Since his disappearance, Wallace’s family has held vigils. His friend has set up a web site. His fiancée has covered his disappearance in several articles for the local news station, and his mother has been on national television shows including the Nancy Grace show covering missing persons. Still, no news has been uncovered.

I hope that one day the young man will be found unharmed. In the mean time, I am determined to keep looking for him, and to explain to others what they can do if someone they love becomes lost or missing. I have read a number of books and talked to family members of Wallace and others who are missing, and have tried to document a list of procedures to follow if someone needs help. I never thought I would have to use these procedures myself, but that all changed about 10 days ago.

My family and I were enjoying a trip to the beach, and had spent an hour or two playing in the surf. There were five adults in our party, and only four kids. I felt that the ratio was pretty good, and that we could easily keep an eye on everyone. After taking a turn watching the kids and helping them up from the more powerful waves, I went off to body surf for a few minutes. As I rode a wave in, my wife signaled me that something was wrong. I wandered over, thinking it was time for a bathroom trip or a lunch break. Then I heard the words that I NEVER wanted to hear. My daughter Michelle was missing.

Immediately, I started running in circles, not knowing whether to go north or south along the shore to look for her. She had told her mom she was going to rinse the sand off of her hands, and had walked down to the water, and then just vanished. Her mother was now in a panic as well. My brother handed me a cell phone and told me to call 911. (Thank you, brother, for snapping me back to sensibility!) So, I called the 911 dispatcher and reported my daughter was missing. She asked where we were, and then asked about my daughter’s height, weight, race, clothing, and name.

I was beside myself. All the stories I had read about kidnappings and kids disappearing immediately started playing in my mind. I asked God to please help me find my daughter, as I thought that He knew what it was like to know the pain of a Son in trouble. I went out to the street and asked the lady in a store that sold souvenirs if she had seen my little girl. (My daughter liked the hermit crabs that the store sold, and I thought maybe she went there to look at them.)

Finally, after about thirty minutes that seemed like an eternity, I got a call that a lifeguard had found my little girl. Apparently, she had wandered off looking for shells and had quickly gotten lost. Thankfully, she knew to go to a lifeguard for help. Self-consciously but gratefully, I fell to my knees and thanked God for a positive resolution to the traumatic event.

When my daughter was brought back in the lifeguard’s truck, my life was quickly returned to normal. For many, it’s not that quickly resolved. Here are the steps to follow if someone you love goes missing.

1.

  Immediately call 911. (There is no required “waiting period” before a report can be filed.)

2.

  Give the dispatcher the person’s name, birth date, height, weight, clothing, and any unique identifiers such as glasses, braces, tattoos or piercings.

3.

  Request that your child’s name and identifying information be immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person File.

If Your Child Is Missing - Call the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST - (If they are 12 or under, and you feel that the missing person was abducted, call your local FBI office.)

*

  Then, log onto or refer the responding law enforcement agency to www.beyondmissing.com: This website allows registered law enforcement agencies to immediately create and distribute missing flyers to other targeted law enforcement agencies using the Internet. Parents can also create, download and print flyers for duplication, but not database or electronically distribute missing flyers. There is no cost for either service.
*

  Notify all local media assignment desks: The sooner television and radio begin notifying the community that a child has been kidnapped, the better the chances of recovery.
*

  Notify your local non-profit Child Locator Service: They can provide an array of services pertinent to your situation. Child Locator Services exist to assist in the recovery of missing children.
*

  If you believe that your child has run away: Contact the National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-621-4000.

If An Adult Is Missing - Call the Center for Missing Adults at 1-800-690-FIND or go to the National Center for Missing Adults website.

Prayer is a good idea, and so is seeking support from friends and loved ones. One important thing to do is write down all names and information every time you talk to anyone regarding the missing person. These notes can help you when you need to follow up with law enforcement and other agencies, and give you a list of folks to thank when your loved one comes home.

