Bradley sisters, missing for 18 years, remembered at vigil

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There was a vigil Sunday night to commemorate the anniversary of a pair of sisters' disappearance from Chicago.

Diamond and Tionda Bradley went missing 18 years ago. Their family has kept their disappearance in the forefront of the public's consciousness all that time, holding annual vigils on the date of they were last seen and hoping that one day they may finally come home. Their disappearance remains one of Chicago's biggest unsolved mysteries.

Private investigator P. Foster, who has worked with the family almost from the beginning, described the status of the case with the metaphor of a pot on a stove that has no gas.

"There's somebody out there that has that information and we consider to be the gas to get this criminal prosecution or give us the information on where these girls are at," he said. "That information is out there."

He admits the investigation has gotten harder. The girls' disappearance initially prompted a widespread investigation that included the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police and FBI resources. Tips poured in, but none of the leads panned out. Today those tips are rare.

A woman in Texas claimed to be Tionda Bradley a month and a half ago in what was later determined to be a hoax.

"You have to keep strong," said Tracey Bradley, the girls' mother. "We have suffered so long for 18 years. It's a really long time but we're still here. We're still praying and we're going to keep praying. We're going to have this prayer vigil until Diamond and Tionda come home."

Diamond would be 21 and Tionda would be 28 today.

The police investigation into the Bradley sisters' disappearance remains open and there's still a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to a break in the case.