Fundraisers to benefit missing woman's triplets

Friends, family and co-workers of Jacque Sue Waller, missing from Jackson since June 1, are doing everything they can to keep their loved one's memory alive.

Tina Burrows Hitt of Cape Girardeau, who has recently set up a committee to help organize fundraisers to benefit Waller's triplets, knows her friend of many years would do the same for the people in her life.

A July 9 yard sale at Calvary United Pentecostal Church in Jackson is first on the list of events. The committee will meet today, Hitt said, to finalize details.

"I felt the need to put this committee in place so that no one person is spinning their wheels and feeling overwhelmed, alone or left out," Hitt said. "We don't want this to just fall by the wayside, as we all know Jacque would feel the same if it were any one of us."

Waller was last seen in the area of North Neal Street and Woodland Drive, where her estranged husband, Clay Waller, was living at the time. He was the last to see Jacque Waller, telling police she left his house on foot after the couple argued over their divorce proceedings. He has been named as a person of interest in her disappearance.

According to Christy Moore-Gill, who is helping to organize the July 9 event, more than 35 people have donated items for the yard sale, including furniture, clothes, toys and shoes. For now, Moore-Gill has been storing the items at her home, but she hopes to soon make a storage unit available for more people to drop off donations.

"I even have someone from Iowa who is mailing me their boxes of donations to my house," she said. "We don't want to miss out on the opportunity for donations."

Proceeds from the yard sale will go toward a fund Jacque Waller's family has set up her for 5-year-old triplets. A Jacque Waller Reward Fund has also been set up. Donations are accepted at all US Bank locations.

On Tuesday, Waller's stepniece, Brittany Brenneke-Strange, is hosting a bake sale at the Farmington, Mo., Walmart. Waller graduated from Farmington High School, and recently friends and family gathered for a prayer vigil there. Anyone wishing to support Waller and her family can purchase items from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Brenneke-Strange said her motivation is justice for her aunt, so building up a reward fund is important to her. A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in connection to Waller's disappearance.

"I just want to do something but feel so helpless," she said in an email Sunday. "If a reward fund is what we need to bring Jacque home and if something as simple as a cookie or cupcake will help get us there, then I'm in."

The Jackson Police Department is still investigating the circumstances of Waller's disappearance but released no new information Sunday. Chief James Humphreys said the department is waiting to receive evidentiary items back from a crime lab as it follows up on leads that continue to surface.

"We hope some of that's coming in this week that'll lead us different directions," Humphreys said. "We've done what we could to speed up the process, but it's unfortunately still pretty slow."

The Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad was deactivated June 10 after helping to generate more than 200 leads in the case. Investigators from individual agencies will continue to assist whenever they're able to, Humphreys has said.

Stay updated on fundraisers for Waller on the Justice for Jacque Fund Raiser Committee page and the Find Jacque S. Waller page on Facebook. Anyone wanting to donate items for the July 9 yard sale can contact Moore-Gill at 573-576-3913.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

Woodland Drive and North Neal Street, Jackson, MO