JACKSONVILLE, Texas — It's a case that's been a mystery for many East Texans.
On Aug. 22, 2020, a Jacksonville teen received a Snapchat from a girl to hang out. He left his home and never returned.
Two years later and his family continues to keep his name live to get the justice they believe they deserve.
The day Tyress Gipson, then 18, disappeared was a regular day in the household.
Gipson's mother, LaVance Hill-Wooten, said he was playing video games with Gerald, his step-father, prior to leaving.
"He said 'don't lock the door, I'm coming back,'" Hill-Wooten said.
Hill-Wooten had no idea that would be the last time she would hear her son's voice.
"Some days I wake up, and I want him to just to pop up and say 'surprise mama! I've been hiding!'" she said. "That day still hasn't come."
It's been 720 days since Tyress Gipson left his home and never returned.
"Every day I wake up it's like a nightmare that I have to relive all over again," she said.
A mother without her son. A twin missing her other half. And now a niece without her uncle.
"He would be so in love," she said. "She just brings me so much joy. The fact that her uncle has not yet met her at the hands of evil people is just terrible."
Since Aug. 22, 2020, four people have been arrested - only two indicted.
"To me it was a set up from the beginning," Hill-Wooten said. Her daughter, Tyshera Gipson shook her head in agreeance.
So far, zero confessions on where Tyress is have been provided.
"I want to know where he is... we want to know where he is," Hill-Wooten said. "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."
The family has committed to keeping his name alive with t-shirts, bracelets, yard signs and even a billboard.
On Monday, the anniversary of his disappearance, they planted a tree for Tyress.
"We will never stop seeking justice," Hill-Wooten said.
The tree is a Live Oak planted in their front yard with with yellow ribbon symbolic of their missing loved one.
Derrick D. Hicks, Breonna M. Jimenez, Cameron D Shead and a juvenile were arrested in September 2020 on aggravated kidnapping charges in connection with Gipson's disappearance, according to the Jacksonville Police Department.
Jimenez's trial is set for September 2022.
Shead was later indicted on a capital murder charge. His trial is in January 2023, confirmed by Gipson's mother.