Family Desperate as Grandma’s Trail Goes Cold
A routine food pickup turned into a baffling overnight journey across state lines, leaving a South Carolina grandmother missing and her family desperate for answers as surveillance footage reveals increasingly erratic movements suggesting she may be lost and in danger.
Story Snapshot
- Annie Tisdale vanished after leaving her Abbeville, SC home Saturday evening to pick up a restaurant order, last seen driving a black 2015 Toyota Tacoma
- Surveillance tracked her vehicle making confused turns in Greenwood, SC, then traveling 40+ miles to Lavonia, GA overnight with a mysterious 10-hour gap in footage
- Police confirmed only one occupant visible in truck footage, with vehicle last spotted Sunday morning heading toward I-85 northbound
- Family and investigators urge public to call 911 or tip line 864-366-5832 with any sightings of the grandmother or her vehicle
Grandmother Disappears During Simple Errand
Annie Tisdale left her Abbeville, South Carolina home around 5:00 p.m. Saturday to retrieve a food order from a local restaurant. The grandmother briefly returned home with coleslaw for her grandfather before departing again, leaving the main order still waiting at the restaurant unclaimed. She was driving a 2015 black Toyota Tacoma bearing South Carolina license plate 331860W and wearing a distinctive black dress with white polka dots and a cowboy hat. Tisdale never returned home, triggering a multi-jurisdictional search that now spans two states and multiple rural communities.
Surveillance Reveals Confused Journey Across State Lines
Flock license plate reader cameras and surveillance footage tracked Tisdale’s vehicle through an increasingly puzzling route. Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. Saturday, cameras captured her truck in Greenwood, South Carolina, just 13 miles from Abbeville, making multiple turns consistent with someone lost or disoriented in an area she should know. A troubling 10-hour gap followed with no footage from 8:00 p.m. Saturday until 5:45 a.m. Sunday. Cameras then picked up her vehicle traveling from Greenwood through Calhoun to Lavonia, Georgia, more than 40 miles from her home.
Vehicle Spotted in Georgia Before Trail Goes Cold
Lavonia Police Department confirmed Tisdale’s vehicle entered their city limits at 6:21 a.m. Sunday morning. The police chief verified through footage review that only a single occupant was visible inside the truck, ruling out an immediate abduction scenario. At 7:38 a.m. Sunday, surveillance captured the Toyota Tacoma leaving Lavonia and heading northbound toward Interstate 85. The vehicle subsequently pinged in both Abbeville, South Carolina near her home area and separately in Abbeville, Georgia, but Tisdale has not been located. No additional footage or confirmed sightings have emerged since Sunday morning.
Family and Media Push for Public Assistance
Tisdale’s granddaughter provided detailed timeline information to authorities and appeared on true crime host Nancy Grace’s national platform to amplify the search. Grace analyzed the available footage, noting the meandering driving pattern seemed inconsistent with a carjacking, stating criminals “would have taken off” rather than making confused turns in familiar territory. The disorientation pattern raises concerns about a medical episode or cognitive confusion that could leave the elderly grandmother vulnerable. Authorities established a dedicated tip line at 864-366-5832 and urge anyone spotting the black Toyota Tacoma or Tisdale to immediately call 911.
HELP FIND MISSING GRANDMOTHER ANNIE TISDALE https://t.co/TfkBVwUR2o via @YouTube
— MichelleIsMe🌊 (@RealAmberIsMe) February 18, 2026
This case highlights both the power and limitations of modern surveillance technology in rural missing persons investigations. While Flock cameras successfully tracked Tisdale’s vehicle across multiple jurisdictions and state lines, critical gaps remain in coverage, leaving a 10-hour window unexplained. For families in small-town America, such cases underscore the vulnerability of elderly citizens and the importance of community vigilance. The unexplained journey from a routine restaurant pickup to a cross-state overnight drive without contact represents every family’s nightmare scenario, particularly in an era when seniors increasingly face cognitive health challenges while maintaining independence and mobility.