Updated: 9/28/2008 8:58:24 PM
The family of missing Alabama woman, Jennifer Lee Hampton, plans to hold a press conference Monday morning. Their attorney, Eddie Daniel, said their nights have been filled with sleeplessness while they wait for the autopsy results of a body found Saturday morning in the Clinch River.
"I was with the family late last night and again early this morning. The family holds a glimmer of hope that the female found in the water yesterday was not that of Jenny," Daniel said. "However, they realize the probability that the body is Jenny. Arrangements are being made, just in case it is ruled tomorrow positively that it is her."
Also waiting and praying are those who brought Hampton to town: the owners of Mama Blues Cafe, who say they wanted Hampton here to help open their restaurant because, at 21, she was wise beyond her years.
"She was just sweet, very dependable, always to work on time. [She had] a great attitude. She is just a really great person," Mama Blues owner Leslie Barnhill said.
As pending autopsy results hold the key to whether the search for Hampton may soon end, Daniel said closure is still far off, and the pain, no where near its end.
"There's no relief in knowing that your 21-year-old child is dead. It's nowhere near closure. Cyndi Senn, Jennifer's mother, will be at any and all hearings once the suspects or the individuals who did this horrendous crime are brought to justice," he said
One night's disappearance that will haunt loved ones for days to come.
"My heart goes out to them. I can't imagine what they're going through. I know it's got to be tough. My heart goes out to them. I just, i pray for them," Barnhill said.
And no matter what the autopsy results reveal, for Hampton's family, this ordeal is far from over.
