Bettersten Wade had been pleading on social media, asking the public to help her find her missing son, who had left with a friend after an argument with her.
But the Jackson, Mississippi police knew what had happened to 37-year-old Dexter Wade the all along while Bettersten and her family were pleading for help in locating him.
On March 5, Bettersten returned home from work and discovered that one of her windows was broken. She told NBC News that she and Dexter argued about it.
Around 7:30 p.m., he left with a friend, she told the outlet.
Several days had passed, and Bettersten had not heard from Dexter. Therefore, on March 14, she called the Jackson Police Department to report him missing.
Bettersten told NBC News that she continuously called and asked for updates, but she was told that there was no new information.
Bettersten said that at first, she was hesitant to report her son missing to Jackson police. She explained that her 62-year-old brother had been killed by a Jackson police officer, who had slammed him to the ground resulting in his death. The officer was convicted of manslaughter. However, the officer is filing an appeal.
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Dexter died the same day he and his mother argued. He was struck by an off-duty corporal along an interstate. The corporal called the police. He was not suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was not given field sobriety tests or cited for any traffic violations.
Wade’s death was ruled as an accident.
The coroner said he called Bettersten Wade three days later but had to leave a voicemail.
She told NBC News that the number the coroner called was correct, but she did not recall receiving the message and couldn’t access her cell phone records to verify the call.
The coroner said it was the department’s jurisdiction to perform “proper death notification.”
Meanwhile, Bettersten Wade turned to social media for help in bringing her son home. The coroner followed up with thepolice two weeks later. After being informed that there was no progress, they requested approval to bury him in a pauper’s field at the Hinds County penal farm.
The request was approved on April 3rd, according to the coroner’s notes reviewed by NBC News. On July 14th, Dexter Wade was laid to rest in the pauper’s field as no family came forward to claim him.
In August, the police finally informed Bettersten Wade in person about the accident and the fate of her son.
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