Sheriff Clark Millsap said Wednesday he doesn't think a Bartow County mother of five disappeared on her own.
"I find that hard to believe," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."
But so far, he added, there is no evidence indicating 30-year-old Wazineh Suleiman was abducted or that her husband, Abed Suleiman, is involved in her disappearance.
"We don't have any evidence to show that," Millsap said. "At this time he's not a suspect, he's not a person of interest. We're trying to rule out the fact that she might have stepped away from family life for a while, just took a break."
Investigators on Wednesday plan to interview the children, ages 6 to 12, and a friend of the husband's, Millsap said. They will keep talking to Abed Suleiman, examining cell phone records, and trying to verify through video footage whether Wazineh Suleiman made it to the Walmart in Cartersville, where she said she was going to rent a movie Friday night.
A sport utility vehicle belonging to her was found Tuesday morning in neighboring Cherokee County. But there was still no sign of the woman.
Cherokee County deputies located the 2004 Nissan Armada in an empty parking lot on Ga. 92 near I-75, Lt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office told the AJC. That lot is about 12 miles from the Walmart.
A citizen called 911 to report the abandoned vehicle and deputies called Bartow County police, who arrived and took possession of the SUV, Baker said.
"The car was locked," Baker said. "Nothing suspicious was located in or around the vehicle."
Millsap said deputies are examining the vehicle for any clues to help find the woman.
Abed Suleiman said his wife told the children -- ages 12, 11, 10, 7 and 6 -- she was driving to Walmart around 9 p.m. Friday, but she never returned.
"I've just been going crazy, not sleeping, not eating," Abed Suleiman told the AJC.
The Suleimans were exchanging text messages sometime after Wazineh Suleiman left the home, Millsap said. Abed Suleiman told police the last text he got from his wife's phone said, "I'll just throw my phone out the window," Millsap said. Abed Suleiman said his wife didn't answer her phone after that.
The family has lived in Bartow County for a little more than two years, and there's been no record of any domestic violence, Millsap told "Good Morning America." He added that investigators are speaking to authorities in Florida, where the family previously lived.
Abed Suleiman told WSB Radio he has spent hours watching surveillance camera footage from Walmart, but still has no idea where his wife could be. He was organizing a search Tuesday afternoon.
Suleiman initially agreed to be interviewed Wednesday by "Good Morning America" but backed out, ABC reported.
Abed Suleiman said on Tuesday he left the family's home around 5 p.m. Friday for a weekend hunting trip in Kentucky. He and a friend stopped for dinner and last-minute supplies in Dalton before realizing they had booked the wrong weekend, Suleiman said. Turkey hunting season does not begin in Kentucky until the coming weekend.
"I did an about-face and started heading home," Suleiman said.
When he got to his home near Cartersville, Suleiman said his wife's Nissan was gone.
"My jaw just dropped," Suleiman said. "She doesn't leave at night."
Inside the home, all five children were watching television. The oldest told his father their mother had been gone about 10 minutes, Suleiman said.
The trip to rent a movie should have taken about 10 minutes each way, Suleiman said. Suleiman told the AJC his wife didn't answer her cell phone and she never rented a movie. Her credit cards have not been used, he said.
Abed Suleiman called Bartow County authorities Friday night to report his wife missing.
"I have no clue in the world," Abed Suleiman said. "There's not a single thing I haven't thought of already. I just came home and she was gone."
Wazineh Suleiman is approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has hazel eyes and brown hair, which is usually covered.
Millsap said investigators are hoping to speak with anyone with information about the Suleiman family.
"We are hoping that she has stepped away from family life for a little while and that she'll resurface and say, ‘I'm back,' and be OK," Millsap told the AJC.
A prayer vigil for her will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday outside the Al-Farooq mosque on 14th Street in Midtown.
Anyone with information about the woman's whereabouts is asked to contact the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office at 770-382-5050, ext. 6032.
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