Estling family keeps Kaiden's memory alive as one year passes in unsolved hit-and-run
FAYETTE, Iowa - (CBS2/Fox28) — The blue cross on Highway 150 outside Fayette is filled with Kaiden Estling's favorite things.
A football. Fishing pole. Tiny models of cars he would've loved to drive.
"He loved cars," his mom April says. "Fast cars especially."
April comes to this cross nearly every week. She'll listen to music, or just sit and cry.
"Sometimes I hug the cross," she says. "Pretend like it's him, I don't know."
This has been the ritual for the last year since her 14-year-old son was hit and killed by a driver who then drove off.
"Knowing that this is where he took his last breath, I can kind of connect with him a little bit," she says.
A year and a month is a long time for a mother, a family, and a community that still have no answers.
"No matter what happiness you find," April says, "there's always the reminder of the person who's not there with you."
Kaiden was riding his moped south on Highway 150 June 28th, 2018. He'd just visited with friends, made a stop at the dojo where he practiced martial arts.
Someone came up behind him. Hit him. Dragged him several feet. Left him.
"To me they're heartless," April says. "They just don't care."
Since then several tips have come through, but whoever hit Kaiden hasn't. April says not knowing is almost the worst part.
"Just digging the knife in a little bit further each day we have to wake up and it's not a dream," she says.
"This person took a stance kind of 'Catch me if you can,'" says Fayette County Sheriff Marty Fisher.
He stays in contact with April, as he's done the entire year and a month since the incident. He can't say much because the investigation is still active. They continue to get tips and follow up on every one.
"It's certainly not a cold case by any means," Sheriff Fisher says.
He believes someone knows something.
Maybe someone noticed a friend acting strange last June. Or damage on a vehicle that wasn't there before.
Because Kaiden no longer has a voice, Sheriff Fisher and April hopes someone speaks up.
"We will find you. We will arrest you. And we will have justice for Kaiden," Sheriff Fisher says to whoever did this.
Kaiden is described as goofy, spunky, and caring. He made handmade gifts for his Grandma.
After his death, his grandma made something for him. She tattooed his dream car on her arm. The car he'd never get to own.
Kaiden forever marking those who loved him, especially April, who keep his name and story alive on her Facebook.
"I don't want people to forget about him," she says.
If you have any information on Kaiden's case, contact the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
