Samantha Humphrey's murderer still on the lose, two years later

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Schenectady father is facing a grim milestone and is broadening his mission to find his daughter's killer. It's been nearly two years since Samantha Humphrey disappeared. The teen's body was found a few months later in the Mohawk River.

“My daughter's been dead for two years, spent three months in a river. My confidence couldn't really be lower,” said Samantha’s Father, Jeffery Humphrey.

Humphrey is stepping up his efforts to put the person who killed his daughter behind bars saying, “We're hoping to get that arrest. We're hoping maybe a younger person is getting a little older who knows something.”

He tells NEWS10 the billboards they first used to spread awareness were a success. “We felt it was time to move up to something a little more personal, something that we could continue to grow as time went by. Something that would let people participate, who were horrified by what's going on,” said Humphrey.

He says he’s now come up with lawn signs as a way to continue to spread his message. “I've got about 200, so far. I've distributed about half.”

They have also raised the reward amount from $10,000 to $20,000 for the arrest of Samantha’s killer.

Those signs are visible in Schenectady neighborhoods, but still no arrests have been made in the case. Samantha’s father believes there is sufficient evidence to convict a former boyfriend of his daughter’s. However, he feels the district attorney is not moving forward, fast enough. “’Someone’ thinks that the autopsy is a barrier to the case. A murder case doesn't rest on an autopsy alone. A murder case rests on the strength of the litigator and their ability to make an argument to a jury,” stated Samantha’s father.

The father went on to say, “Not to make this political, this person is an elected official and can be replaced in 2025.”

A parent losing a child is not the natural order of life, but Samantha's dad says he has to keep going on. “Taking care of my son, doing this. There's not a lot else. I stay focused on what's in front of me. I stay focused on my boy, and I stay focused on the very little that we can do for Sam.”

NEWS10 has reached out to the Schenectady District Attorney’s Office and is waiting to hear back. A representative with the Schenectady Police Department said, “The investigation into the death of Samantha Humphrey remains active and ongoing. We do not have any additional updates to provide at this time.”

There will be a candle vigil held this Black Friday for Samantha, in Schenectady.