Don and Donna Ross felt their moods darken as they made the long drive to Chicago from their home outside Kansas City.
It had been a few years since they'd returned to the city Donna Ross calls "evil," the city that claimed their youngest son, Jesse, just over 10 years ago.
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"Every time we do this, we open that sore," Donna Ross said of their visits to Chicago to try to renew interest in the case. They accept that their son is likely dead; they just want to know what happened to him.
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The Rosses returned to Chicago last month to attend a Missing Persons Day hosted by the Cook County medical examiner's office. They met with organizers and submitted Jesse's old dental retainer in hopes it would yield DNA for a national database of missing people. While in town, they hung posters with his photo near the hotel where he was last seen and passed out fliers, as they've done for a decade now.
The efforts have been heartbreakingly fruitless, and the visits to Chicago bring up painful memories. But the Rosses say they have no other choice.
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The couple have been frustrated at times with how the investigation seemed to stall. Over the years, Don Ross said he's sent hundreds of postcards with his son's photo to detectives on the case, city officials and the media, hoping to keep Jesse on their minds.
The couple also hosts an annual event in their hometown of Belton, Mo., to honor Jesse. They've enlisted the help of a private investigator. Don Ross has self-published two books about his son's disappearance and writes poetry about Jesse.
The Rosses still wear buttons every day with Jesse's photo. Their SUV displays a decal of their missing-person poster. It took years for them to pack away most of Jesse's belongings, and Don Ross still wears his son's T-shirts.
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"This ought to be a documentary," he recalled thinking. "This could do some good. If nothing else, (viewers) will remember Jesse Ross. ... I just don't want anyone to forget."
Rose eventually got in touch with the Rosses and started working on the film. He's done scores of interviews and has visited Chicago several times. Rose has stayed at the Sheraton, retracing Jesse's steps.
Four years later, Rose said the film is nearly complete, and he plans to enter it into festivals this summer.
10 years after son vanished on college trip, couple still seek answers
Very length article there....