RAYTOWN, Mo. — As families get ready to gather around the dinner table for the holidays, one Kansas City mother is reminded of the vacancy that now fills her home.
It's been eight years since 21-year-old Brandon Herring went missing and was found dead two months later at a nearby park.
"I fight every day for my son's accountability and responsibility," Rhonda Herring said. "How am I? I'm living through this journey in the best manner I can. That's how I am."
It was Thanksgiving of 2016 that her life was altered by the absence of her youngest born.
"I shed tears daily, and I believe that's my strength, and it releases tension as well," Herring said.
Brandon Herring was last seen at what used to be known as Park Meadows Apartment.
After weeks of searching, his remains were found in January at Swope Park, just two miles down.
Herring is just one of hundreds of unsolved homicide cases in Kansas City.
"I just want answers," Rhonda Herring said. "I want accountability and justice. That is what I want; that's what we all want. Any family with an unsolved murder wants accountability and justice, and I don't think that's asking a lot for your loved ones life."
Rhonda Herring now fills her time helping out the community, while spending time with her grandson King Joseph, Brandon's only son.
“I know he's watching over me as well," she said. "That's what gives me the strength and want to continue on."
In remembrance of Brandon "Mac Bear" Herring, his family is holding their annual balloon release. It will be held 8809 East 85th Terrace Kansas City, Missouri, starting at noon Friday.
"We have to work together, stick together, respect each other," she said. "It's easy to say, 'What it's hard to do to take that pain and turn it into power,'" Herring said.
According to the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, Herring's case remains open. If you have any information, you can contact KCPD at 816-474-TIPS.
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KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
