A South Carolina woman who is making a move to The Villages is desperate to find her mother who has been missing for more than two weeks.
Renee Shelley last year bought a villa in the Village of Pinellas and is preparing to make a move to another home in the Village of Collier.
She and her husband, who is retired Navy, are in the process of selling their property in Charleston, S.C. where her mother, 74-year-old Traute Rankin, also lived in a nearby townhome.
Shelley had moved her mother to the 55+ Silver Pointe apartments in Leesburg as part of orchestrating she and her husband’s move to The Villages.
Shelley, who grew up in Orlando, last saw her mother on April 25 at her mother’s apartment. She left a check for the rent behind a magnet on the refrigerator door.
“She was always a stickler about paying the rent on time,” Shelley said.
On April 29, she talked to her mother on the phone.
“She sounded great,” Shelley said.
It was the last communication anyone is known to have had with her mother who will turn 75 on Thursday.
On May 1, Shelley’s father-in-law and mother-in-law, Bud and Grace Shelley of the Village of Chatham, went over to check on Shelley’s mother.
The rent check, due on May 1, had not been turned over to the apartment manager.
Traute Rankin was not to be found.
There are few clues.
Her mother took her purse but left her cell phone in her apartment. Her bank card has not been used since April 25.
Traute Rankin had heart trouble and stubbornly avoided doctors.
“She is German and hard-headed,” Shelley said.
Shelley is back in Charleston, coordinating the move to The Villages and talking daily to Leesburg police, the agency heading the search for the missing woman.
And with each day that passes, Shelley and her sister, who lives in England, grow more desperate.
“Desperate is the word,” Shelley said. “You really don’t know what to do.”
Information below from Leesburg Police Department:
The Leesburg Police Department is requesting assistance in locating Traute E. Rankin, a 74 year old white female. Ms. Rankin is approximately 5’01” to 5’04”, 110 lbs with gray hair and hazel eyes, speaks with a slight German accent, and is not wearing her dentures. She has a heart condition and may be suffering from the early stages of dementia. Ms. Rankin was last seen sometime on 4/27/14 at her residence, 2440 Silver Pointe Circle. Ms. Rankin does not have a vehicle and is new to the Leesburg area. Family members advised that she frequently walks to the Leesburg Walmart.
If you have seen Ms. Rankin or know her whereabouts, please contact the Leesburg Police Department at 352-787-2121.