Kayla Bailey, a 34-year-old mother of five, had vanished from her Jacksonville home on August 17.
For two days, her family feared the worst. Then, in what felt like a miracle, she was found alive, disoriented and dehydrated in the woods less than a mile from home.
Now, just 18 days after that miraculous recovery, Kayla Bailey has gone missing again.
Her second disappearance was reported last Sunday (September 7), after she was last seen at a family home on Blackthorn Road in the wescon area. This time, however, the family believes Bailey vanished on purpose.
A mother of five who was rescued after disappearing in the woods has vanished again, and this time they believe it was intentional
Image credits: Facebook/Kayla Bailey
Kayla had declined to join her brother, Scott, on a grocery store run, disappearing by the time he returned.
“She’s walked away from her whole life,” her mother, Lisa Lucas, told local media.
“Her business, the kids, the family, just the house. This is not my daughter. She does not need to be out wherever she is again.”
Having already been found in need of medical assistance in the woods, her loved ones now fear she may be spiraling deeper into a mental health crisis, one she’s trying to protect others from
“Don’t waste resources looking for her this time. She left, she didn’t go missing,” one reader said.
“I would rather her go run away instead of her going into a full psychosis and harming her kids,” another added.
Kayla’s husband, Joshua, was arrested for violating a restraining order the very same day she was rescued
Image credits: Facebook/Kayla Bailey
Some believe the true cause of Kayla’s erratic behavior is linked to her husband, 40-year-old Joshua Bailey, who was arrested on the very day she was rescued from the woods, and booked into Duval County Jail.
“Her estranged husband is in jail for violating a restraining order. This woman has been ab*sed. This type of ab*se can really impact someone’s ability to function,” a netizen argued.
“Her brother stated she has not been acting herself.”
Authorities charged Joshua with violating a domestic violence injunction, as well as probation on a separate felony offense.
Still, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office made a point of clarifying that Joshua’s arrest was not connected to Kayla’s second disappearance.
Netizens believe the events leading up to Joshua’s restraining order are key to understanding Kayla’s motivations
Image credits: Unsplash/Richard Harkness
Before his arrest, Joshua had been actively searching for Kayla. In an interview with News4JAX, he explained he went to a nearby convenience store, the location where his wife’s phone last pinked, to try and locate her.
Joshua’s bond was set at $15,003, with strict conditions: no consumption of narcotics, no possession of illegal substances, no possession of weapons, and the aforementioned restraining order.
Image credits: Facebook/Kayla Bailey
Online, many believe the chain of events that led to her husband’s arrest are behind Kayla’s spiraling mental health, something her brother hinted at during an interview.
Scott said her sister seemed mentally fragile, but nothing made him believe she was planning to escape.
A missing persons report also confirmed that Kayla was “not diagnosed with any mental illness” at the time, and that she could “take care of herself.”
Authorities briefly considered using the Baker Act, a law that would allow them to involuntarily take Kayle into custody for mental health reasons
Image credits: Facebook/Jacksonville FL Moms
According to local media, authorities have briefly discussed using the Baker Act, a Florida law formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971.
Under this statute, law enforcement, doctors, and mental health professionals can order that a person be involuntarily taken into custody for up to 72 hours to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The law is designed to intervene when someone is exhibiting signs of severe mental illness, particularly if they pose an immediate danger to themselves or others, or if they are unable to care for their own basic needs.
Image credits: Facebook/Kayla Bailey
In Kayla’s case, authorities acknowledged the act as a possible tool, but nothing has been confirmed.
Even if conflicting reports about her mental state prevented them from applying it, the fact that the Baker Act was considered at all suggests officials believed her behavior may have risen to the threshold of endangering herself.
The disappearance being voluntary makes it difficult for authorities to launch a full-scale search
Image credits: Facebook/Kayla Bailey
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed to local media that the case remains active, but emphasized that there is no set time frame for launching full-scale searches in cases where a person is believed to have left voluntarily.
Meanwhile, Kayla’s phone remains off, and her friends and family have been completely left in the dark.
“If we can find her, I think she can come back to life again,” her family said. “There’s still hope. She’s never done anything like this in her whole life.”
Kayla was last seen wearing a black romper and brown sandals. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 904-630-0500.
“It’s a cry for help,” a reader wrote about Kayla’s disappearances
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