MONROE, Mich. — Tuesday marked 13 years since 5-year-old Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan was kidnapped and murdered in Monroe.
Her body was discovered 11 days later and her killer has never been found.
But, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said this case is neither cold nor closed.
Her heart-shaped tombstone reads, "Nevaeh Amyah Buchanan," her full name, and that's what Risa Smith, a distant cousin and the family's spokesperson, said everyone should refer to her as.
"You know, I don't want them to say, 'the girl by the river.' It's like they discard who she was in reference to 'the girl by the river,'" Smith said. "She deserves better than that."
It has been exactly 13 years since the little girl with the unique name, Nevaeh, which is heaven spelled backwards, went missing from the playground next to her apartment complex. That's where her mother Jennifer saw her last.
WTOL 11 reached out to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office to learn of any updates in the case, they released a statement that read, in part:
"The investigation has never been closed nor has it ever been reduced to a cold case. Rather, this investigation is very much active..."
Smith said she still carries hope that justice will be served and they'll find the killer that has been walking around free. But, she tries not to get too excited, for fear of being let down again.
"I just hope at some point in time, all these puzzle pieces can be put together and the one piece that's missing is found," Smith said.
She admitted to having a mix of bottled up emotions around the anniversary because there's so much Nevaeh missed out on.
"She never got to go to elementary school or junior high; no high school dances, didn't learn how to drive, you know, couldn't plan for high school graduation," Smith said.
Nevaeh would have turned 18 years old this year. But instead, she will be forever 5 years old.
Smith said finding her killer won't bring her back, it could bring her justice.
"It would be better to know who and why. It would put some type of a resolution of why this had to happen," Smith said.
In January of 2021, the sheriff's office commissioned a separate team that partnered with Ann Arbor FBI Special Agents. Together, this team has been reviewing all the material, re-interviewing witnesses and using new forensic technology to help solve the open case.
Representatives with the sheriff's office said they it won't be discussing any leads, their focus or the directions they're taking in this case, but did say solving this crime is among the highest of their priorities.