Where Is Sara Gail Ebersole?

That’s the question that drew a small group of demonstrators to the median of U.S. Highway 441 in Micanopy on Saturday. They held placards and stood beside a large message board displaying Ebersole’s last known photo and other identifying details.

Michele Tullis, Ebersole’s sister, organized the demonstration to keep the March 3, 2023, disappearance of then-26-year-old Ebersole in the public eye. She continues to call for a person of interest—who, according to case documents, lived near the demonstration site—to cooperate with law enforcement.

Tyrone Morman, 27, a Micanopy resident at the time, has been named a person of interest, according to a post from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Tullis said she would like to pose the same question to Morman that the sheriff’s office shared on Facebook: “Where did Morman take Sara?”

A sheriff’s office document states deputies were called on March 5, 2023, in reference to the disappearance. Detective R. Stith was assigned the case 10 days later.

The report also states that, by Dec. 20, 2023, there had been no contact from Ebersole with friends or family, no financial activity on her accounts and no social media activity.

“Ebersole’s normal pattern of life ceased as of March 3, 2023,” the document reads.

Tullis said she has been counting the days since her sister vanished. She has maintained a social media presence about the case, posting updates and appeals for help.

She also created a GoFundMe account titled “Bring Sara Home: Billboard Campaign Fund and Awareness” to raise money for a billboard seeking information. As of April 14, the fund had raised $1,983 toward a $5,000 goal.

“It’s been 771 days,” Tullis said, holding a placard that read, “Sara Ebersole Matters.”

“This is a living nightmare—not knowing exactly what has happened to Sara. I spend the majority of my days advocating for her and keeping her humanized to the public, defending her tooth and nail. We only want to know where (the person of interest) drove Sara so she can be located,” she wrote in a text message following the demonstration.

The sheriff’s office has released information about the case through Facebook posts, including a timeline of events leading up to Ebersole’s disappearance.

According to one post, Ebersole accepted a ride around 10 p.m. on March 2, 2023, from two men in a pickup truck while at the Circle K convenience store at U.S. Highway 441 and County Road 318 in Reddick.

She was dropped off, along with James Robinson, at a residence in the 18000 block of U.S. Highway 441 in Reddick. Robinson lived in one section of the residence, while James Schaller and Teesha McDermitt lived in another, the post states.

Around 1:24 a.m. on March 3, Robinson exchanged text messages with Morman. The messages led to Morman driving a blue 2017 Hyundai Sonata to the residence. He left around 4 a.m. with Ebersole, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Dec. 20, 2023, Morman was arrested after Detective Ryan Stith went to his residence with a search warrant for his cellphone.

According to the arrest affidavit, Morman initially claimed the phone was inoperative and had been discarded. Further investigation determined he still had the device. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor obstruction of an investigation.

Detectives found evidence in the phone that “confirmed” he left the residence with Ebersole, according to a sheriff’s office media release.

A Facebook post from the agency said Detective Stith “discovered information suggesting” Morman and Ebersole were seen at an unnamed 24-hour convenience store in northwest Marion County in the early morning hours of March 3.

The affidavit also includes statements from Morman claiming he had already told detectives “everything” and was “upset” about being blamed for the disappearance. He described the case as “he said, he said.”

Attempts to reach Morman via a phone number documented in 2023 were unsuccessful.

Tullis wrote that her sister was born in Michigan, moved to Florida at age 3 and later to Dunnellon at 14. She attended Dunnellon High School.

Ebersole has a 6-year-old daughter and has been involved in legal and custody disputes with the child’s father since the girl was 1, according to Tullis.

“Sara loved the beach; any free time she had was spent between Daytona and Sarasota,” Tullis wrote. “She wanted to travel and entertained the idea of opening a small cat-friendly coffee café near the water.”

“Sara was always gleeful to try new things. She had a childish, fun spirit. She was a playful mother, trying new things and experiences with her daughter as often as she could,” Tullis added.

Paige Rozier and her daughter, Savanna Rozier, 25, learned about the case and came to the demonstration to support Tullis.

“It’s heartbreaking and frustrating,” Paige Rozier said.

Savanna Rozier added, “The case is in our own county.”

Ebersole was working at Café Risqué, located at Interstate 75 and County Road 374 in Micanopy. Two coworkers, who gave only their first names—Kacy and Heather—attended the demonstration to show support.

“We want answers,” one of the women said, describing Ebersole as a “nice girl.”

Husband and wife Katt and Sam Mitchell, along with Nick Meeds, said they have followed the case on Facebook and came to show solidarity.

Holly Rice, visiting from Arkansas, said she was moved to join the demonstration.

“Sara Ebersole deserves justice,” she said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse currently lists 12 people whose cases date back as far as 1967. They include Dorothy Scofield, who disappeared from a northeast Ocala store in 1976 at age 12.

Missing: Sara Ebersole Demonstration In Micanopy

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