Rhonda Branson (Carol's Daughter)
Appearances
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Yes, I am in Charleston, South Carolina, and I need someone to go to my mother's home to see if she is alive, if she's there. I can't reach her. Do you have a health problem? Yes, she's got liver cancer, and her husband is a severe diabetic. What's the address? Rhonda had just embarked on a lengthy mission to locate her mom and stepdad.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
At that point, she was told she couldn't file a missing persons report over the phone and that she would need to call the Jacksonville police to make arrangements. Yeah. Well, I need to file a person's report, and I'm out of town. Can I do it over the phone?
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Nobody has heard or seen them or heard from them since Friday. Uh-huh. They are in very poor health, and Officer Nelson said, several hours last night over at their home, and he said that it was just, you know, it looked like they had, they had just up and left, but they left the dog there. And the dog is inside, and something, something's wrong. She hasn't called me in over a week.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
And nobody, the last time they were seen or heard from was Friday. And Officer Nelson told me I needed to file a missing persons report, but I'm in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
No. The door was unlocked. Officer Nelson was in their house. The door was unlocked.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
I called Jacksonville Police Department last night to have an officer go to their home.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Hello, ma'am? Yes. This is Ms. Branson? Yes. Okay, did you talk to the officer yesterday? Yes, ma'am. I talked to him numerous times last night. He went to the house, and he said the door was unlocked, and the dog was still inside. He's got a little dog, and he stayed there several hours trying to...
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
He found her address book, and he called the sister-in-law to find out if anybody had hurt someone. And the last time anybody had seen or heard from them was Friday. And they are in very—she's being treated for liver cancer, and he's a diabetic. But he went into the house. Yes, he was in the house. Because I'm sure he made a report, but I don't know if it's a missing person report. Let me check.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
He said he did not file a missing person report, and that's what I'm calling to do now. Okay, and where are you at? I'm in Charleston, South Carolina, trying to get down there. Are you driving now? What do you mean by trying? No, I'm trying to make arrangements to get there.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
I've got two small children I'm trying to make arrangements to get down there, but I don't want to... If I get in at midnight, I don't want to... I'd like to get it filed as soon as possible because something's wrong.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
He also was able to retrieve the license tag number of their car because their car was also missing. They have a South Carolina driver's license and a South Carolina license tag because they just moved to Florida. He was able to retrieve that information, and he told me I needed to report the car stolen. Okay, I'm thinking.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
And they're not, are they, they're not calling a hospice or anything like that? No, I've called every, I've called probably nine hospitals in that area and tried to see if they had admitted or treated, and nobody, nobody had them in their system. Officer Nelson was able to retrieve information about if an ambulance had transported them and that came up negative.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
You know what I mean, the ambulance did not visit the house. Right. There's not the sense that they are just... And my mother and I are very close. We talk every single day, every day. And I've not heard from her since Monday. I'm sorry, last Tuesday. Last Tuesday morning, after the 4th of July, she called me.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
And I've not talked to her since then, and I figured that maybe they were sleeping or something. And then finally yesterday, I called the police department to have an officer go over there to see if they were dead. I didn't know.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
But the house was unlocked, the car was missing, and who said that the house right next door, either yesterday or the day before, had been burglarized. Right. With me being a state and a half away, I'm very near. So did he make contact with the neighbors? He said he did, but I don't. He said the neighbors saw a light on Friday. That's what I'm saying.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
No, absolutely not. Not without calling me. He's a diabetic. His health is extremely poor. He's got a broken leg. He has an IV suture to her arm for her chemotherapy. I mean, it's not like they can just... They're not bedridden, but it's not like they can just get up and go. They're just... She's got liver cancer. They're extremely ill. What's your last name, Ms. Branson? My last name is Branson.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Would I also file a mistake? The car missing? Yeah. Do you have the tag number and all that? Officer Nelson retrieved it from South Carolina records or whatever, but I don't know it. That can be added on later. But if somebody took them and they're, you know... We've all been there, right? Stuck in a chat message loop or automated phone tree or pushed through from one person to the next.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Yes, I need to have an officer out. Please, I need to file a missing persons report. What's the address, ma'am? 2015 Reed Avenue. Her computer's gone. Okay, who's missing, ma'am? My mother and her husband. What's your name? Rhonda Branson. Did you already call in a report?
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
I called in a report. I live in Charleston, South Carolina, and I just came into town, and I was told to call when I got here. And I'm here, and I need an officer here so I can file the report. Okay.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
What we're trying to do is we have your call in the system already. It seems like somebody said, oh, we had you set up to have an officer to come talk to you. We're trying to figure out your parents. Have you reported both of them missing, your mother and her husband? Yeah. Okay. How long have they been missing? Since Friday. Since Friday. Were they in the car? Yes, as far as... I don't know.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
I live in Charleston, South Carolina, and I... Okay. They don't have any other relatives here? No. Okay. And you're in Jacksonville now? I'm at their house. Okay. You're at their house now? Yes. Okay. What's your... Okay, Nicole. What's your mother's name? Carol Sumner.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
You're a white or black female? White. White female. What's the husband's name? James Reginald Sumner. How old is he? 9-18-43. It's his birthday. What kind of car were they last seen driving? Blue Lincoln Town Car. Blue Lincoln Town Car. Do you know the tag number on it? Yeah, ma'am, is the officer going to come out? Yes, ma'am, but I still need to put this information out so we BOLO.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Can we please listen, Ms. Branson? You may be upset, but we are doing our job, and this is what we have to do. Because if they're missing that long and they're probably lost, we could have put a BOLO out, and if anybody sees them somewhere else in the city, they can notify the officer that's on the way. So that's why I'm getting this information. I don't know the tag number.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Officer, you don't know the tag number. Go ahead. Officer Nelson was able to retrieve the tag number from South Carolina. I didn't get it from him. He knows. He got it.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Yeah, I called one hour ago. A police officer just came out to the house. I can follow him. What's the address? 2015 Reed Avenue. 2015 Reed Avenue? Yeah. One moment, let me see.
Sword and Scale
Episode 276
Hold on just a second. Let me get your supervisor, okay? Okay, thank you. Yes, hello? Yes. What Rhonda didn't know was that her parents' kindness and generosity had backfired on them.