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Volunteers search lake in Polk County for missing 38-year-old woman

Family members said they have not seen 38-year-old Tonya Whipp since May 26, but she wasn't reported missing until June 29.

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Volunteers in Polk County resumed the search for an Auburndale woman who has been missing for more than a month.

Family members told 10 Tampa Bay they have not seen 38-year-old Tonya Whipp since May 26 but she wasn't reported missing until June 29 when they considered it unlike her not to contact them for so long.

The renewed search for Whipp was coordinated by a group called "We Are The Essentials" and is centered on Lake Blue. 

The group is made up of mostly people with some law enforcement or military experience who are very knowledgeable about sensitive searches like this. The group has assisted several families locate their missing loved ones.

On Sunday morning, they brought their boats with various search-related equipment including a drone to help look in and around the Lake Blue area. They are focused on dragging the lake's bottom after law enforcement already used sonar equipment to inspect the lake.

The group has so far coordinated two searches for Whipp in the six weeks that she has been missing.

They have hiked across and surveyed several acres of land space, utilized all-terrain vehicles and golf carts to look in the woods, and also combed through bushes and brush. However, there's been no sign of Whipp so far, which is of great concern to her family.

The leader of the group of volunteers said of the search at Lake Blue that they were trying to find any clues or personal items that might lead them to the missing woman.

"We're going to have a variety of a lot of different boats out here," said Nico Tusconi of "We Are The Essentials."

"A lot of the equipment that we're using will be utilized by grabbing items out of the water basically trying to get a feel for different anomalies. The bottom of this lake is kind of soft, so we're going to be poking around to see if we find anything that is different," Tusconi said.

Tusconi said time was of the essence because Whipp has been missing for several weeks.

"I always tell the family and friends never to lose hope but now we're 8 weeks into this and everybody's concerned now that this is probably steering towards recovery instead rescue," said Tusconi. 

Some neighbors were awakened by the loud noise coming from the equipment on the lake. One neighbor initially thought they were crews clearing out the overgrown vegetation.

 "I have been seeing the signs for what now two or three weeks," said Alex Kersy who lives across from Lake Blue.

"There's no telling what happened to the girl. She may not even be in Polk County. She might have caught a ride right to somewhere else and just didn't tell nobody but we don't know that until you find a body or you find her," said Kersy.

Three days ago Auburndale police searched a house on Rose Street. The man who lives there said police searched his home after his girlfriend told officers that the couple had seen Whipp back on June 6. 

"There are people out there that know what happened to Tonya and know exactly where she's at so man up this family needs closure," said Tusconi.

"I hope they find the girl. I hope she's alive, but in this neighborhood, I mean, who can tell," added Kersy.

Auburndale Police has urged anyone with information that can help with locating Ms. Whipp to contact the nearest law enforcement.

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