Mother's Day for Missing Mothers 2012

You have always been where we return,

The home that is our harbor from the sea,

The place where what we are can easy be,

With nothing we need alter or unlearn.

That you would give has always been a given.

Your love for us is something simply there,

As plain and necessary as the air,

And just as unpretentious and unbidden.

And though I cannot give you now your due,

Which is beyond what these poor words can say,

I give you all I can this special day,

Which is the treasure of my love for you.

Related articles

• From Silence to Victory (murphymilanojournal.blogspot.com)

Melanie Metheny

There is a letter on the family website of Melanie Metheny that her family discovered among her belongings that they didn't even know was there. At the end of the letter Melanie writes the following:

"Being a single mom is not easy at all but watching my kids grow up and watching them learn new things is the greatest feeling that I ever had. I would not change them for the world and I don't know where I'd be right now if I didn't have them but I know my life wouldn't have as much meaning."

The rest of the letter is a mother's tribute to her children, a heartfelt look at them individually, something deep for young 21 year old mother with 3 children. The letter gives the reader a peek into the depths of love a mother has for her children.

After reading those words lovingly put down on paper by Melanie Metheny, there can be no question in the reader's mind that she did not drop them off at day care on the morning of July 19, 2006 and walk away into a new life. Something has happened to Melanie and someone knows exactly what that something is.

Melanie had too many life plans in place to just take off, 3 children, nursing school, and money saved in the bank for a new home. Not the typical things someone who is unhappy with their life would have. Melanie had a lot to look forward to in her life and in the lives of her children.

There have been extensive searches which have turned up nothing so far except her minivan found parked on "the wrong side of town", which, as usual, leaves rumors and speculations running rampant. It is reported that she was last seen by her boyfriend of 5 months, Jared Davis. The family has not given up, and will not give up, looking for her. Her children ask questions and in an earlier article in the WV Gazette, grandmother Sandra Winnings is quoted:

“What can you tell them? What can you say?” Winnings said. “They don’t understand time, thank God. The one says, ‘Mommy’s going to come and get me when she finds her keys.’”

To further put pressure on the "someone" who must know what happened to Melanie Metheny,
CUE Center from Wilmington, NC has erected a billboard with Melanie's information on it in hopes of finding a resolution to this case for her family. After erecting a billboard in Whiteville, NC, within 2 weeks there was a break in the case of Carol Dowless, someone came forward, and she was found after 3 years. We hope that the same answers can come for the Metheny family and that 3 children will have answers.

For further information, updates, or to leave an anonymous tip:

Official Family Website
Find Melanie
Charley Project
Missing Pieces
CUE Center

Investigative Agency:  Kanawha County Sheriff's Office
Phone:  (304) 357-0169
Investigative Case #:  71924
or contact CUE Center For Missing Persons
24 Hour Tip Line  (910) -232-1687
or submit a confidential tip Here

A Christmas Tree for All the Mothers Vanished

you may not be here on Christmas Day, but you are never forgotten....

a tree for each of you, wherever you are, and a prayer that you will be home to decorate it next year.

your tree may look a little bare, but it's because it, too, is missing the bright and shiny spirit you bring.

be home next year for the children who wait, the family living with pain.

your tree will be here waiting, until then, nothing is the same.

Why Do We NEED Billy's Law?

3 Simple Steps to Help Find the Missing - Billy's Law

http://peace4missing.ning.com/forum/topics/3-simple-steps-to-help-find

Shon Pernice: Right Where We Want Him

Shon Pernice is finally behind bars, charged with the murder of his wife and mother of his children, Renee Perince, whose body has yet to be found.  Renee went missing in the dead of the night a year and a half ago, leaving behind two small children which she adored.  Shon has always claimed that she just left, but, as those who look into these cases of missing mothers know, that scenario is highly unlikely.

The fact that Renee has been murdered is one that her family has come to terms with, however, there has been no resolution for them because of the fact that she has not been found.  Many cases are successfully prosecuted without a body based on the evidence surrounding the investigation.  Just as in another high profile case, the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, we can hold out hope to their families that justice will be served.

