Detroit police officer forms special bond with murder victim's children

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Detroit police Sgt. Shannon Jones with Deann Robinson's two daughters Sienna and Shianne.

Police officers put their lives on the line every day and have seen things that you can't just "shake off."
One of Detroit's finest shares a heartbreaking story that she refuses to simply "leave at work."

Sgt. Shannon Jones, a 16-year police veteran, calls it a moment that impacted her life forever.

"They ran up and gave me a big hug," Jones said. "And the first words out of Shianne's mouth were 'You found my mom.' I said yes. She said 'You got the guy who did it?' I said yes we did."

Jones said that on Feb. 29, 2016, something inside her changed.

"I couldn't stop thinking about those girls," she said. "These ones came home with me."

Those girls, 6-year-old Shianne and 4-year-old Sienna, the daughters of 20-year-old Deann Robinson, missing since January, 2015. Jones met Robinson's family as she worked non-stop on her disappearance.

"I think they knew something wasn't right," Jones said. "Whether she was being held somewhere or whether she was somewhere and was not being found."

After a year of searching, Detroit police discovered a woman's body in the basement of an abandoned home. Robinson's boyfriend, 48-year-old Jerry McCoy confessed to killing Robinson, directing police where to look.

"I knew it was her," Jones said. "I knew in my heart it was her."

It brought a brief sense of relief when the woman was identified as missing Deann Robinson - but then immediately was shadowed by grief.

"Anyone you tell that their loved one is gone, takes a piece of you," Jones said. "But this one left a little hole, I think."

A GoFundMe page was created to help pay for Robinson's burial and hopefully a place for the girls to talk to their mother.

Jones said that she reminds Robinson's daughters that their mother is everywhere.

"We're not going to see her, but she is with us," Jones said.

Keeping close contact with Robinson's family, Jones says that there are too many families and children going through what they are.

Jones says she hopes they all know "they have somebody on their side."

If you would like to support Deann Robinson's two little girls CLICK HERE for the link.

For information on the Michigan State Police's Missing Persons Day coming up in May at Detroit Public Safety Headquarters CLICK HERE.