‘I just have all the emotions’: South Ga. mother speaks out after remains identified as missing daughter

OMEGA, Ga. (WALB) - 10 years later, a South Georgia mother is now getting some answers about her missing daughter.

Human remains found in 2020 in Tift County have been identified as Crystal Hendrix. Hendrix was reported missing in 2013, and her family has been searching for answers ever since.

Diane Gray, Hendrix’s mom, said there are many emotions since learning about her daughter finally being found 10 years later.

“Funny, outgoing, too smart for her own good. never back down from anything, never had a scary bone in her body,” Gray said of her daughter.

Gray said she doesn’t truly know how to feel.

“Devastated. I mean anger and fear and worry. I just have all the emotions,” said Gray.

Gray said just up and leaving isn’t like Hendrix. Especially not to be without her children.

“She was always there for them. She just went out of her way to be who she was. Someone I raised her to be,” she said.

Gray said she is thankful to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) for its involvement in Hendrix’s case. However, the lingering question of what happened to Hendrix is still unanswered. The GBI said the investigation into Hendrix’s death can now truly begin.

WALB News 10 reached out to the Tift County Sheriff’s Office, and they don’t have any further comment at this time.

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