Gerrard Kaonga
A heartbroken mother has spoken of the horror of learning that her son died hours after last seeing her, despite her launching a missing person campaign for months.
Bettersten Wade searched for seven months for her middle child Dexter Wade, 37, after she last saw him at her home on March 5.
After leaving her Jackson, Mississippi, home, Dexter was killed within an hour in what was deemed an accident by the police.
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Wade was walking across Interstate 55 and was fatally struck by an off-duty corporal driving a police SUV. Four days after the incident, he was identified by the Hinds County coroner’s office and this information was passed on to the Jackson Police Department.
After being identified, Dexter remained unclaimed and was buried in a common grave.
A toxicology report found that Dexter had PCP and methamphetamine in his system.
Due to his previous criminal convictions - which included attempted auto theft and armed robbery, seeing him serve time in prison - Wade was identified by his fingerprints.
Despite the police being able to identify Wade, as well as his next of kin, his mother was not notified of his death and therefore unable to claim his body.
It was not until 172 days (about 5 and a half months) later that she was informed by an officer of the fate of her son.
A week after last seeing him, Bettersten reported that he was missing but had apprehensions due to previous negative experiences with police. In 2019 her brother was killed after being slammed to the ground by an officer.
Bettersten told NBC that when she reported that her son was missing, she provided the Jackson Police Department with her contact details and pictures of him. According to Bettersten, she was never contacted by the department following the months after Dexter’s death.
During this time, Bettersten conducted searches and continued to post on social media with the belief that her son was still missing.
It remains unclear why she was not notified that her son had died.
The mother has said that one point she was told by an officer, who was working on the case, that there had been no leads.
After a new investigator took on the case, in late August, Bettersten was told that an officer would be visiting her in person and told her that her son had died.
At this point, Bettersten hopes to raise enough money to have her son’s body exhumed and buried in a new grave.
UNILAD has contacted both Hinds County Sheriff's Office and Jackson County Sheriff's Office for comment.