Families honor 110 victims of ValuJet crash in Everglades 30 years later

MIAMI, Fla. (WINK)—Families, first responders and volunteers gathered at a memorial site in the Everglades to honor the 110 lives lost in the deadliest plane crash in Florida history 30 years ago.

ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades, killing everyone on board. A memorial ceremony was held Monday where Chaplain Alex Trinchet spoke directly to the families and friends of the victims.

"Even though with time the pain is lessened, the void will always be there," Trinchet said.

• RELATED: Airboats critical in immediate wake of ValuJet crash
• RELATED: Victims of 1996 ValuJet crash remembered at memorial in the Everglades
• RELATED: Remembering ValuJet flight 592: A reporter’s reflection 30 years later
• RELATED: Flight 592: How the Everglades disaster changed aviation forever

Christen Cherry lost her mom and stepdad, Leon and Lynn Brown, in the crash. The tragedy turned her world upside down and still affects her today.

"I have to be medicated to fly, so I'm missing out on a lot of things that my mom wouldn't have wanted for me," Cherry said.

Cherry came to the memorial Monday for the first time. She wasn't sure if she would ever come. "I know it's something I needed to do for them, because she was actually the last one identified," Cherry said.

All 110 names were read aloud during Monday's ceremony. Gregory Kral was part of the Special Response Team for the ValuJet recovery and walked WINK News reporter Sommer Senne through what it was like in the Everglades 30 years ago.

"I really had trouble wrapping my head around the fact that 110 people had vanished," Kral said.

The recovery conditions were challenging. Kral described the difficult search process in the murky waters.

"The visibility in the water was zero, so we would actually just feel with our feet and bring whatever we found with our feet up to the surface," Kral said.

Patrice Bowman was 21 when she lost her best friend and son's father, Robert Woodis Jr. She carries his memory with her every day.

"I always feel like he's... there's a part of him always with me," Bowman said.

Families hugged and met each other for the first time as they shared in their grief. Dana Simonton told WINK News reporter Sommer Senne his mom was full of faith until her last day.

"I was able to recover her Bible and her pocketbook and some clothing that was retrieved from the crash site," Simonton said.

Volunteers like Jim Young keep the memorial clean. Young, a retired airline pilot, maintains the site out of respect for those who died.

"It's out of respect for them, you know, you don't want something like this to just disappear," Young said.

The memorial stands as a permanent reminder in the Everglades with a message to live for today and love for today, because tomorrow is never promised.