Search for missing Kansas mother focuses on Mid-South

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (WMC) - A multi-state search for a missing mother is now centered on the Mid-South.

Authorities say 36-year-old Marilane Carter was driving to Alabama but seems to have vanished near West Memphis.

“We are devastated because she has three children and they cry every night. They are asking for their mommy. Her husband loves her so much,” said Marlene Mesler, mother.

The family of Marilane Carter lost contact with her Sunday night around 8 p.m. She left her Kansas home Saturday. Her mother, Marlene Mesler, said she talked with her daughter frequently as she drove to Birmingham, Alabama to visit her family.

But Mesler says her daughter’s phone went dead in West Memphis off Bridgeport Road, under the I-55 Bridge at a walking trail.

“We don’t have any record of her leaving this area. So, this is the last known spot that we know she was.”

Carter’s mother, father, husband and siblings have desperately been searching in this area for two days. Law enforcement from West Memphis and Crittenden County have helped in the search, and Memphis has helped as well.

Mesler says her daughter was not only coming to visit and be there when her sister’s baby is born, but also to get some counseling in Birmingham because she had been having trouble sleeping.

Carter’s family says she told them on the trip that she was getting lost, which they found puzzling.

“She’s driven the route several times so she knew the way.”

The family says it is relying on prayer. Marilane Carter’s husband, Adam, is the head pastor at Leawood Baptist Church in Kansas. The church held a vigil Thursday night praying for her safe return.

Carter’s family says she has never just taken off and would never leave her young children and husband.

She is driving a dark gray 2011 GMC Acadia with Kansas tags.

Carter is 5′8″ and 130 pounds. She was wearing a green shirt and black yoga pants.

“We honestly don’t know what happens after this. They need their mommy, he needs his wife. We need our daughter.”

Carter’s husband spent the day going to gas stations in Mississippi, looking at surveillance video hoping to get some clues about where she is.

The family has also called hospitals along the way. They believe somebody may have seen something that can help reunite Marilane Carter with her family.

If you see her, call law enforcement.

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