A woman has revealed the harrowing truth behind the reason why her mother disappeared, taking her little sister, and leaving the woman behind to be raised by her father and stepmother. 

In a TikTok video, the woman, Catherine, explained that for most of her life, she thought her mother had simply run away with her little sister, Beth, only to discover the frightening reason why.

Teresa Kennedy and her daughter Bethany Tiner disappeared in 1997, but Catherine want to clear her mother's name.

"In 1997, when I was seven years old, my mother disappeared without a trace, taking my three-year-old sister with her, and incurring charges for parental abduction," Catherine began.

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She described how she then grew up under the care of her father, stepmother, and her step-siblings. 

"I never understood why my mother left me," Catherine continued, explaining that in 2021, she ended up creating a site dedicated to finding her mother, Teresa Kennedy, and her little sister.

Catherine also shared her story on "The Vanishing Podcast," and through looking for her mother did she discover the real reason why she had fled.

"I learned that my father had been abusing my stepsisters, which was mind-blowing to me since I'd never suffered any abuse at his hands," she shared. 

It was then that Catherine found a letter her mother had written in 1996, one year before going missing. In the letter, her mother had "stated that she feared for my sister's life because she was being abused by my dad."

In May 2022, Catherine finally found her mother, who confessed that she had fled to protect Catherine's little sister.

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"I am now in the process of reconnecting with my mother and sister, but our top priority remains clearing my mom of the parental abduction charges that remain," she concluded.

In a separate TikTok video, Catherine went into more detail surrounding her mother's disappearance, including the reason why her mother hadn't taken her when she'd fled.

"My mom did try to take me with her," Catherine clarified. "One of the first things that she said to me when I finally spoke with her again was just how sorry she was for leaving me behind, and that it was never part of the plan."

She continued, saying that her mother had always planned to take both of her daughters, but that circumstances and obstacles had arisen that prevented her from doing so.

"I'm not going to share everything with you that she told me about that because I do feel like that's more her story to tell," Catherine added.

She also defended her mother's decision, saying that people should instead be questioning the circumstances that led to her mother having to flee and hide in the first place.

"Why wasn't my mother better supported as she tried to figure out what was the best way to protect her daughters in this horrifying situation?" Catherine questioned.

"Why didn't the legal system separate my father from anyone that he had abused, let alone all children?"

"It shouldn't be normal that a mother has to go into hiding for decades to make sure that her daughter is safe."

Catherine is currently taking donations on the website that she'd made to find her mother and sister, where all proceeds will go towards a legal defense for her mother to fight against the parental abduction charges.

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Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.