avid Facebook user.
Willoughby said Gerald’s mother and sister are taking care of her children, aged 15, 10 and eight. The kids know very little about the investigation at hand.
“She loves her children and would never up and leave them. They do know that their mother is missing, but they don’t know exactly what’s going on,” Willoughby said, adding that Gerald always kept in touch with family, especially her father.
Today Gerald’s phone doesn’t ring, but goes straight to voicemail. The last time she posted on Facebook was at 8:12 a.m. on Jan. 4.
“There was not a day that went past that she wouldn’t post something on [Facebook],” her cousin said. “She was never without her phone and always answered her calls. If she missed a call she would always call back.”
Police issued a public news release on Jan. 11, describing Gerald as a short, slender African American woman with a dark complexion, blue hair and brown eyes. Noticeable birthmarks include a mole under her right eye.
Willoughby said Gerald is “tatted up” with cheetah print on her leg, the word “RIFE” printed on her neck and the word “MULE” tattooed on her chest, surrounded by angel wings.
Police say Gerald was last seen wearing a fur-lined pink jacket, blue jeans with holes in the knees and pink and black Jordan Brand sneakers. She was walking near the intersection of Olney Road and Lincoln Street.
Anyone with information on Gerald’s location should call the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
Mayfield can be reached at adrienne.m@wydaily.com.
