12 Year Old Neighborhood Girl Went Missing

Tonight we had Marge's 87th birthday celebration but more about that tomorrow.

When we arrived home there were two Sheriff cars in front of a neighbor's house, there were several neighbors gathered around, and I saw cops walking around with flashlights. When they left, and the neighbors were still out, I went over and asked what was going on. It may sound nosey but to someone who walks her dogs at night, I thought it was important enough to risk the embarrassment of being told to mind my own business. Anyway, this woman was distraught and said her granddaughter was missing.

She explained that her granddaughter was riding her bike in front of the house and the girl came in and told her that the neighbor boy was walking and said she was going to ride with him while he walked. Grandma was doing laundry and said OK even though it ws 8pm because the girl never leaves the area. Thirty minutes later she doesn't see her (our neighborhood is a H-shape with the top two legs of the H being dead end culdesacs so there is only one way in and out. It's a great walking neighborhood and you can see kids riding bikes, people jogging or walking, and dog walkers up until about midnight). There are sidwalks, street lights, and a lighted gazebo if you want to catch your breath.

Anyway, I asked the woman if she would show me a photo of the girl and we went in the house and I learned that they had tried the house next door where the boy lives with no answer. She said they and the police pounded on it and looked in windows. The telephone number was also no good (you know how people are disconnecting landlines and the police had no access to a cell#) and there was a "strange" car in front of the house all day.

After getting a look at the girl's photo I went home, told Jerry to get dressed, and we harnessed up the Rat Terriers who leave no stone unturned - if there was someone hiding in the bushes they would know. We grabbed our flashlights and went looking for Halley. Luckily when we got back to their house the boy's mom had returned, called her mother's house because she lives in a nearby neighborhood, and the kid's were both there. Whew! I was very happy for the family because things could have ended differently.

I gotta go make airline reservations for vacation next month and my computer is having a problem so I will either have to fix it or load photo software onto this one (my dad's) to download the photos from tonight. See ya tomorrow!

Vickie