FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – Nearly two dozen longtime friends and neighbors of 65-year-old Susan Mauldin gathered at the missing woman’s home Sunday to say they are still hoping to learn what happened to her.
Mauldin has not been seen or heard from since Oct. 23. According to Clay County authorities, a contractor she hired to install tiles in her Fleming Island home, 44-year-old Corey Binderim, is considered a person of interest in connection with her disappearance.
Binderim is behind bars in the Duval County jail on a forgery charge unrelated to Mauldin’s case.
Twenty-two of Mauldin’s loved ones -- some who keep her yard maintained and flowers on her door -- wanted to talk about their friend and get answers.
“Today is 81 days. Eighty-one days with hardly anything. That’s not acceptable," Jenet Anderson said.
“I was probably the last person to have any conversation with her,” said another friend, Joy Strickland. “My husband was very ill in the hospital and on Wednesday night she messaged me wanting to know how he was. We did message back and forth about his health.”
Strickland said that was around 9 p.m. Oct. 23.
“Nobody saw her again or heard from her after that point," Strickland said.
“She is not the kind of person to disappear without reason," Irene Strickland said. "She always told everybody if she was going to England or out of town. We were always aware when she was going to take a trip.”
Mauldin’s husband passed away years ago and she has no relatives in the U.S. Her friends say they are all she has.
“This is immediate family. This is who she is. She deserves a lot better,” Anderson said.
One-by-one, each person had a kind comment about her: “She was never selfish." “Very sweet, caring.” “She was loved.” “She was a fellow knitter.” “Kind and caring.” “Faithful.” “She was a ray of sunshine.” “She was a beautiful person.” “Very friendly.” “Caring and very sweet.” “Warm.” “A wonderful lady.” “We miss Susan.”
“I hope and pray that God makes it evident to what it is that has happened, that someone comes forth with the information we need to get this resolved,” neighbor Angie Nelson said.