Daughter breaks silence 2 weeks after mother’s disappearance

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Tuesday marks two weeks since Chenell “Renee” Gilbert went missing on the city’s west side.

The last time anyone heard from Gilbert was at 6:18 a.m. June 9.

For the first time since her mom’s disappearance, Cierra McCaleb broke her silence in an interview with News 8.

McCaleb said on the day her mother went missing she was away at Indiana State University, where she goes to college. She got a call from her 19-year-old sister, who was concerned after not hearing from their mother for several hours.

The girls tracked Gilbert’s cellphone location, which showed her to be at an address in the Sungate neighborhood just off Girls School Road. Cierra immediately recognized the address, and said it was her mother’s ex-boyfriend’s home.

Cierra’s younger sister decided to drive to the location her phone showed, and Cierra remained on FaceTime the entire time.

“She was just like asking if she could go in the house, and he wouldn’t let her,” McCaleb said.

At that point, Cierra said, her sister hung up and called police.

“As soon as she seen, ‘OK, her car is here,’ he won’t let her in. We can’t find our mom so she was going to file a missing person report at that point.”

IMPD’s report from that day confirms Gilbert’s car was parked at the house. Police have said little about the case, only that it is an ongoing investigation.

In the meantime, the girls were connected with a stranger who wanted to help. Cierra said Danyette Smith has become part of her family.

Smith has helped raise thousands of dollars of the past two weeks to help Gilbert’s daughters pay rent and other bills.

If you want to help her support the girls, you can connect with her on Facebook.