Friends and family of Cleashindra Hall, a Pine Bluff woman who disappeared almost 18 years ago, observed what would have been her 36th birthday Friday with a march from the family home on South Taft Street to the residence on Faucett Road where she was last seen.
Laurell Hall, Cleashindra Hall’s mother, handed out a total of 37 balloons to those gathered in the front yard of the family residence.
“Thirty-six for her birthday and a white one,” Hall said as people took a balloon and then gathered at the curb.
“Tally ho,” Hall said and what had become a crowd of nearly 50 well-wishers set out for Faucett Road.
Once the group had gathered on a side street adjacent to the home at 5309 Faucett Road owned by Larry Amos, the man who employed Cleashindra Hall to do clerical work at the time of her disappearance, Laurell Hall addressed the crowd.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“Thank you everybody for coming to support Cleashindra,” Hall said. “It’s been 18 years that she’s been missing and we don’t know where she is. Today is her 36th birthday. I talked to her classmates today and we decided to go to the last spot that people saw her alive.”
Hall began to sing for her daughter.
“You are my baby, from mother to daughter,” she sang in a soft, almost lullaby.
“My grandbaby said to say ‘Happy Birthday, Clea, we love you!’ when we release the balloons,” Hall said. “On the count of three: one, two, three.”
The balloons were released to a chorus of “Happy Birthday, Clea, we love you!”
Pastor Darryl Eddleston Sr. then led the crowd in prayer.
Class of 1994
“I wanted to support her family and offer whatever support I could to her family,” said DeCarlos Garner, who was one of Cleashindra Hall’s Watson Chapel High School classmates.
Cleashindra Hall was a senior when she disappeared on May 9, 1994.
“She was a real good girl,” said classmate Cliff Cross. “You couldn’t ask for a sweeter person than her.”
Crystal Lemons-Bush remembered playing in the high school band with Cleashindra Hall.
“She played drums and I played the saxophone,” Lemons-Bush said. “She was always smiling — a real happy-go-lucky person. I had her in several other classes.
“She was so much smarter than me,” Lemons-Bush said with a smile. “This is an emotional time for her classmates and her family.”
Community support
LaTonyalyn White knew Cleashindra Hall from church.
“We are here to support the Hall family,” White said. “They are very good people. They do whatever they can for others and we support them as well.”
Elizabeth Robinson is a longtime family friend.
“Family love,” Robinson said in answer to the question of why she was out walking on Faucett Road Friday evening. “I knew Clea since she was a little girl. I am close friends with her mother.”
Family
“To me it is the beginning of hope,” said Annie Shaw about what the night meant to her. “I am Clea’s aunt. Her father’s sister.”
Cleashindra Hall’s cousin Erica Dean was glad to see so many people out showing their support.
“I’m happy that people have not forgotten about her,” Dean said. “People are remembering her. It’s actually like a community again with support for her family.”
Gennette Johnson is another of Cleashindra Hall’s aunts.
“We hope and pray that something comes of this,” Johnson said of the police search of the Amos residence conducted Thursday. “It is time for closure. We hope that something happens soon.”
Parents
Cleashindra’s father Willie Hall is thankful that people are still thinking about his daughter.
“It’s a great thing that they took time out from their busy schedules to be here tonight,” Hall said. “They still remember. I wasn’t sure how many people would be here tonight but this has just been great.”
Laurell Hall expressed her appreciation for the strong emotions still expressed by others for her daughter.
“The last couple of days I’ve felt the best I’ve felt in the last 18 years,” Hall said. “The last couple of days have really let me know that people are still thinking about Clea and her family.”