But, is that enough?  Is justice served for them if they still don't know where her body is?  No, it's not, and we can only believe that someday these murdering fathers will grow a conscience and lead the family to their missing loved one in order for them to have some finality, some peace of mind.

"I'm very happy that we've gotten to this point," Renee's mother Linda Lockwood said. "Hopefully we'll get justice for Renee because that's what we've always wanted."

Another family eagerly watching the proceedings surrounding Shon Pernice's arrest is the family of Star Boomer.  Boomer went missing after an altercation in a bar in 1999 and one of the last persons to see her there was none other than Shon Pernice.  Star Boomer was recently in the news when a barrel with a female body was found in Kansas City and hopes were up that it was Star.  It was not.

Like his counterpart, Drew Peterson, who is also in jail charged with murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, Shon will most likely not be forthcoming with information anytime soon.  As in most cases such as this, they "lawyer up" and start the long, tedious process of a trial, costing us all millions,  but worse, re-victimizing a family who must live through it in a glass bowl.  As this progresses they will be the ones in the courtroom every day listening to any and all testimony, and being forced to relive the pain.

The other side of the story, and a side that isn't addressed often, is the fact that there are children now growing up without either parent.  While I'm sure they are well taken care of by loving grandparents, they still have so much to deal with as they grow up.  To experience the questions surrounding the loss of their mothers, and now the incarceration of their fathers, is not a normal part of childhood, and not something any child should have to be put through.  There are no support groups and associations available to take care of their upcoming needs, other than years of expensive therapy, unaffordable by most.

In the days ahead, we will be watching and waiting, along with these families, for the day their nightmares end.  But, keep in mind, those nightmares will only end when their loved one is found and properly put to rest.

Mothers Gone Too Soon

In remembrance of all the Mothers written about on this site, as well as all the missing mothers who have not yet come home.  May their children know that they are loved always and forever.

Renee Pernice: A Year Missing

A whole year has passed since Renee Pernice last spoke with her family members on January 1, 2009.  So much has happened in a year, and, yet, so little to bring resolution to a family frantic for answers.

Renee's family has been awarded temporary custody of her two boys, now 8 and 10, who don't understand why mommy hasn't come home yet.  There isn't much you can explain to children that they are able to process and understand.  It's hard enough for children to lose a parent to death, but to deny the normal grieving process makes it that much harder.  It's all put on hold for this family until Renee is found.

As the family is marking this one year anniversary, they have resigned themselves to the fact that she has been murdered, and the only person of interest is her husband, Shon Pernice, the last person to see her alive.  They are offering a $25,000 reward, not for justice, but for only her remains.  They, like most families of the missing, only want their loved one back, they only want to know where she is so they can bring her to a place of peace and surround her with love.

Shon Pernice has had a year marked with trials of his own.  Arrests for stealing a gun and threatening a neighbor, spending time in jail on those charges, and he still has made no other statement about Renee other than she "walked out of the house."   He claims he knows nothing, also claims he made about the disappearance of Star Boomer years ago when he was one of the last people in her presence before she vanished.  She has never been seen again, nor have her remains been recovered.

How can a person be linked so closely to not one, but two women's vanishings?  It beats the odds, doesn't it?

Someone knows something, they always do, and until they are forthcoming with information to solve the cases of both Renee Pernice and Star Boomer, there will be families living on hold, children constantly wondering, and those who care deeply searching for answers.

Anyone with information on Renee Pernice's disappearance is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Mothers: The Hands That Rock The Cradle Rule The World

Our God is the Sovereign King of the universe, and He has blessed mothers with an awesome responsibility.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother's first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow--
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of woman!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky--

Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)
Preparing for Victory


Thanks to Anny Jacoby for finding it!

Lilly Aramburo, Still Missing

Lilly vanished, without a trace, on June 1, 2007. Life hasn't been the same. Her mother lives in constant agony, waiting for her daughter's return. Having to raise her grandson under such difficult circumstances is not an easy task. With each day, Lilly's son slowly loses precious memories of his mother. He was 9 months old, last time he saw her smiling face and was held in her warm embrace.

Commemorate and pray for Lily and her family.
Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 6pm

The march will begin in Cocowalk to
3440 PERCIVAL AVENUE, COCONUT GROVE, FL.

