Cheretha Morrison was four months pregnant when she disappeared two years ago, and her worried family isn’t any closer to finding her now than when she went missing.
To mark the two-year anniversary of Morrison’s disappearance, her family held a news conference outside the Daley Center on Sunday, imploring authorities to step up their search and bring her loved ones closure.
“A part of me wants to believe my sister is out there,” said Morrison’s sister Oretha Miller. “The time frame is making me think that maybe something has happened to her, but even if so I just want to bring this to peace for me and my family. At least find her body.”
Morrison, 38, a mother of two, has been missing since Feb 26, 2021, and was last seen in the 6900 block of South Throop Street. Her family said she was supposed to pick up her 4-year-old daughter from school but didn’t show up.
Miller said her sister didn’t have a history of running away or missing important appointments.
Days later, police found her silver-colored 2006 Porsche Cayenne abandoned in Rogers Park on the North Side. They haven’t had much luck in terms of leads or new breaks in the case since then, her family said, adding that they’ve been doing everything they can to keep a spotlight on Morrison’s case.
“I’ve been going to events, I’ve been trying to get in touch with Lori Lightfoot,” Miller said. “For the last two years I’ve been trying to do what I can to put this out to the media to get help.”
Robbin Calhoun, Morrison’s niece, said she thought police weren’t doing enough to bring the family answers.
“I don’t feel like they do enough. I don’t feel like they care about us, especially when we’re Black, they don’t care,” Calhoun said, fighting back tears. “It’s hard. It just doesn’t come to an end. We just want help, we just want closure.”
La Shann Walker, a mother whose two children went missing eight years ago in Gary, Indiana, spoke in support of Morrison’s family and also asked police to do more.
“This is a horrific ordeal for anyone to have to go through,” Walker said. “The pain is unbearable. No one else knows what you’re going through until they’re faced with this situation. I wouldn’t wish this on my enemy.”
Miller said her sister was a “very friendly person” who loved her children. Miller is now taking care of Morrison’s daughter, who is six. Her sister’s other child is an adult.
She said the family has had a hard time dealing with Morrison’s disappearance.
“It’s been hard for me hurting like this,” Miller said. “I’m living, but I’m not at peace. I can’t heal if my sister isn’t here. I miss you, I need you like I need to breathe. Please come home Sugar, please,” Miller said.
Anyone with information on Morrison’s disappearance is asked to call Chicago police Area One investigators at (312) 747-8380.
