AUBURNDALE, Fla. — This month marks one year since Tonya Whipp was last seen by her family. She was reported missing a month later and extensive searches in Polk County never found her. Now her family is coming up with new ways to keep Tonya’s name out there.
They tell 10 Tampa Bay they think she was killed and believe the person who knows what happened still walks among them.
“Everybody loves Tonya,” said her older sister, Donna Martin. “She'd give you the shirt off of her back. She's a really good girl.”
At the city park in Auburndale, Tonya Whipp's family hands out new bumper stickers to old friends.
She was last seen by those who love her last May and police couldn't find her during a wellness check in June. A year with no word from Tonya, 38, and her sister copes knowing it's nearly certain she's not alive.
“We don't think she's coming back,” Martin said. “So at this point, we're just kind of like changing gears, kind of accepting the fact that maybe she's not here with us anymore.”
Tonya was living with a boyfriend who had then recently been released from prison for the attempted murder of a previous girlfriend. Police had no update for us Friday when we asked about the case and any identified suspects.
“I mean, her car was left here, and all of her belongings were left here,” said Tonya’s aunt, Lisa Textor. “So there's no reason for us to believe that she ever left this county or even the city of Auburndale at this point.”
This is their message to those who may know what happened:
“I think the fact that they're not coming forward and not giving our family that peace and that closure,” Textor continues. “They're cowards. They're absolute cowards.”
They're planning a vigil for Tonya at the end of the month and hoping police can make a break in the case, find her and finally bring her home.
Police are still seeking tips in Tonya’s disappearance. She's officially listed as "missing and endangered." Heartland Crimestoppers in Polk County is offering a $4,000 reward for information that finds her.