JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Families of missing adults gathered inside Jacksonville City Hall on Friday, sharing stories of loss, faith, and persistence as they marked the 16th annual Missing Adult Day.
The event, organized by Project: Cold Case and the families of John Rowan Jr., Mark Degner, and Bryan Hayes, brought together relatives, advocates, law enforcement, and community members. Many in attendance clutched photos of loved ones who vanished years, and in some cases, decades ago.
“It’s always important to see people show up, because most of these families feel like people have forgotten their loved ones,” Ryan Backmann said, founder and executive director of Project: Cold Case. “When they come to an event like this, this is a reminder that they have support and that there are people out there that care.”
Watch the full event below.
Missing Adult Day was first inspired by the cases of Rowan, who disappeared in 2001, and Degner and Hayes, who went missing after leaving Paxon Middle School in 2005. Their cases remain unsolved.
More than 20 years later, the crowd at City Hall included families from across Florida and beyond. Among them was the family of Shelton J. Sanders, who disappeared in 2001 at age 25.
“We have been the voice for my missing loved one, my brother Shelton, for 25 years,” one family member said. “I wouldn’t miss this event for the world because it’s hard to find someone who understands, who cares about and shares the same grief that you have.”
Tanya Cone, Denger’s aunt, said the pain of her nephew’s disappearance has not faded with time.
“I have to say the emotion doesn’t get any easier,” Cone said. “Everyone knows our story as ‘the boys.’ They are now men, as you can see with their progression pictures. They are not 12 and 13, they are now in their 30s.”
Cone described Degner as a fun-loving 12-year-old who adored pets and was “a ball of joy.”
“It’s very difficult to have missed so many years now and missed so much time,” she said. “But again, we stand on our faith and we stand in hope that we will be reunited again.”
Throughout the program, organizers handed out yellow flowers, offered prayers and read the names of missing adults. Families said gatherings like this help keep long‑cold cases in the public eye and remind investigators and the community that their loved ones are more than just files in a cabinet.
The event aims to honor missing adults whose cases remain unsolved, provide trauma-informed support and peer connection, educate the public about the long-term impact of ambiguous loss, and encourage responsible media coverage and public awareness.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System website houses 41,670 open cases across the United States. Those numbers include 2,405missing persons and 880 unidentified persons in Florida.