BARDSTOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — July 3 is the day Crystal Rogers, a Nelson County mother, vanished five years ago.
But Crystal Rogers' mother, Sherry Ballard, still has hope that the truth will come out and justice will prevail.
For five grueling years, Sherry Ballard has cried, searched and prayed for the day she finds her daughter. She says she knows in her heart that Crystal is in heaven.
"To think me and the kids have to go through this one more year with not knowing where my daughter and their mother is is very hard," Rogers said.
The mother of five was last seen on July 3, 2015. A few days later her car was found abandoned along Bluegrass Parkway. Her phone and wallet were still inside, but no sign of Rogers. Ballard says a mother's instinct tells her the car was staged.
"I think they placed my daughter's car on Bluegrass Parkway," Ballard said. "I have never thought my daughter was in that car."
Ballard has no qualms talking who she believes is behind her daughter's disappearance. That person, an ex-boyfriend, has never been charged with the crime.
The number one person leading the family's search, Crystal's father Tommy Ballard, was shot dead while he was hunting in a field.
"I 100 percent believe there is a connection," Sherry said of the two deaths. "I believe the same people that murdered my daughter murdered my husband. I think they did that to get my husband out of the way so we couldn't search for my daughter anymore."
Sherry Ballard has dealt with plenty of heartache, but is still bound and determined to find the truth.
"It is coming. It is going to happen," Ballard said.
