CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — The news that the body of her sister was found in Black Creek in Middleburg, about 30 miles from their home on West 14th Street, has barely sunk in for Beulah Robertson.
She said she and her close-knit family can't understand how 48-year-old Lynda Lorraine Robertson ended up found Feb. 22 in Clay County, almost two weeks after anyone had seen or heard from her.
"We are clueless," Robertson said after a long sigh.
"We can think this and we can think that but we really don't know," she continued. "We don't know anybody in Clay County. I don't know if she knew anybody in Clay County. It is just like, how could it happen?"
The 48-year-old was found in the North Fork of Black Creek by a kayaker, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office. A cause of death was not released.
A week before Clay County began its investigation, Robertson's family filed a missing-person report with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Beulah Robertson was the last person to speak with her sister about 10 p.m. on Feb. 10, according to the report. Her sister called her and said she would be home around midnight, but she never saw her again.
Lynda's son said he searched and found his mother’s white Ford F-150 pickup truck at West 12th and Prospect streets, the report said. It was less than 3 miles west of their home and unlocked next to a home. An officer spoke with a resident there.
"On the night of Feb. 10, she heard voices outside just before midnight, and the next morning the vehicle was there," the report said.
The house and those nearby had no security cameras, so there is no video of what happened, the report said. The investigating officer wrote that he contacted area hospitals, but the missing woman had not checked into any of them, and she was not listed in any other police reports.
The family also is still grieving the death of another son. Her 27-year-old son who also lives at the home, O’Shay Robertson, said the anniversary of his brother’s death was approaching and his mother was depressed.
"When we had not heard from her for over a week, we knew something was wrong," Beulah Robertson said. "But we would never have pictured that we would find her truck in one spot, and her body would be found somewhere else."
Robertson's sister has posted a GoFundme account to pay for her burial.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office did not give any more information on the investigation or whether foul play is suspected but is asking for the public's assistance. Anyone with information on Robertson or who saw her Ford pickup truck during her disappearance is asked to contact detective David Vereen at (904) 264-6512.