SAN ANTONIO — This week will mark the sixth Thanksgiving, that the family of Amalia Garza will have an empty chair at dinner.
Although it's been nearly six years since Amalia disappeared, her family continues searching for answers.
Amalia's mother, Sylvia Gonzalez says only a mother knows the hurt and pain she is feeling not knowing what happened to her daughter. It's through that pain, that she remains determined to find her daughter.
"As a mom, I need that answer, to feel that peace within me, to find her," Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez says the last time she spoke with Amalia was March 1st, 2018. Gonzalez says Amalia was heading to a party with her boyfriend, Steven Rendon. Amalia was suppose to call her the next day, but Gonzalez says that call never came.
"As soon as I hear her name, sometimes I cry, because I don't know what's going on with her. I don't know if she's hurting. I don't know if she's crying for me, like I cry for her, or if she's being tormented," Gonzalez says.
Two years after Amalia disappeared, San Antonio police arrested Rendon, charging him with holding a woman against her will and sexually assaulting her for nearly two weeks.
Rendon has never been charged or been named as a suspect in Amalia's disappearance, but Gonzalez says she believes he knows where her daughter is located.
"I'm 100% sure that he is responsible. The reason is because as soon as she went missing he never even called me and asked for her," Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez says Amalia's disappearance has taken a toll on her emotionally, causing her to suffer from depression and anxiety.
Gonzalez says holidays like Thanksgiving, are tough to celebrate.
"It's an empty chair you know. When is she going to fill that chair? When is that space going to be filled with her, with her presence, her laugh, her smile," Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez is asking anyone who knows where Amalia is at to please come forward and give her the peace she so desperately seeks.
"Let her come home, cause I need her. She's part of me, she's my life, and I want to find her," Gonzalez says.
Amalia was 39 at the time of her disappearance and would have turned 45 this year. If you have any information about this case, you're urged to contact San Antonio police.
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