Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 191

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 191

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Linnea Lomax

We who are drawn to and volunteer at missing person search centers are focused on the singular goal of rescuing and/or recovering a missing person. Sometimes, as in the case of Linnea Lomax, the missing person is found very quickly, as we are just learning to recognize each other’s faces. We shake hands and return home knowing that we have helped a family find answers. Other times, searches can be drawn out for months or even years. People who might not have met for any other reason or purpose suddenly find themselves captives of the emotional vortex that is the search center. That is when things can become complicated.

Polly Klaas

When we were searching for Polly in 1993, hundreds of volunteers were drawn to our search center. Some visited once or maybe twice, but others returned time and time again. Over the two month period that we were looking for Polly, as we became friends instead of strangers, many of the volunteers let their guard down and began sharing personal details about their lives. For some reason many of those volunteers, mostly women, confessed secrets to me. Some of those secrets were so deep seeded that I suspect they had never before been shared. Most had to do with being molested or otherwise victimized when they were children. As difficult as the stories were to listen to, they had to be much harder to tell, because sometimes the ladies would cry or pause to collect their emotions. Many carried guilt, some were still angry, others had found peace through counseling or spirituality, a few had substance abuse issues, but all were driven to help a little girl and her desperate family. Without exception, they admitted that they were volunteering to find my daughter as a way to reconcile, or make amends, with their own past.

Sierra LaMar

At the Sierra LaMar Search Center, which has been active for six months now, many of the people on the KlaasKids team are damaged souls. Violet and I lost Polly. My brother in law Kelby was also very close to Polly and has made search and rescue work a major component of his volunteer activity ever since. I met Danny Domingo at a search center in Vallejo that was established for his niece Xiana Fairchild in 1999. Her skull was found in the Santa Cruz Mountains in January, 2001.  Midsi Sanchez survived her own harrowing ordeal at the hands of a predator in 2000. Michael Le and Krystine Dinh are currently attending the trial of the woman who killed their beloved sister and cousin Michelle Le. Debbie and Pat Boyd, who I first met at the Sierra Search Center, have never recovered the remains of their daughter Kristie Wilson, although an individual has been convicted of murdering her in October, 2005. I share this only because I truly believe that those who have suffered victimization sometimes resolve to assist others who are currently enduring victimization as a way to give meaning to their own struggles.

Xiana Fairchild

I am concerned that many of the things that brought us together to find Sierra and now undermining the effort to achieve this singular goal. I see people criticizing and nitpicking over trivial matters. Social media is being used as a weapon to undermine, not strengthen our search effort, by focusing on peripheral issues that detract from, and not enhance the common cause. Personality clashes that should be confronted or dealt with in person are instead being posted on Facebook. Alliances and cliques that have personal agendas clutter the path to Sierra like weeds, and make it difficult to stay on course.

Midsi Sanchez

We should refocus on the positive things that have been achieved these past six months. Friendships have been formed. Some of us have found new purpose in our lives. A cause that is bigger than any of us has united us in a common goal. We have made our community proud, and we are closer to finding Sierra than we have ever been before. The work that we are doing together in Morgan Hill can be transformational if only we allow ourselves to stay the course, but right now we are drifting.

Christie Wilson

Together we need to refocus and find Sierra. By doing so, we might finally find ourselves.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 163

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Ain’t no one left in the house except the search junkies. They have suffered multiple wasp attacks, extreme heat, ruptured muscles, broken bones, a heart attack, and appendicitis, yet they still come back for more. It has been nearly six months since Sierra LaMar disappeared. Seasons have come and gone. A housing complex has been constructed and settled. A suspect has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. But still, we have not found Sierra LaMar.

 

As search leaders struggle to define viable new search locations, volunteers continue to be deployed into the field to seek any sign of the missing Morgan Hill cheerleader. The amateurs that first walked through the doors in May and April have evolved into seasoned search and rescue personnel. The no longer consider every discarded cigarette butt as a game changer; instead they search for more tangible forms of potential evidence. March’s freshly dug grave is September’s hardened mound of dirt. April’s discarded body may be today’s bone fragments.

