BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WHAS11) -- It has been almost a month since Sherry Ballard's husband of 37 years was taken from her. She remembers every detail of that morning.
"I remember him getting up, and him and Trenton were going hunting and they got some snacks to take with them. They went out the door and I locked the door back and set the alarm and I just told God to watch over them that day while they were hunting. Probably 20 to 25 minutes later I got the call from my grandson that Tommy had been shot," said Ballard.
Kentucky State Police say Tommy Ballard was shot and killed before going hunting with his grandson. KSP says the fatal shooting is still labeled a death investigation, and the shooter has not been identified. Ballard’s widow, Sherry, believes his death is related to their daughter Crystal Rogers’ disappearance. Rogers has been missing since July 2015.
"To me, this was no accident. That's how I feel," said Ballard.” I think my husband was getting close to finding our daughter. I think with him pushing all the time he stepped on some toes by us still pushing to find her and that's why that happened to my husband, that's my view.”
Tommy and Sherry were high school sweethearts and they were married for 37 years. Now, she is waiting for answers in both his death and their daughter Crystal's disappearance.
"With Crystal I had him to help me through, that's what got me through her. Being his, it's just totally floored me, I just can't think about it sometimes," said Ballard.
Sherry says they built a full life together in Bardstown. The light of Tommy's life was his family, his three children and eight grandchildren.
"They meant the world to him, he spoiled them," said Ballard. "He was a good dad, he was a great grandfather, he was good to those kids. He just took care of all of us, we didn't have to worry about anything and he would put everybody before him, he had no enemies in this town."
But the last year and a half of Tommy's life was defined by one mission: finding his daughter Crystal.
"The last 17 months has been pure hell for our family, and the day this happened to Tommy I came home that night and I went in our bathroom and he had two little notes in there on the bar, on the sink, about Crystal and other places he wanted to check, he lived that. His day and night was all about finding her," said Ballard. "He worked so hard on Crystal, I know he was tired, we were supposed to find her together."
Ballard says her children and grandchildren are what keep her going. She says she is concerned for her family's safety, but they still plan to keep Tommy's mission alive and continue searching for Crystal.
