Search continues for Fort Worth woman last seen one month ago after winning bingo cash prize
FORT WORTH, Texas - Family and volunteers are organizing a search party for a missing Fort Worth woman who was last seen after winning a large cash prize from a bingo hall.
Carolyn Riggins was last seen on Saturday, July 11. She left home in her 2002 tan Lincoln Town Car.
Police say Riggins played bingo in Watauga that Saturday evening, and she won a large cash prize.
Investigators have searched the I-35 corridor as far north as Oklahoma. They’ve also flown Air One over Lewisville Lake after receiving tips. Riggins’ family says she has some memory issues from a stroke she suffered but is independent and lives on her own.
Since her disappearance, Riggins’ daughters and her sister have been to the bingo hall she was last seen at to ask questions.
“They were able to tell us where she was sitting. They were able to tell us what she was wearing,” said her daughter, Gale Haynes. “But they couldn’t tell us if she left, when she left and nothing after that.”
“My mom wouldn’t be driving around for 30 days trying to figure out where she is,” said her daughter, Kendra Holleman.
Riggins’ family was initially frustrated with a slow investigation. But they are now seeing results, like a freeway digital billboard seeking help in locating Riggins and her tan 2002 Lincoln Town Car sedan. Her family has also hired a private investigator.
It led to information about the Lincoln Town Car that was spotted on I-35 around 5:30 am. the morning after Riggins played bingo.
“The license plate camera that scanned it, it’s in the Denton Texas area,” explained her sister, Kimberly Lemmons. “But there were no scans before that or after that.”
Investigators also drove the route as far north as Oklahoma searching for leads. Another tip led a helicopter search.
“We had our Air One up go over the Lewisville Lake. We've had to actually go fly over to see if there was anything that we could locate a car or Ms. Riggins at al. We were unable to find anything,” said Tracy Carter with Fort Worth PD. “We are asking that if anyone has seen this vehicle, if they’ve seen her, we are asking please call us or call her family so we can get her back home.”
Distraught and fighting back tears, Riggins’ family reiterates that plea.
“This is unimaginable hurt,” Haynes said. “Never in my life I would I believe we be talking about this.”
“When I hear my nieces talking about breaking down and having the mental exhaustion, you just wish you could take it all the way and turn this all around because this is surreal,” Lemmons said.
Investigators urge anyone who has seen Carolyn Riggins or her vehicle to call police. The Texas license plate is CGB1453.
Family and friends will search on Saturday morning where she was last seen in Watauga.