Copyright fox2now
ST. LOUIS - Friends and families of those who went missing gathered at the Christian Ferguson Angel wings event held at Renee’s restaurant and bar Sunday night to share stories of those they are missing and how to help those who could go missing in the future. The event, hosted by non-profit, ‘Looking for an Angel’, which was founded by Theda Wilson, whose 9-year-old son went missing back in 2003. While he was presumed dead, his remains have yet to be found. “It's like I'm dealing with ambiguous grief, so every day I wake up, I'm wondering where my son's body is,” Wilson said. While that grief still lies, Wilson said she has moved forward to help others. “Tonight is so important because it's done in memory of my son, and there are so many. There's a plethora of missing persons throughout Missouri, and some we don't even know about because they're still waiting to be uploaded into the system,” Wilson said. Wilson said she knows she's not alone in this journey with people who have experienced the same thing right by her side. “She was visiting a family member's house, and when I woke up the next day, she was not there and we had not heard or seen her,” said Paula Hill, whose 16-year-old daughter, Shemika Cosey, went missing in 2008. Hill said she wants to help ensure a better process is in place for those who go missing. “It's very important because in 2008, I did not know where to go, to go to call, I did not know where to start,” Hill said. “How do you start looking for your loved one? Now there are resources, there are places you can go.” These women and other organizations used legislation, pushing for even more resources, with help from Senator Angela Mosley, who was in attendance at the event. “I just believe in what she's doing,” Senator Mosley said when asked about working with Wilson.“I like that she's not just worried about her own situation [she] is concerned about others as well, anyone who has a missing person can just reach out to her, she helps them find the resources they need, she contacts law enforcement for them as well.” Wilson and her organization are working with Mosely to create a task force to investigate and find the overwhelming cases of missing African American women, as well as an alert system that will notify law enforcement of those who have not secured necessary medication. One created in honor of Christian. “What it would do is if someone has not picked the medication for someone who has medication, that if they don't take it … it will put out an alert to the police and they will have to go check on that person,” Senator Mosely said. According to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), 74 African American women are currently missing in the state of Missouri, with the earliest missing since 1993. For more information and resources on missing people, visit Nonprofit Organization Ferguson | Missing Persons