 

The good news is that despite nearly 1,000 search assignments, we have located no sign of Sierra LaMar. Either a sociopathic cretin named Garcia-Torres has done an amazing job of covering up his crimes, or Sierra is still alive. There is nothing in his background to suggest that he has the capacity to eliminate the traces of his criminal activity. Instead, there is a drooling trail of petty crime, attacks against women, and links to Sierra, who he claims that he never met. So that leaves the possibility that she is still alive, either as a victim of human trafficking, or under the control of his partners in crime.

 

Of course, this is simply speculation, and until we have real answers I suspect that the search for Sierra will continue. We will never give up hope and we will continue to look for a girl who is either watching us from heaven, or waiting to be rescued. As long as her family holds out hope and continues to show up at the search center to encourage, hug, and thank the volunteers; and as long as the community continues to believe that anything is possible, the amazing search junkies will continue to weather the elements as they seek the child who we all know is somewhere out there.

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Betrayal

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Soon after my daughter Polly was kidnapped on October 1, 1993, she became known as America’s child. Donations to assist and facilitate the search poured in from the far corners of America. Violet and I founded the nonprofit Polly Klaas Foundation (PKF) to best administer funds and to protect ourselves from potential speculation that we would misappropriate money donated to help find Polly. We wanted to be proactive in ensuring that the focus remained on finding Polly.

 

Nonprofit organizations are governed by a Board of Directors. For the PKF we chose individuals who were prominent during the early days of the search. In fact, Violet and I left much of the organizing to those very people as we immersed ourselves in the search for our missing daughter. We named the organization after Polly because the donations, the focus and the hope was all about my daughter. Before the month of October, 1993 ended the Internal Revenue Service had conferred nonprofit status on the PKF.

 

Board responsibilities included fundraising, program development and financial management. Generally, Boards of Directors do not become involved in the day to day running of an organization. Those are tasks that are left to the nonprofit’s President, Executive Director, and staff.

 

Upon learning of Polly’s tragic death on Dec. 4, it was our intention to lobby for laws that would protect children, use the remaining $283,000 to help find other missing children, and continue fundraising, but the PKF Board made it difficult to accomplish these objectives. They seemed more concerned about protecting (their) assets and enjoying the status of sitting on the Board of a high profile nonprofit organization. This resulted in deep and ingrained tension between Violet, me and the Board. Violet, who was not a member of the Board, was not allowed to attend meetings. At these meetings I often found myself with very few allies.

 

Janet Reno’s visit to Petaluma in July, 1994 was a good example of my conflict with the Board. I had secured the United States Attorney General to speak at a town hall meeting to discuss crimes against children. As a result, the PKF Board accused me of grandstanding. They reasoned that if the Attorney General’s visit was a success I would receive the glory, but if it failed they would take the blame. After Ms. Reno’s visit, which went very well, drew massive media attention, and filled the hall at the Petaluma Community Center, relations between the Board and me became even more strained.

President Clinton signing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

Within a year of my daughter’s kidnapping several events foreshadowed our rocky nonprofit experience and lonely crusade. On September 13, 1994, I stood on the podium with President Clinton at the White House when he signed The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The President gave me the first pen that he used to sign the bill. The Crime Bill provided for 100,000 new cops, allocated $6.1-billion in prevention funds for at risk children, and nearly $10-billion for prison construction costs.

 

Within days of my invitation to join the president the PKF Board informed me that I was no longer allowed to pursue criminal justice legislation. They argued that a non-profit organization is prohibited from advocating for new laws. They knew that this was not accurate. What was happening was the PKF Board had created a mission limitation that did not include legislation. Violet and I believed that Polly’s legacy had to include powerful public policy positions that would protect other children from her tragedy.

 

Without hesitation and a sense of urgency a separate non-profit application to create what would become known as the KlaasKids Foundation had been submitted from which to lobby, advocate and promote legislation. The PKF Board said that I had created a conflict of interest by finding an avenue that would allow me to pursue goals that they forbade me from pursuing. This was their justification for expelling me from the nonprofit that bore my daughter’s name. Ironically, the current PKF website states that a primary objective is to effect legislation which, “Will ensure that children can be safe in their own homes and communities.”

 

Within one year and 20-days of my daughter’s death, on October 21, 1994, without my knowledge, the PKF Board secured a trademark for the name Polly Klaas. My daughter’s name now belonged to the Polly Klaas Foundation.

