Missing woman’s husband speaks

Longtime environmental and civic activist Billie Jean James has been missing since Thursday afternoon from her home in the southern end of the valley near the M Resort.

Her husband Bill James said the couple had planned to travel to Hawaii Friday to spend a week in volunteer service. His wife left her purse, keys, and car behind.

She was “probably wearing a light-colored sun dress,” her husband recalled. “She may have had some slacks on underneath it.”

Metro’s Missing Persons unit continues to work the case.

“It’s like she just walked off, poof, gone,” Bill James said. “It’s not like she was preparing to go anywhere or had any thought about it. Her driver’s license and credit cards and stuff were still in her purse. It doesn’t appear to be anything like a burglary or mugging. There is cash in her wallet.. Her purse is still there.

“I think I was awake 30 feet away. The door’s open. The door leads out to the driveway. She’s gone. You think it’s a mystery; I’m totally flummoxed.”

Billie Jean suffered a mild stroke approximately five months ago, her husband said, which gave her temporary memory loss. But her memory had quickly returned to normal, he added.

“The next morning she snapped out of it,” he said. “She was fine. This is totally out of character for her. In the 40 years we’ve been married, we always let each other know where we are and when we’ll be back."

Anyone with information about the woman's whereabouts is asked to call Metro immediately.

Billie Jean James