JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is living a nightmare after a 49-year-old woman went missing nearly three months ago.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is investigating the case of Gina "Michelle" Ennis, who was last seen by family members July 10 in the Riverside area.
They said she left a friend's house at Stockton Street and Edison Avenue to walk to a store but never returned.
Ennis's relatives said she suffered a traumatic brain injury in the early '90s and lived a transient lifestyle at the time of her disappearance.
They said the brain injury forced the removal of part of the frontal lobe of her brain, which controls judgment.
Because of her condition, her family is concerned she could have been a target for a criminal.
Her relatives have distributed missing-persons fliers on telephone poles and store windows throughout the stretch of Stockton Street where she was last seen.
Despite living as a transient, Ennis, who is a mother and grandmother, would never go more than a few days without calling at least one of her family members, they said.
They described her as a caring person who loved her family and said they're worried sick and just want to know where she is.
"My fear is that somebody has her," said Georgette Antolik, Ennis' sister.
Antolik fought back tears as she talked about her sister, saying she never would have left Jacksonville on her own because her entire family lives in town. She said Ennis did not own a car and had not driven in more than 20 years.
"My sadness is that somebody has thrown her away like a piece of trash," Antolik said. "We just need her home. We miss her."
People in the neighborhood said they regularly saw Ennis sitting at a corner with her suitcase close by.
Family members said she never went anywhere without her suitcase. They said that when she was last seen, she did not have it with her. In their eyes, that means trouble.
"That's how you know she had every intention of coming back to that residence," Antolik said. "Otherwise, she would not have left without her suitcase."
Because of her traumatic brain injury and issues with substance abuse, Ennis's finances were handled by her father. Her account has not been touched since she was last seen.
Ennis is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She has blond hair and hazel green eyes.
A detective with JSO is working her case. Her family asks anyone with any information about Ennis to call JSO at 904-630-0500.