The search for a Rockdale County mother of four who has been missing for two weeks is ramping up after her SUV was recently found burned in southern Fulton County.
Imani Roberson, 29, was last seen July 16 after leaving her mother’s house in Conyers following dinner, Rockdale Sheriff Eric Levett told reporters during a news conference Wednesday. Roberson then drove home with her two youngest children — a 3-year-old and a 1-month-old — while the other two, 11 and 9 years old, stayed with their grandmother, Clarine Andujar-White.
Levett said Andujar-White called Roberson, who lives just two streets away with her husband, multiple times the following day but got no answer. The mother and daughter talked every day, he said, so it was out of character for Roberson to not call and check on her children who stayed behind.
At that point, Andujar-White drove to her daughter’s house and found no one home. That was when she filed a missing person report, Levett said.
Roberson’s children, including the two who left Andujar-White’s home that night, are all safe, the sheriff confirmed, declining to comment further due to the ongoing investigation. When asked by reporters, Levett did not offer any information about Roberson’s husband.
“Please help me bring Imani home ... Imani loves her children,” Andujar-White said, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. “I know she would never leave her children or myself. Please help me reunite these babies with their mother.”
In the days that followed Roberson’s disappearance, investigators gathered enough information to get a search warrant and sweep her home July 19, Levett said. He did not elaborate on what was found but said they were led to Atlanta and eventually to south Fulton, where they found her white Mazda SUV.
Levett would not say specifically where the vehicle was located or talk about the extent of its damage, but Channel 2 Action News reported that it was found far off the road near a powerline clearing and was burned inside out.
No other details were released, including if any suspects have been identified, but Levett said they have been in contact with multiple cadaver dog teams to begin searching a number of areas of interest. Rockdale investigators have been working with the GBI, the Georgia State Patrol and other local agencies in their search effort.
“My staff — investigators, that is — have put over 400 hours into this case searching for Imani Roberson,” Levett said. “I would assure the family that we’re going to find some answers to Imani Roberson’s disappearance. Someone’s going to answer to this. These four children deserve answers.”
In the meantime, Roberson’s family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support her children.
Roberson is described as about 5-foot-2 with a medium build. Her hair is styled in thick knotless braids that are reddish in color and run down her back, but she usually keeps it pinned up. She also wears glasses, and occasionally contact lenses, and has a tattoo sleeve on her left arm.
“I’d like all the parents out there to think about what it’d be like to be without your child since the 16th of July — not to know where they are, not to talk to them,” Roberson’s family friend, Kenneth Page, said at the news conference. “I would like to call on that feeling and emotion and ask the entire community for support.”
Levett said anyone who has information about the case or who spoke to Roberson, her children or her husband is asked to contact investigators at 770-278-8000.
About the Author