 

Within a month of trademarking my daughter’s name, while Violet and I were out of town, the PKF Board voted me off the board during a secret meeting. This was the first Board meeting that I did not attend since the inception of the organization. Over the telephone the Board President informed me that I was expelled from the nonprofit organization that bore my daughter’s name. I felt that I had lost my daughter yet again. Violet and I were no longer welcome at the Foundation that we had created and hoped would become Polly’s legacy. We had been betrayed.

 

When Violet and I were locked out of the PKF we had $2,000, a fledgling nonprofit that would become the KlaasKids Foundation and knives in our backs. We felt that we had lost our daughter yet again. With a sense of urgency we believed that there was no time to lose, because otherwise everyone would forget. We struggled. Violet worked a full time job; I volunteered my time to KlaasKids. We lived frugally, turning our home into an office. We worked 18-hour days writing, advocating, traveling and otherwise pursuing our window of opportunity. Fortunately, our voice and our passion were being heard on television, radio, in the op-ed pages of newspapers and at KlaasKids events throughout the country.

 

It was through KlaasKids that we built a solid reputation for action and accomplishment. Meanwhile the PKF struggled. With just a few months of operating expenses left in their account, PKF launched a high profile car donation program. For the next several years a confused public donated millions of dollars’ worth of vehicles in Polly’s name despite the fact that the PKF produced minimal results.

 

The sense of betrayal continues to this day. Today it was brought to my attention that there is an organization exploiting missing Morgan Hill cheerleader Sierra LaMar for profit. The families who suffer and are victimized by the loss of their children are victimized yet again by those who steal, exploit or profit off of personal tragedy. I have witnessed too many instances of family members pursuing a legacy in honor of their loved one only to have their organization hijacked.

 

Shame on them! People or groups who oust family members betray the memories of crime victims by heaping insult upon injury. Sometimes I can still feel the knife in my back, but I take solace in the knowledge that Polly was my child and that her legacy is my destiny. KlaasKids may not bare Polly’s name, but we have created her legacy and given meaning to her death. One of the lessons of betrayal is to remain strong and not allow it to tarnish our character.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Glass Half Full and Child Safety

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It was expected to be 106 degrees in Patterson, CA yesterday. Packing lightly, I left my apartment to pick up Danielle [LaMar] from the BART station – ready to head down to the inferno we all call central California. Our three hour mini-roadtrip, though hilariously misdirected as we crossed Sacramento County when we were supposed to be going south, was smooth sailing as we caught up on each other’s lives and the latest in both of our family’s cases.

My first time doing a KlaasKids Print-a-thon was in Patterson nearly a year ago – the October right after we found Michelle. At that time, I was adjusting to a new normal as I started involving myself with the organization that helped find her. That October, I promised myself, Michelle and KlaasKids that I would be involved with this team for the rest of my life.

It was a strong commitment to make, to say the least. Recently, with the trial coming up, I have been reflecting on this new normal that I’ve made and how rapidly and dramatically my lifestyle, hobbies and attitude have changed as a direct result of her death.

I have always believed in optimism – making and seeing things better and brighter. Michelle’s murder presented what was possibly the most challenging situation to be optimistic about; it was senseless, cold, brutal violence that gashed into our lives and made us realize how dark and evil human nature really can be. We, as a society, see robberies and crimes every day on the news, hear about weird zombie cannibals on bath salts, maybe mingled briefly with others who have faced tragedies of their own – but until you taste the same sense of bitter anger, confusion, hopelessness and desperation for answers, you feel shielded from all the world’s woes.

Then there are families who are brave enough to hear about the world’s woes, and not only acknowledge, but face the fact that they should be preventative about protecting their children. Not by avoiding, but embracing, the conversation about child safety.

Danielle, Marc, Violet and I headed to the Patterson festival ready to meet and help those families.

Also joining KlaasKids was Tabitha Cardenas, who lost her own 4-year-old son in early 2011 in Patterson. I had a chance to meet Tabitha last October; she is truly a strong woman with a beautiful smile that seems to defy all that happened to her and her young boy.

At print-a-thons, there is no darkness. Parents line up with their little ones whose ages range from a couple months old to 18 years old, ready to get them fingerprinted and ID-ed. We meet children and teens of all sorts of personalities – from super hyper to rebellious to autistic or with a mental disability – but all children have the same thing in common. They are all lovely, young and trusting – all with the potential to be lost or kidnapped.

