BELTON, Mo. — As a Belton mom looks ahead to the man her son will become, she can only guess what would have become of the life of her missing daughter. Thursday marks a decade since anyone has seen Belton teenager Kara Kopetsky.
This weekend, folks will have a chance to honor her.
A walk will take place at the Cedar Tree Shopping Center in Belton at 2 p.m., starting from the Subway restaurant. As Kara’s mother Rhonda Beckford hopes for closure, she thinks about all that Kara could have been. It’s only natural for any mom to want the best for her child.
“She would be done with college by now, and be working at a career, and be probably be married and I’d possibly have a grandchild, if not two from her, and you know all those things were stolen from us on May 4, 2007,” said Beckford.
Justice and closure are what she now sets her sights on.
“Ten years was a mark, you know an anniversary that we didn’t want to see,” said Beckford.
The Beckford’s don’t plan to mark the day with pomp and circumstance; that will have to wait for something else they’re planning.
“Going to get up and go to work and try to get ready for our other child to graduate from high school,” said Beckford.
Her son was just 8 years old when Kara was last seen. The excitement for his future is juxtaposed with Kara’s unknown whereabouts, and pretty overwhelming for the family. Beckford says updates from police have dried up.
As she waits for remains in rural Cass County to be identified, in heart she believes it’s her daughter.
“We really feel that they’re Kara. We’re just waiting to get the final word,” said Beckford.
She was told it could take up to a year to ID those remains, which hasn’t been welcome news. She urges anyone who might have some information that might help speed up the process not be too afraid to come forward.
“If they’re holding back information because they’re afraid of a certain somebody, I think they can be pretty sure that they don’t have a reason to be afraid anymore, because he’s not going to get out,” said Beckford.
If you know anything about Kara Kopetsky’s disappearance please call Belton police or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.
The march to honor her will be held Sunday at 2 p.m., at Cedar Tree Shopping Center in Belton near the Subway restaurant.
