The Missing: Families whose loved ones have vanished look to one another for support during the Holidays
Families come to together to keep their missing loved ones names alive
Throughout 2022, FOX 26 stayed true to a promise to shine a light on the thousands of missing people from the Greater Houston area, unfortunately, many of the families we highlighted are still waiting for answers. They've been relying on each other to help them cope with the loss they feel. FOX 26's Gabby Hart went out to a holiday support group where we spoke with some of the people interviewed throughout the year, continuing to keep the names of their loved ones alive.
HOUSTON - Throughout 2022, FOX 26 stayed true to a promise to shine a light on the thousands of missing people from the Greater Houston area, unfortunately, many of the families we highlighted are still waiting for answers. They've been relying on each other to help them cope with the loss they feel.
FOX 26's Gabby Hart went out to a holiday support group where we spoke with some of the people interviewed throughout the year, continuing to keep the names of their loved ones alive.
Kristen Galvan
"Christmas was her favorite holiday, and it's hard putting up the tree and the lights. How are we going to celebrate without her here?" said Robyn Cory.
Cory's 15-year-old daughter, Kristen Galvan, vanished in January 2020. She says she knows for certain that Kristen was a victim of child sex trafficking, but 3-years have passed and despite all of her efforts she still hasn't been able to track her daughter down.
Ali Lowitzer
Joann Lowitzer knows that same pain, her 16-year-old daughter Ali Lowitzer vanished after getting off the school bus in Spring Texas, 12 years ago.
"We know somebody took her, but that's still the burning question, what happened," Lowitzer said.
Jennifer Sanchez
Ofelia Gomez knows the fate that her daughter met; the estranged husband of 38-year-old Jennifer Sanchez is currently awaiting trial for her murder. However, 4-years have now passed, and Jennifer's body still hasn't been located.
"Don't let her be forgotten, don't let her be another file filled with dust, just keep it going," Gomez said.
Christopher Flores
Gloria Flores' 53-year-old son Christopher Flores went missing on August 21, 2021. His apartment was set on fire, but he was nowhere to be found. His disappearance happened after he became suspicious about another missing person's case; that other missing person was a relative of a female who he'd been dating, and that person's home had also been set on fire.
His mother claims that the same woman admitted to someone else that she harmed Christopher, but there was never enough evidence to charge her.
"She told the other person 'I got him, I got him good, and he's in storage right now," Flores told FOX 26.
Roberto Franco Jr.
Lisa Torres hasn't seen her son Roberto Franco Jr. since the summer of 2017.
He went on a road trip from Houston to Mexico with a friend, and neither of them made it back home. The FBI told his family there was no sign of them after they crossed the Los Indios border.
"Hope is what has been giving me the strength to go on," Torres said.
All of these parents got together ahead of the holiday where they expressed themselves through art and shared stories about their loved ones.
"These ladies know, these families know exactly what you're going through, and they know what you're feeling and that's the bond." Ofelia Gomez said.
Jacob Paddock-Weeks
It's a bond that isn't limited to city or state lines; George and Amanda Weeks are from Colorado. When their 27-year-old son Jacob Paddock-Weeks vanished almost 4 years ago, they joined a Facebook group where they met Joann and other Houston parents dealing with the same thing.
"We know that he was in a one-car accident in the mountains of Colorado and hit the guardrail and someone got out of the car and walked into the mountains and that's the last thing we heard," George Weeks shared.
The Weeks recently moved to Houston, and they have been able to meet the people in their online support group, face-to-face.
"I think it helps mentally, I think we can bounce things off each other about what we've been through," weeks said.
This holiday season these families ask the public to scroll through the national missing person registry and keep an eye out for the people you scroll past that are from your area. And if you know something about anyone's disappearance, say something.
Contact Houston police at (713) 884-3131 or crime stoppers at (713) 521-4600
You can follow this link for a look at an official record of Long-term Missing persons throughout the state of Texas https://centerforthemissing.org/missing/
FOX 26 will continue our series "The Missing" in 2023 to make sure the stories of those who vanish from our communities, don't go untold.