Tyler Weathersby walked away from his South Dakota home in September and hasn’t returned

Walking is good for your health — both mentally and physically. 

Tyler Weathersby knew that. “Tyler exercises every single day,” mom Janine Weathersby Harris told Dateline. “He’s very much into clean eating, intermittent fasting, things like that.”  

The 31-year-old would often go out for walks, sometimes two or three times a day. 

Which is exactly what Tyler did on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. 

But on that day, Tyler didn’t return. And he hasn’t been seen since. 

Meet Tyler Weathersby

“He was shy, but he was inquisitive,” Janine told Dateline. “Tyler was very introverted in the beginning. He became extroverted as he got older.” 

Janine says Tyler is “one of the most compassionate and loving” of her four children. “He didn’t have a problem expressing how much he loved his family. Tyler always told me, ‘Mama, I love you,’ in his text messages,” she said. “I raised four children that are like that. That’s the common thread in our family — is a whole lot of love and affection.” 

“Tyler and Greg were like two peas in a pod, they were so close,” Janine said of Tyler’s relationship with his older brother. 

“Tyler is a creator,” Gregory Weathersby told Dateline. “He was the one that — that pushed me, that– that shot all my music videos, took all of my — my pictures.” Gregory says Tyler has a knack for marketing. “He made us bigger, you know? Like, he put us on a bigger — on a bigger platform and — and really put us out in front of the people.” 

As teenagers, the two brothers got involved in dance. “We started our own performance group,” Gregory said. “We got signed to a talent agency in LA.” The brothers eventually branched out from just dancing. “Me and Tyler started doing music together,” he said. “We started a brand called Millions United, started a clothing brand. We got into music, uh, we toured about two — about two or three times.” 

But eventually, Tyler told Gregory he wanted to try something else. “He wanted to branch off and do his own thing and I respected it,” Gregory said. 

Sometime in the mid-2010s, Tyler moved to South Dakota. He started a business that Gregory says was focused on “self-love and community.” And he began spending time with a woman named MonaLisa Perez. 

Dateline spoke with MonaLisa, who describes Tyler as soft-hearted and genuine, someone who is not judgmental. “He loves to create and build and just really influence the people around him in such a positive way,” she said.

MonaLisa says she felt that support from Tyler following a tragedy that occurred with the father of her two children in 2017 that resulted in his death. She shared a message Tyler sent her back then, in which he detailed that he was praying for her, and encouraging her to “continue to experience this life, learn, and live for the growth of your soul.”

At the time, Tyler and MonaLisa were just friends. But MonaLisa says they began relying on each other to get through their rough periods. “I was helping him through his darkness,” she said. “And he was helping me. There would be days where we’re like, we just text each other like, ‘Come on, get up, you got this, keep going.’ You know? And as months passed, you know, we obviously developed even more deeper feelings.” 

Ever since, MonaLisa told Dateline, they’ve been by each other’s side. “We just have always helped each other grow and evolve into the people that we are today,” she said. They became business partners in Tyler’s company, called Wake. “We were both into fashion,” she said. “It was a streetwear clothing brand.” They would do pop-up shops and events like fashion shows, at which they would also engage in an issue they both felt strongly about: mental health. “With Wake, it’s all about knowing yourself and loving who you are,” MonaLisa explained.

She said in the past couple of years, Wake turned into a creative agency and focused on helping other brands with their marketing and PR.

In 2021, they got married, and Tyler became a father to MonaLisa’s two children. “He’s an amazing person. He is an amazing husband, father, friend, businessman,” MonaLisa said.

And in March of 2024, Tyler and Monalisa welcomed a new baby into their family.

While Tyler was excited about his work and his family, MonaLisa says he struggled with depression and his mental health from time to time. His daily walks helped him to “revamp and rejuvenate” and he would often use them to meditate and clear his mind. 

Which is what MonaLisa says she thought was happening on the morning of September 4. 

What happened to Tyler?

Janine Weathersby had planned a visit to Sioux Falls, from August 26 through September 4, to see her son and spend some time with her new granddaughter. 

“Everything about Tyler was good up until the 3rd,” Janine told Dateline. That’s when she and Tyler got into an argument. “It was out of character for him,” she said. “We’ve never had an argument; we’ve never exchanged words.”   

Janine says Tyler drove her to the airport on the evening of September 3rd, even though her flight wasn’t until the next day. She then called her son Gregory to tell him what happened. Gregory put his mother up in a hotel and then tried contacting his brother. He finally got ahold of Tyler, but Gregory said his brother didn’t sound like himself. “Tyler didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound like Tyler was Tyler and, um, how he normally talks,” Gregory said. “It was like he was speaking in circles and wouldn’t really explain what happened.” 

Dateline asked MonaLisa about Tyler’s behavior that day. “The stuff he was saying was extremely not like him,” she said. “It was really, really odd.” She confirmed that there was a disagreement that evening, that ended with Tyler taking his mother to the airport early. MonaLisa says Tyler was still upset when he got home, and they barely got any sleep that night.

MonaLisa says when she got up on the morning of September 4, Tyler had already gone out for a morning walk. She was about to leave the house to take the kids to school when he returned. “We all go out in the garage, including Ty. And we get the kids in the car. We give him a kiss. We all say, ‘Love you, bye,’” MonaLisa recalled. “And then he goes on his second walk while we’re driving out of the driveway.”

When MonaLisa returned from dropping the kids off, Tyler wasn’t back yet. Initially, she wasn’t concerned. “Sometimes he’s out meditating, and he’s gone for an hour and a half, two hours,” she said. 

