BLUEWELL, WV (WOAY) – Christy Kennedy had no idea that summer day three decades ago would be the last time she would hug her precious big sister, as Brenda Lambert happily celebrated her son’s first birthday party.
On July 26, 1992, Lambert’s joyous moment was tragically cut short when she vanished without a trace.
“I wish the people who are responsible would just let us get her and bury her with our parents,” Kennedy said, of the unimaginable pain of losing Brenda.
Family, friends, and advocates gathered off Coal Heritage Road in Bluewell to honor and reminisce about the young mother on the 33rd anniversary of her death.
“It doesn’t get better — you don’t get used to it,” said Kennedy.
Not knowing the whereabouts of a loved one creates an agonizing form of grief and can lead to long-lasting emotional distress.
“I think I’m getting to the age now where I’m realizing I’m never going to see her again,” Kennedy said. “It’s been hard to come to that realization.”
Brenda’s family doesn’t want her to become a statistic.
“I don’t understand how anyone can go about their daily life and not have any conscience whatsoever,” said The Aware Foundation President/CEO Kenny Jarels. “There is no justification for what this person did. This family deserves closure. They deserve to have Brenda’s remains found.”
According to Kennedy, she is not only focused on justice now. Knowing where Brenda is and bringing her home is everything. She says prison time isn’t going to hold any weight, nor is it going to bring her sister back.
“It’s not undoing 33 years of complete trauma, and my whole family is suffering with it,” she said. “It’s going to bring a lot of healing for not only me, but the other people that I love. And it’s what my mom wanted; that’s the most important.”
Those who love her say that after 33 years, Brenda’s case is long overdue to be solved.
“I feel like this case should have already been advanced to the point where they were closing in on their suspect,” said Jarels. “I hope by continuing to do this, they will see that it’s not going to be swept under the rug and forgotten. And I feel like they are. I think (Mercer County) Sheriff Christian is going to do that.”
Kennedy says she is done letting hate consume her life. It’s taken much self-reflection, but she calls forgiveness very important and a release.
“It was a lot of betrayal and heartbreak for me because I loved all these people very much,” she said. “My heart is still broke, but I have found forgiveness. I just want them to do the right thing.”