These parents wait in line to do one of the best things they could do for their children – prepare to talk to them about child safety. They watch proudly as their child gets fingerprinted and laugh as their sons and daughters smile broadly at our camera. They know that it’s better to be safe than sorry, that the conversation about child safety isn’t something to avoid – that it could be fun and educational.

At the end of the day, we fingerprinted over 260 kids and met dozens of families and parents in the sweltering heat of Patterson. Over 260 kids went home with their bio sheets, safety tips and DNA kits. Hopefully, over 260 kids will have the conversation with their parents about child safety and crisis prevention.

I left the print-a-thon with a spoonful more optimism.

KlaasKids’ print-a-thons have historically helped over a million children. We can only hope our families’ stories helped 260 kids at Patterson; heck, we’d be happy if our families’ stories helped even one more family out there.

A year ago, I was in a dark place. Now I find myself in love with our organization, our searches and the volunteer heroes that we get to interact with on a daily basis. If the abductors, kidnappers and murderers expected our families to back down and whimper at our losses, I hope they know that our optimism overpowers whatever power they think they have. That our loved ones’ legacies far outweigh their pitiful, rotten existences.

Now that’s looking on the bright side of things.

As Danielle and I head back to the East Bay, the temperature drops to a thankfully cooler 88 degrees. The sun is shining brilliantly as we wish those 260 kids the happiest – and safest – futures that they could have.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 120

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Beauty attracts…everyone.

 

With Violet at the Birds Nest Stadium

Violet and I enjoy the Olympics so much that we attended in Los Angeles in 1984 and Beijing in 2008. For two weeks every four years we try to clear our calendars so that we can spend the evening watching the amazing athletic competitions, hopefully without being undermined by smartphone or Internet spoilers.

 

But, truth be told, one of our favorite aspects to the Olympics is simply watching the athletes. Demonstrating dazzling displays of power and speed, Olympic athletes shine on the world stage at the peak of physical perfection, dazzling billions of awe struck onlookers with feats of unequaled athletic ability.  We can see it in their clear focus, scrubbed complexions and toned muscles. They are, simply put, beautiful!

Sierra LaMar

After the Olympics I sometimes go to bed as my thoughts drift toward the search for Sierra LaMar. Like my own daughter Polly, Sierra was doing nothing wrong. She was simply a girl minding her own business when her life was invaded by a fatal attraction that changed everything. An attraction triggered by youthful beauty and fueled by madness.

 

Beauty can propel you to superstar heights. It can bring you happiness and the adoration of millions. Beautiful people seem to walk a path through life that simply appears under the red carpet. They have an ease of confidence and success seems to come more readily. Beauty doesn’t even require personality as it exists of its own accord.

 

However, beauty does have its downside. It attracts everybody and not everybody has best of intentions. When beauty attracts the beast the consequences can be dire because sometimes the beast cannot simply admire, but must possess. And the beast cannot share, but must consume. Then beauty ceases to exist and the beast turns his attention elsewhere, seeking out more beauty. It goes on and on and on until it is stopped.

 

Polly Klaas and People Magazine

Polly always wanted to be on the cover of People Magazine, and to take care of her father when she grew up. I always thought that she had the all American beauty and talent to achieve that goal. Well Polly was propelled onto the cover of People Magazine by a fame that was as unpredictable as it was unwanted. Now, I sit in the back of Town Cars, or watch the Olympics and reflect on the nature of beauty.  If you are fortunate you become adored and walk life along the red carpet. If you are unfortunate and your beauty attracts the eye of evil, you may never have the chance to achieve your dreams or fulfill your potential.

 

Beauty is a double edged sword that can propel you to the heights of glory or drag you into the depths of some psycho’s personal Hell.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 116

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The recent plea hearing for the individual accused of kidnapping and killing Sierra LaMar demonstrated yet again the preferential treatment afforded to criminals. The defendant waived his right to appear in court and his lawyers asked for the hearing to be postponed while they subpoena cell phone records currently under seal. The judge granted a continuance until August 29, when a plea may be entered. This shadow maneuver only postpones the inevitable since it is guaranteed that the defendant will plead not guilty to all charges. I agree with the Constitutional guarantees that Sierra’s accused killer must treated fairly, but what about her family. Shouldn’t they have rights too?