If you are not able to attend, please light a personal candle in honor of Lilly.

Kellisue Ackernecht, What is Happening?

Reading around the various websites and blogs for current information about Kellisue Ackernecht brought me to a wide range of sites.  The friends and family are doing all they can to create "buzz" throughout the internet to bring awareness to the fact that Kellisue is still missing.  There are astrology sites, dream sites, and a myriad of bloggers and writers who have done their best to tell Kellisue's story and keep her name in the forefront.

Kellisue's case isn't very different from several other missing mother's cases, filled with frustration and brick walls. Other similarities include investigating the husband, but in this case local Johnstown law enforcement has stated that Jayson Ackernecht is not a person of interest nor a suspect in Kellisue's disappearance.  In fact, Jayson has told reporters the same thing Drew Peterson claims, that she ran off with another man, and like Drew Peterson, it seems Jayson is taking steps to move on with his life.

Although there aren't any hard and fast rules on how long a grieving husband of a missing wife or partner must wait before pursuing other women, in the case of both of these "left behind" mates, there seems to be a quick return back into the game.  Jayson has been found on the internet looking for love, in the same way Drew Peterson was trolling the singles sites.  Normally I wouldn't give much credence or interest to rumors about this, however, Jayson hit on one of my friends!  Strange, but true!  Just a little "come on" but enough to put up huge red flags about his motives, at least for me.

Of course, comments and sites have been taken down, but what you have to remember is once it's out on the big world wide web, it's there forever, there are no do-overs or take-it-backs.  So it doesn't surprise me that there is a site devoted to calling out Jayson Ackernecht and reporting on all his internet adventures.

Before I get too far into the saga of Jayson, I'll pull back and bring the focus back to where it should be, on Kellisue Ackernecht.  Logic and critical thinking, along with hours of reading and researching, tells me there is much more for law enforcement to do before Kellisue is found.  By all the accounts I've read about this case it appears unanimous that Kellisue would never leave as her husband wants us to believe.  She was a concientious mother, a hard worker, and not someone who would abandon her daughter.

Something sinister happened the night of September 30, 2008.  Cars don't just spontaneously combust, destroying evidence, and the driver disappear into thin air.  I, along with many who care, implore the Johnstown Police Department to do everything in their power and resources to fully investigate this case.  Help to bring resolution and answers to a little girl who will spend the rest of her life searching for the truth about her mother.

Listen for up to the minute information about this case, Tuesday, May 26, at 11PM EST on BlogTalk Radio.

The Justice Interrupted Investigates Team will be discussing this case and bringing more awareness to missing mother, Kellisue Ackernecht.

Join us at Peace4 the Missing
A network for families of missing persons and victims of crime.

Alice Donovan, Monday4 the Missing

Alice Donovan, My mother who is sadly missed and deeply loved

written by: Angie Gilchrist, Alice's daughter

On November 14th 2002 my family got up that morning and did their normal routine in life..We all got ready for work and my mom Alice Donovan had the day off and was looking forward to her day of relaxation and rest before she had to start a new work week..

At noon mom decided to go to walmart to start her christmas shopping. She pulled in the Walmart parking lot at 2:39pm, parked in a parking spot but never made it into the store.She was ambushed by to young men with guns who forced her to drive away in her car with them..She spent three hours begging and pleading for her life. All her attempts to have her captives let her free failed..After raping her repeatedly and recieving a large chunk of money from her bank accounts they murdered her and left her body in a wooded area in Horry County South Carolina..

Both men were caught several days later and were put in to prision where they surely belonged. But they never told nor brought any law officials to the place where they discarded my mother..

