CLEARWATER, Fla. — Update (12:48 p.m. on 1/9/2020): The family of missing great-grandfather Lonnie Lynn says he has been found safe in Tallahassee. They say he was headed to Alabama but got stuck in Tallahassee when he went to a rehab facility because he didn't have his meds on him.
No word on why he left and didn't tell anyone.
Original Post: The family of a Clearwater toddler whose death made national headlines is now in the midst of another crisis: one of their family members is missing.
- Lonnie "Tap" Lynn, 63, missing for about a week
- Lynn is a diabetic, is without his medication
- Have information? Contact Clearwater Police Department
- More Pinellas County stories
The family of Jordan Belliveau said Wednesday that the boy's great-grandfather, Lonnie "Tap" Lynn, has been missing for almost a week.
In 2018, Belliveau was initially reported missing and later found dead. Family members described this new situation as feeling like Deja vu, with many of them unable to not think back to when Jordan was reported missing.
Lynn, 63, hasn’t been seen since January 3. His family says the blue bicycle that he often rides on the Pinellas Trail is missing, too.
“He never has just disappeared and not contacted somebody in his family. We’re very close knit,” said his niece, Shandra Jones.
Lynn's family gathered at Jones' Clearwater home Wednesday to ask for the public's help again.
“We appreciated you all when you all helped us for Jordan," said Tawana Gooden, another of Lynn's nieces. "So if you want to help us again, it’s now his grandfather, Jordan’s grandfather. We just want someone to say something."
Family members hope Lynn's upbeat, infectious personality will help people remember him and help locate him.
"He's upbeat, he's always positive, he's the life of the party," said Jones.
Compounding the situation is the fact that Lynn is diabetic and does not have the medication that he needs to survive.
While the family collectively is holding on to hope. Lynn’s brother, Freddie, fears the worst.
“I’m sorry, I’m a very strong man and I don’t believe in crying but I know it’s something wrong with my brother," he said. "I know it’s something that’s going to show up where he ain't going to be here no more."
Jones said she shares that fear.
“We’re scared," she told us. "We don’t know if he’s hurt. We don’t know if he’s laying up as a John Doe, but this is really, really strange and it’s just not like him."
The family has been handing flyers that have Lynn’s photo and when he was last seen.
His daughter, Regina Daniels, has a message for her father if he’s out there.
“I just want you to come home or make some kind of contact if you’re out there," Daniels said. "A lot of people are concerned. I’m concerned, your grandkids are concerned. Your other kids are concerned."
If you have any information on Lonnie Lynn’s whereabouts, please contact the Clearwater police department.