KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pure hell and heartbreak—is how Desirea Ferris’s family puts it.
The same pain is shared by the many people who came to a vigil held by Ferris’s family.
They chose the Jackson County Courthouse as the location to demand accountability from those who work inside the building.
They honored her and those who are missing, those whose killers have not been brought to justice, and those who died under suspicious circumstances.
“You can't really even comprehend it. When you start at day one of her being missing, and a week went by and then a month went by and then a year went by and here we are 500 days into this, and not one person cares to come forward. It’s miserable,” Ferris’s stepmom, Jennifer, said.
These are the names of the other people honored at the vigil:
Jamie Toliver
Marco Green
Kara Kopetsky
Jessica Runions
Derrick Harris
Theresa Christman
Jessika Peppers
Cody Turner
Tanner Ward
Crystal Ward
Amber Kemme
Jennifer Donais
Keith Wasmer
Michael Brewer
Hawk Newberry
Adrianna Sturm
Tiffany Williams
Aaron Markarian
Jarrod Blake
Justin Best
Cameron Caruthers
Cheyenne Muiller
Jonathan Porter
Hayden Harris (found)
And the many others not named
“I've gotten my answers with my daughter but there's no answers with Jennifer. Nothing. Just dropped off the earth,” said Tina Kelly, who brought her family out with signs.
Tina Kelly's daughter, Amber Kemme, died of an overdose in 2015. Kemme’s best friend Jennifer Donais has been missing since 2014.
“It seems you call the detective and they're like, ‘Oh well, we're working on it.’ And it just gets old. It gets old,” Kelly said.
Cory Mohr came in honor of his partner, Theresa Christman, whose ex-boyfriend allegedly stabbed her to death and dumped her in Sheffield Park in March.
Mohr said the suspect had been out on probation at the time and had been abusive toward Christman.
“We are blessed that we know what happened to Theresa and unfortunately some of these families here, they don't have the answers that they desperately need, and it’s tragic,” Mohr said.
Ferris's family is one of them. She's been missing since May 2017.
And her family has constantly been sending a message since.
“It says to me that the system is screwed up, because most of these people that are here tonight, had their killers been put where they belong and kept where they belong, we wouldn't have this problem. We wouldn't be here,” Jennifer Ferris said.
There is a $10,000 reward for information on where Ferris is.
The TIPS hotline offers a reward for someone who calls in a legitimate tip about any other missing case or homicide.
