The search for 15-years-missing Heather Cannon continues

HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – This week marks 15 years since 15-year-old Heather Danielle Cannon went missing in Athens, her mother and closest friends are begging anyone with information to come forward.

Today, Cannon would be 30 years old, and officers still have no idea where she is.

“Come home baby girl, just come home. We all love you. We miss you. Just come home,” her mother, Melissa Hardwick, said as she reflected on what she would tell Cannon if she could speak to her again.

“Every day gets harder. You think it would be easier, but it’s not,” one of Cannon’s closest friends, Kassandra Harrell, said,

It was an important 15 years of Cannon’s life that was spent with her family and friends.

“She was just that friend you could tell anything to that wouldn’t judge you,” Harrell explained.

Cannon is still remembered by the impact she left on her friends and family.

“She was always full of happiness and loudness,” said Brandi Lamb, who lived with Cannon’s family.

Now, it’s been 15 years since that was all taken away and this year is bringing up new emotions for those closest to her.

“I’ve spent a lot of years just being upset and crying, but this year, I’m just mad,” Harrell said.

Cannon was last seen August 27, 2009, in the company of her father Jeral Allen Whitley. He was later incarcerated in Florida on charges not related to this case.

Her mother says she was spending the week at his house.

“She had called me the night before just mad at me because I wouldn’t let her move to Colorado with her boyfriend,” Hardwick explained.

Cannon was never seen again.

“Nobody will say anything, and I’m frustrated with it,” Hardwick said.

Officials say her father refused to take a polygraph test after her disappearance, claiming he thought Cannon was with her mother.

The concerning part of this case is all the information known. In fact, several people who spoke with KETK News said they didn’t even know she was missing until months or even a year later. The lack of information has frustrated family and friends and has caused a roadblock for law enforcement.

“Unfortunately, we just haven’t had any success at all,” said Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse.

Hillhouse said their department gets leads on this case every couple of months, but they just haven’t been the right leads.

“When you just got a missing person report and pretty much nothing else that has come up that has given us anything to actually analyze,” Hillhouse explained.

Last year, there was hope, through a claim that Cannon was buried near Highway 175 West heading towards Eustice. Even though Cannon was not found during that search, Sheriff Hillhouse says there were some items they collected and sent to the lab. However, they still haven’t heard back.

“Nothing really looks really really positive,” the sheriff said.

He adds if they get the right piece of the puzzle, his department can do more to bring justice to the family if needed.  However, Lamb believes more could have been done from the beginning.

“It’s hard not having any answers,” Lamb said.

Both Lamb and Harrell believe they have done all they can to find her, including plans to protest outside of the courthouse, hire a private investigator, and share her story on any media platform.

Now, over a decade later, they are at a loss on what to do next.

“It hurts because I know if Heather was here we’d still be friends, and my kids would call her Aunt Heather,” Harrell said.

Still, all three of these women have one thing in common – they all say they won’t lose hope.

“If it was your daughter, you would help wouldn’t you?” Hardwick said.

They each also believe someone out there knows something, and even though most people that spoke with KETK believe Cannon is no longer alive, they say knowing what happened would bring closure.

If you have any information about Cannon, call the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office at 903-675-5128.

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