WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — In recent weeks, the nation was captivated with the disappearance of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old woman who had been living in Florida.
Petito was found dead in September after authorities searched an area of a national park in Wyoming where she had been traveling with her fiancé Brian Laundrie.
The case remains in the news and a hot social media topic as authorities continue to search for Laundrie, who has not been heard from in weeks.
But as much attention garnered by the Petito case, what about all the other cases of missing women and people that receive much less coverage, especially those involving people of color.
On the latest episode of Spectrum Bay News 9's To The Point Already podcast, Rick Elmhorst and Roy DeJesus spoke to the Winter Haven police chief and former Lakeland Ledger reporter Rick Rousos about a Polk County missing woman case and the investigation that followed.
Christina Voltaire went missing from her apartment in Winter Haven in January 2011. She has not been seen since.
The Winter Haven Police Department is still investigating the then 22-year-old woman’s vanishing and social media has played a role in interacting with the public for clues.
“We go through to see if there is anything new with advances of DNA and things like that,” said Winter Haven Police Chief David Brannan. “But really we don’t have much of anything to submit because we’re not finding anything.”
Anyone with information is still asked to contact the Winter Haven Police Department or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).
ABOUT THE SHOW
Spectrum Bay News 9 Anchor Rick Elmhorst sits down with the people that represent you, the people fighting for change and the people with fascinating stories to ask the hard questions.
To The Point Already will cover people, politics and issues from a Tampa Bay perspective every Wednesday.
Listen and Subscribe:
Apple | Spotify | Google | Stitcher
Anyone with information is still asked to contact the Winter Haven Police Department or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).