Our family suffered the loss of my mother in different ways..It split our family apart into many different dynamics and the family fell apart. We sat through the trials of both of these men and heard the accounts of what they did to mom and the others over and over. We had to relive the nightmare over again and it seemed that no matter what we did to try to get on with our lives without her, we couldn't..She was still missing..Her body was out there somewhere. We could not except that. We were not at peace with that. For many years I often wondered if my mothers soul was at rest. Later I had to bring myself to believe that it did not matter where a person was placed in death, If they were going to spend their eternity with the higher power then their souls are at peace.
January 17th 2009 almost seven years later one of my mothers murderers decided to come forward and explain where they left my mother all these years with a map and pictures..A search was conducted and skeletal remains were found in that area he said she was..The memory gate lifted and my soul was flooded with all memories of my mother, good and bad and of the events that lead to her death..I relized on that day in January of 2009 standing on that dirt road as CSI came out of the field with brown bags which hopefully hold my mother, that I had been running and hiding from the truth..Not wanting to face the memories of my mother. The pain of losing her was so great and so painful that I thought it would be easier to forget her..And all I did was prolong the innevitable.

Now as I sit and wait for DNA to confirm that it is my mother's remains, my mind is flooded with thoughts of my mother. A woman with integrity, a woman with passion for life, a woman who saw the beauty in all things, a woman who loved like no other, a woman who I am honored to say is my mother.

Mother, Where Are You?

dedicated to all of the Mothers who are gone, may you be honored on this Mother's Day.





Mothers are the place where love
Emerges from the earth,
And happiness rings out like bells
In honor of our birth.

Mothers are the sun that lights
For life our inner sky,
So we may know that we are loved
And need not question why.

Mothers are the moon that shines
Upon our black despair,
So even when we weep, we know
That someone's always there.

Whatever fear, or stress, or pain
Might them to anger move,
We know that underneath the storm
We have, always, their love.

Mother, daughter of missing women to search the desert

May 3, 2009 - 8:30 AM

By ABBY SEWELL, staff writer

BARSTOW • The mother of one missing woman and the daughter of another will join forces this upcoming weekend to search for traces of their family members.

For the eighth time since 30-year-old mother of two April Beth Pitzer went missing in June of 2004, her mother, Gloria Denton, will travel to the Barstow area from Arkansas to join searchers May 9 and 10 in looking for her daughter’s body or any evidence that might explain what happened to her.

Stephanie Thompson, whose mother, Catherine “Cathy” Lique, disappeared from Barstow in November 2003 at age 44, joined in the search for Pitzer last year, hoping at the same time to find some trace of her mother. This year is the first time that the search will officially be for both women.

Thompson said Friday she and Denton found out just recently that Lique and Pitzer had met before, at the home of a woman in Yermo with whom Lique was staying for a while, and who also knew Pitzer’s boyfriend at the time.

Denton said Pitzer went to Newberry Springs in 2003 on what was intended to be a short trip after her marriage fell apart. Instead, she ended up stranded there, homeless and associated with unsavory people, Denton said. However, before Pitzer disappeared, Denton said she was planning to come home to start fresh with her estranged husband and two daughters, then three and five years old.

Lique was a truck stop prostitute who drifted around Barstow, Thompson said. Although Thompson had moved to Oregon with her father after her parents divorced, she tried to keep track of her mother. When her brother told her that no one had heard from Lique in a while, and then no one reported seeing her for another week, Thompson filed a missing person’s report.

Lique’s boyfriend at the time said she had left one morning with nothing but a red San Francisco 49ers jacket and never showed back up, Thompson said. Authorities may have initially assumed that Lique had just skipped town, she said.

“My mom wasn’t some pretty young girl who just crazily went missing,” she said.

Search for April Pitzer and Catherine “Cathy” Lique:
When: Saturday May 9, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday May 10, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Meet both days at The Barn in Newberry Springs, 44560 National Trails Highway. Search will cover area around Interstate 15 and around a mine in Ludlow where some of Pitzer’s clothes were found in December 2005.
Bring: snacks/lunch, water (organizers will provide water as well), large stick in case of encountering snakes
Off-road vehicles are also needed for the search
Burgers and hot dogs to be provided after the search Saturday
For more information, call 479-774-2410.

Still, Thompson said her mother would have eventually contacted the family if she had been able to, especially when Lique’s own mother died.

Thompson got in touch with Denton about a year and a half ago, after hearing a rumor that Lique had been killed and her body dumped in Newberry Springs, which led her to wonder if the case was connected to Pitzer’s disappearance. The two women have stayed in contact ever since.

