COPIAH COUNTY, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
The search for a missing Copiah county woman is now a criminal investigation.
Monday more than one hundred firefighters and volunteers combed the woods where Linda Gale Reed's vehicle was found off Interstate 55 near Crystal Springs.
Pike county blood hounds and Copiah county search crews looked through thick woods where the 65 year old's SUV was stopped.
The gray Chevy Equinox was found on what appeared to be an overgrown logging road off Pat Harrison Drive south of Crystal Springs.
Copiah county investigators said Reed's purse, money, glasses and cell phone were inside the vehicle.
"As soon as we got the word I got off work and came straight here," said family friend Chris Green.
Green and his wife, who did not want to comment, joined Reed's family at the site where law enforcement recovered the missing bookkeeper's vehicle.
"She's a sweet nice person, and I can't imagine what happened to her. Family is real upset and trying to figure out what's going on," added Green.
By evening Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones said the search turned into a crime scene investigation.
He believes Reed may have been abducted and is no longer in the area.
"We know that she was in Hazlehurst last night. We do have surveillance video of her leaving Walmart, nobody with her getting in her car and leaving. The next time we see her or her car is here at the interstate intersection, south of the Crystal Springs interstate," said Jones.
A family spokesperson, Jeff Cook, told WLBT Monday evening that Reed was of sound mind and was her usual self when she spoke recently with her children.
They were not aware of anyone who wanted to harm her.
Reed is the mother of a son and daughter.
She has worked at Moore Fabrication and Machine in Gallman since 1999.
"She is always prompt and is a faithful worker. It is out of character for her not to show up for work," said Moore Fabrication and Machine owner Shannon Moore.
Sheriff Jones said investigators were examining the vehicle Monday evening and will process her Gallman home in the next step in this criminal investigation.
Authorities said Reed was a Carrollton Mississippi resident and also has a mobile home near her job in Gallman.
Linda Gale Reed is 5'4", weights about 159 pounds and has brown hair and gray eyes.
If you know anything about Reed's disappearance please contact the Copiah County Sheriff's Department at 601-894-3011.
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