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Bradley Sisters Still Missing 15 Years Later

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been 15 years since Tionda and Diamond Bradley disappeared from their home in Bronzeville.

Chicago Police said the case of the missing Bradley sisters is still active.

Tionda was 10 and Diamond was 3 when they vanished. Their great aunt, Shelia Bradley Smith, said she still holds out hope the sisters are alive.

"Anything is possible, even though it appears as though they're gone and dead," she said.

Bradleys
(Credit: Steve Miller)

Smith was back in Chicago on Wednesday with her 7-year-old granddaughter, Taraji, and her sister, Felicia, for a vigil for Diamond and Tionda. She said it's hard to believe it's been 15 years since they disappeared.

"People have aged, including myself. Two of the investigators that were on their cases have passed in the last 15 years. About three or four of them have retired in the last 15 years, but I'm just not going to stop," she said.

Today, Tionda would be 25, and Diamond would be 18.

The sisters were last seen in their apartment complex near 35th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. Their last communication was a note saying they were going to play at a park.

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Police launched one of the biggest manhunts in Chicago history after the girls disappeared, searching open fields, railroad cars, and 5,000 abandoned buildings. It mostly turned up nothing.

A website, FindTiondaAndDiamond.com, remained active for several years but has now been taken down. However, another site mounted by Smith is still active.

The family has memorials every year, hoping this will be the year some young adult remembers something.

"I seem them every night in my dreams," said Bradley Smith. "We cant grieve we can't heal, we're just in limbo."

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