It is one of those dreams so real she wakes up disappointed, still looking for answers as the third anniversary of his disappearance arrives Sunday.
In the real world, she watches cold case shows. “I watch 48 Hours like crazy,” she said, hoping that show and others will give her questions to ask she and investigators looking into his case might have missed.
Alston
She believes recent marches and rallies have helped raise awareness to the plight of the missing in Halifax and Northampton counties. She believes, however, more can be done. “I want to see more people involved. I get rumors the ones (responsible) are still bragging, still talking. The problem we have is getting people to open up about the case.”
In her heart, she believes her son is dead and believes the people he was last known to be with on the evening of October 18, 2012, know something. “I think they thought he had a little money on him. Him telling them he got a job, jealousy, some of them had a drug habit and probably robbed and killed him.”
She described her son as a man who was kind, probably to a fault, but added, “He's the type of guy who would put a fight.”
To remember the anniversary of her son's disappearance last year, she and a few family members and friends held a march in the area he was believed to have last been seen, passing the area where the ones she believes have information live and hang out. “We saw people running for their cars. They acted like they were going to get killed. When we did that, they didn't know what to do.”
Another photo of Alston from a flyer.
This Sunday's remembrance will be simple. “We're just going to go to church,” and release some balloons in his honor.
Every year gets harder, she said. “Just knowing he's not here.”
At the Northampton County Sheriff's in Jackson, Sheriff Jack Smith said he has sent a letter to the FBI requesting their assistance in all the missing person cases. The SBI is already working on a majority of the cases, Smith said, including the Alston case. “It's a slow process. We would like to find all the missing persons.”
In the Alston case, Smith said, “We have talked to dozens and dozens of people. We want to solve it for her. You follow what you get and do the best you can with what you have. You have to have the facts and evidence. You want to make sure you've got the right person.”
Active missing and unsolved murder cases in Halifax and Northampton counties. Top row, from left: Shonda Stansbury, missing since 2006; Alston, missing since 2012; Damon Riddick, murdered in 2012. Middle row, from left: Thomas "Kissey" Watson, murdered in 2010; Kelvin Wilson Branch, murdered in 2012; Jalesa Reynolds, missing since 2010. Bottom row, from left: Daniel McCoy Moses, missing since 2011; Amy Wells Bridgeman, missing since 2013; Robert Moore, missing since 1996.
Smith said his investigators are operating on the premise Alston is missing. “We can only go with what we have.”
One of the biggest factors in solving the case, Captain M.D. DeLoatch Sr. said, is having people willing to cooperate. “We've interviewed tons of people. We don't have the facts,” to prove Alston was murdered.
Said Smith: “We know people know and we encourage people who know to come forward. If it was my child, I would want someone to come forward.”