Finally, DO NOT list your contact information on the missing posters. Use the numbers provided by law enforcement. There are a lot of people who seem to enjoy harassing those in bad situations, and having personal contact information to these people can make a bad situation worse. This will also limit the opportunistic people who may try to contact you to offer their psychic or other “services” which are often just attempts to make money from your tragedy.

Losing a loved one to death is a painful experience. Losing a loved one to the unknown is much more traumatic, because there is no closure, and there will always be doubts. With these tips, hopefully you can bring them home safe.

The boy was reported missing at 3 p.m. and found 3:43 p.m. by people who know him. This is a 15-year-old male who hung himself in an underground storm sewer basin,” said Lysek, who pronounced the boy dead at the storm drain.

Counselors will be at Easton Area High School today, Principal William Rider said. “Our prayers are with the Godley family,” Kramer’s note read. “I have extended our sincere condolences to the Godley family.”

Godley, born in Phillipsburg, had been involved with the Forks Township Athletic Association and was a member of St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church, according to his obituary.

Godley is survived by his parents, Leonard and Annette; a brother, Artie; and two sisters, Christine and Amanda.

Body Found In Storm Drain

School Offers Counseling in Wake of Suicide

According to police in Orlando, FL, Sharlyn Singh will be charged with Aggravated Child Abuse after she put her baby in the oven and turned it on, apparently because she was upset by a breakup with her boyfriend.

The article doesn’t say whether she mistook her baby for a turkey, or whether she was actually trying to hurt the baby. I would love to believe it was an accident, but I doubt it.

The baby is fine, a friend of Singh’s brother heard cries and got the baby out. Sharlyn is in jail.

This article made me think of a blog I was reading yesterday, in which a young woman talks about how much it hurt that her mother chose the mother’s boyfriend over the daughter when making choices.(WARNING: Contains Graphic Language) I feel horrible for this woman.

It seems that this sort of thing happens a lot. It’s amazing how self absorbed a parent can be.

When parents fail to protect their children, in order to protect an adult, the crime should hang around the necks of them all.

A 14-year-old girl from the Port Richmond section of Staten Island who disappeared on her way to school on Nov. 9 is now home safely, according to police. Bella Matute, a student at Egbert Intermediate School in Midland Beach, re-emerged over the weekend, after her father learned she was in North Carolina and picked her up there, an NYPD spokesman said today. “It’s something that is too painful to talk about,” her father told the Advance yesterday. “You can’t imagine how I felt when she came back. I felt like it was a gift from God.” He wouldn’t elaborate about her disappearance or return, saying that he needed to talk with police first. — Contributed by John Annese

This young girl apparently met an adult on the internet. Why couldn’t he find an adult? I hope they prosecute him.

Having said that, I have had a few interviews and talks with fellow bloggers and the family members and friends of some missing people. I will be applying the things I have learned to the blog. I look forward to the changes, and to a better focus on a few issues, where i may be able to provide more than a local news affiliate, or Nancy Grace.

One of the biggest innovations that I am planning is a a page specifically focused to each of the cases that mean the most to me, including:

• Wallace Richards

• Jaliek Rainwalker Again, this link currently points to his National Center for Missing & Exploited Children poster. This case bothers me specifically because he was an adopted and seemed to be feeling unwanted.

• Finally, I am creating a specific website that focuses precisely on what to do if someone you love is missing. Located at Help Find My Loved One.com , it will include “how to” information, as well as free website and poster creation for those who have a loved one missing. I want the site to be a free resource that helps those who are going through a crisis.

"He was sorry for all he did and he wouldn't be a problem anymore," Bell said, describing the contents of the note, which appeared to be written in Rainwalker's handwriting. "He said, 'Goodbye.'"

Meanwhile, his father has obtained an attorney and refuses to take a lie detector test, according to the information found on Kindra Lore's website, which is dedicated to yet another missing boy, Colton Levi Clark.

