ANDREWS, SC (WMBF) – A wallet discovered in Williamsburg County is pushing the Crystal Soles disappearance investigation forward.
Andrews Police Chief Chris Cockrell said a resident turned the black wallet over to deputies last June, after it fell out of an old couch they were moving off a property.
“That was our first real lead that we had. That had some stuff with Crystal’s name on it in that wallet,” Cockrell said.
Crystal Soles,28, was last seen at Shaw’s Corner Store on January 24, 2005, when she walked to a nearby phone booth to call her father for a ride home.
She decided to walk home after he said he was too sick to pick her up, but she was never seen again.
Her mother, Gail Soles, said her daughter never made it home to her 5-year-old son, Mitchell.
“When she said she was gonna do something, most of the times she done it, and she did tell her daddy she was on her way home,” Gail said.
She also said not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about her daughter.
“We’d really really love to bring our daughter home for her son’s sake. Cause her son needs closure too,” she said.
With the wallet’s discovery, Gail Soles said she is putting pressure on police to search the area where it was found.
“Let’s go do a search. Let’s do something. If they don’t want to do it we’ll do it ourselves. Just tell us where they found the wallet,” she said.
Chief Cockrell acknowledged the challenges facing the small department’s investigation and said searching properties outside their jurisdiction can be complicated.
“Yes it is hard for us to take the proper time to take to really dig into this cold case like we want to, there’s a total of four sworn officers here,” Cockrell said.
However, he said he remains committed to finding answers by starting from scratch, tracking down persons of interest and conducting new interviews.
“I’m not gonna say I’m going to be able to solve this case but I’m not gonna stop looking I know it’s been a long time but we’re not gonna forget about her,” Cockrell said.
SLED is now testing the wallet for DNA and Cockrell said they’re keeping the exact location of where the it was found close to the vest for now.
Gail Soles said she believes someone in the community has information about her daughter’s disappearance.
“Somebody knows something in our little town. Mom’s don’t quit. I’m never gonna give up. Never,” she said.
Police are asking anyone with information about Crystal’s disappearance to contact them.
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