KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One Knoxville man has been missing for several years with no major developments in his case, but that hasn't stopped Byron Edwards' family from sharing his story. Byron Edwards has now been missing for more than two years.
"We still haven't heard anything, the police is considering it a cold case," said Marilyn Hamilton, Byron's grandmother. "We haven't been able to get in contact with the lead investigator, none of our phone calls have been returned. And so we wanted to use this opportunity to let the public know and be aware that Byron is still missing. And if there's anybody out there that knows anything that can contribute any information, the family needs some closure. Whether the closure is good or bad, we need to find out what happened to Byron."
Byron was last reported to be walking around Riverside Drive in Knoxville. Reports say he was headed from his girlfriend's home to his grandmother's. His family says since then, they haven't heard of any leads on where he could be or what could have happened to him.
His brother Davonta Hamilton says he woke up on his birthday on March 20, 2022, and didn't receive a call from his brother.
"He was my biggest brother and my protector and it's been so hard not hearing his voice or knowing what's really going on," said Davonta. "So it's really hard. Like I wake up every day trying to you know maintain, understand why's he not here? What's going on with him? And it's just, I just want to know if he's in a better place or what? Anything, however it may go, just if anybody however y'all want to do it just, just let us know what's going on. It's really hard and it's really messing up a lot of things going on in my life and everybody's life. I just want to know where my brother is. Is he okay and everything's fine? So we can have peace."
His family members said hope and faith are keeping his memory alive.
"Nobody but God with his grace and his mercy," said Ellen Crawford, Byron's aunt. "We believe, we have faith. The only thing we do is just keep praying and praying. And we're hoping that that prayer will be answered soon."
Byron's grandmother says he went missing right before his daughter, Blessing, was born.
"Right after Byron went missing, he had a beautiful daughter, Blessing, that he has never seen that was born with a rare heart condition that had to have surgery,' said Marilyn. "We thank God that Blessing is now thriving. She is now two years old. She still has some medical conditions that she's dealing with. And it would be a blessing if Blessing could see or hear from her father, or if someone can come forward to just give us anything that can lead to what happened to Byron. A family is deeply hurt. A family deeply misses him. And there's a void in this family because of his absence."
Byron's mom says she just wants closure.
"I don't care if he was home and he's lived in the streets or whatever," said Nicole Hamilton. "He still was a human being and loved. Let me put my son at peace. Don't matter what he did in his past or whatever. This is the present. Everybody should be able to put their loved ones at peace."
If you have any information on where Byron could be, call the East Tennessee Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165.