USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Cathy Justice,
I am an ambassador for a 50-state initiative called the Drug Epidemic Memorial Walls. Our
goal is to get a permanent memorial in each state capitol to remember those who have
been lost and to increase awareness of this scourge that threatens our country.
We lost our only precious son, Jeffrey John Uphold ll, on September 17, 2021, in
Morgantown WV. Jeffrey will be Forever 23. Jeffrey’s life was taken by the drug Cartel that
is destroying our counties, states and towns. Jeffrey was loved by so many friends and
family. He was his little sister’s protector. He could make a connection with any child or
animal because of his loving nature.
Jeffrey was found in the Monongalia River. He went missing on September 14, 2021. He
had been accused of stealing drugs from these monsters, which was later to be proven
untrue. Jeffrey sent us messages stating they were after him and going to give him
something to kill him. He mentioned the dealers’ names, who are on the DEA watch list, in
messages to us, but those dealers were not even questioned. We were told it wasn’t
enough evidence. Jeffrey’s autopsy showed he had 210ng of fentanyl in his system and
that he was gone hours before being thrown in the river.
They threw our beautiful boy away like he was trash. We had to look at the horrible
recovery photos to believe it was our son. We never got to kiss him goodbye, I never got
to touch my son as his body had to be cremated under these horrific circumstances. Our
lives are forever destroyed and there is no justice for our son. These monsters are still
walking the streets of Morgantown, living their lives, and destroying families, pushing their
drugs. There is not enough being done to charge and prosecute these dealers.
Would you please assist us in finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial
Wall within our Capitol? We have created two memorial walls, one with photos and one
with names, inspired by the Vietnam Memorial. These digital walls and albums update
automatically. The wall of names can be projected on a wall so families can touch their
loved one’s name. We would like our beloved children to be viewed as victims. We would
also like a place for the photos to be displayed in hard copy format. I am including
Jeffrey’s frame as an example of what it would look like.
A group of our West Virginia mothers would love to meet with you and work together to
prevent this from happening over and over again.
Sincerely forever broken,
JoEllen Uphold
Bruceton Mills, West Virginia
997