9/12/05 Ten Seconds for Mom

Ten seconds for their mother is all they are asking. In a world where the media dotes on the young and beautiful, cases of older missing adults often remain forgotten, except by those who love them. Melody and Kim haven't forgotten their missing mother, Cynthia Day.

Melody states: "The media continues to go on and on about the same thing regarding the same missing person instead of sharing the media time with other missing persons. We’re not asking for days on end, we are just asking for a 30 second spot. We’ll even accept 10 seconds. I’m always saying that they could be devoting some of this media time to other missing people. We love our missing loved one just as much as the ones who are capturing all of the media attention.

It’s all about the “story”. Whatever gets the most ratings. I think the media ought to try to air another story that they think is not worthy just to see all of the attention it gets. I’m sure if they aired some of our stories, it would create media hype as well. They won’t even consider our stories. I think my mother’s story would prompt the media to pay attention if they went into detail about how her case has never even been given a chance to be investigated."

10 seconds doesn't seem like much to ask, but it must be to area media, as none of them have agreed to air Cynthia's story. It's not for lack of trying in this case.

"Peaches" is her nickname. She disappeared 15 years ago leaving behind two teenage daughters and one grandchild. She now has 5 other grandchildren she has never seen.

In 1990, when Cynthia disappeared, there were not the resources for the families of missing adults that exist today. The National Center for Missing Adults did not exist, nor did several other agencies who assist with adult cases. Many family members of longer term missing adults cases tell me they thought there was nothing they could do but wait, or hire a PI if they could afford it.

Melody and Kim were teenagers. How could they be expected to deal with the trauma of losing their mother and taking action when many adults did not know what action to take themselves? For years, Cynthia's case sat on the back burner until one day Melody stumbled across information on the Internet: there were now resources for families of missing adults!

Melody and Kim began to utilize these resources in an effort to locate their mother. When they started to do this, they were rather shocked to find that a missing person's case had never been opened for their mother. All of those years had gone by with nothing being done for their mother. Only in the past two years has Cynthia's case been worked upon, but there are still holes in the investigation.

The person whom they family suspects of possibly harming their mother fled with all of her possesions and has not been thoroughly questioned to this day. Melody and Kim stay in contact with their local law enforcement and push to gain enough information to either arrest or eliminate their suspect.

The girls not only lost their mother, but also anything that they would have liked to have to remember her. They only have one last letter she wrote. Cynthia ended her letter with "I love you both. Kiss Poopy (the grandchild) for me!! Grannie"

What if a letter was all you had left to remember your mother with?

That letter, however, may be more than just a sentimental keepsake. The envelope that housed that letter is now being checked to see if Cynthia's DNA can be extracted from it. If successful, it can be used to see if there are any matches for her among the thousands of deceased Jane Does.

If Melody and Kim should find that answer, their search would be over. If not, they don't plan on giving up. " Mom, take pride in knowing that your family is out there looking for you and will never ever give up. We miss you so much and could never express in words our true feelings. Your grandbabies are growing up to be very respectable young men and women and all of them misses you as if they all met their granny before. We talk about you everyday and will continue our efforts in finding you one way or the other, " Melody said. She envisions that she could reach out and say those words to her mother.

Melody shares memories of the past: "Mom, I often have many great memories of you. My favorite being the times on the river in the country. Kim and I often reminiscence about the times you would pack up a little picnic lunch basket for us and we along with the puppy dogs would just jog down the gravel dirt road laughing and sniggling without a care in the world. We would set up our picnic and then play different games for hours. I remember you would walk down the road to get us telling us it's time to come home for supper. After supper you would have us bathe and then you would fight with our long tangled hair, give us a snack, sit us down for a movie or game and then it was off to bed. We would do anything to have you here now to make picnic baskets for your grandchildren. And what I would do to just hear you call me by my middle name "Renee". I knew that I was in trouble then!"

Even though it's been 15 years, Melody remembers much about her mother and her spirit. They used to dance together and have wonderful heart-to-heart conversations. She looked forward to the day that her daughters graduated from high school, and to more grandchildren to love and play with.

Cynthia has missed all of these events. Melody and Kim are sure she would be there if she could. They know she would not have left them when they needed her the most as they grew up.

"My mother’s disappearance has impacted my life in many ways. One being the strong individual that I am as a result of this tragedy. Other family members have been impacted in the same way. It just gives us all the strength to carry on looking for her and dealing with life in general," Melody said.

Yes, the girls found inner strength they did not know they had. They want their mother to know this: "Of course words could never express the pain we feel each and everyday we are forced to handle life without you. But as you taught us, be strong and move forward. These are the values you instilled in us therefore; we will do the same for our children. We miss you more and more as the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years pass us by but it only makes us the unique individuals that we are today.

Whenever someone asks us if we have heard from you we can only say "Not yet" because, of course, it shows that they have hope as well we do. There are several private and public organizations involved in helping us with your recovery. It's these kinds of people who help us deal with this very unfortunate situation and they give us more strength to never give up looking for you. It gives us great comfort in knowing that one-day, one way or another WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN!!"

Is it really so much for Melody and Kim to ask for and receive 10 seconds of media coverage for their mother? It could provide a clue that could result in answers for their family.

St. Louis area media, are you listening?

Please help spread the word about Cynthia. What if she was your mother?

http://findcynthia.com/