KILLEEN, Texas — A Killeen mother is pleading for answers after her daughter took a road trip to Maryland with friends in July 2022, but never came home.
Zkira Kemp (20) was a student at Prairie View A&M University and her mother, Jalanda Kemp, says she was a beautiful person with a big heart.
Zkira got permission from her mom to take a road trip with two friends to Hanover, Maryland.
Zkira and her friends made it to Hanover on July 4 and Zkira's mother kept in contact with her daughter to ensure her safety. She also had her daughter's location shared with her on her phone.
Jalanda noticed her daughter's location was no longer being shared on July 8.
When Jalanda did not have a phone call or text from her daughter, she got a call from her friend Lakisha Coles. She told her something was happening with the kids.
"She was sobbing, she wouldn't say it. I finally screamed "is my baby dead" and when she hung up the phone," Kemp explained.
Charles County Sheriff's Office in Maryland reported Zkira died in a car crash.
But Jalanda says she's been getting inconsistent information from police and the friends her daughter was traveling with on the trip.
The friends with Zkira at the time told her mother Zkira was driving drunk when the crash happened. But the autopsy revealed that Zkira was in the back seat of the car at the time of the crash and had no alcohol in her system.
Jalanda also told 6 News she was denied the opportunity to see her daughter's body after the crash and the dental records at the crash site were never confirmed to be Zkira's.
"Another thing, the autopsy reported that the body they found inside of the car after the crash was 88 pounds and three-feet three-inches tall. But my daughter was 169 pounds and five-feet four-inches tall. It's not making sense," Kemp continued.
Everyone in the car survived but Zkira. One of the other two friends in the car at the time of the crash had serious injuries.
She later learned the two friends got themselves out of the car before it was engulfed in flames, but allegedly never tried to get her daughter out.
"My daughter's body was so burned up it was completely unrecognizable,"
To get some clarity on what happened, Jalanda went to Maryland on Monday, July 15 to see her daughter’s body. She was then denied and told that it was against Maryland Medical Examiner guidelines.
She then visited the crash site address and was told by one of the friends on the trip the crash happened in the middle of nowhere. When she got to the crash site, it was in the middle of a neighborhood.
"When I got there everything looked staged and I knew something just wasn't right."
People on social media got a hold of this case and began creating thousands of different theories as to what they believe happened.
Jalanda told 6 News she's reached out to local, state, and national officials to help her get some answers in her daughter's death but her requests have fallen on deaf ears.
She does believe there is a likely chance her daughter is still alive and hopes to one day see her again.
"I don't feel like she's gone. I don't know if I'm holding on to hope, but I don't feel it. I never felt it, but I thought I was crazy. I thought I just didn't want to let go. But the more I'm seeing all of these different reports and more of these people come out with information, it is not adding up." Kemp said.
6 News did contact the Charles County Sheriff's Office for information but they were not able to share any new updates at this time.
6 News will continue to follow this story as new information becomes available.