AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Auburndale police spent hours on Wednesday searching the home of Tonya Whipp's boyfriend, where it's believed she lived for some time. Whipp has been missing for almost five months.
Her boyfriend, Russell Carroll, claims he is innocent. In an interview with 10 Tampa Bay, Carroll said he doesn't know where Whipp is. 10 Tampa Bay asked why he never reported her missing, in which he said she would go away for weeks at a time, but did say this was unusual.
The 38-year-old disappeared sometime between May 28 and June 1, according to police. Her family has not heard from her since May 26.
Police started searching for Whipp on June 29 after her sister asked officers to do a wellness check. Police said Carroll was the last known person to see Whipp.
It wasn't until mid-July when the community, led by the nonprofit group "We Are the Essentials," started doing mass searches for Whipp, garnering widespread media attention in the process.
Police obtained a search warrant to search the home on Caroline Avenue, which began at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday before ending just before 3 p.m. Family says they dug up Russell Carroll's backyard and spent the majority of the time in the house. Carroll said police took electronic devices, including his phone and computers.
He stands strong he did nothing to hurt Whipp and he has no idea where she is.
"I just miss her. I want her home just like everybody else does," Carroll said. "I don't know why she's doing this. I don't know where she went. It's just out of character and out of the blue for her.
"She's done stuff like this in the past, but not like this. She's always kept in contact with someone, like 'Hey, I'm going over here for a week or over here for a couple days.' I just don't even know."
According to Carroll, he has been dating Whipp for about 10 years. He said the two were planning to get engaged before she disappeared. He showed 10 Tampa Bay the tattoo he has of Whipp's name on each arm.
Carroll spent time in state prison for stabbing his girlfriend in 2003. He said while in prison, he and Whipp would talk and communicate. When he got out in January 2023, the two continued dating. According to Carroll, Whipp has been living with him since February 2023.
Back when the initial search for Whipp began, 10 Tampa Bay asked Whipp's family if she was dating anyone. They said she had a boyfriend they didn't know well. We also asked if the family was suspicious about Carroll to which they said, "We’re not at liberty to say, but our goal is to find our sister."
The Auburndale Police Chief said the search of Carroll's home was successful and gave investigators new leads to work on. The police chief confirmed Whipp was not found at the home. Police couldn't disclose what was taken, but said they will work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate any evidence.
Carroll said electronic devices, including his cell phone and computers, were taken by law enforcement. His brother said the backyard had been dug up.
Police emphasized this is still a missing person case and they have no evidence to prove Whipp has been harmed. The police chief said there have been no suspects or persons of interest named.
This is the second home search investigators have undertaken.
The first, started on July 26, lasted more than 30 hours at a trailer on Rose Street in Auburndale. The man living there, Jack Rudy, told 10 Tampa Bay he is friends with Whipp and she had lived with him about 12 years prior.
The reason for that search, according to Rudy, is because his girlfriend told police the couple saw Whipp back on June 6. That's 12 days after her family last had contact with her. But Rudy said he didn't know anything about where Whipp was located.