Tyler did not take his phone with him, and by about 10:30 a.m., MonaLisa began to worry. “That’s when I called my mom, I called my sister. I started –. I got in the car, I searched around the neighborhood, I went to his meditation spot,” she said. “I was freaking out at this point.” MonaLisa says her mother suggested maybe Tyler was just cooling off from the night before. But, she says, she couldn’t stop worrying and called the police that afternoon to file a missing persons report. 

The next day, September 5, MonaLisa contacted Gregory Weathersby to tell him about his brother. “I immediately called my mom,” Gregory told Dateline. He also initially thought maybe Tyler had needed to blow off some steam. But that thought dissipated as the days passed with no sign of Tyler.

An Investigation Begins

Dateline spoke with Sam Clemens, public information officer at the Sioux Falls Police Department, who confirmed their office took a report of a missing person on September 4, 2024. “We were called in the afternoon, maybe around 4:30 p.m.,” he said. “He had left home that morning about 7:45.” 

Authorities do not know where Tyler headed after he left his home on September 4. “There wasn’t any indication that there’s anything wrong or any problems. He just left,” Clemens said. “He was wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts.” In addition to his phone, Tyler also did not have his wallet or keys with him. “He left all that stuff behind,” Clemens added.

Officials began to check the surrounding areas for any footage of Tyler. “We were able to find security footage, both in the neighborhood and then a nearby business that shows him walking,” Clemens said. “It’s not like he was being forced or compelled to go anywhere, he was just walking on his own.” 

“The officers checked the area. They were, you know, looking basically different places where he could go or potentially could go,” Clemens said. “Our goal is just to find him, make sure he’s OK.” 

But nearly two months later, they haven’t found Tyler — or any other clues to his whereabouts. “He was heading towards an interstate, that was the direction,” PIO Clemens said. “Obviously, we don’t know if he actually made it there or if he turned off and went a different — different route.” The last security footage they found of Tyler showed him about a mile from his neighborhood in northeast Sioux Falls. 

“After that, we haven’t had any luck finding where he went or which direction he went,” Clemens said. 

“We’ve used a drone a couple of times in some different areas,” Clemens said of the police department’s search efforts, but they don’t have a good idea of where, additionally, to search. “We just haven’t received any– anything that leads us to know that he’s in — or was in — a particular area.” Authorities have also conducted interviews with those in Tyler’s immediate circle. “We’ve talked with them extensively,” Clemens said, but none of the information provided in those interviews has led to Tyler.

Authorities do not suspect foul play in Tyler’s disappearance at this time. “There’s nothing pointing to that,” Clemens said. “We’ve asked for tips or information from the public and we’ve been able to follow up on those and essentially eliminate any of those that have come in,” he explained. “So we don’t have any reason at this point to believe there was anything criminal that happened.” 

Questions, speculations, and theories

For the past 49 days, questions, speculations, and theories have been plaguing Tyler’s family. “I don’t know if my brother is still out there, I don’t know if my brother is alive,” Gregory Weathersby said. “I just — I want to know that my brother is OK.” 

Tyler’s mom Janine says she would like answers as to what happened to her son. “I feel in my heart — because I can feel my four children,” she said. “I don’t feel my son is here.” If Tyler is out there somewhere though, Janine said she’d like to make sure he gets the help he may need. “Trauma is serious, and this has been traumatic from day one. He may need some help.” Janine told Dateline emphatically that she does not believe Tyler would harm himself. 

Tyler’s wife, MonaLisa, also does not believe Tyler would hurt himself. “I really think he’s alive and he’s just not in his right state of mind,” she said. While the past few weeks have been rough for her family, MonaLisa says she is grateful for the community of Sioux Falls. “We’ve done searches, we’ve done dogs,” she said. “The community has [come] together in Sioux Falls, like — like, so many people.” 

Gregory told Dateline that the past few weeks have been like a nightmare. “It’s affecting everything,” he said. “This is not an easy situation and then social media don’t make it better,” he said. 

While social media is often a useful tool when it comes to finding a missing person, Gregory says his family has been on the receiving end of the other side of social media. “You got people hiding behind computer screens, they think they know everything,” he said. “People are so quick to judge and point fingers.”

Gregory says when Tyler first went missing, his DMs were flooded with people asking how they could help. Then, when he set up a GoFundMe to hire a private investigator, he says some people turned around and questioned how the funds were being used. “I’m past being hurt. I’m angry,” he said. Legal Eye Investigations, LLC, told Dateline they have been retained by Tyler’s family and are “fully committed to pursuing every lead in the search for Tyler.” According to the P.I., they have distributed missing posters, conducted searches in the area, reviewed footage from the neighbors, and interviewed multiple people connected to the case.  

Gregory is hopeful all efforts to locate his brother will pay off. “I’m leaving everything to God and I’m trying to trust the detectives and the private investigators to do what they’re hired for and — and bring my brother home,” Gregory said. 

Tyler is described as having a “slim build” at about 6’ tall and 160 lbs. He has dark brown eyes and his head was shaved at the time of his disappearance. MonaLisa believes he would have his hair back and a beard, by now. Tyler has a tattoo of a crown with a halo above it on his right wrist. He would be 32 years old today.

Anyone with information on Tyler’s whereabouts should call the Sioux Falls Police Department at 605-367-7212 or the Sioux Falls Crime Stoppers line at 605-367-7007. You can also anonymously submit tips online. 

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