The FBI has released age-lapse photos showing what a missing Georgia mother and her three-year-old son might look like 21 years after they vanished without a trace.
Paula Wade and her son Brandon, then three years old, were reported missing on October 14, 2002, and since their disappearance there have been no suspects or leads in the case.
Before disappearing with her son, Paula, who was 26 at the time, seemed eager to move closer to her parents who lived in Orlando, Florida.
The decades-long mystery recently gained renewed attention when the FBI released age progression photos, intensifying efforts to solve the case.
The photos show what Brandon might look like at 23 and his mother at 45.
The FBI has released photos showing what missing Georgia mother Paula Wade and her three-year-old son would look like today.
Brandon Wade disappeared with his mother on October 14, 2002 when she failed to show up for work
At the time of her disappearance, Paula Wade, or Paula Ann McGrath, weighed 150 pounds and had brown hair. She has brown eyes and is 6 feet tall
“Over the years, Valdosta police have worked the case but were never able to find any clues as to where the Wade might be or who, if anyone wanted to harm them,” the FBI said in a statement.
Authorities also noted that Paula used an inhaler for asthma and may wear corrective lenses or glasses.
Before Paula went missing in 2002, she worked at Sam's Club in Valdosta, Georgia, and was a good employee in every way.
'She always wanted to help people. She was always a team player,” says Maria Manning, Paula's colleague at the time Newsnation.
“She saw something in me and wanted to add me to her team,” she said, adding that Paula offered her the job that changed her life.
Manning, who also lived in the same apartment complex with Paula and Brandon, said there was a close bond between the mother and son.
'She adored him, she always had him with her. She was so proud of him. That was her baby, she was proud of him.” she said.
Paula was last seen leaving work on Saturday, October 12. She missed a weekly call with her family on Sunday and did not show up for work on Monday morning.
“I knew right away something was up because she was always working,” Manning said. 'That's why they responded immediately. Because Paula didn't miss her work. She was always on time.'
Her supervisor sent an employee to check on Paula, who reported seeing the mother's 1998 Chevy Blazer in the parking lot, but could not find her or her son anywhere.
'There were no signs of a struggle. But the car was there, her bag was there, her glasses, the keys, her ID, everything was still there,” said Paula's sister Mary Ramsbottom.
“Except Paula and Brandon. The car seat was also missing,” she added.
Before disappearing with her son, Paula, who was 26 at the time, seemed eager to move closer to her parents who lived in Orlando, Florida.
There have been no suspects in the disappearances. Mother's 1998 Chevy Blazer was in a parking lot where she lived, but the child's car seat was missing
The FBI has released images of what the mother and son would look like at their current ages of 23 and 46
The concerned family reported the findings to Valdosta police, who searched Paula's apartment and nearby woods.
Authorities describe her home as 'inhabited' Valdosta daily times.
“Based on those tips, they went to other geographic areas, searched those areas and found nothing of any evidentiary value,” Valdosta police said. Sergeant Paul Garland.
“We still feel like she's out there somewhere alone, but we do have some indications of foul play,” Sergeant Steve Owens said it in 2002. He did not specify what this evidence was.
To this day, there are no suspects as Paula and Brando are still reported missing. No human remains were ever found during the searches.
Paula's father Regis McGrath and her husband Lance Wade were brought in for questioning, but both were ruled out as they played a role in the disappearance.
Rumors once circulated where some sources claimed that the couple had broken up before Paula went missing.
Lance was indeed stationed with the Shaw Air Force in South Carolina, and he was supposed to help Paula move.
But authorities confirmed that he passed a polygraph exam and has always cooperated with the investigation
“They gave us the information we asked for and they cooperated with interviews,” Garland said.
Wade's purse, glasses, her car keys and her ID were all in her car
Wade was working at Sam's Club in Valdosta, Georgia at the time of her disappearance
After more than twenty years, the family is still waiting for answers.
“Someone somewhere knows something,” said Ramsbottom. “I never thought I'd still be saying that 20 years later, but someone has to know something.”
“I was robbed of growing 20 years old with my sister. “We were robbed of seeing Brandon grow into a man. In our minds, he is still a three-year-old who wants to play with a ball,” she said.
Mary McGrath, Paula's mother, and Ramsbottom live in Orlando but still visit the Valdosta area every year to pursue the business.
Ramsbottom handed out missing persons flyers on the 21st anniversary of Paula Wade's disappearance this year at the Sam's Club where she was last seen.
'People always ask: what happens next? How do you keep looking?' said Ramsbottom. 'Why should I stop? I will never stop, neither until my last breath nor until we have answers.”