SBI called in to aid search for missing Halifax County mother after WRAL News questioned investigation

Investigators say the SBI has been called in to join the search for Jewel Sykes, a Halifax County mother who disappeared nearly four months ago.

It comes weeks after WRAL News started pressing for answers about the case – but the missing woman’s family is calling on police to take further action.

In the streets of the town of Weldon, dozens of family members and friends came together on the evening of May 30, drawn there by one question: where is Jewel?

"We the family of Jewel Sykes called this press conference to help bring awareness to our sister, mother and daughter who has been reported missing," said Laquita Taylor, the missing woman’s sister.

The 37-year-old woman was formally reported missing to Weldon police at the start of March, a month after she disappeared from Halifax County.

Family members told WRAL News that Sykes was last heard from at the home of her boyfriend on Pinewood Drive in Roanoke Rapids.

Loved ones said witnesses have told police that early on the morning of February 2, Sykes called a friend for a ride from the home – but when they arrived, Sykes wasn’t there.

On May 3, the Weldon police chief told WRAL News that his department hadn’t questioned the boyfriend at that time, more than two months after Sykes had disappeared.

"This is the worst pain that our family could ever endure while trying to process what has taken place," Taylor said.

The family has been calling for justice alongside the Dock Ellis Foundation, which advocates for the loved ones of missing women of color.

"To date, Miss Jewel Sykes has been missing for 116 days," Dock Ellis Foundation representative Laureen Flood said. "And her last known address, nor the person she resided at that location with, have been investigated as a person or place of interest in Miss Sykes’s disappearance."

WRAL News went to the boyfriend’s home and knocked on the door but didn’t receive an answer.

We later received a statement from a source close to the boyfriend’s family, saying he won’t be speaking with WRAL News out of mistrust.

"From my understanding, Jewel has several warrants and had violated her probation…Jewel was possibly involved in other events which may explain why she is missing?" the source wrote. "Why didn’t the family report this information?"

Law enforcement records show Sykes turned herself in on DWI and felony death by motor vehicle charges in December after she caused a crash that killed her 10-year-old son.

At the time of her disappearance, state records show Sykes was considered in violation of her probation, and the Weldon police chief said Sykes faced up to 60 days in jail.

But records show Sykes hasn’t used her cellphone since the night she disappeared, and Weldon police say her bank account hasn’t been accessed since December.

Her family says that proved she hasn’t been on the run.

"Jewel had faced her charges," Taylor said. "She had faced what she did wrong, the laws that she broke. She faced that."

On May 30, the Weldon Police Department said that since WRAL first asked questions about the case on May 3, their investigators have attempted to take out search warrants for the boyfriend’s home – but their efforts were denied by a Halifax County judge.

The police chief also said officers have knocked on the door several times but haven’t been able to question him.

"No luck at this time, but we keep trying to catch him there," Weldon Police Chief Christopher Davis said.

Weldon police say they’ve also reached out for help from the SBI,which will now be providing resources to support the investigation.

Sykes’ family said while it would be a step in the right direction, they planned to keep pushing until Jewel is found.

"She has a family that loves her," Taylor said. "And we are demanding a full and transparent investigation into her disappearance."

WRAL News reached out to the SBI to confirm their involvement in the case. We’re waiting to hear back.