CUE hosts tour to raise awareness of missing persons throughout the U.S.

Two-hundred and thirty-eight pennies and counting. Two hundred and thirty-eight pennies is a physical reminder to Liz Lingenfelter that her daughter is missing.

"Your heart hurts everyday. You never have peace," said Lingenfelter.

Lingenfelter picks up a penny once a day and stores it in a jar to alleviate the pain of not knowing where her daughter, Beverly Meadows, is. She has been looking for Beverly since Dec. 26 when she went missing from a nursing home in Marshall, Texas.

Lingenfelter and Beverly's story was just one of the several from families of local missing persons who gathered outside the Bossier Civic Center Thursday afternoon to bring attention to and remember their loved ones. The event was part of the Community United Effort (CUE) Center for Missing Persons sixth annual “On the Road to Remember” Nationwide Tour.

Volunteers from the North Carolina-based orginization are traveling across the U.S. to raise awareness of missing children and adults and will be distributing a trail of DVD’s, press kits and valuable information throughout the path of the tour - concerning those missing, unidentified person’s and unsolved homicide cases that have gone cold.

“After so many years, these cases fade from the public’s radar, but for the families and friends of the missing, the nightmare continues — every minute of every day their loved one is missing,” said Monica Caison, CUE founder.

“We are traveling across the country to make sure no case fades from memory and will come to Florence, in an effort to remind everyone of these featured cases need a resolution for their families”, they need our help and the community’s help to bring them home”, she added.

The families of missing Clinton Nelson and Gregory Vice Jr. and recovered Michael Pierce sponsored the event that included a balloon launch to symbolize missing persons, a presentation to law enforcement for their efforts in finding Pierce and a candle light vigil.

Families from Shreveport-Bossier, surrounding areas and the whole state gathered with tents featuring pictures of their missing loved ones and distributed fliers to try and spread the word about them.

Despite the families were gathered together under such a dark cloud, Gregory Vice's mother, Kay Kruiger, is glad to be able to talk with other grieving families and offer support.

"I hate to see other people going through the same thing I'm going through, but I'm glad that we were all able to get together for the support. If nothing else, if one case were to get solved from this, it would be a great honor," she said.

Her son was last seen March 21, 2000. The story of his disappearance began when his truck broke down while traveling from Princeton to Taylor Town. Vice then got a ride to his friend's house and the pair got into an argument and Vice was reportedly last seen walking in the rain from his friend's house.

The time has not softened the blow for Kuriger.

"You still hold on to that hope that one day that phone is going to ring and that he's been hiding somewhere and he's coming out of hiding. My mind has even gone into that he's been put into a witness protection program. Even though logically you know that he's not going to be found alive, you still hold on to that hope he will be," said Kruiger.

She said the Bossier Sheriff's Office has not been helpful from the start, being both rude and incommunicative.

"I was living in Florida at the time and when I called them, they said, 'You know, it has to do with drugs,' but I don't know how they could know that if they don't know what the case was about. And I was even told that the perfect murder had been committed," said Kruiger.

Despite facing a miniscule chance that Gregory will be found alive, Kruiger pledged to never stop.

"I will never stop, not until I have him back or (I find) his body. I can't," she said.

Carolyn Johnson, mother of Clinton Nelson, was on hand to spread the word about her son who disappeared Sept. 1, 2006. Nelson vanished after moving to the area from South Dakota in April 2006. He disappeared while walking home from a friend's house after a party.

"It's excruciating, it is by far the worst experience I've ever been through. It's been explained to me that when you have someone who dies, you're allowed to go through the grieving process, but when you have a missing person, you go through that process over and over again every time there's a new lead that comes in," said Johnson.

The family has been led to believe that it was accidental but asked that if it was malicious, that anyone with information would come forth so they can finally have some resolution.

"There's so many people here who have been through this experience. We want others to know we're here and we know what we're going through but also that this can happen to anybody," said Johnson.

Matt Pierce described his brother, Michael, as a nice person and a "big teddy bear."

Michael went missing in 2002 and his remains were found in the Red River five years after the disappearance.

Pierce said his brother vanished after a coworker's husband became suspicious of an affair and the family believes the husband is responsible for Pierce's death. The husband was later convicted for killing his wife and unborn child after a dispute, but there was not enough proof to charge him with Michael's death.

Despite the fact his brother was not found alive, Matt said it gives him a sense of peace to know where his brother is.

"It's real important to go see him at the grave. It would've been better to see him alive, but to go see him and know where he is means everything," said Pierce.

Not having that peace of mind is what causes Lingenfelter to use the pennies. It comes from a family joke where her daughter would drop pennies in Lingenfelter's path to make her pick them up.

"Beverly would have a chance to laugh when she left the pennies laying in my path and I would have a chance to laugh when I found the pennies. Little things mean a lot," said Lingenfelter. "Today and every day when I bend down to pick up a penny, I may have tears in my eyes, but in my heart I know that Beverly has left them there and I know she is thinking about me no matter where she may be," she said.

While the chances of finding her daughter alive dwindles every day, Lingenfelter hopes that she's still out there — maybe she in a hospital. She calls the local police department every week and has even driven 497 miles in a day to canvass the area, look in hospitals and talk to police departments.

"I've looked everywhere. I've been in ditches, the woods, abandoned houses," said Lingenfelter.

She said that while she holds out hope against all hope, she is grateful for CUE offering her the opportunity to spread the word.

"I think what they're doing is wonderful. To be out here and see everyone and talk with them, you just don't know what it's like until it's happened to you," said Lingenfelter.

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