Police expand search for missing Gary woman, nephew

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Police in Gary are expanding a search to find 21-year-old Diamond Bynum and her 2-year-old nephew, who went missing nearly two weeks ago.

"I just want them home and I want them safe. Nothing else matters," said Lashann Walker, Bynum's mother.

It's been 11 days since 2-year-old King Walker and Bynum went missing from their Gary, Ind. home. Their family is desperate, but they refuse to give up hope.

"I drove every single day through the neighborhoods, day and night, since they went missing," Walker said.

"My faith is keeping me to just keep going and to just keep believing that they are OK. I really believe they're OK," said Ariana Walker, the missing boy's mother.

Bynum and the little boy were last seen July 25. Bynum is mentally disabled and has Prader-Willi syndrome; she is unable to care for herself, let alone the boy.

Flyers with their pictures have gone up all over town and Gary police have been searching abandoned homes and using dogs, following up on multiple leads and sightings but none have panned out. Investigators say they're afraid someone may have taken them.

"The investigation is leaning that way. We're not sure at this point. We're hoping if she was taken, whoever took her will release her soon, immediately, and get her home," said Sgt. Thomas Decanter, Gary Police Department.

In order to expand their search beyond Gary, police have now partnered up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A Facebook page called "Help Bring Diamond Bynum and King Walker Home" was created by their family, hoping to reach as many people as possible.

"It's been torture. It's been tiresome, exasperating. Physical pain in my heart. We're not giving up. We're doing whatever it takes to bring my daughter and my grandson home," said Eugene Bynum, the missing woman's father.

Diamond Bynum is around 4-foot-8, weighs 240 pounds and walks with a limp, police said. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Gary police.