Atwater Pleads Guilty

Demario Atwater pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. This may be the smartest move he has ever made. This works for us as well, for it will make the rest of the trial go a whole lot smoother. No more endless appeals. (Thank God!)

Life without parole - This is the best we can hope for.
Of course, I would rather see him at the end of a rope, but we know that will never happen. We may never see a punishment that will truly fit the crime. Still, if Eve's parents are pleased with the plea bargain, then I am happy for them.

I've read a lot of news articles about the results of the trial so far, and I've decided WRAL tells it best. Besides, they have some good videos too. Check it out.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7442761/

BTW - Here's something I found in Topix.
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/durham-nc/T1FGV0CPI1U5A3C2H
I wonder who this "Mr Bill" character is. Any ideas?

Brittanee Drexel Anniversary, Vigil

Brittanee Drexel went missing April 25, 2009. This weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC, starting on the evening of April 24, 2010, there will be a candlelight vigil in her memory.

Police in Myrtle Beach have announced they have a few persons of interest, but have declined to give much more information, other than to say they don't believe she is alive, but they do believe they will find who killed her, if they haven't already.

Search efforts have been conducted by CUE Center for Missing Persons, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Laura Recovery Center, Southeastern Mounted Search and Rescue, Cold Case Group, and Adam Walsh Foundation.
I apologize if I left anyone out.

For more information check out
http://www.ncmissingpersons.org/brittanee-drexel/

Jamie Fraley Anniversary

Jamie Michelle Fraley went missing April 8, 2008, from Gastonia, NC. It has now been two years. Jamie was born March 5, 1986, and was 22 years old when she disappeared. She is one of two missing persons cases that occurred near the same time and place as the murder of Ira Yarmolenko. Search efforts have brought us more questions than answers, and her story is as bizarre as it is sad.

Jamie Fraley's story in America's Most Wanted,
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=60357

The Charley Project,
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fraley_jamie.html

Help Find The Missing,
http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4518

News 14 Carolina, (with video)
http://news14.com/charlotte-news-104-content/nc_missing/618564/family-of-missing-gaston-co--woman-asks-public-for-help

North American Missing Persons Network,
http://www.nampn.org/cases/fraley_jamie.html

and Project Jason
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=2691.0

A month after Fraley went missing, on May 4, 2008, Jennifer Rivkin of Kings Mountain, NC went missing. Her borrowed car, unlocked with purse inside, was found in the parking lot of the Winner's Circle Bar & Grill in Gastonia, NC.
On May 5, 2008, the body and car of Ira Yarmolenko were found on the bank of the Catawba River in Mt. Holly, NC, which is near Gastonia, also in Gaston County.

Texas EquuSearch had planned a search for Jamie Fraley and Jennifer Rivkin in Gaston County on October of 2008, but they didn't follow through with that plan. Andrew Dalzell has been living in Stanley, NC in Gaston County since he left the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, and later moved to Gastonia before his arrest last year. A South Carolina serial killer, Patrick Burns, ended up in Gastonia last summer, where he was gunned down by police on July 6, 2009. Gaston County sounds very much like an area Stephen King might write a story about. I have been there myself and can tell you first-hand there is something spooky about that area. I don't want to go back.

Can NASA Help Find Missing Persons?

Yesterday, being a holiday, was a busy day on Facebook. There was more traffic in there than there was on any road anywhere near my neighborhood. It seems every one of my Facebook friends had been there sometime during the day, and had something to add. The most interesting addition I've found was posted by my friend, Yvonne Prior.

http://www.angelfire.com/cruci34/NASA.html

A man named Bill Tomsick has come up with what I think is a very good idea. If NASA can watch over the entire surface of the planet as well as they say they can, why not use this technology to fight crime? The question begs to be answered. They may not be able to find a skeleton buried in the woods, but they should be able to find someone grabbing a child and dragging him into a car, especially if they know where to look, and what time. I gave this idea a lot of thought before responding, and Mr. Tomsick and I ended up becoming Facebook friends.

When I checked in with Facebbok today I happened to catch Mr. Tomsick in the Chat. We discussed this idea, and how to get the word out to people. It seems this man has been trying very hard to get just a little bit of air-time with various TV and radio stations, and never got any response from them. I agreed to try to help by telling my readers about it. A good idea should never be wasted.

I would advise not to read the page of the above link in a hurry, but carefully. It makes perfect sense to me. But I've learned that just because an idea makes sense doesn't always mean people will go for it. Consider there was a time when people thought the telephone was just a passing fad, that will die out as soon as the novelty wears off.

Perhaps we are not comfortable with the thought of an intimate encounter we may enjoy in a backyard swimming pool being observed from the sky. Perhaps we are concerned this sounds a bit too much like George Orwell's novel, "1984." If it's privacy we're worried about, consider how little privacy a missing person has, or the families.

Now I'm asking my readers to please read this carefully, and please give it some thought. Then I want you to get back to me with your feedback. Can you do that?
Here it is again.
http://www.angelfire.com/cruci34/NASA.html
Thank you!

Happy Easter 2010

"No one will recognize me in this disguise. I'll just blend in with the crowd here, see, and no one will ever suspect that I'm really an undercover kitty!"

In loving memory of friends who are no longer here.
In loving gratitude for friends who are living today.
Have a Hippity Hoppity Happy Easter Day!