Debora Gail DeLoach Moody was last seen Dec. 4, 2007. The Long County woman’s disappearance shocked the local community and has been especially hard on Moody’s family.

Moody’s son, Christian Merrill, 25, a student at Northwest Florida College, spoke out recently about how he’s dealing with his mother’s disappearance.

"Basically, I’m hanging in there one day at a time. It’s still pretty hard, especially on holidays like Easter and Mother’s day — pretty stressful," said Merrill, who last spoke to his mother on her birthday in November 2007. He said she gave no indication anything out of the ordinary was going on.

"When I talked to her, we were just laughing and having a good time like we always do. She and I have a great relationship, she is more like an older sister than a mom," Merrill said.

Moody’s mother, Melanie Clark, also spoke to the Courier. She said spoke with Moody just before she went missing. "She was telling me about her having to go to get an ink cartridge for her computer and she seemed to be just fine."

Both Clark and Merrill said they don’t think Moody left the area on her own.

"She wasn’t that type of a person. If something would have been bothering her, she would have called me," Merrill said.

Clark added, "I don’t think that Gail just up and left. I think someone just up and took her."

According to Merrill, he’s limited in what he can say about the case because he doesn’t want to interfere with the investigation. However, he maintains someone in the area knows something about Moody’s disappearance.

"Its hard for me to grasp that in a small community like this, everyone seems to know about everyone else, but no one knows anything to lead to solving this case," Merrill said.

Both Clark and Merrill said not knowing what has become of Moody is the most difficult part of the ordeal.

"Not knowing — that’s the hardest part of all of this," said he missing woman’s son.

The two said they aren’t giving up, though. Clark and Merrill want people to know there’s a $5,000 reward for anyone who has information about Moody.

"We are thankful to all of the people who have donated to (the reward fund) and to those who have supported us, but we don’t want people to give up on her. Someone out there knows something," Clark said.

Anyone who has information about Moody’s disappearance should call the LCSD at 545-2118 and ask for Chief Detective Ty Smith.