MACON, Ga. — A Macon family is processing new information in the case of their daughter's disappearance.
Gabriella Dixon went missing nearly three weeks ago, on Oct. 30. Friday afternoon, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office announced they made an arrest in the case. They named Jatarvius Price as a person of interest. He's charged with making false statements and tampering with evidence.
The news came just before Dixon's family held a scheduled rally in downtown Macon to raise awareness for the case. About two dozen people gathered outside the Macon-Bibb County Government Center to pray, be together, and lead chants to spread the word.
Hope, prayer and determination united the group. All of them have one goal: To bring Dixon home safely.
"God, bring the answers that are absolutely needed to this family," Kendrick Campbell said in prayer at the start of the rally.
At the helm of the search efforts is Dixon's mother, Gabrella Searcy. She now cares full-time for her young grandchildren, who wonder where their mother is.
"Layla just turned three, and she asks for her mother daily. She didn't come to the birthday party. 'Nana, where is Gabby? Where is my mommy?' I keep telling her the same thing," Searcy explained.
Her most common answer is that Dixon is at work, but she says her granddaughter is smarter than that. She knows she's running out of answers to Layla's questions, and Searcy wants answers herself.
She feels the Bibb County Sheriff's Office is too focused on preserving evidence and tracking down suspects. She thinks they're not focused enough on finding her daughter.
"We were silently advised to just stop and be still. But I'm a mother. That's my child. I carried her for nine months. I can't be silent. I can't be still," Searcy told the crowd.
So, she's asking people to help her search and bring Dixon home to her children.
I just refuse until I see her for myself; I just refuse to believe that she's gone," she said. "I mean, maybe that's just me. I guess it's the mother in me. I guess I have faith."
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office says their goal has always been to find Dixon and anyone involved with her disappearance. They say they're working every lead they can and will provide more information when it's available.
Searcy doesn't want to wait, so she's organizing another search party. That search will start Monday at 11 a.m. at Total Praise Ministries on 5th Street in Macon. If you want to get involved with the search, reach out to Searcy on Facebook.
If you have any information on Dixon's disappearance, call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.