RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – The month of September marks the anniversaries of three people who went missing in the Richmond community.
Benjamin Lott went missing on September 26, 2008. Robert Long went missing September 18, 2011 and Keeshae Jacobs went missing September 26, 2016.
On Monday afternoon, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith and family members of the missing people made a plea to the community to generate new leads in the unsolved cases.
“I just want to plea if anyone information, I don’t care how small it is,” said Toni Jacobs.
It’s been five years since Jacobs’ last saw her daughter. Keeshae Jacobs disappeared near Chimbarazo Park, but Richmond Police have yet to find any leads.
“I am pleading and begging with the public to please help me,” Jacobs said. “Help our daughter help all these families that have missing loved ones.”
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Sunday evening, Jacobs’ family held a vigil for her in Chimborazo Park. Her mother, Toni Jacobs, is calling for more attention to her daughter’s case.
“I come out to celebrate because I know in my heart she’s going to come home,” she told 8News. “And I do this, and record it just in case it’s on Facebook and she gets a chance and opportunity to see it. She’ll be like ‘Oh my mom still looking for me. I told y’all my momma ain’t going to stop.'”
Benjamin Lott went missing over ten years ago. RPD Detective Clarence Key said one day he simply never made it to work, “It was totally out of character for Mr. Lott to not show up to work.”
Lott’s daughter, Chris Lott, said she was still holding out hope that she could see her father again.
“Every morning I wake up hoping to be able to see or hear from him again to be able to give him a hug again,” she said.
There is one lead in Lott’s case – his car, found abandoned by police at a Chesterfield shopping center.
Police Chief Gerald Smith called on the public to share any information they have on the cases, vowing to keep the cases open until the missing persons are found.
“We will never forget,” said Smith. “We will never stop working and we will continue to strive until they come home.”
If you know anything about these cases, call your local police department or make an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.