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Posted: Monday, 23 July 2012 7:37AM

Michael Jackson's mom Katherine missing? Jermaine says no



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jermaine Jackson, brother of late pop singer Michael Jackson, said on Sunday that his mother, Katherine, was not missing as other relatives reported to authorities this weekend, but resting with family in Arizona on "doctor's advice."

Katherine Jackson, 82, was reported missing by relatives on Saturday and her granddaughter Paris also posted on Twitter, "yes, my grandmother is missing. i haven't spoken with her in a week i want her home now."

The missing persons report was filed by Ribera Law Firm "out of concern for Mrs. Jackson's well-being and in an effort to ensure her being safely reunited with her grandchildren as soon as possible," lawyer Sandra L. Ribera said in an email to Reuters.

Ribera said "concerned family members, particularly Michael's children, have since made ongoing pleas to those believed to have knowledge of (Katherine's) location for information regarding her whereabouts. The only reports provided have been both conflicting and confusing - especially those pertaining to the status of Katherine Jackson's health."

Jermaine Jackson put out a statement on Twitter on Sunday saying Katherine was "safe and well" and with her daughter Rebbie.

"This incredulous claim was made for reasons best known to the adults who filed it. But it seems no accident that it comes after we, the sons and daughters, put in place caretaking for our own mother, taking her to Arizona in line with doctor's advice following a check-up," Jackson said.

"Furthermore, it dismays me that such an alarmist 'missing person' report has caused unnecessary anxiety among Michael's children who will understandably react to what they misunderstand, hear or are told."

Jackson also addressed the lack of communication between Katherine and her grandchildren, saying: "No-one is being 'blocked' from speaking with mother. She is merely an 82-year-old woman following doctor's orders to rest up and destress, away from phones and computers."

This is not the first time the younger Jackson children have had a public miscommunication with their elder relatives.

Last week, Paris Jackson, 14, became embroiled in a war of words with her uncle, Randy, after he and his siblings said Katherine had suffered a "mini-stroke" in an undated letter to John Branca and John McClain, the executors of their late brother's estate.

The letter, leaked online to celebrity news outlet CeleBuzz and verified by Randy on Twitter, was signed by Jackson siblings Tito, Randy, Jermaine, Janet and Rebbie, and claimed that Branca and McClain presented a fraudulent will of the late singer to the family and their actions were affecting Katherine's health.

"i am going to clarify right now that what has been said about my grandmother is a rumor and nothing has happened, she is completely fine," Paris tweeted. She later apologized to her uncle, saying she wanted people to know her grandmother did not have a stroke. All tweets relating to the incident have since been deleted.

Story Copyright 2012, Reuters
Photo Copyright 2012, Getty Images

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