Vanished: Have you seen Sonie Toe?

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - It’s been more than two years since Joseph Toe has seen or heard from her daughter, Sonie, who disappeared on New Year’s Eve in 2020.

The 24-year-old college graduate was last seen leaving her sister’s apartment in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

“Sonie would go beyond and do anything to please someone and she is very lively,” Toe said. “Sonie was involved in church activities, all of a sudden there became a twist. The Sonie that we knew changed overnight.”

Toe said a month before she vanished, authorities found her roughed up in the woods. According to a police report, Sonie’s sister told them she suffered from mental health issues, but Toe said the hospital never found anything wrong.

“I started to distribute leaflets about her in the community,” he said.

Toe finally got a tip that brought him to Myrtle Beach in November of 2021.

The father passed out the flyers throughout the Grand Strand, including at a Myrtle Beach coffee shop along the boardwalk. Staff told WMBF News that someone recently picked up the flyer and put it somewhere else so more people can see it.

SPECIAL SECTION | Vanished

Toe said someone last spotted his daughter at the Boost Mobile along Third Avenue South in early September of 2021. He visited the store and the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

“Even Myrtle Beach police couldn’t even help me. Until this day, they haven’t given me any information,” he said.

“We unfortunately never had any evidence that she was actually in the city. As soon as we found out about it, we assigned an investigator as well as put out information and her photograph to the officers working in the area where she was believed to have been seen. But, we were never able to confirm any actual sighting or video of her being in our city,” Myrtle Beach police MCpl. Tom Vest said.

It’s not just family searching for Sonie. One of her friends crowdsourced and hired private investigator Robin Martinelli in February 2021.

“We’ve tried to locate her phone. We’ve tried to locate people that she’s been with,” Martinelli said.

The longtime Georgia detective said it’s unclear whether Sonie left willingly or not but believes she is still alive, even though she’s not called or posted on social media since the day she disappeared.

“We’re trying to go through every lead. She hasn’t been found but she may be in a world that she can’t get out of,” she said.

Toe said he remains hopeful that someone, somewhere, knows where she could be and return her home.

“There are several people who are thinking about her. We are very willing to accept her as she comes to us. No matter what conditions she may have found herself in. We still love her.”

If you’ve seen Sonie Toe, please call The Myrtle Beach Police Department at (843) 918-1300.

Since the Vanished series aired, Myrtle Beach police said they’ve closed two missing persons cases of people who did not want to be found. Police said they also received several tips on cases involving people who’ve disappeared.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.