KILLEEN, Texas (KXXV) — 35 years after 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield vanished from her grandmother's home in Killeen, her sister says new evidence is renewing the search as her case with the Killeen Police Department remains cold.
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For Melissa Twardowski, it's been a lifetime without answers. Her older sister Deanna Merryfield went missing in Killeen more than 35 years ago, on July 22, 1990.
Deanna disappeared after sneaking out of her grandmother's home to see her twin sister. The family says after Deanna saw her twin, the 13-year-old left with two men and was never seen again.
Now, her sister Melissa is planning a ground search on Saturday after some people who knew Deanna came forward.
"My biggest hope in a, in a perfect world, evidence, any sort of, you know, evidence or Deanna's remains would be the best case scenario. As weird as that sounds, it, it would just, you know, let us be able to put Deanna to rest like she deserves to be," Twardowski said.
Twardowski says no piece of information about Deanna's disappearance is too small and she won't give up searching for answers until she finds her sister.
"Our older sister, she described her as our sunshine. Like she was just always really smiley and happy and joking and fun, and she was a child, and she, in my mind, she still is a child, and any child that's lost needs to be found," Twardowski said.
25 News' Bella Popadiuk reached out to Killeen Police for more information about this case, but they sent a statement saying in part: "Detectives continue to review cold cases and evaluate new leads as they are received. Credible information is followed up on, and families are notified when appropriate."
"I think being able to have that closure even if it's not always, you know, justice or anything like that, just knowing what happened can provide a lot of closure and make us able to, you know, close that chapter," Twardowski said.
Deanna's family and trained volunteers will be searching for any evidence that could lead to finding her remains. Chefs Quest offered to provide free breakfast to all of the volunteers.
If you have any information about Deanna's disappearance, contact police or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
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