Family of missing woman concerned about her safety, mental illness
Sep 22, 2023, 8:49 PM | Updated: 9:53 pm
CLEARFIELD – Some faraway shots of surveillance video from August 16th mark the last time 52-year-old Tina Marie Jones was seen in public.
Her daughter, Madison Lewis said Jones has taken off before, but never like this.
She would have called by now. It’s been over a month,” Lewis said. “It’s been really hard. I’ve been struggling a lot. You know, we need answers. We need something.”
Lewis said her mom was most recently staying with a man that she met at his apartment in Clearfield. However, she said he didn’t report her missing for about a week when he realized her cellphone was still in his apartment. Clearfield Police say that everything he’s told them so far checks out, and that right now there’s no reason to suspect foul play.
“It just seems like she had intentions of coming back because all of her things are here,” Lewis said. “She’s very protective of her things.”
Family members say Jones has suffered from both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia for some time. Dean Nielson, one of Jones’s brothers said he and several family members have been trying to get her help for about 12 years.
Tina Marie Jones and her children. (Madison Lewis)
“We spent nearly $25,000 in legal fees, trying to petition the court,” Nielson said. “The system is designed such that the crazy person, who is the last that wants help, is the person who the law requires to choose to get help.”
He believes they could have done something sooner if the law provided another way for loved ones to intervene.
“That’s got to change,” Nielson said. “We could have got her some medication. If you get her on medication, she has some degrees of reasonableness about her.”
Right now, family members are pleading with the public to help find Tina Jones. They are currently offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to her being found.
“The sickness she has, it’s hard to live with people like that, but she always came back to us and we want her back,” Jones’s mom, Colleen Nielson said. “Please help us bring her home. Whether she’s with us or not, we want her back, please help us.”
Family members have organized a Facebook group for sharing information and put together a fundraising page* to help with the reward for information.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
