Pulling into a storefront parking lot the first thing we can see is the children. Shonda Stansbury's sister, Jackie is hosting this rally stop not only for Shonda but also for Amy Bridgeman, and Jalesa Reynolds. This isn't the first time Jackie has hosted a road tour rally stop. We came through this small southern town last year and I believe they've hosted as far back as 2007. The small group there when we first arrived got larger and larger with every vehicle that pulled up, emptying out more and more people in CUE shirts. Then along came a giant Safety Pup. I heard it was a detective in the costume. He wagged his tail, hugged all the kids and took pictures with everyone. It was an interesting twist for a rally stop and very entertaining. Towards the end of the stop law enforcement came out in large numbers.
Shonda Stansbury was a 24 year old mother of 4 when she went missing in 2006, Amy Bridgeman was 42 when she disappeared in 2013 and Jalesa Reynolds was 18 when she was last seen in 2010. In a small town where everyone knows everyone the families are close and support one another. Even letting one another know about changes in their law enforcement. When we came through last year Amy had been missing about 3 months and Jackie was instrumental in helping her family navigate the world of the missing. Now another year has gone by. When will it end? How many searches need to be held? How many rally's must they host? Shonda's 4 small children are now 8 years older. Jackie has been raising them, when do they get to know what happened to their mother? When do they get justice? Amy's husband, James is still in need of answers. Whenever we return to a rally stop I am at first happy to see people I know and revisit old friends. Yet I would much prefer not to ever return with the tour because all it truly means is that the family has spent another year without answers.
Elisa
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