In order to guarantee equal protection under the law the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights, provides fundamental rights to individuals who are accused of crimes. Those rights include: the presumption that the defendant is innocent, the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the right to remain silent, confront witnesses, have a public trial by jury, be adequately represented by an attorney, not to be tried twice for the same offense, and the right to a speedy trial.

32 states have amendments in their Constitutions that guarantee some level of victims’ rights, and more than 32,000 statutes have been passed in states and at the federal level that define and protect the rights of crime victims. These rights vary from state to state, but tend to include: the right to notification of proceedings and to attend proceedings, the right to be heard, the right to compensation, and the right to protection.

 

The major distinction between defendants’ rights and victims’ rights is that the United States Constitution guarantees the rights of defendants, while the rights of victims are guaranteed by either statute or a state’s constitution. The word victim does not exist in the U.S. Constitution and victims of crime have virtually no legal standing in the ultimate law of the land. This means that there is no equity under the law. The rights of defendants will always trump the rights of victims.

 

The only way that crime victims will ever receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system is through the passage of a crime victims’ amendment to the United States Constitution. Amending the U.S. Constitution is a difficult process. Amendments must be proposed to the states by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, and then be ratified by three-fourths of the states before it becomes law. Currently, there are 27 amendments to the United States Constitution.

 

It is an unfortunate irony that constitutional rights created to protect the innocent now shield the guilty. In 2010, U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced an estimated 18.7 million violent and property crime victimizations. That is down from 2001, when we suffered 24.2 million violent and property crime victimizations. When millions of American citizens’ lives are forever impacted by the violent actions of others, we need to take steps to protect their rights as we do the rights of the accused.

What can we do to rectify this imbalance? A bi-partisan effort to create a Victims’ Rights Amendment fell short about a decade ago. Sponsored by Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and with the support of Presidents Clinton and Bush, the proposed amendment never made it to the states for ratification.

 

However, House Joint Resolution 6, currently before the United States Congress would establish a Victims Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If passed, H. J. Res. 106 will give victims of crime the right to fairness, respect, and dignity. Victims will further have the right to reasonable notice of and ability to attend public proceedings relating to the offense; the rights to be heard at any release, plea, sentencing, or other such proceeding. My sources tell me that 100 co-sponsors will bring House Joint Resolution 6 to the House Floor for a vote! We need to act now before the legislative session draws to a close. Your voice matters!  Visit www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb to find your Representative, call him or her now and ask him or her to co-sponsor H. J. Res. 106.

Thomas Jefferson

We should never lightly amend the United States Constitution. However, victims of crime will never be fairly treated by a system that does not afford them equal fundamental rights, and that can only be achieved through constitutional amendment. Thomas Jefferson eloquently stated the need to occasionally modify the ultimate law of the land: “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered, and manners and opinions change; with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 115

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Anger and forgiveness have been on my mind lately. Not that I carry unfettered anger against any person, place, or thing. Indeed, my anger is directed toward those things that I cannot change. Neither do I want to forgive or be forgiven by anyone. Rather, it is in the context of the Sierra LaMar mystery that my musings wander. It is only a matter of time before the question so often asked of Sierra’s parents and sister, “How are you feeling,” morphs into “Can you let go of your anger”, and “Are you ready to forgive”.

 

I am inevitably taken to task for my failure to forsake anger and my unwillingness to offer forgiveness to Polly’s killer.  Such criticism is borne of inexperience and a lack of knowledge.  Losing a child, like having a child is an epiphany.  The miracle of birth underscores and highlights unconditional love like no other experience can.  When that connection is broken by unrestrained violence it becomes a boundless, cosmic betrayal that tests every emotional, spiritual and physical value.

 

Anger is not the negative emotion that is so often portrayed.  We need not deny or stifle anger.  Instead we can use anger to make the world a better place in which to live.  If used correctly and divorced of violence anger can be an enlightened agent of change.  I believe that anger motivated Gandhi, King, Mandela, and many other agents of change throughout history. These men were very angry about the injustice heaped upon their constituency and it was anger that drove them toward the peaceful strategies that enabled them to change the world and return the gift of equality to more than a billion oppressed humans.

 

There are those who suggest that we should forgive, that forgiveness makes us better people and that forgiveness is a necessary component of an evolving society.  However, to forgive for sins committed against others is presumptuous and disingenuous.  It would be like me forgiving Hitler for murdering six million Jews during World War 2.  Forgiveness for murder is not ours to give.  The only ones in a position to forgive murder are the victims and, by definition, the victims are dead, which makes murder the unforgivable sin.

