Tuesday marks King Walker’s 8th birthday, and although it’s been six years since the child disappeared with his aunt Diamond Bynum, his family still believes that they are both still alive.
Walker and his aunt were last seen in Gary, Indiana in July 2016.
“He’s been missing since he was two,” La Shann Walker, the boy’s grandmother and Diamond’s mother, said. “He won’t remember us, but Diamond probably will. I never imagined it would be this long without them.”
Walker has never given up hope that someday she would see her daughter and grandson again.
“I still go out and pass out flyers,” she said.
Tuesday, the family gathered to mark what would have been the boy’s 8th birthday.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, along with Gary police, are still actively searching for the boy. According to family, La Shann Walker was sleeping in a Gary home in July 2015 when a family member woke up and saw that King Walker and his aunt Diamond were both missing.
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There was no sign of forced entry or of struggle at the home, but police have not been able to solve the case.
“For it to go months and years like this, it’s been an incredible rollercoaster,” La Shann said.
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According to family, Diamond has a genetic disorder, which causes slow mental development. She also walks with a limp, but she adores her nephew.
“She always loves taking care of little people that are smaller than her,” Walker says.
The family still misses the jokes and laughter that would always surround them when they were all gathered together, and they still hold out hope that someday they may experience that again.
Anyone with information on the disappearance is encouraged to call Gary police, or to call 1-800-THE-LOST.
