Grace McAlister
Reporter1@riverbendnews.org
Julie “JuJu” Moran Lovell, of O'Brien, was last seen on Tuesday, Feb. 14. Lovell is 4’11, 105 lbs and has brown hair and green eyes.
The last place Julie was reportedly seen was her uncle’s house in O’Brien. When she disappeared, she took clothes and various personal items with her. She is listed as a Missing and Endangered Person in the National Crime Information Center, and the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is actively investigating her disappearance.
Julie’s mother, Samantha Lovell, adds the only thing that seemed off the night of Julie’s disappearance was that she had stated that she and her boyfriend had broken up. However, Julie did not seem upset about this, which was strange behavior for Julie. “My daughter is dramatic but acted as if nothing was wrong. We believe she was lying about that,” she said. Julie was last seen at 11 p.m. that night; when her family woke up at 6 a.m. the next morning, Julie was missing.
Samantha shared the following statement with Riverbend News: “My beautiful daughter is a loving young woman. She's smart and full of life. She isn't perfect by no means, but none of us are. Her family loves her, and this is breaking our hearts. All we want is our Julie home! Our lives have been turned upside down, and someone knows something, and yet they are not speaking up.”
On Tuesday, March 14, the SCSO received a letter in the mail claiming to be from Julie. The SCSO believes the letter is authentic; however, at this time, they have not been able to make contact with her regarding her whereabouts.
In the letter, the author claims she (Julie) is safe and that she had willfully run away.
The SCSO is deeply concerned about her well-being and wants to resolve the issue for everyone involved. In the letter received, the author wishes for several personal issues to be looked into.
Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John stated he “guarantees her claims will be looked into.”
The SCSO would like to investigate the issues addressed in the letter and is taking the accusations very seriously. However, until the author of the letter can be validated, and Julie makes contact with the SCSO to discuss all matters involved, the proper resources needed to resolve the author's concerns can not be executed.
If you have any information that will assist with locating Julie, please contact SCSO Investigator Chuck Thompkins at (386) 362-2222 or (386) 590-4052.