North Fort Myers mom, daughter found after disappearance

Update: Claudia Parker and Jennifer Bess have been located as of Wednesday morning, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

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Lee County investigators are searching for a mother and her daughter who may be in trouble.

Claudia “Sue” Parker, 68, is with her daughter, Jennifer Bess, 43, and the sheriff’s office said the pair was last seen Monday in Georgia.

Parker went missing from her North Fort Myers home that on Tuesday was blocked off with crime scene and hazard tape.

The sheriff’s office will not say if they believe Parker was taken or hurt, and neighbors want to know why she’s considered missing if she was last seen traveling with her daughter, and why is her apartment blocked off with tape?

Claudia Parker, or “Sue,” as friends call her, has a lot of different titles. Friend and caretaker among them.

“She’s been a Godsend to me because I’m going through cancer and what have you, and she’s always been here like this lady, Gail,” said Mary Moltmann, a neighbor.

Parker is also a mother and grandmother.

“She said her daughter Jennifer had planned this trip, a little getaway, to go hiking and that she had bought a backpack and some sweaters because of where they were going, and I said, ‘Well, that’s wonderful that your daughter’s going to take you there,’ and she seemed very, you know, happy,” said neighbor Gail Broussard.

Neighbors say that Parker and Bess hadn’t been planning to leave for the trip so soon.

Sheriff’s office investigators are checking in Georgia and its surrounding states.

“I hope she’s OK. I just can’t imagine what could have happened,” Broussard said.

Parker’s car is still sitting outside the apartment, where both the front and back entrances are taped off.

“I saw all these blinking lights out on the other side, and yes, there were two policemen doing a search with their flashlights and the one car still had his blinkers on the roof,” Moltmann said.

The LCSO said Parker doesn’t have her necessary medication on her, something neighbors say is very unlike her.

“No signs of aging at all on her part,” Moltmann said.

“No, I mean, if you’re forgetful … I’m 78, I don’t know how old you are, Mary, but I mean, you forget,” Broussard said.

“I’ll be 78, too,” Moltmann replied.

Neighbors say one of Parker’s other daughters is working with detectives, but it’s unclear if she’s the one who reported the two of them missing.

Calls to Parker’s phone go straight to voicemail. Her neighbors are hoping it’s all a big misunderstanding.

If you know anything about their whereabouts, you’re asked to call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 800-780-TIPS. They were last seen in a blue 2021 Toyota Camry with Florida license plate NPMQ96.