INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — The family of a Treasure Coast woman with dementia who mysteriously vanished more than a year ago spoke about the case on Wednesday.
The husband of Susy Tomassi, along with Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar, discussed newly released surveillance video that could provide critical clues about what happened to the 73-year-old woman.
Tomassi, who suffers from dementia, disappeared in March 2018 and was last seen walking away from her family's restaurant, the Quilted Giraffe, located at 500 South U.S. 1 in Vero Beach.
"Somebody knows something, and now is the time to talk," said Sheriff Loar.
The surveillance video released on Wednesday is grainy, but it shows a white truck come to a stop near South Vero Square.
An identified person walks past the truck, stops, then goes up and talks to the driver for several seconds. The person then walks around the vehicle and gets into the passenger side.
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While it's unclear if Tomassi is the unidentified person in the video, detectives said she was walking in the area around the same time.
Investigators think Tomassi might have gotten into a car. They said several witnesses believe they saw her get into a vehicle.
"I can't tell you the stress our family goes through, the pain and suffering," said Patrick Tomassi, Susy's husband. "The most important thing is to find Susy, or find what happened to Susy."
RELATED: Family pleads for answers one year after Tomassi's disappearance
Patrick Tomassi said on Wednesday he's confident the person in the video is his wife.
"That shows you how vulnerable people with dementia or Alzheimer's are, because they don't know any enemies," said Tomassi. "They trust everyone."
Tomassi said the reward has been increased to $20,000 for Susy's safe return.
"We need people's help. If somebody saw something, come forward," said Tomassi.
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Detectives said they've followed up on nearly 100 leads, but without any success.
Investigators are asking anyone who remembers seeing a white truck near South Vero Square, or who has any other information about Tomassi's disapperance, to please call Indian River County Det. Greg Farless at 772-978-6101 and refer to case number 2018-47014.
This story was originally published by Jon Shainman and the staff at WPTV.
