This is a special interview from Cleveland Documenters, Signal Cleveland and WOVU 95.9 FM.
Listen to an interview with the mother of Keshaun Williams wherever you get your podcasts
Read the transcript of the interview below
I’m Gennifer Harding-Gosnell from Signal Cleveland. Sixteen-year-old Keshaun Williams went missing on June 17, 2023, after attending a party in Cleveland’s Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood. That night, Keshaun called his mother to say he was on his way home.
He never returned.
Earlier this month, the Williams family held a press conference to give updates on the nearly year-long search. His mother, Sherice Snowden, pleaded with the public for more information about the night her son went missing and for his safe return.
Cleveland Documenter Marvetta Rutherford recently sat down with Sherice Snowden to talk about the day Keshaun went missing and what she has learned about searching for her missing child since then.
Marvetta: My name is Marvetta Rutherford. And on behalf of Signal Cleveland’s Central Listening Team, my focus this six months is on the missing children in Northeast Ohio, and one such child is Keshaun Williams. And I have the esteemed pleasure and honor of being with his mother, Sherice Snowden. Sherice, thank you for granting us this interview at this time.
Sherice: Thank you for having me.
Marvetta: Would you please, for our listeners, tell us about the last day that you saw your son?
Sherice: Well, the last day was, I didn’t know this is gonna be my last day, let’s start there. Just like every morning we had breakfast together. I braided his hair for him. He was excited about going to a party that night. I kept close contact with him because I wanted to know where his whereabouts were going to be as far as the party. I made a couple of runs, got back home. He was outside. He called to let me know he was outside. After that, didn’t hear from him for a while. It got close to curfew. Got a phone call from him, and I told him to get home, it was past curfew, and he told me that he would be on his way home. That’s the last time I heard from him.
Marvetta: So he was at a party or some sort of function in the Slavic Village area?
Sherice: I’m not aware – I wasn’t aware of actually where the party would be because I did make him aware that I wanted him to share the address with me. So, without my knowing, he went to party.
Marvetta: OK. And when you stopped hearing from him, what were your actions at the time?
Sherice: I got where I got concerned. I mean, he’s missed curfew before, but never this long without any contact. Usually we keep in contact by texting or calling, so definitely got worried. But I didn’t think he wouldn’t be coming back. So the next day is like “OK, maybe he’s gonna come home, he fell asleep or something.” But I just went straight to the police because it was just odd, I felt odd. … His phone just kept going to voicemail. I mean, kids, they want their phone charged ’cause they love their phone. So by the phone being dead, it just instantly sent a red flag.
Marvetta: And so what has been your interaction with the Cleveland Police Department since June 17 of 2023?
Sherice: I’ve had calls, interactions with police. And I don’t know if people are aware of that, you do, you do have a role to play as far as giving them leads or anything that matters. So I’m very involved with the case because you know these things could not be presented to them or it can be overlooked. So you know, as far as when you’re going to go about searching for your kids or anything you can think of, because I feel like you should let them know.
Marvetta Tell me, Sherice, what steps have you taken in a proactive way to find out exactly what happened that particular night?
Sherice: The thing about the party is who’s going to say they were at the party with a kid being missing, first of all. So with that being said, getting to talk to kids that are going to state they were actually at the party was very unlikely. Oh, we were there. Oh, we wasn’t there. Oh, we left, or we left early. So, talking to someone who can actually say they were there and being clear with a lead is kind of up in the air.
Marvetta: Is there anything that you want to share with us about this journey? Anything that you feel that the public needs to know about Keshaun?
Sherice: Any possible information matters. Small, big, little – if you’ve seen him in passing, if you’ve seen him the day before, the day after. Any encounter that you may have had, it’s important to know. You know, they may have been saying he doesn’t want to come home. That’s here nor there. He’s a child. He’s an adolescent. He has to be with supervised parents. It’s sickening that people would maybe possibly hoard any information that can lead us to finding him. At the end of the day, he’s still an underage minor. He should not be out there alone with grownups. They have nothing in common, number one. No matter what people think we’re speculating they should, I just feel like I should know something about whereabouts. I don’t believe that my child would go this long without even contacting me or anybody. This is like a ‘without-a-trace’ like situation, just strange. Footage, proof of footage, a picture, video. You know they video things that are unnecessary. I mean record, if you see him, take a picture.
Marvetta: You have gone out to find out if there was any validity to those leads. Anything you want to share with us about that?
Sherice: Please stop giving false leads, please. They deter us from really finding out what it is.
Marvetta: I know that Keshaun is your only child. But I wanted to know the input and/or help that you’ve been getting from other family members. I know that his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Williams, has been an integral part. Share with us how your family has helped you during this time.
Sherice: My family has been a great support. His grandmother, Mary Williams –she’s an activist. She’s been thoroughly investigating this as well, and she works closely with the police as well. She has done engagements as far as going to talk to the juvenile kids. Ministering, she’s done ministry work so she’s very savvy and hands on with this. My cousin Shireen Fountain is an activist as well. She is a part of my team. As far as my other family members, we have formed a group message, we exchange information, checking on each other because this right here is just showing me how to be more in tune and in touch with my family members. So this was like a, this was very, a time to bring everybody together.
Marvetta: Just going to work on a day-to-day basis has to be a tumultuous situation for you. Tell us a little bit about that and the support that you’ve gotten in that respect as well.
Sherice: Every day is a roller coaster. That means you’re not going to know the ride is going to be scary or fun. Or there’s no normalcy. It’s not normalcy because there’s … my child’s not in my life. He’s not with me, I’m not seeing him every day so that normalcy went out the window that day, he never came back.
Marvetta: Are you working currently?
Sherice: As much as I can. I have to stay afloat, but working is not a main priority, but I do have to, you know, follow through with the engagements that I have to go for with. Well, it’s been very rocky but you know, I do have FMLA and there’s, you know, my job has been very understanding.
I want everyone to take this seriously. Even if he supposedly ran away doesn’t matter. Every mother should know, be able to assess their kids and know their whereabouts. So this has to stop, and it can get started with parents being advocates for their kids.
That was Sherice Snowden, mother of 16-year-old Keshaun Williams, who went missing on June 17 of last year, talking with Cleveland Documenter Marvetta Rutherford. This interview was produced by Signal Cleveland, and Cleveland Documenters, in partnership with WOVU 95.9.
To hear this interview again, visit us at signalcleveland.org/onair or search for Signal Cleveland wherever you listen to podcasts. Cleveland Documenters are Greater Clevelanders just like you who are trained and paid to attend public meetings, take notes and conduct other special interview assignments, just like this one. Learn how you can become a Cleveland Documenter at signalcleveland.org. For Signal Cleveland, I’m Gennifer Harding-Gosnell.
