JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — On Saturday night, a candlelit vigil was held in honor of Emily Strite: a De Soto mother whose remains were found in the woods more than five months after authorities said she disappeared.
Strite, 33, was last seen in De Soto in early April according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. She was officially reported missing on April 20, 2024.
As Emily's story continues to get national attention, on Saturday her family and friends still want to know what happened to her — especially after spending so long trying to find her.
The candlelit vigil on October 19 was meant to honor the life and legacy of Emily.
"We need her name to continue to be out there so that we don't forget about her," Emily's younger sister, Jessica Strite, said. "So that we can find justice for her, for her kids, for the rest of us. I want it as much as they do."
The Jefferson County mother of four was described by her sister Jessica, 32, as bubbly and memorable.
"She made a lasting impression," Jessica said. "[Emily] was like a firework. She walked in the room, and she was there."
There was a moment of silence in green — Emily's favorite color — at the fairgrounds in Hillsboro, MO just after sunset.
It allowed for a moment of reflection, for those left with questions about what happened after her remains were found in a wooded area of De Soto on Sept. 28.
Jessica continuing to wonder about "the day of the events, of whatever day it ended up being, she may have gone missing just because there is a little gray area there in time."
Last week, the Jefferson County Sheriff's office said a person of interest had been identified in the ongoing investigation of Emily's death.
She disappeared on Apr. 12 in the De Soto area — detectives said on foot apparently of her own free will — then was reported missing eight days later.
"I know everything seems very suspicious," Jessica said. "But I don't want to speak some of those words into existence. I want justice to be found and then move forward from there. That's why focusing on the vigils and letting law enforcement do what they need to do and I can focus on the positivity and remembering Em."
Jessica remembering the last time she spoke to her sister around Christmas last year.
"She turns to me and she says, 'If I never see you again, I love you.'" Jessica said. "I turned around and...in my brain I registered it as 'why would you say that?' I think she knew that she was just going to be staying somewhere else and wasn't going to be staying at my mom's for the next few days."
"[Emily] meant it as if I don't see you again while you're in town," Jessica recalled. "So I turned around to hug her again and said, 'no I love you.' That was the last time we ever spoke."
5 On Your Side reached out to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for the latest details about that person of interest but have yet to hear back.
A second candlelit vigil will be held for Emily tomorrow night from 5:30-7:30pm at the Laderman Park in Belleville.
It will be exactly six months since Emily's family first filed that missing person's report.