Colton Levi Clark, missing since April 20, 2006 from Seminole, Oklahoma.

Jaliek seemed to be very depressed before he went missing. I hope he is okay. Searchers are focused on a swamp and a nearby golf course. Jaliek is described as a light-skinned black boy, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 105 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He may be wearing blue jeans and a yellow fleece.

If you have any information about Jaliek, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
Greenwich Village Police Department (New York) 1-518-692-9332

Bella Matute, 14, left her home at Gloria Court early Thursday to go to school, police said. Matute, a student at the Egbert Intermediate School, never made it to class. She was last seen outside the school, and police believe she may have left with a man in his 30's who drives a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse with Virginia license plates KLU-8430.

Bella's father does not believe she would have gone with this man.

"She's always home. When she goes out, she asks for permission," Elio Matute said. And when she visits friends, he said, she goes with family members. He said he last spoke with his daughter late Wednesday night, and nothing seemed amiss.

If you have any information on Bella, call 1-800-577-TIPS.

For folks like Natalee Holloway's mom, Beth Holloway Twitty, the loved one's disappearance turns into a test of endurance, will, and strength. For the family of Stacy Peterson, and for the family of Kathleen Savio, there may be some resolution to the mystery.

What if, instead of a theory on what happened to your loved one, you have no real leads? What if you have no one that you suspect is responsible? How do you go on?

A few people who have disappeared without conclusive leads have had a great deal of attention, such as the three missing women who disappeared in Springfield Missouri in 1992. Suzie Streeter, Stacy McCall, and Sherrill Levitt disappeared from Sherrill Levitt's home. She was Streeter's mother, and Suzie and Stacy were best friends. Fifteen years after their disappearance, there is still a great deal of interest in the case.

My heart goes out to folks like the family and friends of Wallace Richards, and William "Billy" Smiolinski Jr. Other than the websites dedicated to them by family and friends, there is no media. There are no forums dedicated to finding them. There is no discussion of them in any of the crime blogs.

Wallace Richards went missing on November 10, 2005. There was no known reason for him to disappear.

Billy Smolinski went missing in August of 2004, after a rough breakup with a girlfriend.

Steve Huff, an awesome true crime blogger, states in a recent post that he believes the discrepancy in coverage exists because women receive more compassion due to a perceived sense of helplessness. I have a less optimistic view of human nature, and feel that more coverage goes to the attractive. Especially amongst the main stream media, where ratings are number one. If ALL women received more coverage, then I might believe it. I think it is the job of folks like us to highlight the cases that the MSM will not.

Giving a voice to victims, and helping their loved ones cope.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for kids, but victims exist in every age category, in every race, in every socioeconomic category. The media seems to focus on the beautiful, and often there is a greater focus on young blonde white girls. I may give them some coverage, but i don't want to do so at the expense of any other child. In America, all are supposed to be equal. That's our policy here on Voiceless Victims.

I have had a lot of searches on psychological profiles, and so I want to give a series of checklists on identifying victims AND predators. Some lists I see include:

• How to recognize a child who has been abused.


• How to recognize a potential child molester.


• What to do if someone you know has been molested.


• What to do if someone you love is missing.


• How to identify some personality disorders.

Other things that I think are important including letting victims tell how they have overcome abuse, and explaining how forensic evidence has given a voice to those who could not tell.

I welcome any comments and suggestions, and I hope that we can, at some point, get involved in advocacy.

I think the saddest things is that she was shunned by those around her. They said she must have been cursed by voodoo, and made her feel like a monster.

From TLC's "A New Face for Marlie"

http://tlc.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=117379&gid=0&channel=TLC

It's on Discovery Channel next month as well.

http://health.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=0&cpi=117379&gid=0&channel=DHC

What a way to start the new year!

Congratulations, Marlie!

God knows what it is like to have your child murdered. He cares for you and for Kelsey. I hope you will seek His help dealing with your loss.