Family, donor, offer $30K reward in missing son case
By Cameron Taylor
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NASHVILLE (WSMV) — A mother desperate for answers about her son’s disappearance is offering a $30,000 reward.
An anonymous donor helped contribute $10,000 of the reward.
Monica Button’s son, Nieko Lisi, disappeared in September of 2011. He was last seen in Franklin.
“I’m doing nothing but getting older and I want to know where my son is before I die,” Monica Button, Nieko Lisi’s mother said.
The case started in New York and has ties with two areas in Tennessee.
The TBI said the 18-year-old left his home in New York with a friend in a pickup truck. Police pinged his phone to Franklin, Tennessee, but his mom never heard from him.
“Something was wrong. Very wrong,” Button said.
Nieko had been to Franklin before. He went to Franklin High School for his junior year. The teen lived with relatives before moving back to New York.
His mom said she is sure he returned to the Volunteer State. She learned he stayed with someone on Flintlock Drive in Franklin at one point.
“There is that piece of me that my mind travels, my head spins at night, I can’t sleep 10 years later,” Button said.
In 2016, police found the shell of a truck Nieko had been driving. It was discovered in a garage in Nashville.
The TBI wasn’t available for an interview on Wednesday but released a video on their website about the case.
“We’re looking for that information of anybody that could come forward and tell us how did the truck get here and what was the circumstances around how the truck got in the condition it was found in 2016,” Special Agent Nathan Neese said in the video.
All these years later and still no answers about where Nieko is today. His mom came up with a plan for what would have been his 28th birthday last Friday.
“How about if we put out a $20,000 reward for 48 hours?” Button said.
The story first aired on local New York TV stations. Then Button got a message from someone wanting to donate $10,000 toward the cause increasing the reward to $30,000.
“I don’t care if anybody ever gets arrested. I want to know where my son is. That’s the end goal for me,” Button said.
The reward is good until Friday at 11:59 p.m.
If you have any information, call 1-800-TBI-FIND, or send an email to TipsToTBI@tn.gov
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