DeKalb County grandmother desperate to find missing grandson with mental disorder

LITHONIA, Ga. - A DeKalb County grandmother is desperate for help finding her grandson with a mental health disorder.

Jennifer Mercer said her grandson, 24-year-old Ishmale McMellion, been missing for nearly a week and had been irritable before recent outbursts.

Mercer said she and her grandson are close. They've lived together for the past several years and she said he started studying cars when he returned from the Air Force.

"He's very laid back, smiles, very intelligent, talks a lot, very engaging," she said.

Those studies halted amid the pandemic and the grandmother said Ishmael has kept to himself for most of it.

Mercer last saw her grandson at her house in Lithonia Thursday. 

She said a combination of his strained mental health and the possibility of Ishmael living somewhere else could have made him leave their Swift Creek neighborhood.

The family said they filed a missing person's report with DeKalb County police.

"He doesn't have his phone on him, he doesn't even have his wallet on him," Mercer said.

Mercer said it's not like Ishmael to leave home without saying when he'll be back

What's worse, the family said, two different doctors recently diagnosed him with mental disorders. His mother, who lives on the west coast says the past several weeks have been hard.

"He had been acting erratic, so she had to call the crisis center and they are the ones who determined there were some mental issues going on," she said.

As time goes on without his return Ishmael's family grows more anxious.

The family said Ishmael is about 6-feet-1-inch tall with a slim build. 

If you think you've seen Ishmael, call DeKalb police.

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