As Jennifer Lunsford and Allyson Romedy tilled the soil in their grandmother’s garden, the youngsters talked about their future. Those conversations around the vegetable patch made gardening feel less tedious.

A hard day’s work was followed by jokes and laughter in their mother’s kitchen, which continued into their adult life. Romedy was the life of the party and never kept a straight face. Lunsford thought they would grow old together as siblings. She savored her relationship with her sister.

But in 2002, Romedy went missing. She vanished from her apartment at Weisenbaker Place in Rincon after she tucked her daughter into bed.

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Lunsford thought the investigation into her sister’s disappearance would be short-lived. Early on, her mother did not think anything was wrong. She assumed Romedy was out with a friend.

But Romedy did not show up for work. Her boyfriend at the time reported her missing the next day. 20 years later, her body has never been found. The family observed the 20th anniversary of Romedy’s disappearance this year.

Two decades later, there are still more questions than answers.

Lunsford and Romedy were practically joined at the hip. The sisters spent many days at their grandma’s house, played pranks on their mom and shared the same friends.

“We grew up hanging out with my granny,” said Lunsford. “She kept us after school and when summer was out. Our life revolved around her. We went to church, which was right up the road. We were involved in church activities and then youth group.”

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They knew how to push their momma’s buttons too. Lunsford said for fun, the two would pester their mom with bad words. “She didn’t like crude language,” said Lunsford. “But we said, ‘hey we are grown now so we can say what we want.’ We would say things to get her going. My momma was Baptist and she didn’t like foul language.”

Being 11-months apart, the sisters built a lifetime of memories together.

“We could laugh so hard that you couldn’t understand what we were saying,” said Lunsford. “We would play tricks on my mom, even when we got to be adults. We would hide in a clothing rack at the store and jump out at her. We used to have the best time together. Allyson didn’t move to Rincon until she was in her 30s. We were close growing up. We did everything together. We didn’t start to have different interests until the eighth grade.”

Romedy was living in Rincon with her 10-year old daughter in February 2002. She was a single mother, working hard to make ends meet. Lunsford said Romedy was caring but demanded respect.

She was living her best life, hanging out with friends and going on road trips. But one day, she took a trip she never asked to go on.

Feb. 28, 2002, was the last time her family would hear her voice, see her warm smile and laugh at her witty attitude. That evening when their family was notified that Romedy could be missing, her mother did not panic at first.

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“Momma called and said she had been contacted by Allyson’s best friend saying she did not show up for work,” said Romedy. “Her friend was listed as an emergency contact at work. At first, my parents weren’t too concerned because they just figured she just went somewhere.”

But Lunsford knew something was wrong because Romedy would not leave her 10-year old daughter alone that long. She knew then something bad happened.

 “We thought it was foul play,” said Lunsford. “We found her car abandoned the next day and really no evidence. We searched as a family when we got there. We went several different directions. Saturday morning, in five different cars, we went looking for her car.”

After days of searching, Lunsford and her family had no choice but to return home. Law enforcement could not piece together what happened, leaving Lunsford’s family confused and even more worried.

Lunsford did not have much time to grieve. She had children of her own to look after. She needed her job. But most of all, she needed stability in her mind. She refused to let her sister’s disappearance become a crutch in her life.

“I have two children of my own that were counting on me,” said Lunsford. “My momma had the hardest time. But she had a job and she had to get back to it. You don’t have a choice but to go on. What else are you doing to do?”

Detective Lee Chadwick of the Rincon Police Department has been digging into the case, looking for leads and hoping someone with any information will come forward.  

“When I looked over the case, I saw some things that stood out,” said Chadwick. “Her car was found not even half a mile from where she lived. The car was cleaned and with it being found that close to her home, it does not make sense.”

Chadwick said close proximity to the back woods makes it easy to dispose a body. “It’s not that hard,” said Chadwick. “You could do it in your backyard, especially around here.”

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He went on to say it has been difficult to solve her disappearance when there is little-to-no evidence and so much time has passed. He will have to rely on his detective work and getting a full confession, a task he thinks he can accomplish.

“If it was an accident, you have hidden it for 20 years,” said Chadwick. “There are consequences that have to be paid somehow. With me coming in and having no knowledge of it at all, it makes things interesting. At one point, I thought I had a reliable tip, so much so that we went out there with shovels and a backhoe and nothing came of it. I have someone in mind, it’s just a matter of trying to find the evidence and that is going to be extremely difficult.”

Lunsford does not think anyone intended to hurt her sister.

“The police, GBI and us have speculated who we thought it was but we don’t think it was anything premeditated,” said Lunsford. “We just think something went wrong.”

With years of experience under his belt, Chadwick is confident his gut feeling is leading him in the right direction.

“I have theories,” said Chadwick. “In my heart, I know I’m right. But whoever did it needs to do the right thing. It’s a decent thing to do. This family has gone without a sister and a mom and a cousin and whatever else. They shouldn’t have to go through that.”

Lunsford said her health is failing and it will only be a matter of time before she gets answers.

“I don’t know what happened to her,” said Lunsford. “But I will be out of here soon and when I get to heaven, I will find out.”

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.