The Buckner family expresses frustration with police as they continue searching for Shapammala Buckner eight years after her disappearance.
HOUSTON — It has been eight years since Shapammala Buckner vanished without a trace. Her family continues to hold onto hope, but they say they are not receiving the help they need from authorities.
“She was quiet, smart, tiny, very soft spoken,” said her cousin, Monica Revis, at a vigil held Wednesday night.
The Buckner family endures a difficult day as they have not heard from their loved one. They claim investigators at the Houston Police Department are not returning their calls.
Through prayer and persistence, the family continues to search for answers. Buckner was last seen at apartments on Northborough Drive, where she lived with her boyfriend, who was overseas at the time.
“She was home in her apartment by herself with some of her then-boyfriend’s family members and some kind of altercations took place and she vanished immediately after,” Revis said.
The family launched their own search efforts, teaming up with Texas EquuSearch, but they have found no trace of Buckner.
“People don’t just disappear,” her uncle, Billy Revis, said. “Not getting any answers from law enforcement is the hardest part.”
The family is particularly upset by the silence from law enforcement, saying that the hardest part is not getting any answers from authorities.
Eight years after her disappearance, the family held a prayer vigil with lanterns and balloons to keep hope alive.
“I will never give up hope. Always hope in everything,” Revis said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to HPD for comment, but did not hear back.