JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens of people held a candlelight vigil in honor of Trenton Duckett, the toddler who went missing seven years ago Tuesday.
The vigil began at 7:30 p.m. at the Leesburg Town Center.
"Not knowing where he is, not knowing he's safe, not knowing if he's being taken care of like we would want him to be, that makes it very hard," said Josh Duckett, the boy's father. He spoke with Local 6 and said he hoped the annual vigil will spark new leads in the investigation which remains open.
He said he still keeps his son's bedroom intact, even though seven years have gone by since his son, Trenton, disappeared. The 2-year-old vanished sometime after August 26, 2006, and was last seen with his mom, Melinda Duckett.
The 21-year-old mother had just left her grandparents house, but by the next day, little Trenton was gone.
Answers died with Melinda when she committed suicide weeks later.
"She definitely had the answers and I feel when she committed suicide, they went with her," said Josh. "There are leads that have come in. None of them have turned out to be anything major and we're going to continue to follow up on them and we're going to continue to work on every lead that comes in, or every bit of information that comes into us."
Duckett said it's been a few months since there's been any leads about his missing son, but he's hoping the more his case is talked about, the more tips will come in.
It's why two dozen people gathered in support Tuesday evening, including people who volunteered to search for Trenton years ago, like Shelly Crain.
She said, "I kept his picture on my refrigerator for like five, six years, hoping that somebody would find him."
Organizers of the Florida Missing Children's Day Foundation attended the vigil and said there's always hope, no matter how long the case remains open.
Duckett also believes the recent case of the three Ohio women who were rescued after being held in captivity for 10 years renews his hope that he will find his son.
"It's just a matter of staying positive and continuing the drive and motivation to go forward," he said.
Trenton Duckett would be 9 years old today.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call 1-800-423-TIPS.