Missing Home Depot worker not the type to ‘take off’

Co-workers at Home Depot in Gulfport want to know what happened to Kay Atkins Raines, 68, who went missing more than two weeks ago after she left work.

The Mobile Police Department is leading the investigation with help from Biloxi officers. Raines had a home in Mobile.

Sgt. Stanley Ladnier of Mobile said information indicates Raines returned to Mobile after she left work at Home Depot on the afternoon of Jan. 29, the last time anyone reports seeing her. He said he could not elaborate.

Raines was staying at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino before she went to work that day, Biloxi Lt. Christopher De Back said.

A co-worker who contacted the Sun Herald wanted to make sure police were still looking for Raines, described as a “private person” who was nonetheless friendly and cared about her job. Raines did not strike the co-worker as the type of person who would just “take off.”

Ladnier said Raines’ disappearance is classified as a “missing person” case.

“We have not stopped working this case for the last two weeks,” he said. “We are working every single day on this case. We are looking for her. We are trying very hard to find her.”

Anyone with information who could help in the investigation is asked to call Ladnier at 251-208-1759 or the Biloxi Police Department at 228-392-0641.

“There’s a lot of people worried about her,” De Back said. “She has a lot of friends out there. It sounds like she was a very nice person. She’s well-liked and very sociable.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Missing Home Depot worker not the type to ‘take off’."