The final picture of Tinisha Hall’s missing kid haunts her.
In the picture, 21-year-old Kevin Collins Jr. is seen in a Salem County wooded area with his arms raised over his head. There is nothing on him.
The blurred photo, which was given to Hall by detectives from the New Jersey State Police, has a timestamp that serves as a constant reminder of the day her youngest kid disappeared. Police have not made it publicly available.
A hunter’s trail camera near the hospital captured the unsettling image just before 5 p.m. on February 27. Collins had just run from the nearby Inspira Medical Center in Mannington an hour earlier.
It is the final hint as to his location.
Air and ground searches have yielded no results.
Hall stated that she is still extremely concerned about the case’s lack of advancement four months after his abduction. She is concerned that detectives have stopped trying to find her son.
That is not a solution I can accept. “My son is still missing, and no progress has been made, and no answers have been provided,” she added.
Who gets to decide when it’s time to give up looking for someone, especially when it seemed like the effort was never really there in the first place? She went on to say.
No more searches for Collins are planned, according to a State Police spokesman, Hall said.
She just stated that all search efforts have been made and that the case will continue to be investigated under a limited continuance, during which time they will simply follow up on any leads or sightings that are reported, according to Hall. Other than that, though, they are at a loss about where to search.
Hall has been an outspoken supporter of her son, speaking with detectives, making signs for missing individuals, interacting with locals, and often updating supporters on social media.
She is currently working to keep the hunt going.
“My baby is not home, and those entrusted to help bring him back to me have decided they’ve done enough,” Hall said, “sending my family and I to a lifetime of pain.” He is my baby even though he is 21.
She has written to the state attorney general, state lawmakers, and local authorities to ask for assistance for ongoing searches and to request an inquiry into the case’s handling.
She also started a petition on Change.org calling for a new inquiry.
A State Police spokesperson responded to inquiries regarding the probe by saying it is still an open matter.
Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron stated that the investigation into the matter is still ongoing. We’ll keep looking for any fresh leads or information that comes to light.
Collins called police for help while driving in nearby Alloway on February 27 and was brought by EMS to Inspira Medical Center, according to his mother.
According to Hall, the Bridgeton man was in mental anguish when he pulled over. He was sent to the hospital after being assessed on the spot.
Since he fled a Salem County hospital in February while going through a mental health crisis, Kevin Collins Jr. has been missing.(Shown picture)
That was Collins’ second run-in with the law that day.
He was driving in Pilesgrove, close to the State Police barracks in Salem County, when the first incident occurred earlier that morning.
Police told Hall that Collins reported being harassed by someone by calling 911. According to the family, this might have been a sign of his mental illness that day.
According to Hall, troopers identified Collins as the person who had previously called 911 when they pulled him over for driving too erratically.
He was given a new court date after police found that he had an active warrant for failing to produce his vehicle registration during a prior stop.
Collins was assessed by medical responders who were called by the police and cleared to leave the station, according to Hall.
Hours later, while driving in Alloway, Collins phoned the police once more before being brought to the hospital.
According to Hall, no information has been released on Collins’ means of leaving Inspira Medical Center. According to the police, he just wore a hospital gown when he left the hospital at 4 p.m.
According to his mother, hospital staff had seized his clothes, shoes, car keys, and smartphone, which he had left behind.
Police told Hall that his hospital gown was discovered close to train tracks behind the Mannington Mills flooring company, which is a short distance from the hospital.
Hall claimed that she can’t figure out how to interpret the picture of her son in the woods after he left the hospital, which keeps her up at night.
She has no idea why he is raising his arms.
The fact that I am unable to define his posture or even the location he is in makes it a really unsettling sight that haunts me at night, she said.
“That picture is unsettling,” she continued.
Hall claimed that despite her repeated requests, she didn’t receive the picture until April 11. According to Hall, a detective informed her in March that he wished to hold off on revealing it until she was well enough to do so.
According to authorities, the photo was captured by a trail camera in a forested area close to Griscom Drive, which is adjacent to the hospital.
Hall thanked the locals for helping her in her search for her son.
Near their residences and places of business, they put up signs including his picture and details, and many of them said they would be willing to assist with the searches.
According to Hall, one man helped with the endeavor by using his drone.
She was upset by what she perceived as the police’s lack of cooperation in organizing searches.
I’ve been waiting on coordination aids like maps. I have even offered to bring in other organizations that are willing to assist, but there is no interest in that because they also require authorization from the New Jersey State Police. She added, “And I don’t understand why.”
According to Hall, she was informed by police that a bloodhound that was exploring an area approximately one mile from the hospital in April appeared to detect a smell but lost it before reaching a waterway.
Police told Hall that a homeowner of Harris Road also reported that at approximately 9 p.m. on the day following Collins’ disappearance, someone knocked on her door. present was nobody present when the resident opened the door. However, the householder claimed to have seen an unidentified shadowy figure close by, according to Hall.
All but one investigator dismissed the tip, and Hall stated that while she doesn’t have much trust in it, it’s challenging to deal with the ambiguity.
As she mulls on her son’s potential destiny, her voice falters.
“I’m trying to involve as many people as possible,” she stated. I only want to bring my son home so I can bury him in a dignified manner if he is no longer with us.
Hall has hired a lawyer to look for surveillance camera footage of her son at the hospital and police body camera evidence of State Police trooper interactions with him, in addition to mobilizing lawmakers to support her cause.
Hall has also applied for guardianship powers, which would enable her to see her son’s medical data from Inspira, given that he is now an adult. She said that hospital personnel denied her access to her son’s records, citing federal health privacy restrictions.
Citing patient confidentiality, hospital administrators have refused to comment on the matter, but they have stated that they have complied with police.
Hall claims that although she is still committed to her purpose, the stress of her son’s disappearance is wearing her down.
On some days, she replaces weathered posters that have been ruined by the weather and hangs posters till midnight.
Months of bottled-up grief spill out as she vows to continue her search.
I’m doing everything I can to wait. It s just all I can do in order to keep my baby s face out there, because he ll never be forgotten she said, fighting through tears. I don t care if I have to do this for the rest of my life.
Collins weighs 115 pounds and stands 5 feet 5 inches tall.
State Police ask anyone with information about him to contact them at 856-769-0775 or the police missing persons unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554.
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