‘Money makes people talk’: $10,000 reward offered for clues leading to missing mother

Relatives of Ebony Giddens have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the location of the Columbus mother who has been missing more than five weeks.

“Money makes people talk,” said Patricia Giddens, who has taken part in area searches for her niece. “Somebody might come and say something.”

Police Lt. Joyce Dent-Fitzpatrick of the Special Victims Unit of the Columbus Police Department said detectives are still pursuing leads and talking to people five weeks after a relative discovered Giddens missing from her Montclair Drive home around 7:30 a.m. March 12. Police were called after a relative found her children alone.

“That was unorthodox for her to do that and her family members started coming and saying she would never do this,” Dent-Fitzpatrick said. “That made us go from a missing person to suspicious circumstances.”

As the investigation has continued, Dent-Fitzpatrick said police have made some progress and learned that the mother of three boys wasn’t the type of person to go missing.

“She doesn’t drink, smoke and she doesn’t party,” the lieutenant said. “She is a mother. Everybody we talked to said she is a good mother.”

Police believe they have narrowed down the last time a relative spoke to the 27-year-old Giddens, who was on the phone with a cousin at 11 p.m. Sunday, March 11, before she was discovered missing more than eight hours later at 7:30 Monday, March 12.

“We want to find Ebony and we are a month behind,” the lieutenant said. “From the last time they last saw or heard from her to this point where we are today which is really the fifth week, this is disconcerting,” she said. “We want to find her. Our goal is to find her.”

Investigators have worked on this case everyday, weekends and holidays. “We contact each other at 2 or 3 o’clock in morning with ideas,” she said. “Everybody in the special victims unit is actively involved.”

Missing a family member has been tough on many relatives. “The thing is not knowing,” Patricia Giddens said. “It doesn’t seem real to me. You hear it and then we are in it.”

Dent-Fitzpatrick said anyone with information on the location of Ebony Giddens should call 706-653-3449 or call 911. She is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair.

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 7:32 PM with the headline "‘Money makes people talk’: $10,000 reward offered for clues leading to missing mother."