KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Five years, 1,825 days since Desirea Ferris disappeared.
"Torture. I mean, there's really no other word for it than torture," Jennifer Ferris, Desirea's stepmother, told KSHB 41 News.
Desirea was 18 years old when she was last seen May 2, 2017. Her disappearance turned her whole family's world upside down.
"We've prepared ourselves to find her dumped in the woods," Ferris said. "We've prepared ourselves that she may not be alive, but when the remains come, I mean, how do you prepare for that?"
Every time news comes out that someone has found human remains, the family's stomachs turn as they face the reality that it could be Desirea.
"Oh my gosh, this could be the end of this horrible journey, and we can finally lay her to rest and she can come home. And then it's not her, so then you're back at square one," Ferris said.
Desirea is from Liberty but was in Kansas City's Marlborough neighborhood the night she went missing. The Liberty Police Department says people who may have information, some of whom are in prison for federal crimes, about what happened to Desirea refuse to cooperate with detectives.
While this is still a missing persons case, Liberty police say it could someday turn into a homicide investigation.
"Desirea's family deserves the peace that may come someday from knowing what has happened to her," Liberty police spokesperson Capt. Andy Hedrick said in a statement.
A little over 1,200 adults and children are currently missing in Missouri. These numbers go back to 1953 when the state started reporting missing persons statistics.
Kansas has about 550 current, active missing persons cases.
"You need to always look at it in the worst-case scenario and investigate in the worst-case scenario and get them found," said Maureen Reintjes, executive director of communications for Missouri Missing.
Reintjes says the attitude around missing adults is getting better, especially from a law enforcement standpoint. All too often, families would be told their loved ones had every right to up and disappear and that maybe they just needed a break. No one would file the report.
"And then they're still missing five years later," Reintjes said.
There are several websites to look at missing persons including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, FBI, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).
Reintjes is a trained victim advocate volunteer for NamUs. The group pushed to pass Billy's Law, which would organize all missing persons and unidentified persons cases into one database, but it didn't pass at the federal level.
She advocates for better organization of missing persons cases and more resources for families.
"If you don't have the right teams, the right resources immediately going in, it can be decades before these people are found," Reintjes said.
But Desirea's family has hit the streets, spent hours combing through fields and woods, and even put up billboards. They set up a Facebook page that has more than 21,000 followers.
"It would be great to hear it straight from the monkey's mouth, that's for sure," said Beckie Robinson, a friend of Ferris.
Robinson is one of the page administrators. She sifts through all join requests, messages and tips, staying positive that one day information will lead them to Desirea.
"There are so many people, so many hands that were tied in this and so many people involved, and they've carried around this burden for five years. It's been five years, and we just want them to come forward," Robinson said.
With news that human remains were found in Ray County at the end of April, along with a few other reports, Ferris says they're getting an uptick in people requesting to join Desirea's page. And they want to speak up.
"Everyone wants to tell you what they think happened to her or what they heard happened to her," Ferris said.
Ferris says people who know where she is can't keep their mouths shut forever.
While they never thought it would be this long, Desirea's family is committed to bringing her home.
"'Cause we'll go get her, no questions asked," Ferris said. "We'll go get her."
The Liberty Police Department says other law enforcement agencies have helped with Desirea's case, and the department has received many tips and leads. However, nothing thus far has helped advance the case.
Liberty police encourage anyone with the right information to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is a $12,500 reward.
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