“I get very discouraged a lot, and having Gloria on my side, she has definitely been a godsend,” Thompson said.

Barstow police never named a suspect in Lique’s disappearance. Pitzer’s case has also stalled, Det. Steve Pennington with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department homicide unit said. Some of Pitzer’s clothing was found in a mine shaft in Ludlow in December 2005. A message on the
wall of a truck stop in Oregon discovered in September 2004 read, “Want to find missing girl from Arkansas? I-15 3 miles east of Barstow.”

However, the leads came to dead ends.

“There’s people out there that have information, but they’re just not coming forward,” Pennington said.
To report information relating to Pitzer’s disappearance, call the Barstow sheriff’s station at 760-256-4123. To report information on the Lique case, call the Barstow Police Department at 760-256-2211. To remain anonymous, call WE-TIP at 1-800-78-CRIME.

Ida Dean Richardson Anderson, Missing For 51 Years

In 1995 three siblings were reunited in what I can only imagine was a bittersweet reunion. In 1958 their mother, Ida Dean Richardson Anderson vanished without a trace and her son and two daughters were forced to begin a chapter of their lives without her.

A young, 18 year old Ida became pregnant in 1955 and, as was the custom then, married the father, Kenneth Anderson, also known as Jerry. They began their marriage in Florida where Ida was living with her parents. Jerry Anderson was a musician and I surmise he and Ida and their young child traveled the circuit, finally settling down in Detroit, Michigan, and adding two more children to the family.

It's stated that their marriage was troubled, emotionally and financially, and Ida wrote about it to her family members still living in Florida. She left Kenneth Anderson, took her children, however, shortly afterwards was hospitalized with rheumatic fever and ulcers in February of 1958.

At that time, her husband was not able to care for the three young children and placed them in a "boarding home." It's not reported if the boarding home was an orphanage for children or just a private home which took in indigent children. As a recourse to this action the State of Michigan gained custody of the three children.

After Ida was released from the hospital, she and Kenneth Anderson attempted to regain custody of their children for the next six months. Ida was scheduled to receive custody in September, 1958. A plane ticket to Florida had been purchased for her and the children, however, on the 18th of September she vanished and has never been heard from again, the plane tickets never used.

Ida's son and older daughter were adopted by the same family and raised near Fraser, Michigan, while her younger daughter was adopted by another family and raised in the Upper Peninsula area of Michigan. After they were reunited they started to search for the mother who disappeared from their lives without a trace.

The 51 year old cold case has never been solved, there is no unidentified deceased person matching her description and searches through hospital records in Michigan and surrounding states show no one by the name of Ida Dean Richardson Anderson as being a patient.

Recently, Track Missing, a missing persons organization based in Michigan has tried to help the family with their search. It's Founder, Chad Scott, says that there is no missing persons report among the records filed in Michigan, although her family states that one was filed at the time of her disappearance.

51 years is a long time to wait, wonder and search. United in their efforts, the family, Track Missing, Peace4 the Missing Members, Porchlight International, Doe Network, Charley Project and a host of others with a passion for helping families of missing persons will do everything possible to help these children find their mother.

Ida is now 72 years old and has spent a lifetime without her children.

Allison Jackson Foy Case Featured On Dateline Friday, April 10

THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 10: HELP DATELINE SOLVE AN UNFOLDING INVESTIGATION!

Please tune in and watch!

From the Allison Jackson Foy family website:

As one chapter closes another is opened. This new chapter is about seeking and finding justice for our loved one Allison and for Angela Rothen who was found with her. It is my families hope that all of you who have stood by us and walked with us on the journey that brought Allison home after two years will now be with us as we seek justice for her and finally bring closure to this case.

There is someone out there somewhere who knows who and how Allison left Junction Pub and Billiards that night and eventually we will have all of the answers we so desperately seek. No one deserves to die in the horrific way that Allison and Angela did, and we must prevent this from happening again to others. If you have any information at all, no matter how insignificant it may seem please contact our family through this site or call the Wilmington PD.

