Family: Upstate Woman Missing A Week After Going Bowling In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A young mother from upstate New York vanished in Queens after a night out with friends.
Her frantic family members have taken the search upon themselves, CBS2's Christina Fan reported Tuesday.
Shareen King is so distressed over her niece's disappearance, she said she can barely breathe.
For the last week, her family has flooded the streets of Astoria with missing person's flyers, canvassed homes along 69th Street, and made repeated calls to police.
"They did a wellness check in Albany. She's not in her house. This is the officer that went to her house yesterday. She's not in her house. She is somewhere here. She is somewhere here," King said.
Family members last saw 26-year-old Destini Smothers on Nov. 3. She lives in upstate New York, but drove to Queens to attend a funeral.
Last Tuesday, after celebrating her birthday at a Woodside bowling alley with friends, she left with her boyfriend.
He told the family the two started arguing in the car on the Grand Central Parkway in Astoria and she jumped out -- something she has done before.
"They confirmed that she'll just wait for him to come back. What would make this time different for her to just run away in an unfamiliar place? You know what I mean? In the middle of the night? It's just unlike her," cousin Cherese McCarthy said.
MORE FROM CBS NEW YORK
- Election 2020: Thousands Of Absentee Ballots Just Starting To Be Counted Could Decide Close Races Across New York
- Cuomo Says Managing Infection Rate Will Be Critical As New York's Coronavirus Numbers Climb
- Sources: Bodies Of 2 Babies Found Wrapped In Paper Behind Bronx Building
King said not only has Smothers' boyfriend stopped picking up calls, various police departments are giving her family the run-around, too.
When the family tried filing a police report with the NYPD, officers told them they needed to contact Albany, where Destini is from.
"When we finally get the report back from upstate, we go to the 114th Precinct," said Doasia Johnson, the missing woman's sister.
"Those police told us we got to get back in contact with Albany, so that Albany could call them," aunt Davonte King said.
"It's just seven days of calling Albany, calling Schenectady, going to Astoria," Shareen King added.
The family said it is desperate for the NYPD's help because they say they need access to surveillance cameras near the Grand Central Parkway so they can see where she got out of the car and in which direction she ran.
You can get the latest news, sports and weather on our brand new CBS New York app. Download here.
