Sammy Mercado has been missing for ten days. He's Phillip's youngest son.
He has a lot of questions, and very few answers.
"There's no words to describe it. It's like a parasite inside you. I'm still praying that he's out there and that he'll come home to me."
Family and friends joined Phillip at Greenwood Park in Sanger to hope, pray and share stories.
Virgil Garza handed out fliers. He watched sammy grow up.
"Make copies, post them up...Just keep sSammy's face in the media, you know what I'm saying so nobody forgets about him.
Sammy Mercado disappeared Thursday the 17th.
Investigators say he was trying to steal marijuana plants with two friends.
Details after that are sketchy, but detectives believe Mercado was shot while his friends drove away.
Jonathan Aguirre says he missed 23 calls from Mercado that night.
"He was looking for a ride. He just caught a ride with the wrong people."
Detectives are also searching for Ernie Chanmany. They say he's a person of interest. His trucks were found in an almond orchard. They were also seen at the marijuana grow where Mercado disappeared.
Back at the park, prayers turned into an outcry over the town's lack of youth programs.
Programs that could keep kids in school, off the streets and out of gangs.
Mayor Joshua Mitchell was there to listen.
"We recognized where we failed and we recognized what we need to do to solve the problem."
He's starting with a boxing gym. He challenged the community to raise $500 to get it going.
Within minutes $350 had already been collected.
Phillip Mercado says it's bittersweet.
"I wish it wasn't something like this that brought the community together."
For now he continues to hope, and wait for his prayers to be answered.
If you have any information on Mercado's whereabouts, you are urged to call Crimestoppers at 498-STOP.
TXT 24
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