"I never imagined this was going to happen. ... This is terrible," Williams told about 100 people who gathered on the beach at 5 p.m. for a candlelight vigil.

"He was such a good kid."

Her son, Jason Galehouse, 26, has been missing since the early morning hours of Dec. 20. Many of his friends fear he is dead.

On that morning, Galehouse and two friends went to 2606 North Armenia Lounge. About 2:45 a.m., Galehouse, who is gay, told them he was leaving with two men, whom his friends didn't see. That was the last time his friends saw him.

Since then, dozens of his friends have devoted countless hours to finding him. Many have worn stickers with his picture and have distributed posters at gay bars around the Bay area. They set up a bank account to collect money for a reward and have spoken to reporters almost daily. They designed a Web site, www.findjasonnow.com, hoping more leads will come if people are allowed to stay anonymous.

Sunday, friends, relatives and members of the gay community prayed together, hoping that Galehouse is found alive.

As dozens lit candles during the sunset vigil, friends and family spoke of their hopes.

"We've gathered here to show support," said Tyler Hall, who said he is one of Galehouse's best friends. "We're not going to stop until we get answers."

Few questions have been answered in Galehouse's case. One thing is known: The day Galehouse vanished also was the last day anyone saw Michael Wachholtz alive.

Wachholtz left his home at 5305 Bay Club Circle shortly before midnight in a 1992 Jeep Cherokee. On Jan. 6, a passer-by found his body wrapped in a sheet inside the Cherokee at the Camden Bay Pointe apartment complex on Memorial Highway at Town 'N Country Boulevard.

Many in the gay community fear the cases are linked, although the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office have said there's no evidence of that.

The sheriff's office, which is investigating Wachholtz's death, says it needs the public's help to find his killer.

"Nobody saw anything," sheriff's spokesman Lt. Rod Reder said.

"This is going to take a lot of community involvement."

Reder asks anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (1-800-873-8477) or the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8200.

Hall said he hopes people call law enforcement or send e-mail to him or to Galehouse's friends with tips.

He said he wants to know what happened to his best friend.

Hall admitted that, deep inside, he sometimes fears the worst.

"The more time it goes by, the less hope I have," Hall said.

Williams, Galehouse's mother, said she thought she would have heard something by now — a sign or a clue that her son is alive.

She said she hopes that Galehouse, a florist who had lived with her in Sarasota until a few months ago, will be found.

"I hope we can find him," Williams said. "This is terrible. It's got to stop."

Reporter Cassio Furtado can be reached at (813) 259-7616.