Friends host vigil for Jessica Cain
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Just like almost two decades ago, there are ribbons, flowers, candles and no Jessica.
"It's a little town. You know most people, your classmates, they kind of become your family," said childhood friend Danni Previte.
Jessica Cain disappeared at age 17 from Galveston County in 1997 but spent much of her childhood in Anahuac, where friends and the community remember the cheery girl.
"I remember the family and her being a young girl, sweet girl with lots of potential," said Margie Thames, a lifelong resident of Anahuac.
"Obviously we're curious. It's a haunting thing to not know where someone you care about is for almost twenty years. It stays with you," added Previte.
Many of her classmates who went through elementary and junior high school with her say they think about her every day. Especially now that crews have spent 12 days digging in southeast Houston for potential answers.
"It hurts my heart. A lot of memories, flashbacks and hurt. I'm hoping they'll find closure," said Jamie Bishop who attended the vigil.
Investigators were led to a site on East Orem Road after the primary suspect in the teen's 1997 disappearance, William Lewis Reece, gave information to detectives that led them there. Reece is already serving a 60-year sentence for the kidnapping of another woman.
"I hope everyone keeps Jessica in their heart and prayers," said classmate Misty Dehoyos. "We want her to come home. We need answers for her family."
Friends wonder if they could see her, what would she have grown to be?
"Choir, I remember her singing. Classes together. Very sweet, she loved to sing and act," added Dehoyos.
They were handed sunflower seeds at the vigil to plant, leaving with much hope.
"Peace, that's what I would pray for," said Previte.
VIDEO: Story from 1998 on William Reece being suspected in the death of Laura Smither
