BOLIVAR PENINSULA A 5-year-old girl kissed her mother s tombstone Tuesday, mourning the death of Bridgette Gearen on what would have been the slain woman s 32nd birthday.
Kyra returned with relatives to the grave site in Orange, placing flowers, reeds, angels and balloons in memory of her mother, Kyra s grandmother, Pamala Kimball, said.
Kyra always talks to her while she s there, cleans off the tombstone, kisses it and tells her mother she loves her, Kimball said.
Kyra, in a note written by Kimball, talked about the night she lost her mother.
I was asleep in the cabin when the bad guys took away my mama, the letter states. I miss her very much.
The body of Gearen, who was sexually assaulted, strangled and beaten to death, was found near Monkhouse Drive in Crystal Beach the morning of July 15, 2007.
She spent the weekend on Bolivar Peninsula at a rented beach house with friends from a Beaumont law firm, where she worked as a legal secretary.
Gearen vanished before midnight July 14, 2007, after leaving the cabin just 90 seconds ahead of friends who planned a ride on the beach.
State Rep. Craig Eiland, of Galveston, recently contacted the Department of Public Safety, inquiring on the status of evidence, some of which the sheriff s office submitted to the state s lab about a year ago.
Lt. Tommy Hansen, a sheriff s office investigator on the case, declined to discuss the evidence or what it could reveal. It s important to have the evidence processed in order to move the case forward, he said.
You don t want to go one direction when dealing with suspects, and then when you have the evidence take another angle, Hansen said.
The sheriff s office submitted evidence to the state about a year ago, and more evidence was collected in May. The state began processing the evidence recently.
It s going to be a tedious process, Hansen said of testing the evidence. It s going to take a while, but getting started is the most important thing.
Meanwhile, Gearen s relatives want justice and for the healing process to begin.
To Bridgette s family, every day that passes is just another day spent waiting on pins and needles for something to happen, Amanda Feezell, Gearen s cousin, said.
Kyra has thoughts of becoming a police officer and urged anyone with information to come forward.
I really miss my mama, said Kyra, who lives with her father. She s a good woman. I hope someone will tell on the bad guys, so they can go to jail.
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How To Help
Investigators urged anyone with information to call the sheriff s office at 409-766-2222 or 866-248-8477.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com s partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.
