Lubbock Police have announced a $2,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Linda Wilhite, 67, who was last seen August 16. Police said she is in danger.
Wilhite was reported missing to police on August 18, and by August 19, officers had poured through her home, looking for clues to her disappearance.
“The longer it goes, gets more and more grave,” said Lieutenant John Hayes, one of the investigators working the case.
“We understand the gravity of the situation and we’re trying to do whatever we can to get to Ms. Wilhite and get to her in the best possible condition we can,” he said.
Hayes said LPD utilized the assistance of a helicopter from the Department of Public Safety on Thursday, surveying three areas that detectives believed may have held clues.
Hayes told EverythingLubbock.com among those three areas included Wilhite’s neighborhood near 38th and Ironton, and a section of land near 81st and Cedar, where her vehicle was recovered.
“Officers who were with the (Sheriff’s Office), who were aware of the situation, located Kody Climer who is Linda Wilhite’s son. He was located in an area near 82nd and Cedar,” Hayes explained.
Climer was arrested August 19 on an unrelated charge.
“We were able to take some big steps forward in what we were looking for. Obviously then it narrowed it down at the residence as to who we suspected might have been injured. Obviously we could tell that Kody was fine, and then we became concerned for Linda,” Hayes said.
Police said a large amount of blood was found inside Wilhite’s home.
Officers also found Wilhite’s medicine inside the residence. Family members told EverythingLubbock.com it was unlike Wilhite to leave her home without bringing her medication.
“She has health issues, and some medication was still at the residence, so that was a primary concern, as well as what we believe is going to be some serious injuries upon the circumstances we ran into when we went into the duplex,” Hayes added.
Hayes explained that detectives were digging through phone records to attempt to narrow down a timeline for Wilhite’s whereabouts.
“It narrows it down, but it’s still pretty much a needle in a haystack,” Hayes said.
Hayes said the helicopter search did not provide any useful information, but did help detectives.
“That was beneficial, unfortunately it didn’t yield anything. But I feel like we’re taking steps in the right direction,” he stated.
According to Hayes, many family members, including Climer, were forthcoming at first.
“There has been less and less cooperation,” Hayes said of Climer’s assistance.
“We’re getting a large degree of cooperation from some family members, however, we’re not getting much from others. That’s become a hindrance to our investigation at this point,” he explained.
Hayes declined to comment on specific evidence found in Wilhite’s SUV, but said her son did drive it, and the seat was adjusted to fit him.
For Wilhite’s family, the past several months have been challenging, a relative said.
Wilhite’s son was killed in a vehicle accident at 34th and Ironton in January.
“When a family endures a hardship like that, the stress sometimes just can build and build and build,” Hayes said.
“The family has endured quite a bit,” Hayes said. “There’s always a chance of someone that just wants time alone and just doesn’t want to be found. As far as a mental issue, we’re not aware of any of those.”
“This is going to be one of those cases where even small small little details that tend to sometimes seem insignificant are going to be very big,” Hayes said.
To share information about this case, LPD can be contacted by calling Crime Line at (806) 741-1000.
