A runaway mom who everyone thought might be dead and left her kids to the care of their grandmother 42 years ago, has been found alive. She has been hiding under an alias in a small town 1,200 miles away from home.
Lula Ann Gillespie-Miller went missing more than four decades ago. There are two sides of the story and the truth was revealed when authorities and investigators tracked the 69-year-old missing woman in a small town in Texas.
In a Web posting in 2014, Tammy Miller, 45 years old, plead for help to find her missing mother. Tammy grew up thinking that her mother left her and three siblings in 1971 because she was too young to fulfill her role as a mother. Their father died in a car wreck in 1969.
According to Tammy, she found out that her mother was attacked, raped and left for dead after being thrown over the Laurel Bridge in 1973. Lula was able to survive the ordeal and went home to her mother, Emma Gillespie. They called the police, but a report was never filed.
Case Reopened
State Police Detective Sgt. Scott Jarvis took over the case after reading the website post. The police officer used modern methods to solve the long-time mystery. He found a case of an unidentified dead body found in 1975.
They compared the DNA from one of Lula's biological daughter with that of the dead woman's body, but it was not a match.
A new lead emerged and it pointed the investigator to a small town in Texas. He began to track a woman with similarities to Lula. With the help of Texas Rangers, they searched for the woman's address.
Lula Is Alive
The woman admitted that she is the missing woman whom her family had been searching for 42 years. She has been living under an alias, and since she did not commit a crime, she has the right to remain anonymous.
The woman, however, gave no explanation as to why she left her children and disappeared. She allowed the authorities to give her number to her children.
Rejected All Over Again
Tammy was shocked upon finding out her mother is actually alive.
"I'm angry," Tammy said. "This isn't going to be one of those happy, made-for-TV movies," she added.
Tammy called her mother on March 25, but Lula said she couldn't talk. The less-than-two-minute conversation ended when the woman said she'll call when she's able to talk.
"I will never call her again. It felt like being rejected all over again," Tammy said. "I'm glad she's alive, but it hurts emotionally knowing this was her choice," she added.
Tammy thanked their grandmother, Grandma Catherine. She is the grandmother of three older children since Tammy is a product of an affair between Lula and a married man.
Photo: Nicolas Henderson | Flickr
