Mariame Toure Sylla, a Greenbelt resident and beloved teacher at Dora Kennedy French Immersion school went missing on Saturday, July 29. She was last seen by her son around 8 p.m. on Saturday when she left her home in the 6500 block of Lake Park Drive in the apartment complex across from Schrom Hills Park. Sylla, who is Muslim, usually went for a daily walk after late afternoon prayer, said her friend Dougo Nana Sidibe. During those walks she would usually call Sidibe to talk but that evening she didn’t call because Sidibe was working. Instead around 11 p.m. Sidibe got a call from Sylla’s son, who is currently living with Sylla, to tell his mother’s friend that she did not return from her walk. They then called 911 to report her missing. Sylla is 59 years old, described as a 5′5″ Black woman weighing approximately 135 pounds, and was wearing a long dress and a scarf when she went out that evening.
On Tuesday morning, Greenbelt Police closed Schrom Hills Park to conduct a search for her. They were assisted by Maryland State Police and Prince George’s County Police Department. Due to the proximity of Sylla’s home to the park and the fact that she liked to take walks there, police closed it to the public for several hours to search the area with dogs. Greenbelt Police Public Information Officer Ricardo Dennis said they were searching any areas Sylla frequented. Police didn’t find anything to help with the investigation during Tuesday’s extensive search of Schrom Hills Park.
Since Saturday, Sylla has not been heard from and hasn’t been in contact with the people or groups she usually communicates with, including family, friends, and people from her mosque. Sylla’s phone has been turned off since her disappearance. “It’s very unusual for her, she’s a very sociable person,” Dennis told the News Review. Police have Sylla’s vehicle and she does not have her IDs or other personal items one would expect someone to take with them if they planned to go somewhere. Sylla is now a critical missing person because she does not have a medication she needs with her.
Missing person flyers bearing photos and a description of Mariame Sylla (also known as Miriam Toure) are posted on community buildings and trees throughout her apartment complex. A neighbor, who had been looking out for Sylla as she walked her dog, and asked not to be named, said, “She’s a beautiful woman. It’s not like her to wander off.” “There were such bad storms Saturday night,” she added. Greenbelt and the surrounding areas experienced thunderstorms the evening of Sylla’s disappearance.
A representative at Dora Kennedy French Immersion, where Sylla teaches second grade, said staff members had gone to Schrom Hills Park on Tuesday morning to volunteer with the search but were told they could not participate due to the use of off-leash dogs.
Anyone who has contact with Sylla or information to help with the search is asked to contact Detective Davis at 240-542-2134 or call the Greenbelt Police Department at 301-474-7200.