About our Foundation
A brief history...
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Our lives forever changed during the summer of 2004. The shining star of our family,
Tamika, had disappeared. Always the independent free spirit, it took us more than two weeks to realize that she wasn’t simply on another spontaneous road trip to visit friends or family as she often liked to do. Once it became painfully clear that no one in our very large and extended family had recently been in touch with
Tamika, panic set in and we made that first dreadful call to local police. Still holding out hope that it was just a terrible misunderstanding and that Tamika would soon resurface with her bright smile and an amazing story to tell, the early weeks of the investigation became a harsh lesson in reality for us. Tamika’s beloved dog, Macy, being found alone and in conditions her loyal owner would never have tolerated. Missing posters. An abandoned vehicle. The purple glow of chemicals emanating from the windows of Tamika’s small home in Spartanburg, South Carolina as investigators searched for clues. It was all too surreal for our lives which to date, had been largely unaffected by violent crime or such enormous tragedy. |
However, our family did not let our grief and our fear paralyze us from taking action. We immediately used our individual skill sets to assist with the investigation to the best of our abilities. My technologically savvy siblings set up websites in order to spread and collect information on the case. The most financially-minded among us spearheaded the efforts to raise reward money from family and friends. I personally relied upon my expertise in public relations in order to garner local, regional and national media attention for Tamika’s case. Tamika’s mother, Gabriella Simenehe, would muster up the courage to speak to reporters and plead for her only daughter’s safe return. Finally, my background as a non-practicing attorney gave me a working knowledge – albeit limited – on criminal law and the justice system. We simply became advocates for Tamika when she no longer had the ability to fight for herself.
These days, Tamika’s story is often remembered most for the national debate which was raised about the disparity in which media covers missing person cases involving minorities. It will forever be an important part of her legacy. Yet, equally important to the eventual discovery and conviction of Tamika’s killer, Christopher Hampton, is the outstanding and tireless effort of the investigators who worked on her case. Often times, frustration and slow progress with criminal investigations can lead to a breakdown in communication and the development of a contentious relationship with law enforcement. A lesson we learned early and one that we intend to teach other families of the missing is that it is important to become an ally of the investigators charged with solving your case.
The pain of losing Tamika in such a senseless and brutal way will never subside. However, our family is all too familiar with the sheer number of missing persons cases in this country which will never be solved and the thousands of families who will never receive justice for their loved ones. In a sad way, we consider ourselves among the fortunate ones and we certainly believe Tamika would want us to use our collective grief and experiences to help others.
- Rebkah M. Howard, Executive Director
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