Monthlong search for missing woman from Illinois brings family to the Bronx
Shamari Brantley was last seen in late August, but her phone turned up at the Zerega Avenue train station.
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An Illinois family's monthlong search for its missing daughter has brought them to the Bronx.
Shamari Brantley was last seen in late August. Her family says she struggles with her mental health and has disappeared before but never for this long. After weeks of searching, the family got a lead when Brantley's phone turned up at the Zerega Avenue train station in The Bronx.
However, there are still many unanswered questions about how that phone ended up more than 800 miles from their hometown in Wheaton, a suburb outside Chicago.
As more time passes, the family's concerns and suspicions are only growing. They were able to pull the young woman's phone records and saw just one call placed to a New York number.
The person behind that number claims to have seen Brantley on the Upper East Side near the 96th Street Station; meanwhile, she's been spotted in The Bronx by other New Yorkers as well.
The family also managed to get the phone and is working on getting it unlocked, which they hope will provide more information on Brantley's whereabouts. They also created a GoFundMe to help with travel and search expenses.
"We have no family in New York. It's just the five of us," said Chanece Lewis, the older sister of Shamari Brantley. Lewis and her mother, Artimece, were both brought to tears as they spoke to News 12 alongside other relatives. "We know no one else here, we need the community’s help with finding my sister."
The NYPD was not able to provide much information to News 12 at the time of our interview but told us that they are working with the Wheaton Police Department on the investigation.
Our team is also awaiting information from the DuPage County Sheriff's Office in Illinois. They are asking anyone who has seen her to contact the family at 630-520-4133.
