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Palmer, Gloria 6-29-1989 MO
Topic Started: Jul 8 2014, 05:07 AM (203 Views)
Ell
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After years of the unknowing, two local families hope their somber anniversary cold-case files are reignited with answers.

More than 17,200 cases of missing or unidentified persons are listed nationwide in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database, along with 388 cases in Missouri. Beyond the statistics, two cold-case files are still filled with burning questions for local families.


Marking 10 years


On July 6, 2004, around noon, Tammy Mack dropped her then 15-year-old daughter, Ashley Martinez, off at Krug Pool with her 13-year-old brother. When Ms. Mack returned for her children after a few hours, her son was waiting for her, but Ashley was nowhere to be found.


“It’s been a nightmare, and the holidays have never been the same,” said Ms. Mack, noting that Ashley disappeared 10 years ago today. “We’ve tried to make the best of it, and we’ve had some leads, but nothing has panned out.


“It just leaves your mind open to the ‘what ifs.’”


Today, Ms. Mack will host a memorial service outside Krug Pool for friends and family who remember the teen who was “friendly and full of life.” After being dropped off that day, Ashley reportedly got into a car with convicted felon Christopher Hart, then 32, who reportedly promised to take her to California.


“I’ll never forget that name or anything about him,” Ms. Mack said. “There is a possibility that she might not have been alive when he left.


“It took me three years to come to that idea, but there are a lot of thoughts that have gone through my head in 10 years.”


Detective Sgt. Jennifer Protzman with the St. Joseph Police Department said authorities have made several attempts to speak with Mr. Hart, who remains incarcerated in the Missouri Department of Corrections on a conviction for second-degree assault. Although he was reportedly the last person seen with Ashley, Ms. Protzman said the case is not considered inactive.


“We have attempted to talk to him. He is a person of interest and continues to be,” she said. “We can’t focus solely on one suspect in these kinds of cases, because we don’t want to miss anything.”


25 years on


Missing something is not an uncommon feeling for David Palmer and his family for the past 25 years.


On June 29, 1989, Gloria June Palmer, then 42, her sons Bill and David, and David’s wife, Melissa, celebrated David’s 21st birthday at the Belt Bowl before patronizing local bars until the morning hours. After drinks, Mrs. Palmer asked her family to continue the celebration at a restaurant for breakfast, but they declined.


“My brother Bill left, because he was working a late shift, so he went to work. We lived down in Faucett at that time,” Mr. Palmer said.


“Mom lived where we grew up, down by Lake (Contrary). So we all go in our vehicles, and went south on (Interstate) 29. Since she was right in front of us, she turned on (Interstate) 229, and that was it.”


No one has seen Mrs. Palmer since.


“In some cases, there is absolutely no evidence. Although you may have a gut feeling or a practical, logical suspect, sometimes there is nothing tying that suspect to the scene of the crime,” said Detective Capt. Mark Brock with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department.


“Having talked with the officers who worked (Mrs. Palmer’s) case, it seems like they covered all the avenues they could cover, all the leads they could cover, and there just isn’t anything to know where she is now.”


Additional cases


Detectives with the St. Joseph Police Department continue to work the Martinez missing person case and the disappearance of Gracie Guerra, who was 15 when she disappeared in November 2008. Through an ongoing investigation, Ms. Protzman said she believes Ms. Guerra is alive and safe, but authorities have not been able to make visual contact with her.


Buchanan County case files included three unsolved homicides, and one unidentified human remains case. Mr. Brock said Mrs. Palmer is the only true unsolved missing person case for the county.


“Having direct knowledge of the cases and having no other leads to follow-up on is not always bothersome, because sometimes we just run out of leads and nothing ever develops,” he said. “People go missing or are never seen from again a lot more than we think ... but some, unfortunately, are still unsolved.”


Approximately 800,000 children were reported missing in 1999, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s most recent study. In 2013, more than 1,600 adults and 2,702 children were reported missing. A total of 414 adult and 166 children missing persons’ cases were considered active in Missouri, reported the NamUS database.


There are an estimated 4,400 unidentified human remains cases every year and nearly 100,000 active missing persons cases on any given day, reported the National Institute of Justice. With a limited amount of resources for various departments, agencies have access to national databases to cross reference case markers and potential leads.


“It’s never easy for the families of missing individuals. It has to be difficult, not having any answers as to why their loved one is not with them,” Ms. Protzman said. “I can’t even imagine what they go through on a day-by-day basis as we try to do what we can to follow up on everything.”


Somber anniversaries


On Thursday, the St. Joseph Parks Department and Ashley’s family remembered the teen and planted a memorial


Burgandy Belle Maple tree in the south parking lot at Krug Pool. A candlelight vigil will be held around the tree tonight, beginning at 7 p.m., and will feature guest speakers and a candle-lighting ceremony.


“As a mother, you can never give up. You just can’t,” Ms. Mack said. “I know she needs me, and if there is any possible way or hope of getting her home, I am going to have to be the drive behind it.”


For the Palmer family, two and a half decades of unanswered questions and missing the inspirational life of their family never fades away. Next week will be Mrs. Palmer’s 70th birthday, but questions still linger.


“It just leaves a hole in you,” Mr. Palmer said. “No matter if it’s been three years, five years, 10 years or 25 years, it still hurts.”


If you have any information about an unsolved or missing persons case, call the Buchanan County Communication Center at 816-271-4777 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.
http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_new...fbbe3ed0d3.html
Ell

Only after the last tree has been
cut down;
Only after the last fish has been
caught;
Only after the last river has been
poisoned;
Only then will you realize
that money cannot be eaten.
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