Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Missing woman's daughter takes her plea nationwide

By Stephanie Howard The Examiner

Brandy Shipp still holds hope someone knows where her mother is.

Brandy Shipp, of Kansas City, appeared Tuesday morning on the "Montel" show in an episode focusing on missing persons. She was one of five stories featured on the show.

Her mother, Summer Shipp, of Kansas City, disappeared from an Independence neighborhood in early December. Police have had few leads in the case, but Brandy Shipp has devoted all of her time to finding her mom.

"I put my whole life on hold," Brandy Shipp said on the show. "The only thing that matters in my life is finding my mom."

Brandy Shipp's segment of the show lasted about 15 minutes, and she relived for the audience what happened.

Summer was working in Independence doing door-to-door surveys for a market research company on Dec. 8. Two days later, her boss called Brandy Shipp's father to say Summer never showed up for work. Brandy Shipp went to her mother's house and noticed the dog had not been let out in a few days.

Ever since, Brandy Shipp's been on a vigil to keep her mother's picture and name in the public eye. Buses, taxi cabs and billboards all over the Kansas City area have pictures of Summer. The reward for information is more than $100,000, and friends of Summer continue to hold fundraisers.

Brandy Shipp, even after almost five months of no contact from her mom, is still confident her mother is alive.

"Someone abducted her," Brandy Shipp said on the show. "Someone is holding her against her will. I know someone knows something."

Friends of Summer will hold a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. May 1 at the intersection of Forest Street and West College Terrace where Shipp's car was found three days after she went missing.