Gary, Ind.
Search goes on for missing Diamond Bynum, 23, and nephew King Walker, 4
Ariana Walker passes out pink flyers to customers at a Markham salon with the usual hairstyle information, but also with pictures of Diamond Bynum and King Walker, who’ve been missing for two years.
Now 23 and 4, respectively, Walker’s sister and son are described, and there are phone numbers to call if anyone has seen them. Walker said tips have slowed to a trickle, but she still holds out hope.
“I still feel they’re somewhere out there and they’re with someone,” Walker said.
Eugene Bynum said he agrees with his daughter.
“I’m quite sure that they’re out there,” he said.
Diamond Bynum and the boy were reported missing after her stepmother awoke from a nap at a home in the 500 block of Matthews Street around 11 a.m. July 25, 2015, in Gary’s Brunswick neighborhood and discovered they were gone, according to police.
Their family was baffled, saying the two could not have gone very far. Bynum has Prader-Willi syndrome, a condition characterized by slow mental development and a constant sense of hunger, officials said, and she walks with a limp.
In the months after, family and volunteers searched abandoned houses and vacant lots in Gary. Indiana State Police issued a Silver Alert.
Now, Walker said, abandoned houses aren’t being searched anymore, but she and her family take turns driving around looking for any signs of the missing pair.
“We really don’t know where to search,” Walker said.
She has a bedroom set up for her son in her Calumet City apartment. Books line a windowsill. A small basketball hoop sits against a wall. And a bed is made with Disney’s “Cars” blankets and stuffed animals.
It’s been tough waiting for information, Walker said. “I think where we are now is, kind of like, reality hit. You know, that it’s been so long, and it’s like we’re dealing with our personal feelings about it. And it is hard.”
Eugene Bynum said the case has faded from view.
“People don’t know anything about what’s going on, about them being missing,” he said.
LaShann Walker, mother and grandmother of the pair, said, “A lot of people thought they were found.”
Gary police received some tips in the early months. A boy’s remains were found in a Garfield Park lagoon in Chicago but were not a DNA match to King. A possible sighting was reported from Blue Island, but nothing came of it.
“According to what police is telling me, they’re just waiting on tips, and they haven’t got any tips in a while,” LaShann Walker said.
The Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force joined Gary police last fall at the request of Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and police Chief Larry McKinley. Greg Mance, spokesman for the task force and chief of Griffith, Ind., police, said it provided fresh eyes for about a week and would rejoin Gary police if asked or if new leads came in.
“In general, cases that linger on without conclusion, we really do need the public’s help,” Mance said. “There are people out there who know what happened.”
If people are afraid to come forward, Mance said, they can call Gary’s tip line at 866-274-6347 or submit an anonymous tip online at
Diamond Bynum is described as 4 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 210 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a shirt.
King Walker is described as 3 feet tall, weighing 35 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. He was last seen wearing red pants and a blue T-shirt.
As the second anniversary of the pair’s disappearance passed Tuesday, Ariana Walker said she wants people to keep their eyes open, and if they “see something, say something.”
And Eugene Bynum said, “I just want my daughter and my grandson to come home.”
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