Family, friends remember Riverside mom Cheryl Coker with balloons, prayers

UPDATE @ 9:10 p.m.:  The six months Riverside mom Cheryl Coker has been missing have been particularly difficult, her older sister Margie Keenan said during this evening's vigil and balloon launch to mark the day Coker was last seen.

“Good days and bad days, highs and lows. Rough,” Margie Keenan said of the last six months. “I think that’s been the hardest part -- no closure,” she told News Center 7’s Sean Cudahy.

“I don’t wake up not thinking about her. I go to bed thinking about her, just praying and hope that I see her one day,” Keenan said.

Among the dozens of friends and family who gathered at the billboard publicizing Coker’s disappearance and slaying was Charity Leiter, a member of the Riverside community.

>> RELATED: Cheryl Coker billboard serves as reminder of her disappearance 6 months later

“We wanted to mark the day as a remembrance,” she said.

Leiter was unable to participate in the most recent search for Coker, which took place last weekend, but said the billboard and turnout makes her proud to know “so many people that have no idea who she was wanted her to know she was part of their community.

“They don't want this to happen to anyone, so they're doing what they can," she said.

EARLIER REPORT

Tuesday marks six months since Cheryl Coker was last seen.

Her family and friends are planning a prayer vigil for her Tuesday night, and they’ll release lots of balloons.

The vigil will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the billboard on the corner of Burkhardt and Spinning roads and it’s open to the public.

Community members collected donations to rent the billboard to keep Cheryl's name and face in people's minds.

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