National Missing Children’s Day


MEDFORD, Ore. — “It’s a day that we celebrate the children’s lives that have been located and returned home, remembering the children that will not be coming home,” explains Vicki Kelly, a Southern Oregon woman who has been working to help families through their darkest times.

The last time Vicki saw her 17-year-old son, Tommy, was in 1999.

“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. You wait for that phone to ring and it be your child on the other end saying, ‘hey mom, I’m fine. Come and get me.'”

She didn’t see him again until a year and a half later when his body was found in a Medford orchard.

“It brought Tommy home. It gave him his identity and our family was able to move forward.”

From that tragedy, Vicki started the Tommy Foundation; providing support to families and helping to shape laws.

“In 2001 we passed the Tommy laws which made no time limit to report a missing child and it also required the training of law enforcement on responding to missing children.”

Even though the Tommy foundation has since dissolved, Vicki hasn’t stopped supporting people who need it. Offering herself as a shoulder to others and giving a message of hope to families.

“Unless you know differently, never give up hope. Children are found every day. It might not be today and it might not be tomorrow, but with each day, with each breath, you are one day closer to finding your child.”

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Skip to content