While Lynne Whitehead fought back her emotions, Tabitha Jones bowed her head, her elbows resting on her knees as she sat staring at the floor.

    But Jones, even though she was looking at the floor, wasn’t seeing it. Instead, she was thinking of her son, 26-year-old Julius TaDarius Jones, who has been missing since Aug. 14, 2011. She, like most mothers, just wants her children to be home and safe. But since his disappearance, she has had no peace of mind and it wears her down sometimes.

    “It hurts,” said Jones, as she tries to talk about her son. “There is an empty feeling.”

    It is the same void felt during the recently concluded holiday season when a noticeable spot was left empty at the family dinner table. There was one less sense of joy and laughter as all of the remaining family members gathered. Even for a family Jones calls one of prayer, it was a difficult time.

    Even though Jones had nothing but glowing things to say about the work Meridian Police Department detectives have put into this case, she is losing patience. She has already lost the hope of finding her son alive.

    “I’ve come to the conclusion he is dead,” Jones said quietly. “But I want him home regardless. He needs to come home.”

    Jones’ Buick Century was found by Meridian Police Department patrolmen near an abandoned home on 27th Street a couple days after his reported disappearance. Since that time, officers and detectives have been running down leads.

    “This is still an active missing person case and we are still pursuing any and all leads,” said Mike Vick, public information officer for the Meridian Police Department. “This has not been retired as a cold case. We are still trying to locate Mr. Jones.”

    In an effort to try and find information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, the family has set up a post office box at the Central Post Office in downtown Meridian. Whitehead, whose idea it was to set up the box, hopes, as does the family, somebody will feel secure enough to place some sort of information inside that would in turn jump start the probe.

    “It’s been five months now and nothing,” said Whitehead. “Someone knows something. If they are afraid of getting in some sort of trouble, they can go to the box and just put in their information anonymously.”

    Brenda Hopson, a cousin, said maybe her cousins death was an accident — a terrible thing that happened and the person is scared to come forward. She hopes whomever is responsible will see the pain and anguish the family is having to battle.

    The worst feeling was conveyed by Julius TaDarius Jones’ sister, Jatoria Jones.

    “It’s the feeling of not knowing,” she said. “Is he dead or isn’t he? Where is his body? All these things the family needs to know in order to close this up and move on. We not only were robbed of our loved one but now we are being robbed of our peace of mind that at the very least we have him back home.”

    Anger still boils underneath the surface. Such is the range of emotions that ebb and flow through a family unit like the tides when they are distraught over the loss of a loved one. Whitehead’s passion for her family, and her nephew in particular, can be easily seen. She displays her emotions like a badge of honor, having invested so much love into her nephew. It is easy to see the close tie she had with him.

    “I used to get a phone call from him each holiday,” Whitehead said, her voice trailing off as she fights back tears. “I’ve been sleeping with my phone hoping he will call and say he’s alright and he’s coming home. It just breaks my heart.”

    Tabitha Jones sits up in her chair, back straight, and takes a deep breath. She has sat quiet and listened as each of the family members told how they felt. She has heard it all before — for five months. Then she says something only a mother can say.

    “I’m pleading with anyone who knows what may have happened to help us bring my baby back home,” she said. “It is time for this to end. It is time he came home to us so we can love him as a family should.”

    If you have any information pertaining to this case you can call Crime Stoppers at (601) 485-1860. Or if you prefer, you can drop any information off at Jones Family P.O. Box 3103, Meridian, MS 39302.