Brittany Tavar

[Starless]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/24411796/detail.html

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- The past 21 days have been grueling for Patricia Bellamah, who said her family's hope of finding Brittany Tavar alive is slowly fading away.

"I cannot envision an innocent scenario. She would not run off like this," Bellamah said of her 45-year-old sister who's been missing from her Ponte Vedra home since July 6.

Bellamah said that in some ways, her family is sustained by the national media attention the case is getting, but with no sign of Joseph Roberts, a person of interest in Tavar's disappearance, Bellamah fears the case could soon go cold.

"You watch it like it's any news report, and then you look at the picture and say, 'Oh my gosh, that's my sister. That's family. That's us,'" Bellamah said.

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...Bellamah said she suspects foul play, which deputies haven't ruled out. They recently sealed Tavar's front door and garage with crime scene evidence tape.

Bellamah said Roberts is the key to finding her younger sister. Roberts, 26, was spotted in an Oregon Walmart days ago buying camping equipment, but his whereabouts remains unknown.

"The key is finding him, and now it doesn't look like police are close to finding him," Bellamah said.

As an older sister, Bellamah said she feels compelled to help, but as the days wear on, it's harder and harder to be optimistic.

"I guess we will always hold out hope, but chances are slim, not like two weeks ago," Bellamah said.

Tavar's family has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Roberts, who is described as a white man, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 170 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Tavar is a white woman, 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 120 pounds with blond hair and brown eyes. Her 2004 Toyota Rav4 has a Florida license plate of Q66 2NJ.

Anyone with any information concerning this investigation is asked to contact detectives George Harrigan or Charles Brantley at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office at 904-824-8304. You can also e-mail tips to crimetips@sjso.org or call Crime Stoppers at 888-277-TIPS.

[Jace]

Suspect may head to Canada

http://staugustine.com/news/local-ne...ay-head-canada

Investigators searching for a missing Ponte Vedra Beach woman have alerted authorities that their prime suspect may try to cross into Canada.

Police have alerted the Canadian border patrol and law enforcement around Vancouver to be on the lookout for Joseph Dean Roberts, according to Patricia Bellamah, the missing woman’s sister.

Brittany Tavar has been missing from her Ponte Vedra Beach home since July 6. She was last seen with Roberts, a 26-year-old homeless man, who had been living with her for just two weeks before she disappeared.

Bellamah also said agencies in South Carolina near where Tavar’s two dogs were found have done extensive searches in the area for Roberts and Tavar.Bellamah decided to take the trip from her home in Portland, Ore., to St. Augustine this week to personally meet with the investigators working on the case and visit with those who saw her last.

"This is the first time we’ve been able to have some of Brittany’s family here on the ground,” Bellamah said. “It was time to make that face-to-face connection with the people working directly on my sister’s case down here.”

Roberts is wanted by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office as a person of interest in the case of Tavar’s disappearance. An arrest warrant has been issued for Roberts on grand theft auto charges after he was pulled over for speeding in Evanstown, Wyo., while driving Tavar’s dark blue Toyota RAV4.

Tavar reportedly was not in the car with him.

Roberts was last seen on July 11 in a Walmart in Ontario, Ore., where he used Tavar’s credit cards to buy a tent and some clothes.

The FBI and U.S. marshals are working with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.

Investigators believed that Roberts was on his way to Ocean Shores, Wash., after receiving a tip that he traveled there before as a child with his family.

Officers from the Ocean Shores Police Department said they have been on the lookout for Roberts but have not seen the man in their area over the last few days.

No new developments have surfaced in the case since Roberts was seen in Ontario, Ore. He is now listed as a fugitive on the “America’s Most Wanted” website.

Bellamah said she plans to stay in the area for a week to work with investigators and speak with those who were close to her sister. She spent hours at the sheriff’s office answering and asking questions on Tuesday.

“There is no doubt that finding Roberts is the key to finding out where my sister is,” she said. “Finding him is the key to everything.”

Bellamah said she last saw her sister a few years ago at a family gathering near where they grew up in Washington D.C., but they spoke on the phone frequently.