Mother responsible for Wilson Facebook activity
Students who thought they found a lead in missing Hanszen College junior Matthew Wilson’s case when activity appeared in his Facebook account on Jan. 17 are mistaken.
This activity was not Wilson’s doing, but that of Cathy Wilson, his mother, who said she has been logging into his Facebook account for the past week.
Using his Facebook account, Wilson’s mother has joined several groups, including “Find Matthew Wilson,” “Four guys, one destination, one mission: Suicide Prevention” and “Men.” Wilson’s mother also added the Top Friends and Daily Horoscope applications, and edited his political and religious views.
Wilson’s mother said she used her son’s Facebook to contact some of his friends and joined groups to keep Matthew’s name alive and out in the Rice community. When she was contacting his friends, she said she clarified that it was her and not Wilson speaking.
“It’s just a desperate mother’s plea,” Cathy Wilson said. “Matthew is too important to be forgotten.”
Wilson’s mother said she had spoken with Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor and clarified that the activity on Wilson’s Facebook account was her doing.
One student who agreed to speak anonymously said that although finding Wilson was important, his mother’s attempt to spread awareness through Facebook might not be the most effective strategy.
“I think she basically confused a lot of people because they thought he was back,” the student said. “It’s just kind of confusing when you’re [getting on Facebook] under the name of a missing person.”
Kymberlee Wilson, Wilson’s sister, subsequently logged back into Wilson’s Facebook and removed his membership from the “Find Matthew Wilson” group and changed his religious and political views back to the way they were originally. She posted in the group to explain what had happened and changed Wilson’s Facebook password to prevent others from logging in the future.
On the FindMattWilson message boards, Wilson’s other sister, Kelly Wilson, apologized for any confusion her mother’s actions may have caused.
“Mom is having a very hard time right now and is not herself,” Kelly wrote in a message.
Although RUPD still does not have any new leads in the case, Wilson’s mother said she will never give up looking for her son.
“I will do this until the day I die,” she said. “Matthew is my world. And I will never give up on finding Matthew. Never.”
She said there needed to be more flyers around campus and in the surrounding area. Wilson’s mother advised new techniques for getting Wilson’s name in the area such as putting flyers on pizza delivery boxes.
The FindMattWilson forum has been filled with arguments about Rice’s and students’ dedication and effort to finding Wilson, and whether they have done enough. One specific argument focused on a student’s comment questioning what students who never knew Wilson could do.
As part of her continuing efforts to keep her son’s name and face in the public eye, Wilson’s mother did an interview with the television show Inside Edition, which she said will be airing in a few days.
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