The blog and guestbook are still up and running and we encourage you all to continue to share with us. When you log onto helpfindallison.com you will be brought to the justice for Allison site, however there is a link back to the original website which will stay up in memoriam and as a tribute to Allison. This site will bring you any new news about Allison's case and keep you updated with any and all media concerning Allison's case.

Please continue to remember all of the missing and their families, as I know my family and I will. There are still so many people out there looking for their missing loved ones and they need our help and support.

It is still so hard to believe that Allison was missing and now she is a victim of homicide. My family and I will stand strong and continue to fight the good fight always persevering and never giving up. We will not stop until justice is served! Allison will never be forgotten and continues to live on in all who loved her, but most especially her two daughters.

Once again, thank you to all for the incredible support and love you have shown my family and Allison over the past two years, we could not have gotten through this without you. May God bless you all and be with us as we get justice for Allison!

Angela Rothen's remains were also found with Allison's although it has been determined they died a year apart.

Please help solve this crime and bring justice to honor these two mothers.

April Beth Pitzer

I have a best friend who lives in the Mojave Desert near Death Valley. We grew up together and I remember her tales of the fun she and her high school friends had roaming the old gold mine trails, the mountains and the vast expanse of nothing. It takes a tough soul to live there and she is definitely a tough soul. The days of gold mining and borax are long gone, but the area dotted with little towns is still home to families with a strong tie to the harshness and the beauty of the Mojave.

The Mojave is a place that hides many things, remember Charlie Manson and his "family" hid out there for quite some time. It also hides the answers for two little girls and their grandmother who have been searching in mine shafts, behind rocks and under bushes since June 28, 2004.

April Pitzer was preparing to go home again. After a separation from her husband and her family which brought her to the tiny town of Newberry Springs, California, she realized that it wasn't the place she needed to be and arranged to go back to Arkansas to be with her mother. Gloria Denton was anticipating April's return, knowing that the life she was eking out in Newberry Springs was not the life that she was hoping she would find.

The day before April was planning to leave California she talked to her mother several times. Gloria was moving from Texas to Arkansas and taking the last load that day. Not able to be near phones, she tried to reach April for a couple days, calling people April had known in Newberry Springs. When she received a phone call from a man that April knew, asking how she liked having April back with her, Gloria knew something wasn't right. She immediately notified authorities and registered a missing persons report.

Being so far away and only able to make phone calls, she started where most families of a missing person start, calling hospitals and morgues. It was one of these phone calls that brought her to David Van Norman, the coroner for San Bernadino County, and known to many families of the missing as being an angel sent from God. With his help and a detective they were able to determine that there was a possibility that April could have been murdered and dumped into one of the thousands of abandoned mines in the Mojave.

The detective took a team and cadaver dogs to a particular mine that rumors around town said the man who April knew had connections with. During that search, the dogs from a couple search teams all laid down close to the air shaft of a certain mine, indicating the presence of human remains. However, several days later they returned to the same mine and none of the dogs hit again, indicating the possibility that the remains were moved.

Not able to idly sit by any longer, Gloria Denton took off to California to find her daughter, April. While searching in another mine site they found the clothes that Gloria had recently sent to April strewn about, buried, and some burned. It was a poor attempt to cover up evidence. They also found in a desert shack more clothes, duct tape, gauze and iodine, possibly an attempt to "patch" April up. There has been blood found on a sheet and mattress.

The man that April knew, and could be a part of the mystery surrounding her vanishing, has since died. There is another man who some think holds the answers and he is currently in prison on other charges. Authorities say that without a body they really don't have enough circumstantial evidence to file charges against him. So the question of April's whereabouts has yet to be answered.

No mother should have to search for her child like this and no mother should ever have to find evidence of the possibility of her child's demise. April Pitzer has not been found and brought home to her mother and her two little girls. There will be more searches, and until the day that April is found, Gloria Denton will not give up searching for her.



April was last seen in the vicinity of the 30000 block of Caspian Way in Newberry Springs, CA. She indicated she was going to travel to Arkansas to see her mother but never arrived. As of November of 2006, April's case was updated from a missing case to a missing/homicide case.

If you have information regarding the case of April Beth Pitzer, please contact:
San Bernardino Sheriff's Department at 1-760-256-4838 or the Free "No Cops" Tip Line at 1-866-479-LBTH

Please join us at Peace4 the Missing
Network and support for families of the missing and victims of crime.