 

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 112

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The Kitchen Ladies: MA, Loretta, Margaret, Vivian, Mary

Everybody loves the kitchen ladies because they take good care of the volunteers. They make sure that there is breakfast in the morning, and lunch in the afternoon. They always have a smile on their faces, they never complain, and they work very hard to ensure that everybody eats often and well. And really, don’t we all want grandma to serve us a well prepared meal after a hard day’s work?

 

For lunch today we had MA’s cheese enchiladas and pinto beans, tostadas, Roger’s spaghetti, Vivian’s stuffed bell peppers, green salad, fresh vegetables from Loretta’s garden and Vivian’s dessert buffet. Yumm!!!

 

I learned an important lesson about food and volunteers shortly after Polly was kidnapped in 1993. One day about a month after Polly disappeared; a television reporter named Doug Murphy, who was covering her case at the search center, directed my attention to the food line where the original kitchen ladies were facilitating lunch. When he said, “You know that if you stop feeding people they will stop coming,” I knew instinctively that he was right. “You have to feed volunteers,” he said. If they’re out looking for your daughter all day they need nourishment when they come in from the field.” Now we make sure that meals are covered whenever KlaasKids conducts a search for a missing person.

Polly Klaas Search Center

KlaasKids works with an online true crime forum called Websleuths to feed volunteers in the early days of the search. Our good friends at Websleuths pool their resources if they cannot find any local restaurants to donate breakfast and lunch. We usually go with pizza, sandwiches or burritos, because they’re affordable and delicious. However, once local businesses realize that we are conducting a serious search effort for a missing person in their community they almost always find a way to contribute to the food effort.

 

It’s really about more than providing nourishment though. There is a profound comfort quality to food that is universal. We associate it with friends, family, and fellowship. We anticipate a good meal. Hmmm! Sometimes I anticipate a mediocre meal, but that’s another story altogether. We experiment with recipes, and take solace in creating something that will stimulate the senses as it puts a smile on the faces of others. Food lets us forget trial, tribulation and stress for short periods of time and has the power to catapults our minds to foreign shores. It brings us together around dinner tables, restaurants and picnics in the park. Food helps to define our identity. A good meal can also be a solitary adventure, although it is always better to have somebody to share the love with.

 

When Violet and I first met Sierra’s family back in March we showed up at her mom’s house with a picnic meal. We knew that the family was freaked out about Sierra’s disappearance and wanted to remind them to eat and know that we really cared. Once we went inside we weren’t surprised that Marlene’s house was already full of meals donated by friends, neighbors and well-wishers. Food is comfort as food is love.

With Sierra’s family and the kitchen ladies

Like so many others they showed up early in the search effort and asked what they could do to help. They quickly gravitated toward the kitchen and started putting the pieces of their department together. During the first couple of months it was about rationing food prepared and donated by others. But more recently they have been anticipating volunteer numbers and doing much of the cooking themselves. They even make sure that there are no onions in the chili so that Danny can have some.

 

Theirs is not a thankless job because everybody loves food and everybody loves the kitchen ladies. However, it is a difficult task. Thus far 8,400 volunteers have helped to search for Sierra and none of them have gone home hungry. In fact, each and every volunteer has been served a filling and yummy meal. It may be a small gesture, but the kitchen ladies make sure that it is one from the heart.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 98

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Genaro Garcia Fernandez & Antolin Garcia Torres

As the seasons change the fresh hope of spring yields to the dog days of summer, yet missing 15-year-old Sierra continues to elude our grasp. Unpicked summer fruit falls from trees, bushes and vines’, spoiling in the unyielding heat of late July, but it is the putrid stench of rotten fruit that commands our attention. A pair of child rapists, a father and his son, resides in the Santa Clara County Jail, protected from other prisoners who jeer, threaten and, given a chance, would possibly slit their throats.

 

The father, Genaro Garcia-Fernandez, crimes spanned a decade, as he lurked within the walls of his home sweet home and serially raped his pre-teen daughter with regularity and certainty. His boy, Antolin Garcia-Torres, preferred a blitzkrieg strike against unsuspecting females. He’d rather prowl for victims in a supermarket parking lot at night or the blustery storm shrouded early morning roads in his hometown of Morgan Hill, CA.

