Mom Was Supposedly on the Way to Visit Daughter. Then She Got on Train and Disappeared: 'It's Scary' (Exclusive)

Angela Anderson, 54, of Palmyra, N.J., was last seen in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26, according to authorities

• Angela Anderson, 54, entered a SEPTA train at the Trenton Transit Center in Trenton, N.J., on Monday, Nov. 4, according to authorities
• Daughter Deirdre Rice tells PEOPLE that her mother, who had recently returned home following five weeks at a hospital, told her caseworker that she wanted to go to the station so she could visit her daughter in Pennsylvania — but Rice urged them not to take her
• “It's a very hard time,” she tells PEOPLE, adding, “I am not sure if my mom is alive"

The daughter of a missing New Jersey woman, who disappeared after boarding a train three weeks ago, says she is upset and scared for her mother's life.

“It's a very hard time,” Deirdre Rice, 32, of Bensalem, Penn., tells PEOPLE about the disappearance of mom Angela Anderson. “I am not sure if my mom is alive.” 

Anderson, 54, had been missing since Monday, Nov. 4, after she got on a SEPTA train at the Trenton Transit Center in Trenton, authorities said.

In an updated news release on Wednesday, Nov. 27, the Palmyra Police Department said that Anderson was last seen near the Washington Post building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

Police described Anderson as having auburn hair, being 5 foot, 6 inches tall and weighing 150 lbs.

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Rice tells PEOPLE that Anderson is bipolar and struggles with paranoia and delusions, adding that her mother often contacted police, claiming she was being followed. According to Rice, her mother had recently been hospitalized due to her dire mental health condition and repeated visits to the police station.

After being involuntarily committed by authorities, Anderson spent July 14 to Aug. 29 at Virtua Willingboro Hospital, according to Rice, who says she was told the average amount of time for a stay is between 10 and 14 days.

Afterward, Anderson, who has an apartment in Palmyra, was released with court-ordered resources and provided a case worker from Legacy Treatment Services, Rice says.

“When they were letting her out, the doctors were telling me she was doing slightly better on her medicine," explains Rice, who had wanted to get her mother into a halfway house. "They thought, ‘Let's give it a shot that she can live on her own.’ ”

On Nov. 4, around 9:30 a.m. local time, Rice — who says she kept trying to get her mother into a halfway house — received a phone call from her mother's caseworker, who said that Anderson had her suitcase packed and wanted to visit Rice’s home in Pennsylvania. 

According to Rice, she told the caseworker to not let her mother leave the apartment.

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About three hours later, Rice got another phone call from the caseworker who said she received approval from her supervisor, and that they had already taken Anderson to the station.

Rice says she told them her mom didn't have any money or a valid ID. In response, she says the caseworker claimed they had asked her mother a number of questions, including if she had any money, but that Anderson had told them to "mind their own business."

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Rice says that the caseworker’s supervisor contacted her the next day and said they approved her to leave because they didn't consider Anderson to be a danger to herself or others.

"And I said, ‘Well, don't you worry, my mom's safety is on your hands.’ And that was the end of our conversation," Rice tells PEOPLE.

A representative for the Palmyra Police told PEOPLE on Nov. 27 that the investigation is ongoing and that the department could not disclose any further details at this time.

PEOPLE has contacted Legacy Treatment Services multiple times for comment but did not receive a response.

When Anderson didn’t show up at Rice’s place, Rice filed a missing persons report on Nov. 5.  A week later, Rice says that police entered her mother’s apartment.

“My mom's bed was standing up against the wall,” Rice says of what was inside. “Her bedroom door was off the hinges. There were expired foods all in the fridge. And then they found her cellphone. It was wrapped in tin foil inside of a baggie in her apartment.” Rice claims that the caseworker offered no comment about the state of Anderson's apartment.

From what Rice learned, her mother was seen on camera getting on a SEPTA train and traveling through Philadelphia before switching to an Amtrak train. Then, according to Rice, Anderson purchased a ticket for Washington, D.C., but got off in Wilmington, Delaware.

"We have no family or friends in D.C.," Rice shares. "We have no family or friends in Delaware.”

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In addition to daughter Rice, Anderson has three other children – all sons – and is a grandmother. “She's a very happy and funny person,” Rice says. “She loves her faith.”

Rice says that her mother's mental health problems began after she separated from her husband. “The last five years it has been like this spiral downward,” Rice explains. “This is not the mother I grew up with. The mom I grew up with made dinner every night, took us to practice, was very involved in our lives and it hit everybody like a storm. It's shocking. It's come out of nowhere, but it's hard and it's scary."

Since Anderson’s disappearance, her family has been active in their search from posting flyers to contacting media outlets to spread the word.

As for what she would want to tell her mother, Rice simply says: “Mom, I love you. I miss you. Call me. Call me now.”