According to the family, Shamari Brantley, the missing woman from Illinois whose cellphone was discovered at a Bronx train station in early September, was spotted inside an Apple store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday and was subsequently taken to the hospital. Artimece Cotton, Brantley’s mother, expressed her joy to PIX11 News, stating, “I was so happy, I just couldn’t believe it.”
According to Chanece Lewis, the sister of the 22-year-old woman, a security guard with a background in law enforcement was able to identify the missing woman. It was discovered that the woman had been using her middle name and a different last name to log onto a computer.
Lewis shared with PIX11 News that a person recognized her while she was in the store, and this happened during the night hours. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, Brantley was transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. It had been almost three months since she disappeared.
In late August, she had a conversation with her mother before leaving her family home in Wheaton, Illinois. Her relatives, including her mother, sister, and others, went to the Bronx several times to distribute flyers and hold rallies.
According to the family, Brantley was traveling to New York City by hitchhiking and getting lifts from truck drivers.
Brantley’s mother discovered in early September that her daughter had contacted a man from the Bronx by going through her phone records. After repeatedly calling her daughter’s phone, a woman finally answered and stated that she had found the device near the No. 6 train station at Zerega Avenue.
During their visits to New York City, the family received assistance from the Girl Vow Missing Task Force, who provided them with accommodation, meals, and financial support.
Dawn Rowe, who leads the task force, acknowledged that the journey has been long and arduous. Although they are relieved that Shamari has been found, they know that the family now needs to focus on healing. Their next course of action is to collaborate with the family to achieve stability and explore ways to improve the efficiency of city and state systems when it comes to missing girls. Despite their progress, the team is still waiting for Gov. (Kathy) Hochul to sign their legislation. Rowe emphasized that there is still much work ahead of them.
Chicago-based rapper Bo Deal, Brantley’s cousin, has been making frequent trips to New York and sharing his experiences on his widely-followed Instagram page. On Tuesday morning, Brantley’s mother and sister took a flight to New York to go straight to the hospital to visit him.
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