MODESTO, Calif. — Along the busy Modesto intersection of Crows Landing and Hatch Roads, 9-year-old Kevin were flanked Sunday night by family and friends while holding a sign with a heart that reads "Necesito a mi mama". In English, it translates to "I need my mom."
Monday marks one year since Kevin, his little brother, and his mother, Susana Torres were kidnapped outside of Richy's mini-mart at gunpoint by their father Javiar Chavez according to the Stanislaus Sheriff's office. The ordeal was caught on surveillance video.
Kevin and his little brother were dropped off with their father's parents a few hours later, Torres has been missing since.
Chavez, whom she had a restraining order against, is believed to be in Mexico and is wanted by law enforcement.
Torres's cousin, Luz Munoz-Torres said she had sponsored Torres as a political asylee in 2016.
"She came, fleeing from violence, and ended up being a victim of violence here," Munoz-Torres said tearfully.
The case is still active according to investigators who say it's a tedious and challenging process on all levels of government: local, state, federal and international. Detectives say they are still processing tips as they come in.
► Surveillance video shows kidnapping:
Loved ones say while there are few tangible answers, they hold on to hope the loving mother of two will be found.
"She was always the life of the party, always outgoing, always happy, always making everybody else's day brighter just by being there," said Yazmin Cruz, her cousin.
They're asking people to share her story throughout California and Mexico.
"Somebody somewhere has seen her. I know someone somewhere knows something and they need to speak up," Munoz-Torres said. "Her kids need her. Her family needs her. "
Torre's story is among tragic cases of domestic violence that reveal gaping holes in the justice system.
Last month, a father with a restraining order against him, killed his three daughters and a chaperone in Arden-Arcade during a supervised visit.
Advocates for abused partners say while restraining orders are important law enforcement tools, they are hard to obtain and difficult to enforce.
"A person who is restrained is prohibited from having a weapon and yet we depend on an honor system of that person turning a weapon in or alerting law enforcement to the fact that they have these weapons. and many of them don't as we see in these tragedies," said Beth Hasset, President and CEO of WEAVE, a non-profit to assists victims of domestic violence.
Advocates say the most dangerous time for an abused partner is when they are leaving a relationship- and they often underestimate the level of danger they are in.
Hasset recommends they reach out to domestic violence support groups like WEAVE to form customized plans to do so safely before it escalates to levels of unthinkable violence.
People needing support from domestic violence can reach out to the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or online at thehotline.org.
► WATCH MORE N THE CASE: According to Stanislaus County sheriff's detectives, Susana Torres, 42, was kidnapped at gunpoint by her estranged husband.
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