Search underway for SC mother of 2 missing since Jan. 30

PIEDMONT, S.C. (WHNS) - Family members and a local activist are pushing for more help in the search for a missing Upstate woman.

Alexis Ware, 29, was last seen on Jan. 30 at the 7-Eleven on Highway 29 North in Anderson County.

Her red Honda sedan was later found in McCormick County but Ware has not been found.

Anderson County Sheriffs Sgt. JT Foster said the second her car was reported found, detectives traveled over county lines to investigate.

“We sent detective personnel down there, met up with them, and a search warrant was executed on the car there,” Foster said.

A McCormick resident spotted Ware’s vehicle on their property in a rural area, but investigators do not know how it ended up there.

“It’s up in the air,” Foster said when asked whether investigators thought it was more likely that Alexis might be in the McCormick area or the Anderson area. “I would hate to say one way or the other.”

Foster said Ware is well-known in the Greenville community and has a large social media presence.

Activist requests feds step in to help, FBI says they’re not involved

Last week, Upstate community activist Bruce Wilson requested help from Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Wilson has been working with Ware’s family and asked Graham’s office to help or solicit resources from the FBI in the search for her. He says the family believes she was abducted and wants resources utilized in high-profile missing persons cases, like the disappearance of Gabby Petito which was investigated by the FBI.

Graham’s office confirmed on Friday that they passed along the information to the FBI.

The FBI, however, released a statement to WHNS-TV:

The FBI is prepared to assist if we receive a request from our partners. However, our law enforcement partners have the resources and specialized skills they need to investigate this matter and do not involve the FBI unless they develop information to suggest a violation of federal law.

Family continuing search for clues

Ware’s family said they went to McCormick early Thursday morning to knock on doors, hand out flyers, and ask anyone in the area if they had seen her.

Ware was last seen by her boyfriend, who claims that she was supposed to follow him to his mother’s home in Anderson, but sped off into the distance at a red light and stopped returning his phone calls instead, WHNS reported.

“We will follow any lead of any kind, or any piece of evidence, so we can try to get to the bottom of it,” Foster said.

Ware is 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighs 230 pounds.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office at 864-260-4405.

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