After recently giving birth to twin boys, Savannah Spurlock was looking forward to a night out on Jan. 4, according to her mother, Ellen Spurlock.
“That was the first time, that I knew of, that she had been out in months,” Ellen Spurlock told NBC's "Dateline." Ellen and Savannah, 22, live together in Richmond, Kentucky. “She told me she was going out for a little bit and she would be back. She didn’t give me the hour, but I took it to mean she would be gone for the evening.”
Savannah used her mother’s car to drive herself and a friend about 45 minutes to Lexington, Kentucky, to visit another friend. Police would later learn that, after arriving at the friend’s house, Savannah and her two friends drove to The Other Bar in a different car, leaving Ellen Spurlock’s car at the house.
Back in Richmond, Ellen said she went to bed that night confident that Savannah would be home when she awoke. Around 3 a.m., Ellen got a FaceTime call from her daughter.
“I got the call and she said she was in Lexington and that everything was fine,” Ellen told "Dateline." Savannah told her mother she was in a car, and Ellen says she could see a man was driving, though she did not recognize him. “There were 1-2 people in the back seat who were hollering and talking over each other.”
Ellen said she couldn’t clearly see who was in the back seat, but said Savannah did not seem upset.
“She said: ‘I will be home later this morning. I promise.’ And when she said she promised something, she always did it,” Ellen said. “So when I went to sleep, I was secure in the thought that she would be home later in the morning.”
When Ellen woke up around 8 a.m. to find Savannah hadn’t returned home, she thought it was “unusual, but not the end of the world.” Savannah knew her mother needed to use the car that day, though, so Ellen called Savannah’s cellphone to check in with her. The call went straight to voicemail.
As morning turned to afternoon and afternoon to evening without Savannah coming home, Ellen’s concern grew. She called the Richmond Police Department that night to report her daughter missing.
Lt. Col. Rodney Richardson, assistant chief of police at the Richmond Police Department, told "Dateline" that police had determined that at some point Savannah left The Other Bar with three men that night.
“We’ve identified the three men she was last seen with, but we haven’t released their names,” Richardson said.
Through interviews with the three men, Richardson says authorities “have no facts that lead us to believe” Savannah knew any of them, though they knew one another. Nobody has been charged in Savannah’s disappearance.
“We haven’t released anything in regards to our suspicions. All we have said is we are looking for her,” Richardson said. “Of course, any time someone has been gone this long, it worries us."
Richardson added that investigators know that two of the men last seen with Savannah were in the car with her when she called her mother that morning. The third man they’ve identified was following the group in a separate car, Richardson said.
Authorities declined to comment on the details of where and when the three men say they last saw Savannah.
“We are continuing our search for Savannah and appreciate everything the public and the media have done to assist in our efforts,” police wrote in a Facebook post Monday. “There are many people, organizations, and volunteers that have assisted us over the past few weeks and for that we are thankful. Finding Savannah continues to be a top priority.”
Ellen says Savannah’s twin boys and her 2-year-old son are currently living with their father. Savannah’s 4-year-old son, who has a different father, is being cared for by Savannah’s father. Ellen says she can’t imagine her daughter would leave her children willingly.
“She has four babies that she loves and adores. She knows people care for her and love her,” Ellen said. “She is a very, very loving mom. Very responsible. She loves these kids. She was on a mission to get a job and get out on her own after she recovered from the birth.”
“I can’t even describe how awful it is,” Ellen continued. “I live with her, so I constantly see her clothes, her mail — everything regarding her. It’s really, really miserable. I just have to hold on to the hope because if I don’t, I’ll fold.”
Investigators say no tip is too small in the case. “I want people to contact us with any information they might have about Savannah,” Richardson said.
Savannah Spurlock is described as being 5-foot tall and weighing about 140 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Savannah has multiple tattoos, including a rose on her left shoulder, the phrase “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” on her right torso, and the phrase “I’m her daughter” on her back. She was last seen wearing a black sleeveless top and a maroon skirt and heels. If you have any information related to Savannah’s disappearance, please contact the Richmond Police Department at 859-624-4776 or email information to detective@richmond.ky.us.
