LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For Justin Perkins, October 1997 still feels very fresh. That's when his beloved big sister, Lydia Perkins, vanished at just 14 years old from Linwood Drive in the Cardinal Valley neighborhood.
"They say with time everything gets better. And this is the one thing I've noticed that it doesn't," Perkins said.
The pain of losing his sister has only grown stronger over the years, and her family is still desperately searching for closure.
"I've had a lot of good people come into my life thankfully over the years but none of those people will be my sister. And that's 28 years now of missing out on that," Perkins said.
Perkins says he's heard many stories in the years since she disappeared. Some people claim to have even seen her walking home that night. All clues Perkins and his mother have tried to piece together for 28 years.
"I've come to the realization, I've known as much back then as I do now," Perkins said.
But in nearly three decades, there have been no real leads. Perkins says there's been no real help from police in trying to find her, leaving the family frustrated.
"It's frustrating trying to do this yourself. And when you ask you're met with resistance," Perkins said. "I'm not gonna discredit the police department because I don't know what investigation was done. But as far as their handling of the family, it's been horrible."
Now all the family wants is closure, hoping that will help end what Perkins says has been a nightmare.
"Me and my mom, we don't want to go through the courts, we don't want to go through who did this, and who did that. We just want it over. And the only way we can do that is to find out where she's at," Perkins said.
LEX 18 reached out to the Lexington Police Department for comment on the case, and received this statement:
"The disappearance of Lydia Perkins is an active missing persons investigation. There is a detective assigned to the case, to investigate and follow up on leads until the case is solved and/or charges have been placed. The detective also evaluates any advancements in technology that might assist in furthering the investigation. All tips and information are important. Sometimes it takes a single small piece of information to complete the picture."
If you have any information about what happened to Lydia Perkins, call the Lexington Police Department at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online, or through the P3 tips app.
