Loved ones are searching for a Montgomery County mother who has been missing for a week.
Jennifer Brown, 43, of Limerick Township, Pennsylvania, was last seen at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3, by her friend and business partner Antonio “Blair” Watts-Richardson.
Watts-Richardson told NBC10 he was with Brown on Tuesday and took her 8-year-old son to his house for a sleepover that night.
“I put Noah on the bus the next day,” Watts-Richardson said.
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Watts-Richardson told NBC10 Brown never called that night to speak with him or her son.
Brown was scheduled to pick up her son from the bus stop the following afternoon on January 4 but never showed up.
“She is a doting, I call her, helicopter mom. She loves her son. She would never leave her son,” Tiffany Barron, Brown’s best friend, told NBC10.
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Watts-Richardson said he doesn’t know what happened to Brown between Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
“I have nothing to do with anything,” Watts-Richardson said. “Just because I’m the last person to see her, that does not mean anything.”
Watts-Richardson told NBC10 he and Brown had planned to open a new restaurant together.
“It seems like I’m being the one poked at,” Watts-Richardson said. “And it’s frustrating because I’m the first person that was the one calling the police, trying to kick down windows. Trying to find my friend. Trying to make sure her son is covered.”
Brown’s vehicle was parked outside of her home on Stratford Court. Her car keys, wallet, purse and work cell phone were found inside. Her personal cell phone has not been found and has not been communicating since the morning of January 4.
Barron is currently watching Brown’s 8-year-old son as the search for her continues.
“He was just saying he wanted his mom,” Barron said. “He didn’t understand why he couldn’t go into his own home.”
Brown’s neighbors, Kathleen Cocca and Nancy Decker, told NBC10 the mother and her son have an unbreakable bond.
“That little boy has always been by her side,” Cocca said. “She walks him to school. She picks him up from the bus. He’s never allowed to be on his own. Even when he comes out to play, she’s outside sitting on the chair.”
Both women said they were questioned by detectives about Brown’s disappearance.
“We just had to go over and say the last time we saw her,” Decker said. “Have we ever seen her get into an Uber. Did we ever know if she left her windows open. She never did any of that and she always picked up her son.”
Friends also said Brown would have made sure her son had his medication and she also has a mother in need of medical care.
Brown’s family initially offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help them find her. On Tuesday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the reward was up to $15,000.
“The investigation into Jennifer Brown’s disappearance is an active investigation and at this time, we cannot provide any specific details without jeopardizing our work," Steele said. "Our detectives are looking at all aspects of her disappearance and have interviewed numerous people connected to her life. We have received hundreds of tips from the general public, but unfortunately none have provided any significant leads, and there have been no credible sightings of Jennifer to date.”
Brown is a white female with brown hair and green eyes standing 5-foot-1 and weighing around 150 pounds. If you have any information on her whereabouts, please call Limerick Township Police at 610-495-7909 or Montgomery County Detectives at 610-226-5553.
