The disappearance of Petra Rampersad on January 8 has left relatives, particularly her four-year-old son, heartbroken and worried.

"Since she disappeared, he has not been talking much. He keeps staring at the ceiling – he is grieving for his mom," Rampersad’s aunt Pamela Seeram said.

"He is comfortable and is accustomed to us, but his mother is his mother and he keeps asking for her. Every night, I go to sleep hurting by watching that child grieve. We are trying our best with him. If she is okay, why has she not tried to contact her son? So many missing people are turning up dead. If she is safe, we want to know."

Rampersad, who turns 28 in March, lives at her aunt’s home at Garth Road in Williamsville.

Seeram recalled leaving the house at around 10 am on January 8 to go to the market. She returned at around 11.30 am and found Rampersad’s son alone. He was in his room watching a show on his tablet, and Rampersad was nowhere to be found.

Rampersad is a single, stay-at-home mother whose son’s father died when the child was a baby.

Seeram said she immediately tried calling her niece by phone, but all calls went unanswered. She also checked with residents and relatives. She reported her missing to the Princes Town police.

"Before I went to the market, she was home, and everything was normal.

"The first week of her missing, I went every day and waited for hours outside the police station, hoping she would show up. God knows, I never once receive a call from her."

Seeram revealed that Rampersad had gone missing before.

Last year, she went missing for six days.

"She told the police she was by a friend in Tabaquite. I asked why she did not say something, because we were so worried. I took her counselling," Seeram said.

"It does not have a place that I have not looked for her in this country. I hired a taxi and went to Tabaquite, where she was last year, but the people said they had not seen her. I do not know what else to do or who else to go to for help."

The Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT) is also helping search for Rampersad.

To date, the police have no leads on her whereabouts.

PC Dick is investigating.

Anyone with information can call the Princes Town police station at 655-2231, the nearest police station, or HSRT at 727-3333.

People can also call the police at 555, 999 or Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS (8477) or report it via the TTPS App.

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