Missing soldier’s mom begs: ‘Please release her’

Still no clues in search for Kelli Bordeaux, 23, who disappeared two weeks ago

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>> but let's begin this half hour with the desperate plea from the mother of a missing ft. bragg soldier. nbc's thanh truong spoke to her exclusively. good morning.

>> ann, good morning to you. volunteer search teams this weekend tried again to find a trace of 23-year-old kelli bordeaux but came up empty handed. police here are frustrated and so is kelli 's family. now for the first time we're hearing from kelli 's mom. it's been more than two weeks since army private kelli bordeaux disappeared from this bar. now kelly's mom is breaking her silence, with a painful plea.

>> kelli , baby, i'll see you soon. and i know you can get through this, and i'll see her soon, if anyone has her, please release her. her family needs her. and if someone has done something to her, god will get you.

>> reporter: johnna henson is a very private person. but with no new developments in her daughter's case, she's speaking out.

>> i'm hoping that we are going to find her soon and safe and sound, and we can all resume our lives. she's a very -- a very driven woman. she has goals in her life. i don't think someone has realized what they have taken away.

>> reporter: hoping to generate new leads police recently released this photo of kelli . wearing black shorts and a pink top, it's the last known image of kelli . she took the picture herself, just before going out to froggy bottoms bar.

>> it's a neighborhood bar. it's within walking distance of her apartment. i couldn't sit here and tell you that she was a regular there. you know, of course that term is relative. she had been in the bar before.

>> reporter: the bar may have been within walking distance , but kelli got a ride home that night from nicolas holbert, a registered sex offender who lives in a tent behind the bar. he told a local abc station he knows nothing about her disappearance.

>> i had nothing to do with it. i picked her up and took her home that night. that's it.

>> reporter: holbert has since been jailed and charged for a separate offense. failing to report his address as a sex offender . investigators haven't named a person of interest. over the weekend, volunteers on horseback and on the water conducted sweeping searches near the cape fear river . but like previous outings, no trace of kelli .

>> i really wanted to thank everyone from the city of fayetteville, to the military, all her army friends and family. everyone that's been involved in the searches.

>> reporter: her mom prays wherever kelli may be, she'll hear this message.

>> you know i miss you and love you, kelli , and i want you home. now.

>> reporter: while police say they're not conducting any active searches, they are working the leads they do have. one of the items they're trying to find is kelli 's iphone which she used to snap that photo of herself. but so far, ann, no sign of it, or kelli .

>> all right, thanh truong, thank you so much this morning for your reporting on this

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By Scott Stump

TODAY contributor

updated 4/30/2012 8:29:49 AM ET

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Just over two weeks since 23-year-old Fort Bragg soldier Kelli Bordeaux disappeared, her mother has come forward with a desperate plea for her return.

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“Baby, I’ll see you soon,’’ her mother, Johnna Henson, told NBC News in a report that aired on TODAY Monday. “I know you can get through this. If anyone has her, please release her. Her family needs her. If someone has done something to her, God will get you.’’

Bordeaux was last seen at the Froggy Bottoms bar in north Fayetteville, N.C., on the night of April 14. The bar was within walking distance of her apartment, but she got a ride home that night from Nicholas Holbert, 25, a registered sex offender who lived in a tent behind the bar and has not been seen since.

Report: Bar hand questioned over missing Fort Bragg soldier

Holbert told a local television station that he had nothing to do with Bordeaux’s disappearance and simply dropped her off. He was recently jailed on an unrelated offense of failing to report his address as a sex offender.

Bordeaux’s husband, Mike Bordeaux, told police he was in Florida visiting his parents at the time of his wife’s disappearance, which was reported on April 16 when she did not show up for duty at Fort Bragg. Mike Bordeaux told TODAY last week that the two had a happy marriage and denied any reports that they were estranged or considering a divorce.

Story: Missing soldier’s husband: ‘We were very happy’

In the Monday report, Kelli’s mother pleaded for her safe return so the missing soldier could continue to progress toward a bright future. “I’m hoping we are going to find her soon, safe and sound,’’ Henson said. “She’s a very driven woman. She has goals in her life. I don’t think someone has realized what they’ve taken away.’’

Video: Mother of missing soldier speaks out (on this page)

Investigators have not named a person of interest in Bordeaux’s disappearance after she was last seen at Froggy Bottoms.

“It’s a neighborhood bar,’’ Detective Jeff Locklear of the Fayetteville Police Department told NBC News. “It’s within walking distance of her apartment. I couldn’t tell you that she was a regular there, but the term is relative. She had been there before.’’

TODAY

Police have released this iPhone photo of Kelli Bordeaux, which she took herself shortly before she disappeared.

Over the weekend, a team of volunteers searched the nearby woods on horseback and searched the Cape Fear River but found no sign of Bordeaux. Police have released a photo of her wearing black shorts and a pink top that is the last known image of her — one she took herself shortly before she went out to Froggy Bottoms bar that night. Investigators are not conducting active searches, but they are trying to track down Bordeaux’s iPhone, which she used to take the picture of herself that night.

Video: No clues in missing soldier case (on this page)

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Henson is a private person, but she has ventured into the glare of the media spotlight in the hope that her daughter can be returned safely.

“I miss you and love you Kelli, and I want you home now,’’ she said tearfully.