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Leads run dry in Holden woman's disappearance

8 years 4 months 5 days ago Thursday, November 12 2015 Nov 12, 2015 November 12, 2015 11:09 PM November 12, 2015 in The Investigative Unit
Source: WBRZ
By: Chris Nakamoto

HOLDEN - Seven years ago, Barbara Blount vanished without a trace.

Tonight, her family is holding on to hope that someday they'll get to embrace their loved one again. The Investigative Unit uncovered new information from the family about what happened in the days and hours following Barbara Blount's disappearance. Investigators believe she was snatched from her home. Her whereabouts still remain a mystery.

The Blount family is still praying for a miracle. Their strong faith is the only thing that gets them through each day. They hold on to the fond memories of their loved one which helps them tackle the toughest days.

Kristie Blount Thompson can't seem to wake up from a nightmare. The horror began on May 2, 2008.

"I remember calling and calling and she wouldn't answer the phone," Thompson said. "It was just chaotic."

Those calls to her beloved mother, Barbara Blount, went unanswered. Her daughter recalls knowing her mom was known for her kind nature, and the pride she had for family, friends and her property.

"She went to church every Sunday, Wednesday," Thompson recalled. "She spent time with the family and took care of the cows."

Barbara Blount went missing from her home in Holden. Her family says the door was partially locked, but there were no signs of forced entry at her house. The silver Toyota Camry that she drove was found less than a mile away, ditched on a nearby road. In the days following her disappearance, search teams fanned out using dogs and four wheelers looking for her. The search ended unsuccessfully after days turned into months and months into years.

"Somebody did something to her, because she would not just get up and leave without telling someone where she was going," Thompson said.

The Blount family was just getting over another tragedy when Barbara vanished. A few years earlier, Barbara Blount's husband and her children's father made the news after he was killed in a horrific train crash outside of New Orleans. A tanker truck exploded after getting slammed by a train in Chalmette, claiming three lives. After losing one parent and having another disappear, taking on the toughest days happens as they fall back on their faith.

"Through the grace of God," Thompson said.

After Barbara disappeared in 2008, the family began petitioning a judge to have her declared legally dead. That declaration came two years later in 2010. Despite that declaration, the family is still holding on to hope that she might be alive.

"We still have hope that she's somewhere out there," Blount's sister, Sarah Baughman said. "Everytime I come this way I look for her."

In the days following Barbara Blount's disappearance, the family says a man gave the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office a DNA sample but refused to take a polygraph test. Nothing materialized from them questioning him. There was hardly any evidence recovered at the house or Blount's car that was ditched. As they pray for closure to hopefully see Barbara again, they had this message for the person responsible for Blount's disappearance.

"I don't hate them," Baughman said. "I don't have bitterness. God took care of all of that. I wish that they would come forward and pay their debt here on this earth. God tells us for everything we do there is a price to pay...and they will pay for what they've done."

Blount's family says she was most looking forward to having grandchildren. Tonight, she has four of them that she's never met.

The family says even if she's dead, they want to give her a proper burial. The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office urges you to contact them if you have any information on Blount's whereabouts.

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