Mother fears worst for KC man missing since May. Did police mishandle investigation?

Skylar Ware has been missing since May. His mother, Saundra Sheppard, fears the worst.

Sheppard last heard from Ware when he left a message wishing his mom well on Mother’s Day.

Ware, who is 26, has not been active on social media since early June and has not been seen at the home where he lived with roommates on Victor Street. Multiple attempts to contact Ware, who did not have a cellphone, have failed, Sheppard said.

“It’s almost like he vanished,” she said.

Sheppard was hesitant to file a missing person report with the Kansas City Police Department. She thought that because Ware is an adult, officials wouldn’t make the case a priority. But a friend in law enforcement encouraged her to file a report because Ware is bipolar.

Initially, Sheppard was hopeful investigators would help her locate Ware, who is the father of a 5-year-old child. But months have passed, and police have not publicized details about his disappearance, leaving Sheppard to wonder why so little has been done to find her son.

The Kansas City Police Department uses a set of criteria to ask the public for help locating a missing adult, and not every case is publicized. The person must be under the care of a psychiatrist or psychologist for mental health issues, have a grave medical condition that requires immediate medication, or have threatened to harm themselves. Suspicion of foul play is another consideration.

Sheppard said that in addition to being bipolar, Ware has threatened to take his own life. She told police she had doubts that he disappeared willingly.

Ware has struggled with mental health issues since he was 10, his mother said. He is also a drug addict with a criminal history, she said.

He was charged with invasion of privacy, a misdemeanor, in 2015. He has also pleaded guilty to trespassing in Oak Grove and driving while intoxicated and speeding in Jackson County.

Sheppard fears that Ware’s case was not a priority for investigators because he has a criminal record. She wants to know why there was no media alert about his disappearance.

It’s a question many other Kansas City residents have asked, including the family of Mack Jones, a 30-year-old aspiring rapper from Kansas City who was killed last year. After Jones was reported missing, police waited three days to alert the public.

He had received threats prior to his disappearance, his family told police. Four days later, Jones’ decomposing body was found in his car.

One year earlier, the police declined to take a missing person report on 26-year-old Justin Graham. His body was later found in a vacant lot at 17th Street and White Avenue. Police said Graham was a homicide victim.

Three years ago, police refused to take a missing person report for 37-year-old Carrie Mae Blewett, whose remains were found weeks later near a tree line on College Avenue. No local media alert was sent asking for the public’s help locating Blewett, and her death was ruled a homicide.

Mental health, substance abuse issue complicate searches

Police have dropped the ball in her son’s case, Sheppard said. Ware was in danger at the time of his disappearance, and he was not taking his medication as prescribed, she said.

Sheppard told police she heard from Ware’s associates that he was shot and killed during a drug deal in Blue Springs, according to the missing person report on file with Kansas City police. Even then, the police failed to notify the public of Ware’s case, and investigators ruled out foul play.

“We do not suspect foul play, and do not need the media’s assistance but should that change we would advise all media outlets,” a Kansas City Police Department spokesman wrote in an email.

Missing individuals with substance abuse issues are often disregarded, mental health advocates said. Add a couple of convictions to a person’s rap sheet, and it’s easy to see why police officials wouldn’t issue a media alert, they said.

Sometimes, those struggling with mental health problems don’t want to be found, advocates said. The family and the police need to consider the possibility that Ware left willingly.

But people experiencing homelessness and those with mental health issues should have the same support as others who are reported missing, said Robin Wells Burton, founder of Missing and Homeless, a nonprofit organization that helps people find their loved ones.

“You don’t see much publicity for people with mental illness,” she said.

Officers performed a residence check in August at Ware’s last known address in Kansas City, but residents stated they had not seen him in months and he no longer lived there, according to the missing person report.

Checks conducted for Ware through the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Jackson County Detention Center came up empty as well, a Kansas City police official wrote.

Sheppard, a licensed therapist who lives in Florida, she said her world has been rocked by her only child’s disappearance.

“It’s been hell, but I can’t even describe it,” Sheppard said. “The more time passes, the more difficult it is. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

Ware is described as 5-foot-9 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes and several visible tattoos.

Sheppard told police about the person she suspects has information on Ware’s whereabouts, but police have not followed up on her leads, she said.

Like every missing person, Ware is someone’s loved one. Sheppard deserves answers and closure. And his case deserves the Kansas City Police Department’s attention.