Woman vanishes at church convention

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE FAMILY of 61-year-old St James resident Joyce Fearon is desperate for any information that might lead to her whereabouts, after she went missing on National Heroes Day, while on a church trip in Christiana, Manchester.

Fearon, a resident of Barnett Oval in Montego Bay, was part of a group from the Faith Temple Assembly of God, also based in Montego Bay, which attended the women’s convention in Christiana on Monday.

Her sister, Nerissa Cassells, told The Gleaner that the family is especially concerned for the senior citizen’s well-being as she had suffered two strokes in the past year.

“She had a stroke over a year ago, and then she had a second stroke about a month ago and was hospitalised, and after the second stroke, she was not the same person. She is not talking a lot, and she is not eating like she used to,” Cassells said concerning her sister.

“She didn’t tell anyone she was going on the convention trip. She saw her son on Saturday and she didn’t tell him. She went on the convention trip with her church, and I understand that after lunch, that was the last time they saw her,” Cassells added.

“It was like she walked away and continued walking because she left her pocketbook, left everything there, and she never returned.”

Fearon, who also goes by the name ‘Maxine’, is described as being five feet, three inches tall and about 190 pounds, with low-cut white hair.

At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a white blouse and a red skirt.

Bishop Conrad Pitkin, the pastor of Faith Temple Assembly of God, told The Gleaner that Fearon has been a member of his congregation for about 10 years.

“She hardly misses a worship service. She is there on a Sunday morning, and she will be there for the women’s meeting on a Monday evening. Prior to her illness, she was very active in church with the hospitality team, but in the latter part of last year, she took ill, and we noticed that mentally, she has been slowing down somewhat,” said Pitkin, who is also the custos for St James.

“Then on Monday, she went with the group to the women’s convention in Christiana. They recall that she had lunch with them, and about 5:30 when they were ready to leave and the bus was being loaded, they realised she could not be found and the alarm was raised at that time,” Pitkin added.

It is understood that security footage is currently being examined to ascertain whether reports that Fearon may have been spotted in Albert Town, Trelawny, are true.

Anyone who may have information leading to the return of Joyce Fearon is being asked to call her sister, Nerissa Cassells, at 876-324-9259, the 119 police emergency number, or the nearest police station.