SAN ANTONIO – Only a few days are left for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. On Thursday, people went to the Bexar County Courthouse to pay tribute to victims of violent crimes.
Families, survivors and the people who are trying to help victims gathered to bring awareness.
“There is someone out there that knows what happened to my daughter,” said Margie Salinas, whose daughter, Dedra, disappeared in 1999.
Dedra’s body was discovered six years later, but to this day, no one has been charged with killing her.
Dedra left behind a daughter, who is also searching for answers.
“Today, (her daughter is) a 24-year-old and she wonders, 'What happened to my mother? Is there something you know that you're not telling me?’” Salinas said.
The tribute at the Courthouse wasn’t just to support victims’ families and survivors of violent crimes. It was also a chance to let the community know that help is available.
“Statistics show that it takes at least seven or eight times for someone to leave an abusive situation before they will actually break free from that environment,” Judge Crystal Chandler said.
Among those who need help are abused children. They were represented Thursday by “cardboard kids,” part of a campaign by Child Safe that encourages people who see something to say something.
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