Carmilla Robinson looks out from the front porch of her Akron home, waiting for her own miracle to arrive: the homecoming of her missing 19-year-old daughter.
She first saw the surreal news of Cleveland’s miracle when she came home Monday night after a day of fielding calls searching for her daughter, Taylor.
Robinson has an inkling of what the mothers and family of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight endured for the decade the young women were missing. And while she’s elated for the Cleveland families, Robinson said she is praying for an Akron miracle. She has not spoken to Taylor since Friday and her daughter’s disappearance is being investigated daily by Akron police and the FBI.
“I don’t care if it’s five days, five months, five years or 50 years, I’ll be right here waiting,” Robinson, 39, said Tuesday outside her East Archwood Avenue home. “I have hope. I’ll always have hope.”
She last saw her daughter Friday night when she drove Taylor to a Kipling Street home where the woman works overnight as a home health-care aide for a private provider. Taylor is assigned to care for a 24-year-old disabled woman.
When Carmilla Robinson returned about 7 a.m. Saturday, her daughter was gone. Only Taylor’s coat and her shoes remained.
Police say Taylor’s cellphone was shut down shortly after 7:30 a.m. Saturday A text was sent to a friend about 5 a.m., but the message, which contained a vague reference to seeking a favor from a friend, was not returned.
Taylor Robinson was dating a man who has cooperated with police investigators in their search, detectives say.
Investigators and family members also say Taylor has a former boyfriend, a man she had dated until recently. He called Taylor’s cellphone late Friday night. The call lasted two minutes.
The former boyfriend has retained a lawyer and it is unclear what, if any, statement he has given to police.
Detectives continue to receive phone calls about the case and are investigating potential leads. Still, the calls have yet to yield any conclusive evidence of Taylor’s whereabouts.
“At this point, no information is insignificant,” Akron police Detective Brian Harding said.
Taylor Robinson has been described as an intelligent, driven woman who worked two jobs and attended classes at Kent State University’s Stark campus. She hopes to work in neonatal nursing.
She’s a shopper and a movie-lover and the proud owner of 6-month-old Ryder, a long-haired Chihuahua, named for its affinity to travel everywhere with Taylor. She’s an older sister to her 13-year-old brother, Jayquann.
And while Taylor’s serious about her future, she’s also the type of daughter who will still play with her mother’s hair, tying braids or making jokes.
Everyone, from police to her family, says Taylor is not the type to just run off or not call or shirk her job. That’s what makes her sudden disappearance so troubling.
“It’s just not like her,” Carmilla Robinson said.
Still, a mother always has hope. And Robinson said she has plenty, and it was bolstered by Monday’s miracle 40 miles to the north.
“I know what those families are going through,” she said. “You never expect your child not to come home. So the anticipation of your child coming home, that’s what you hold onto. That’s all you have.
“That excitement of missing somebody and not knowing and then all of a sudden they are there. ... I can’t wait for that moment. I dream for that moment. I’m just praying it doesn’t take 10 years.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Akron police at 330-375-2490. Anonymous tips may be left at http://ci.akron.oh.us/ASP/tip.html.
Information also can be provided anonymously by calling Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS (2677). Tipsters might qualify for a cash reward.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PhilTrexler.