Mother and child missing out of Polk County

Winter Haven, Florida - Winter Haven police now have a crucial piece of evidence in the disappearance of a Savannah, Georgia mother and her 3 year old daughter. Investigators have recovered the 1992 Blue Ford Escort that the mother was driving.

According to detectives, 29 year old Ronkeya Holmes was trying to juggle college classes with raising her young daughter, Masaraha Ross. Holmes was attending school at Savannah Technical College and she left Masaraha with her daughter's father, Lester Ross, who lives in Winter Haven so she could focus on school.

When classes ended on September 18th she started planning a trip to Florida to pick up her daughter. She called Ross to inform him that she would be coming to town. When she arrived on October 3rd Ross told her that Masaraha was out of town with an uncle and would be returning the next day. Ross didn't drop off the child the next day so Ronkeya returned to Georgia and contacted Winter Haven Police to make a report about the incident.

A week later Ronkeya returned to Winter Haven where she spent several days trying to get her daughter back. During that time she stayed with her former step father, Archie Forte in Winter Haven as well as her grandmother in Haines City.

On October 18 around 11 p.m. Joseph Wilcox was stopped by Lake Mary Police. Wilcox and Lester Ross are cousins. Wilcox was driving Ronkeya's car. He was arrested on unrelated charges.

Sergeant Brad Coleman says when detectives spoke with Ross five days later he said the last time he saw Ronkeya and his daughter was also on October 18 when he turned his daughter over to Ronkeya at a Wal-mart store in Haines City. He told detectives he hasn't seen or heard from either of them since.

Sgt. Coleman says, "Other than Mr. Ross's statement we haven't been able to obtain any evidence that the child exchange actually occurred."

Meanwhile Winter Haven police have now recovered Ronkeya's car from authorities in Lake Mary and they say it's crucial in their investigation. Tuesday evidence technicians will look over the car.

Ronkeya's car had luggage on the front passenger seat and there were children's items in the back seat. Hanging from the rear view mirror was an identification badge with Ronkeya's picture on it from Savannah Technical College.

Ronkeya and Masaraha are considered missing and endangered according to Sgt. Coleman who says they've received conflicting stories from the people involved in the case.

Sgt. Coleman is asking for help from the public. He's hoping someone may have spotted the mother and daughter. "Maybe somebody she talked to. Maybe she was afraid of something. Maybe she was going somewhere. We just don't know and we'd like someone to step forward and give us that information to help direct us to where she might be."