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The son of a missing 56-year-old Patchogue woman pleaded on Monday for the police, the press and the community at large to help him find his “loving mother” before it’s too late.
“Please help me find my mother. Please do not let her scent go cold. Please do not let her name fade. Please do not let her be left out in this weather, possibly without food, water, clean clothes, and mental health services she so desperately needs,” Malyk Leonard said, speaking of his mother Yvette during a press conference on Terry Street in Patchogue that he organized. “Please help me find my mother. If anyone — if anyone sees my mother, to help with the search, I’m asking for you to please take a picture and post it on social media.”
Yvette Leonard has been missing since the night of June 13. Her family said she suffers from schizophrenia and dementia, and is bipolar. A missing person report for Yvette Leonard was filed on June 18.
The case has captured the attention of Nasiy Nasir X, the national chairman of the Lion of Judah Armed Forces and an official with the New Black Panther Nation in Minnesota. Nasir X spoke passionately and forcefully during the press conference about the worries facing Yvette Leonard’s three adult children and about what he says has been a lack of action by Suffolk County Police investigators.
“We are demanding that the police department here in Long island step up and stand up and make sure they take this extremely serious,” Nasir X said during the press conference held in front of a home on Terry Street. “Where are the silver alerts? No silver alerts whatsoever. And then the police department had the nerve to tell this young man, the son, that it’s up to him to get the media attention.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves. That response sounds like you don’t give a damn. That response sounds like you don’t care,” he continued. “We need a proper, thorough investigation done on this, and for it to be taken seriously as soon as possible. Treat this case as if it was one of your own. Because this could be any one of our mothers.”
Suffolk Police said detectives have been in communication with Leonard’s family and that an extensive investigation is ongoing. The canine section has been deployed during the search and investigators have been canvassing for video and conducting interviews, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Malyk Leonard of Brooklyn has said that his mother was last seen near 20 Edwards St. in Patchogue. Her roommate said she was wearing black sweatpants and a short-sleeve black t-shirt, Malyk Leonard said.
Yvette Leonard, a Patchogue resident for 10-plus years, is described as a Black woman with black dreadlocks. She is heavyset and is 5-foot-6.
Nasir X suggested that if Yvette Leonard were White, authorities would pay more attention to her case.
“If she were a Caucasian woman, this would have had media attention,” he said. “This would have been all over. The U.S. Marshals and the FBI would have stepped up immediately, expeditiously.”
Malyk Leonard has been passing out flyers and promoting his mother’s disappearance on Facebook while leading a search that has stretched from Riverhead to Freeport.
“My mother has mental health issues, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and early stage dementia, which should have triggered some type of alert — a Silver Alert,” Malyk Leonard said. “I want the police, news media and all other groups who have the ability to ensure resources are pulled, to find my mother during the hottest days of the summer.
“My mother … is a loving mother of three. She’s a sister. She’s a daughter. She’s an aunt. She’s a friend. She’s a member of the community,” Malyk Leonard continued. “She’s a person with dreams and aspirations. But most importantly, she’s a person in need.”
Nasir X added, “When you have people within your community missing, you are supposed to stand up. Stand up and say something. Anyone who sees our beloved mother, Yvette Lynn, please make sure you contact the local police department.”
