Headline Two families remember

MOSES LAKE - Sometimes time does not erase all wounds.

The family of William A. Walker, of Wheeler, tearfully released balloons on the anniversary of the man's death Thursday at Neppel Park in Moses Lake.

Walker was killed by a pipe bomb in 2008. Javier Adame, of Moses Lake, was killed by a similar device hours later.

Grant County and FBI officials continue to investigate the crimes four years later, but the families are still reeling.

"My grandfather was an amazing man. It still shocks everybody why somebody would do that," Walker's granddaughter Heather Reeves said.

"We all think it was an accident, and that it wasn't meant for him," she said. "Nobody understand why it happened to such a nice man. We still have no answers, so we're trying to keep it out there so nobody forgets about it."

Adame's family felt the same.

"He was very loving and helped a lot of people," sister Sandy Adame said. "He was amazing with his hands. He would collect stuff and make beautiful things out of them."

The Adame family held walks in memory of Javier's passing for the past few years.

"We haven't given up hope," Sandy Adame said. "We all still think that someone out there knows something and will come forward,"

Yet through the tragedy, the two families - complete strangers to each other, except for circumstance - has formed a sort of bond.

"We would look up each other and we just started talking," Reeves said. "It's because we went through the same thing. That's why we've gotten so close in such a short amount of time without ever meeting."

"It's really comforting to know that we're there for each other, and we don't even know the family," Adame said.

At Neppel Park, Walker's family set balloons aloft on the anniversary of his death for the first time, after they traditionally had a family barbecue on his birthday.

"It's tough," Reeves said. "No answers after four years just makes it harder. There's no closure."

"It's unbelievable how someone can do this and just walk away and leave our families shattered with so much pain," Adame said.

Grant County Sheriff's officials and the FBI have not reported any new leads in either case.