HUNTSVILLE, Ala (WHNT) — A lot can change in five months, but for one North Alabama family, one thing has remained the same.
“Finding him is priority,” Deidra Wills said. She is a lifelong friend of Ronald.
Since Dec. 15, the family and friends of Ronald Dumas Jr. have not stopped searching for him.
“It feels like it’s been forever…to go from speaking to someone every day to not at all has been a change that none of us have been prepared for,” Talia Berryhill said.
She is the mother of Dumas’ two daughters.
Deidra said they would talk every day, so when she didn’t hear from him, she knew something was wrong.
“I said listen, I’m officially worried… if you don’t call or message me back at this time, I am going to officially lose it because this is not like you,” she said.
Flash forward five months….the family is still left without answers.
“We need closure,” said Berryhill. “We want him home in one way or another. We need that. Our children need that. To constantly have to say, ‘Baby, I don’t know.’ That doesn’t do anything for them.”
It’s been a long and hard 150 days, but if there’s one thing the family is clinging to, it’s their hope.
“Right now we don’t know anything, so all we can do is hold on to our hope for sure,” said Berryhill.
If there’s one thing they are asking from the community, its to please don’t give up.
“Media sensationalizes a lot of things, but this is real to us,” she said. “This is our family, and we appreciate the support of the community, and we implore you not to stop.”
The Dumas family private investigator, James Andrews, said Ronnie’s last known location was the Mid City Liquor store on University Drive on December 15th.
In a press conference in late April, the family said they had scheduled a weekly check-in with HPD to get regular updates. Berryhill said that the line of communication has held up.
While there are no current updates in the case, Berryhill said they are planning another search in Memphis in the near future. She said they are trying to get law enforcement agencies in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi to possibly help with the search.
Huntsville police department said the case remains under active investigation, and they do not have any additional information for release at this time.
They did provide us with the following statement:
“It’s been 150 days since the abduction of Ronald Leslie Dumas Jr., and we know the pain only continues as each day passes with this case being unsolved.
We are fully committed to resolving this case, utilizing every available resource to locate those responsible and bring Ronald home. Our efforts remain closely coordinated with federal, state, and local agencies involved in the investigation.
Every lead, every tip, every piece of information matters regarding Ronald’s whereabouts. If you have any information about Ronald’s location or the three people at large, you are urged to contact Inv. Hayden at 256 427-5485.”
Huntsville Police Department Spokesperson
You can read more about Ronald Dumas Jr.’s disappearance here.
The post ‘All we can do is hold on to our hope’: Dumas family talks after five months without answers appeared first on WHNT.