Nadia Kira Kersh

She was born in an orphanage in Russia, a twin of a sister named Vira. Nadia Kira Kersh was adopted by a military family when she was 10, by Kevin and Nancy Kersh, and was separated from her twin who was adopted by another family. The Kersh's lived in many parts of the world, stationed with the military at one time in Alabama.

Nadia was reunited with her twin sister several years ago and moved to the Birmingham area to be near her sister. She had several friends in the area who all describe her as an outgoing, independent, generous person who was very trusting, a free spirit who would give you the shirt off her back if needed.

November 3, 2008 was a typical day for hardworking Nadia. She went to work at the Tria Market, leaving her young son, Christopher, at daycare. Nadia was an extremely devoted mother, content in her role, and stable in her job. She had been working at the Tria Market for two years. She left for lunch that day, but never returned. When she didn't pick her son up at daycare that evening he was turned over to Social Services. Her friends and family were alerted and a search of the area began. A close friend was able to obtain emergency custody of the child.

Two days later Nadia's abandoned car was found in West Birmingham, no evidence of foul play was immediately found, but authorities were concerned for her well being. It only took a few days when police found someone they questioned as a person of interest in her vanishing, and then a second man was detained for questioning and then a third. Evidence was collected and processed by several agencies.

Nadia's family gathered in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham where Nadia lived and rallied the press and organized searches. Texas Equusearch's Tim Miller and Beth Holloway Twitty, Natalie Holloway's mother, lent there expertise and support for several searches of the area. No sign of Nadia has surfaced, no activity on her bank accounts and credit cards, no word from her at all. Rewards are set up, searches continue and the media has kept her case in the public eye. Law enforcement agencies have worked tirelessly to solve this mystery.

Just days ago it was announced by Homewood police that they are close to charging the primary suspect of murder, someone who had harassed Nadia in the past. Along with him, authorities have not ruled out additional charges on others. They feel forensic evidence being processed will seal the case and will only strengthen the charges when the results come in.

As of this writing, Nadia Kira Kersh has not been found. Her son, Christopher, has been motherless for over five months. Just a toddler, he surely misses the hugs and wet kisses of his mother, the lullabyes she most likely sang to put him to sleep. Like his mother and her twin sister, he is orphaned at a young age. May he experience all the love and kindness that life can give him as he grows up and may Nadia be found soon and justice served in her honor.

UPDATE MAY 4, 2010

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Arrest-in-Nadia-Kersh-Case/HhQuouqP2UGhSztH9yvH6w.cspx?rss=1659

Police have made an arrest in the case of missing mother Nadia Kersh. An acquaintance of her's was arrested named Joacquas Haywood. Mr. Haywood turned himself in around 9pm last night. According to Jefferson County DA Brandon Falls, Haywood is charged with Capital Murder and that the murder occurred during a burglary. Haywood, from Irondale,  is currently in the Jefferson County Jail. No body has been recovered.

Nadia Kersh was last seen on November 3rd, 2008.  Surveillance video showed her leaving Tria Market, where she worked. 

Sandra Travis

Hitting a brick wall is what it feels like to the children of Sandra Travis and many others who have a missing loved one. You hit that brick wall so many times it's a wonder it doesn't leave bruises. All of the bruises are hidden within a broken heart unlike some of Sandra's bruises which were visible on her tiny body.

Sandra Travis was living in a violent marriage when she disappeared July 31, 2005 from Mayfield, Kentucky, a rural area near the borders of Illinois and Tennessee. Sandra took a lot of punches over the years from her husband, Bobby Travis, probably another man who treated his wife as a piece of property, there to do his bidding, no caring for the way she felt.

Many women in rural areas believe they are supposed to live this way. This is the unbroken circle going back generations in some families and carrying forward to the children of today. In some families hunting dogs are given better care by their master than the wife and mother living in the home. I'll speculate Sandra's life was just as many others, doing everything in their power to please the one who thinks nothing of using them as a punching bag when the notion hits. Living in daily fear that this day will be just like the last one, Sandra most likely was beaten to death that last day of July.

