KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A day after family members found the body of missing 28-year-old Renita Thompson, those who knew the mother of two children gathered on Sunday at the site of the disturbing discovery.
Thompson’s cousin, Alexis Paskel, and two others found her body in the area of Gregory Boulevard and Ewing Avenue near Interstate 435 when the three were driving to the grocery store.
“I always went that way. Every time I go get my groceries I go the same way,” Paskel said. “My cousin found her first. Then I saw her.”
While Paskel and others searched for days following Thompson’s reported disappearance on Monday, the three found the site after seeing something in the nearby woods.
“I get closer to the curb then she [one of the other women in the car] leans over. That’s when she sees her,” Paskel said. “Then she falls back in the car. She’s like, ‘I see her. I see her.’”
Thompson’s cause of death still remained under investigation on Sunday.
Following the discovery, friends and family members left candles and flowers near where Thompson’s body was found.
For Paskel, the whole case seemed tough to believe.
“It’s unreal,” she said. “I keep thinking she’ll be back.”
Thompson was a mother of two children with the youngest being just three months old, according Paskel.
Thinking about the impact of Thompson’s death to her children brought even more heartbreak on Sunday for Paskel.
“She was nice. She was blunt. She was like a sister to me,” the cousin said. “She loved her kids. She thought the world of them.”
With questions still waiting to be answered as to what happened to Thompson, Paskel said it was important for people to come forward with information.
“Speak up,” she said. “If you heard anything, seen anything, know anything, speak up.”
“What if it was one of your babies? What if it was your sister or your mom?” Paskel said.
Investigators ask anyone with possible information on the case to call 816-474-TIPS (8477).
