Gina Morton
DANVILLE — It’s been five weeks since Martha Grove disappeared, and police and family members remain stumped as to what happened to her.
“We’re kind of at the same place that we were before,” Grove’s sister, Cathy Randall, of Virginia, said Monday. “We really have no idea where she is. ... No one has seen or heard from her. Everything is absolutely the same way as before. It’s just that much longer that we’ve not known where she’s at.”
Woman had appointment
Grove, 42, of West Milton, went missing Feb. 10 after an appointment at CMSU Development and Support Services in Danville, where she was scheduled to meet with a psychiatrist and a caseworker.
Randall said relatives have kept track of bank records, which have shown no activity, and as far as she can tell, Grove’s prescriptions have not been filled or her food stamps used since that day.
“We’re all very devastated,” Randall said. “We’re having very many long, sleepless nights. We’re all still thinking the worst.”
Randall said although there is no evidence, she believes Grove hurt herself.
The day before her disappearance, Grove — who suffers from depression and is bipolar — had been released from Sunbury Community Hospital after a week’s stay.
“She was depressed and wasn’t OK yet,” Randall said. “Apparently she was more not OK than what anyone realized. Even if she is somewhere and not gone, she would never put her family through this. It just tells me she’s not in the right place right now. She would never just intentionally hurt anyone like this.”
Police: No luck
Police have been following the case since the day Grove was reported missing but have had no luck.
Danville Sgt. William Wilt III could not give specific information because of the ongoing investigation, but said nothing has panned out.
“We’ve ran down several leads and checked numerous things to no avail,” Wilt said Monday. “We’re no further ahead than when she went missing. Nothing has checked out.”
Until recently, Randall said she was on the phone daily with police, sharing information and receiving updates. Now she speaks to the investigating officer once or twice a week.
She said she is happy and thankful for the authorities’ efforts in the case.
“I feel they have and are doing everything they can,” she said. “Everything we’ve come up with, they go ahead and look into it and try to come up with a resolution. I don’t think they can do anything more than they already have been doing.”
Family needs help
Randall and her family are trying to figure out how to go on with their lives despite not having any answers. Relatives have packed up Grove’s apartment and have her possessions in storage.
“There’s not a moment we’re not thinking of her and trying to figure out how to find her,” Randall said. “We’re trying to be optimistic, and it’s very hard at this point.”
Wilt said because this is not a classic case of knowing where the person was last seen, police were unable to do a grid search for Grove.
“From here, as the information comes in, we’ll check it and see what happens,” he said.
Randall is asking area residents to keep eyes and ears open and check adjacent land and wooded areas for Grove.
“Think back to that day,” she said. “Someone had to have seen her. Think of people you passed on the street that day. She didn’t leave Danville in the middle of the day and not one person didn’t see her go somewhere.”
