TYLER, Texas — It’s hard to imagine losing a loved one, it’s even harder to imagine a loved going missing.
For Alexandra Ashcraft, that became her reality a bit over a year ago when her sister Courtney Martin went missing near their grandparents' house off County Road 42.
Almost a year later there is no new information on her sister’s whereabouts. However, a quote from a documentary inspired Ashcraft to keep hope for her sister alive.
"He said that when a case goes cold, the only one that can keep it relevant in the media as well as with everyone else involved in that community, is for the loved one to advocate, and to help spread awareness," Ashcraft said.
Ashcraft took that a step further, not only did she create a platform to advocate and spread awareness about her own sister’s situation, she created a platform that anyone missing a family member in Tyler can tap into.
"We’re addressing the fact that whenever a family member is going through something like that, it’s incredibly hard, it’s difficult. The feeling of being alone was something I experienced myself, and so being able to let all these family members know that they’re not alone, that there are other people that are in the same position as them," Ashcraft said.
Feedback has been pouring in from the families of these missing persons and they’re certainly grateful.
"I’ve had multiple family members reach out to me that have thanked me for bringing those cases back into the limelight, or offering them some resources," Ashcraft said.
Ashcraft’s group is just located in Tyler now, but she says if there’s additional interest, she would expand the reach of the group to all of Smith County and potentially beyond.
"I started focusing just on Tyler because it was such a large number, but obviously as I started to look outside this area, Smith County the missing people number is astronomically high, it’s not just in Tyler Texas, its in Smith County we’re dealing with this crisis," Ashcraft said.
Ashcraft's Facebook group can be accessed here.