Lorraine Garcia from South Carolina (SC) went missing after her son, Tony, threatened her multiple times. However, she was later found living far away from her house. She explained that he disappeared from her house as she didn’t feel safe because of her son’s behavior. Thus, no obituary was ever issued.
The latest compelling true crime documentary on Netflix, Missing: Dead or Alive, has fans demanding additional details about the investigators at its core and the cases they crack. Following its May 10, 2023 release, many viewers have taken to social media to demand additional episodes or seasons.
Four episodes is a rather small number for any series, so it’s not unexpected that many are asking for more. However, if you take a look at other Netflix documentaries, you’ll see that three to four is a common number for many of them. But Missing: Dead or Alive differs from them in terms of its concept.
In the first episode of the show, we get a few disturbing facts about Lorraine Garcia‘s missing case. Her son, an Iraqi War veteran, appears to be the prime suspect in her disappearance. Well, let’s know about it in detail.
Previously, we touched on Amirah Watson and Sierra Stevens.
Lorraine Garcia’s Missing Case: The 61-Year-Old Native of South Carolina Was Later Found Living Far Away From Her House Because of Her Son’s Behavior!
Lorraine Garcia was a 61-year-old mother, grandmother, and active community member who appeared to be living a happy life in Richland County, South Carolina (SC) when everything went horribly wrong. In reality, she was so maternal and loving that even grown people who were not related to her in any manner, shape, or form tried to stay in touch with her constantly and thought of her as a parent.
Lorraine Garcia was reported missing in November 2021.
Image Source: The Cinemaholic
Therefore, it goes without saying that her former daughter-in-law Lamanda Moore reported her missing virtually as soon as the two-month milestone of her radio silence started approaching in November 2021.
That’s when it was discovered Lorraine Garcia had dismissed herself from Prisma Health Richland Hospital on September 13 and had then disappeared without a trace. When investigators checked on her well-being at her independent Columbia house, they found no trace of her whatsoever. Her bank account also showed no activity since the tragic day.
However, the scant proof these factors did create, along with her health issues over the previous five years, led the Sheriff’s Department to categorize her as “endangered” right away.
In the original series, Lamanda told the authorities that her ex-mother-in-law shared her home with her son, Anthony “Tony” Garcia. The latter was an Iraq War veteran with a history of violence resulting from PTSD, behavior she worried was aimed toward his mother as well. She truly thought this was an important detail. After all, the 61-year-old seemed very paranoid, like she could not talk much on the phone, during their most recent phone conversation, the former recalled. Like, you know, perhaps she was being heard by others.
Furthermore, even a neighbor/friend, Clara, later came out to claim that Lorraine Garcia had grown increasingly afraid of her son in the days before she disappeared without a trace. She clarified it in the series, saying,
In the past, Lorraine had told me Tony had never threatened her directly, [but] it was worse [around] this time than it had been before…The day she disappeared, she was telling me he had taken her to a lawyer’s office and told her she was going to sell the house.
Clara also added that Tony had threatened to kill her if Lorraine refused to do what he wanted. When officers went to the Garcias’ shared house in November to seek Lorraine, it was completely empty and smelled like bleach. This did not help Tony’s case. The cord fastened to a bedroom door, the remains of bolts, and the punch holes in various walls all suggested the claim that he frequently imprisoned his mother was accurate.
His refusal to speak to them, his refusal to acknowledge that he had either burnt or moved her items to a storage facility, and his decision to sell their house on Facebook Marketplace despite not having a power of attorney were the last straws for the investigators.
Following Tony’s arrest on suspicion of forgery, false pretense, and using a computer to commit a crime, a search of his possessions turned up an air mattress covered with human blood. But before any legal proceedings could begin, it became out that Lorraine Garcia had called her bank just a few weeks earlier to access her account but had been unable to do so because of ID problems.
Lorraine Garcia was later found in safe and well condition.
Image Source: WLTX
The 61-year-old was actually found. She was alive and well when the authorities followed up after receiving her possible number and address; she had just left and was unaware that a search was being conducted for her. In the Netflix documentary, she explained,
I’ve been trying to start over, just so I can have peace… in my mind and my heart. I don’t want to go back… I have to start taking care of me. My son, he did things to me he has never done. I don’t deserve that.
Additionally, Lorraine Garcia said that despite everything, she still has a lot of love for Tony and doesn’t want anyone to find out where she is or file any charges against him.