Missing woman is found deceased
News January 7, 2022
WHITE COUNTY, Ga. — Cleveland Police Chief Jeff Shoemaker issued the following statement Thursday:
Mattie Mizell, a 69 year old Cleveland woman who was reported missing on Saturday, was found deceased on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022.
Mizell went missing on Saturday, January 1, 2022 and was the subject of a recent Mattie’s Call and search in the Cleveland, area. Police had asked the public to help find Mizell after she left a residence on foot and did not return home.
Her body was found Thursday evening along the edge of a creek in a densely wooded area. Foul play is not suspected; the deceased has been turned over to White County Coroner’s Office.
Searches included the use of tracking dogs, air units, drones and foot searches by multiple city, county, and state agencies. Surveillance video was obtained from multiple locations in an effort to narrow the search area.
Shoemaker said, “The police department would like to thank members of the community who assisted in the search. We are all saddened by the outcome; our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Mrs. Mizell.”
The family has asked for the public to respect their privacy and will make no statements regarding the matter. Additionally, they will not be receiving visitors at this time. Anyone may contact the Cleveland Police Department at 706-348-7078.
Mayor Josh Turner said, “We are heartbroken with the outcome of this case. It is not the outcome anyone in our community was hoping for. On behalf of the City of Cleveland and our partners, I would like to extend sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Mizell family. This is an incredibly difficult time for Ms. Mizell’s family and the community.”
UPDATE: Search for missing Cleveland woman reaches fifth day
News January 5, 2022
CLEVELAND, Ga. – Cleveland Sheriff Jeff Shoemaker said today that there are no results to report in the search for Mattie Mizell, a 69-year-old Cleveland woman missing since New Year’s Day.
Mattie Mizell
“We have searched now for five days without any major developments in regards to the whereabouts of our missing person,” Shoemaker said in an email to Fetch Your News. “We have had ground crews searching outlying areas near the last known locations and have utilized helicopters to search adjacent waterways and areas that are more difficult to access by foot.”
Ms. Mizell is a black female, black hair, brown eyes, approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall, and weighing 160 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue pants or jeans, purple/blue hooded sweatshirt, blue shoes with white trim.
Authorities are interested in talking to the driver of a copper/ orange/ red pickup that was observed on NOK drive on Jan. 1 between 4 p.m. and 4:35 p.m. in hopes that they may have observed the missing person. A woman who matched the description of Ms. Mizell was spotted on a video recording walking on NOK Drive about that time.
Shoemaker also stated: “We would like to speak with visitors to Babyland on 1/1/22 between the hours of 3 pm to 6:00 pm. We ask for anyone with information to please call the Cleveland Police Department at 706-865-2111, White County E911 at 706-865-0911.”
Ms. Mizell’s daughter works for the City of Cleveland and Mayor Josh Turner spoke at Monday’s Board of Commissioners meeting. “I want to thank you and your staff,” he said. “It’s been a rough couple of days for the City of Cleveland in search of one of our residents. This hits close to home for us in the City of Cleveland. (Ms. Mizell’s) daughter works for the City. So I want to thank Director (David) Murphy and Sheriff (Rick) Kelly and their staff for the countless hours of the last few days.” The mayor also thanked the private citizens who have participated in the search.