Messages missing from iphone and icloud

I have messages set to save forever on my phone, and sync is turned on. I can see they are being backed up on icloud because they are shown in my storage. All the texts from a friend of mine who was killed are missing from my phone, and it is not showing any option to view messages on my icloud. I know it used to l message on my icloud because I remember seeing a messages icon, but it is not there anymore. I have tried everything to pull up these massages but I can't find a way to do this. Please help. These messages are priceless to me.