 

He was a good student though. His father’s crimes taught him that it is best to strike in isolation and to leave no witnesses behind. In a rational world, one would hope that the son would atone for generational perversion by coming clean with his God and the authorities. Unfortunately, the psychopath is not rational: his only God is instant self-gratification; and the authorities will only learn the details that advance his needs. Now, it is only a matter of time before the sins of the father establish the foundation for the defense of the son.

Danielle, Marlene, Krystine & Violet

Enough about the dark side: the Sierra search has demonstrated that hope reigns eternal, and that the powers of good can triumph over the power of evil. On Saturday, more than 70-volunteers showed up to search for Sierra. The morning prayer circle gave thanks for the cloudy skies and temperature that hovered in the low sixties. As usual, the search teams left hopeful that this would be the day that the case was resolved. In the meantime, we prepared for the child ID Program, requested by Sierra’s mother Marlene, which was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Making Kids Safe

The KlaasKids Print-A-Thon has traveled the country since the mid 90’s. We have fingerprinted and photographed more than 1,000,000 children without charging a family for the service or data basing personal and private information. We provide a suite of child safety tools in hopes of providing families with information they can share to avoid a victimization in the first place. However, if there is an emergency we provide a 9-point plan on what to do in case of an emergency.

 

The weather did not fully cooperate. When the teams returned later in the afternoon, the skies were blue, the sun was beating down and we had fingerprinted and photographed more than 130 children. It is our hope that we have provided young families with a viable path to child safety. Unfortunately, Sierra’s whereabouts remain unknown.

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Sierra LaMar: Anatomy of a Search Day 91

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Car Wash

Car wash baby!!! Last Saturday the Sierra Search Center better resembled the Sierra Social Center. 70 search volunteers signed up to find Sierra. They ate a good nutritious breakfast and set out in the rapidly warming day to see if they could finally crack this case. For all intents and purposes, it was shaping up as another routine day in the search for the missing teenage girl whose pretty, smiling face looks back at us from virtually every telephone pole and storefront window in Morgan Hill.

 

The car wash began at 10:00 a.m. under the supervision of Sandina and Cassie, two teenaged search center regulars. Plenty of kids showed up to help, and Sierra’s dad Steve brought soap, sponges, and towels. Cars began arriving right on time so the kids broke up into teams: two teams washing and two teams drying.

 

The amazing kitchen ladies passed out: no, wait, they didn’t pass out, they distributed some donated ice cream bars to the kids washing cars. Many declined and worked through the increasing heat. We even had to force some of the kids to take a break for lunch. Danny Domingo and Peggy Chou, Violet and Marlene LaMar joined in to help out. While they were no match for speed, their efficiency and good humor put them right in the groove. Returning searchers put their cars in line before debriefing. By the time the last car passed through the lot at around 3:00 p.m. more than 100 had been washed and $1,300 had been raised.

Roger’s Birthday Party

As this was going on a monster birthday card was being distributed among the volunteers. Longtime volunteer and search team briefing ace Roger Nelson was about to have a birthday party and he didn’t have a clue. When the cake and card were presented to him with a barely recognizable rendition of happy birthday he had the most bewildered look on his face, but accepted his surprise with grace and good humor. Then he ate two pieces of cake.

Unification Project

Finally, Danny and Peggy posted their unification project on a rare blank space on one of the auditorium walls. Volunteers who had only met in passing could finally put a name to the face. They were also able to learn why we had been brought together for this higher calling. The unification project will continue to grow until we find Sierra. Collectively I like to think of the auditorium walls as the walls of wonder, because in the face of harsh reality, they scream a message of hope and redemption.

KlaasKids Print-A-Thon

Next week we continue our team building with a free Child ID Program. KlaasKids will provide this valuable free service in the Search Center auditorium between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. We have providing Print-A-Thon’s throughout the country since 1994. Thus far we have fingerprinted and photographed more than 1,000,000 without ever charging a family for the service or data basing any personal or private information. Because we use the most sophisticated equipment we can capture viable fingerprints on children as young as 4-months old. We are hoping that the community turns out in large numbers because this valuable service provides a comprehensive suite of child safety tools at no cost. It will also give everybody an opportunity to see the walls of wonder for themselves.

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