A mystery man may hold key to solving disappearance of Pierce County woman

TACOMA -- The family of a Pierce County woman who went missing a year ago -- in April 2014 -- is hoping the public can help find the answers they need.

Detectives say 54-year-old Joyce Dyer vanished from her rooming house on 40th Avenue East near Frederickson under suspicious circumstances.

"She was the type of person to call you nonstop and leave the voice mails that wouldn't end,” said her son, Jeremy Dyer.

Jeremy remembers their final conversation.

"She was like, I'm tired. I was like, OK. She said I love you and I said I love you, bye, and I was like the last person in our family to ever speak to her."

His sister, Melissa Pellissier, says their mom always stayed in touch with them.

"I was really concerned because this is not like my mom to not contact us,” she said.

Joyce had some health issues and was still recovering from surgery.

"At this point we've reached dead-ends everywhere we've tried to look and what we can do to locate her,” said detective Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

He says a roommate reports that Joyce was with a man before she disappeared.

"He calls himself David Lee. He's Asian and he may be an appliance repairman,” said Troyer.

They are hoping someone can tell them how to locate him. He's described as 50 years old, 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, with dark hair.

Melissa just wants to know what happened to her mom.

“There just hasn't been a lot of information or a lot of answers and so that's what we're searching for right now." she said.

If you have any information that can help find Joyce Dyer or "David Lee", call Crime Stoppers of Tacoma-Pierce County at 1-800-222-tips. All tips are anonymous and there is a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information that helps solve the case.