This is a follow-up story to one that originally ran on 105.7 News nearly a month ago.

(105.7 News Exclusive) – It has been nearly 100 days and there is no trace of a woman who disappeared from a farm in Bledsoe County. Stephanie Tyson, age 64, was last seen May 12 by her boyfriend when she reportedly walked away from a farm on Brayton Road near the Bledsoe/Rhea County line.

Multiple counties sent search crews, drones and dog teams to aid in the search for Tyson. The Tennessee Highway Patrol even sent their helicopter to assist. But after days of searching for her and covering 600 acres of land, Bledsoe County authorities labeled Tyson as a survivalist who did not want to be found and called off the search.

She has not turned up anywhere since the day she walked off the farm.

Now, citizens and friends of Stephanie Tyson are calling for District Attorney General Mike Taylor to request the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into this case.

Information obtained by 105.7 News is showing a possible twist in this incident.

Two friends of Tyson, one in Oregon and the other in West Virginia, independently contacted 105.7 News to share information about Tyson’s stay in Bledsoe County and her planning to leave and return to West Virginia to a farm she owned, based on alleged domestic problems that were going on. Tyson contacted a couple who lived on and watched over her farm prior to her disappearance, indicating she was returning there.

Also in several documented conversations with the two friends, Tyson had arranged for someone to help her return to West Virginia. That plan fell through the day before she disappeared. Tyson told one of them they “would know what happened if I came up missing” if something went wrong.

Clearly, something did go wrong.

Tyson also went as far as to send two packages out of her items that arrived at their destinations on May 14 and 18, after she was declared missing.

After Bledsoe County authorities stopped looking for her, one item that was reportedly left behind was a survival kit belonging to Tyson. If she was a survivalist, wouldn’t that be the first thing she would take to endure a rugged area with temperatures hovering in the 90s during the day?

One of Tyson’s friends told 105.7 News about her last conversation with Tyson just three days before she disappeared. Tyson reportedly said she was finally leaving to return to West Virginia. It would be the last communication she had with Tyson.

105.7 News subsequently turned over all communication transcripts between Tyson and her two friends to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

We then reached out to District Attorney General Mike Taylor at that time for a follow-up.

Taylor told 105.7 News that as of now, the case is being treated as a missing-person incident. Taylor added there was no new information regarding Tyson’s disappearance presented to him, and the Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department continue to look into the case. Taylor added if new information comes up that may indicate another direction in the case, he could order an investigation.

Sgt. George Hodge of the Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department told 105.7 News when we first ran this story three weeks ago that Tyson is still declared a missing person and the case remains open.

105.7 News called Bledsoe County Sheriff Jimmy Morris and left voice mail messages each time over the past three weeks. None of those calls were returned as of today (Thursday, August 23, 2018).

No further information was released.

So, the main question remains… Where is Stephanie Tyson?

Three possible options are on the table:

One, Tyson walked off the farm and has either stayed so far off the grid no one has seen or heard from her since.

Two, Tyson left the farm and something happened to her, rendering her unable to get help.

Three, Tyson fell victim to something or someone.

Friends of Tyson firmly believe something happened to her and are calling for Taylor to request the TBI to start a formal investigation into the disappearance of Tyson.

Melissa Hickman of West Virginia told 105.7 News there needs to be an investigation into exactly what happened to Tyson.

“There is definitive proof Stephanie was trying to get away from Bledsoe County and away from the person she was living with since the month before she “disappeared.” She was making plans to return to West Virginia to a place she owned. She went missing the day after she told the person she was living with she was leaving,” said Hickman.

“Stephanie left behind her purse, cell phone, car and other items. How many women do this if they are leaving and not returning?”

Hickman added that she can not believe that the district attorney has not asked the TBI to investigate this.

“No one from the police department there in Bledsoe County contacted us about the information we have regarding this case,” added Hickman.

Another friend of Tyson’s, Terry Shrum of Oregon, was more direct with his comments regarding his missing friend.

“I have known Stephanie for nearly a decade and have never once regarded her as anything other than the most stable, caring, giving, kind-hearted, Christian woman that anyone could meet. Before she bought her farm in West Virginia, Stephanie worked overseas as a contractor and she had to endure a thorough security and psychological evaluation. She passed this with flying colors,” said Shrum.

“Stephanie was not mentally or emotionally unstable. She was not a survivalist as the Bledsoe County Sheriff’s Department labeled her in their last statement when the search was called off. She is not in hiding and the thought of her refusing to be found is way out there and she is not a danger to others. If she was, why did she leave her survival bag behind?”

Shrum then turned up the statements about his friend and the investigation so far.

“Stephanie is not missing, nor did she commit suicide. So I will state what no one else seems to be willing to say. Stephanie was in trouble, something happened to her then her remains were hidden where no one would be able to find them,” said Shrum.

Shrum ended his comments with the following questions to law enforcement in Bledsoe County:

“With all the circumstantial evidence provided by Stephanie’s own hand and the knowledge of others, why is this situation not being investigated as a possible homicide?”

“Why has no one there law wise made an effort to contact her friends and ask of our knowledge of her state of mind?”

“Why was the search called off for real? The safety of the searchers excuse just doesn’t wash.”

“Why hasn’t District Attorney General Mike Taylor requested the TBI to look into this case with all the information that is present indicating a different direction other than a missing-person case?”

Terry ended his comments to 105.7 News with a final thought.

“Let us assume that all of Stephanie’s friends, myself included, are simply in a stage of denial. That we ALL are blindly going through the first four stages of the seven stages of the grieving process. I therefore challenge someone, anyone, to prove that is the case. If that can’t be done, then find out who is responsible for what happened to Stephanie Tyson.”

If you have any information regarding this case, contact District Attorney General Mike Taylor’s office in Rhea County at (423) 775-4468.