Family of woman last seen in Auburn, WA asks public for answers
Family of woman last seen in Auburn, WA asks public for answers
Kaylee Mae Nelson-Jerry was 21 years old when she disappeared in the summer of 2019. For more than six years, her family has been trying to find out what happened to her.
AUBURN, Wash. - Kaylee Mae Nelson-Jerry was 21 years old when she disappeared in the summer of 2019. For more than six years, her family has been trying to find out what happened to her.
Now, they, along with the detectives working on her case, are turning to the public once again in hope of finding new answers.
"Anytime I hear a bird that's outside, and they're singing, it reminds me so much of her, because if she wasn't singing, she was whistling," Tammy Byers, Kaylee’s aunt said.
It’s been six-and-a-half years since she has seen her niece. She told FOX 13, Kaylee is a happy person, who loves to give hugs and had dreams of becoming a singer or gymnast.
Kaylee Mae Nelson-Jerry
The then-21-year-old is a member of the American Indian/Alaska Native community and was last seen in Auburn. John Free is a detective with the King County Sheriff's Office. He’s also the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Cold-Case Detective and working with the Auburn Police Department to find out what happened to Kaylee.
"In terms of cold cases, the longer a case goes unresolved, the more lore tends to build up around it," Free said. "What might start off as a rumor becomes fact with time and part of the challenge of working these cases is to cut through that lore, sift through it, and determine what's viable and what's not."
"We hear a lot of things, but we try not to believe the things that we hear," Byers said.
While there are potential leads, they’re still looking for more information, which is why they’re asking the public for help.
What they're saying:
"A lot of times in cold case investigations, people assume that because they no longer hear about the case, maybe they have a presumption that it's been solved," Free said.
They’re hoping that someone will hear Kaylee’s name or see her photo and that will trigger some new information. "Whether it's small or seemingly insignificant, we want to hear it," Free said.
"We’re always looking, when you see people, you think it might be her, you kind of slow down or you turn your car around, you go back and you look," Byers said.
Despite not having a lot of answers though, the family still has hope.
"I’m never going to give up hope," Byers said. "I won't, because I’m going to be there for my sister, I’m going to be there for my nieces, I’m there for her siblings."
However, she admits, hope doesn’t make each passing holiday get any easier.
What you can do:
"I'm just hoping that by somebody seeing this, help bring closure, help us to find her," Byers said. "Even if it's where she doesn’t want to come home, at least we know she's alive and she's safe, we just need that."
There is a Crimestoppers reward for $1,000 for information that helps in this investigation. If you know anything, you can submit a tip to Crimestoppers or call the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Cold Case Unit Tip Line at 253-285-4008.
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