According to information found online, Bobby Travis had sad news for the family, he said Sandy died while on a trip to Illinois visiting other family members. When that story was easily proved false, he had another ready. The "whore" left with a truck driver and was never heard from again! As he continues to abuse Sandra by lying about her, she has never been found, the abuser is still victimizing.

It's reported that Graves County has a new Sheriff that is willing to take a second look at Sandra's disappearance, a new set of eyes on the evidence. Bobby Travis has been a "person of interest" for quite some time, but there doesn't seem to be much movement towards justice for Sandra Kay Travis. Her daughter, Dawn Vowell, is certain there is someone else who knows what happened to her mother, but lips are sealed and Bobby Travis isn't cooperating, either. All it would take is a search warrant to search the property near where Sandra was last seen, but that has not been forthcoming.

In the meantime, Sandra Travis is just another missing mother, forgotten by many, but not forgotten by her family who loved her dearly. Every day they face that brick wall, the same brick wall many family members across our country hit when there seems to be nowhere else to turn, no one else to listen, and nothing active happening in their case.

Justice Interrupted will be presenting Sandra's case and Dawn Vowell, her daughter will be a guest on Justice Interrupted Radio tonight, Tuesday, March 24th starting at 11PM Eastern time. Investigator Vito Colucci will join the panel to discuss this case.


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Kellisue Ackernecht

Whenever someone goes missing, and especially adults, rumors fly and facts tend to get distorted.  The case of missing mother Kellisue Ackernecht is no exception.  Finger pointing and innuendo have been continuous since the night Kellisue's car was found burning just three blocks from her home in Johnstown, New York on the night of September 30, 2008.

Her car was engulfed in flames, but there was no sign of  Kellisue anywhere, the car was completely destroyed and no evidence found at the scene that could answer the question of what happened to Kellisue that night.  She was last seen leaving her job around 9:45 PM, however, the street that her burning car was found on was not the usual route she would be taking home.  Her husband, Jayson Ackernecht, reported her missing to authorities in  the early hours of October 1, reportedly around the time that her car was discovered by police.

Kelliesue lost her parents at a young age, but has several concerned siblings.  They say that her relationship with Jayson was troubled but that Kellisue would not leave her husband without making arrangements for her young daughter.  Family members say that Kellisue and her daughter had a very tight bond between them, she was an excellent mother who cared well for her little girl.

Speculations in the media and the internet are running the gamut from some believing that her husband, Jayson, knows more than what he is telling, to the statement that she is alive and just took off with someone else.  No one knows, or is saying, who that someone else may be.   But the fact remains that it's unlikely that Kellisue would leave without her daughter.


Whatever resolution is found surrounding the evidence in this case, there is a little girl who cries for her mother, a little girl wondering why she was left behind, and a little girl who most likely will grow up without her.  Kellisue Achernecht literally vanished into thin air that night and it's important to this little girl that she knows her mother loved her.



Name:  Kellisue Ackernecht
Date of Birth:  12/16/1972
Date Missing:  09/30/2008
Age at time of disappearance:  35
City Missing From:  Johnstown
State Missing From:  New York
Gender:  Female
Race:  White
Height:  5′10″
Weight:  135lbs
Hair Color:  Auburn
Eye Color:  Brown
Identifying Characteristics:  Wears glasses and a wedding band on her left hand, was last seen wearing tan pants, new white sneakers, and a Rite-Aid apron. She has a patch on her right cheek
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Circumstances of Disappearance:  Kellisue was last seen September 30th leaving her job as a shift supervisor at an Amsterdam Rite Aid around 9:45 p.m. She was driving a 10-year-old Saturn sedan. Three hours later, police found the car engulfed in flames a few blocks from her Johnstown home, with no sign of Kellisue. The car was parked in an area neighbors call Frog Hollow, near the Rail Trail. Police said this street wasn’t the usual way Kellisue drove home. The car was completely destroyed by the fire
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Medical Conditions:  According to her husband, she takes medication for depression, but stopped taking it because  she disappeared.

Investigative Agency:  Johnstown Police Department
Agency Phone:   518 - 736-4021