Our family, like many others, have been thrown into the deeply distressing vortex of having a missing loved one. Our sister, Elisa Roberson, has been missing for 35 years. Despite the tireless efforts of family and some members of the Aransas Pass Police Department a resolution to her case remains elusive. In the course of our quest for justice, we have come face-to-face with intricate bureaucratic hurdles, and have faced continual stonewalling by the local law enforcement agency, thwarting our efforts when we seek access to her case files.

This petition seeks to change this. We're asking for systemic reforms beyond our state, that have national implications. It is a call for the law enforcement infrastructure across America to grant families of missing persons, with cases remaining unresolved for 20 years or more, access to their loved one’s case file. We should not have to engage in a battle against the system to get the answers we are desperate for.

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), as of 2020, there are over 600,000 individuals reported missing every year in America, many whose fates remain unknown for years. [source: Bureau of Justice Statistics]. It represents hundreds of thousands of families who, like ours, hurt and search and advocate. Access to case files can enable families to bring in extra resources, like private investigators, to breathe new life into these cold cases.

We believe that these law reforms would not undermine officers' work but rather compliment and assist it, by allowing a fresh set of eyes to hopefully find what previous investigators may have missed. Our aim is not to cast blame or impede investigations, but to acknowledge that our inherent right to search for our loved ones should be supported, not hindered by the system.

Let's turn our grief into action. Let our collective voice be the catalyst for change. Demand law enforcement agencies grant us the right to fight hard for our missing loved ones. Sign this petition for the families who search, for the families who hope, and for the families like ours who only seek answers and justice for their loved ones.