iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Barbara Briley had stopped at an Exxon gas station in Virginia for directions on Christmas Eve.
Shortly thereafter, she disappeared.
Now, Briley’s family are frantically searching for her and Briley’s 5-year-old great-granddaughter La’Myra Briley, who was in the car with her that day.
“I am beyond exhausted but at this point that really doesn’t matter,” Briley’s niece, Marcella Rorie, told ABC News in a phone interview. “I need them found.”
Briley, 71, and La’Myra had intended to drive from New Jersey to North Carolina, a journey that runs primarily through I-95, a stretch of road that would be familiar to many East Coast residents who drive south for the holidays. CCTV footage taken at the gas station shows Briley walking up to a counter for assistance.
She had been asking for directions prior to her disappearance, according to Joanne Strange, a clerk at the gas station who spoke to ABC affiliate WTVD in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to Strange, Briley had struggled with the GPS on her phone.
Briley’s cellphone was traced to Petersburg, Virginia. The Charlotte Observer reported that her phone is now going to voicemail.
Family told WTVD that Briley’s credit cards have not been used since the start of her trip and that she does not have any known medical conditions.
“We are holding out hope that she is simply a little disoriented,” said Rorie said.
The Aware Foundation, a Virginia-based nonprofit that seeks to find missing people and provide support to their families, has posted photos of Briley and La’Myra on social media in an effort to unite them with their family.
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