The Missing: What happened to LaDawn Copeland?
HOUSTON - LaDawn Copeland battled with drug addiction and for that reason, her mom, Sharon Barnes, believes her disappearance hasn't gotten the attention or resources she deserves. She says this interview, and getting her daughter's image out to the public, is the moment she's spent two years waiting for.
"I thank you so much, because you have done the most of anybody during these whole two years and I thank you for this," said Barnes.
Copeland went missing on March 22, 2021, at 37-years-old.
"I miss my baby. I miss my child. No one is doing anything to find her," Barnes said.
Barnes tells FOX 26 that Copeland had a drug addiction and spent time in and out of rehab. On March 21, 2021, she says LaDawn went to the Smile Unn off of Gulf Freeway in Houston. She says the man Copeland was there with was doing drugs with overdosed and died that night. The last time anyone saw Copeland, she was walking around talking to herself and unkempt. There's been no sign of her ever since.
"They're not looking, they're not looking," said Barnes.
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Copeland was a mother of four, her grandmother died within the two years she's been missing. Her mother says she knows her daughter, and no matter what was going on, she wouldn't willingly stay away from her family or miss her grandmother's funeral.
"My daughter would've called me no matter what she was with me. She didn't even go two days without calling, even when we were mad at each other, she would always stay in contact with me," Barnes said.
Barnes believes her daughter is still alive and that her ex-boyfriend may be holding her against her will and keeping her on drugs, but there's no proof of that.
"Please contact me, please contact me. It's okay, it's okay. Just let somebody hear your voice," Barnes said when asked what message she would send to her daughter.
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Even after two years with no correspondence, Barnes is holding out hope that she'll get the opportunity to embrace her daughter again someday.
"Looking out at the clouds right now, I just see her floating. I can see her hair, she used to twirl it, and she's okay, she's okay," Barnes said through tears.
Anyone with information about LaDawn Copeland's disappearance should contact Houston police at (713) 884-3131 or Houston Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-8477.
You can click here for an official record of long-term missing persons throughout the state of Texas.