The last time Michelle Morgan heard from her son, Terryonte Bridgeman, was at 8:41 p.m. on June 24.
Bridgeman, 25, sent his mother a text message asking for a ride home from his girlfriend’s apartment off of County Line Road in Gary, Indiana. Morgan went to get him, but he was nowhere to be found.
Bridgeman's body was discovered the next day off of Route 12 near the Miller Beach area.
"I still feel empty," Morgan said. "I don’t know who I am anymore."
Indiana Police believe Bridgeman, who had learning disabilities and did not work, was the victim of a hit-and-run. They think he started walking near Route 12 after texting his mom.
The night of the text message, Morgan went home thinking she would see or hear from her son later. The next day, his girlfriend called asking if she had seen Bridgeman.
They filed a missing person’s report with police and went to search for him with friends. Bridgeman's girlfriend found his shirt and a shoe on the side of the road on Route 12. Hours later they found his body, as well as a side mirror to a car they believe hit him and kept going.
"I cannot see this being deliberate," Morgan said. "The road is dark and there are no lights, easy for a person to ride by and hit a person or a deer."
Police said the case is being investigated as a hit-and-run, possibly involving a Hyundai. Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Michael Jackson at 219-881-1209 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-274-6347.
Morgan said she remembers her son as a caretaker when she was shot in the head in 1999.
"He did everything for me," she said. "He would bring me food, whatever I needed. He was there as a little boy. He was 5 years old. I could not walk or remember. My only child. He nursed me back. He gave me the will to continue, and now he is not here."
Morgan asks that the person who struck Bridgeman come forward and confess.
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"So I can have peace and my son can rest peacefully," she said.
