Home Spanish Poster English Poster Provide Information Links Searches Journal Tributes

The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Thursday, April 1, 2004

Yesterday a man tried to break into a Round Rock home where a 12-year-old girl was home alone. The brave girl fought the man off, and he left. It's important that all of our kids know to fight when they have to. Sometimes they have to ignore the general rule of being polite to adults. This is especially important when that adult is a stranger, and he or she is trying to attack them or talk them into somethingthey don't want to do.

I will be speaking to the Williamson County Young Republicans next Tuesday. The main focus of the speech will be the missing person problem and what can be done to improve the situation.

Rachel Alert Network picked up a sponsor today. The St. Louis sponsor wants us to teach a M.U.S.T seminar in St. Louis. I've already talked to our instructor, Deborah Brown, and she is willing to teach the class. The class is scheduled in June.

Friday, April 2

Today was one of those days I just wanted to scream. Around 1:00 p.m. I found out that a missing 20-year-old in Wisconsin who had been found this week made the whole abduction up. Not only did she lie about being abducted, she preplanned the whole event.

This selfish girl did more to harm the movement to help with the missing person problem then anyone has done in years. It's hard enough to get people to believe that your college-aged child is missing without people purposely faking an abduction. This girl needs help. I hope she gets it while serving a prison term for what she did.

Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4

I flew to Albany on Saturday and had dinner with missing Jason Jolkowski's mother Kelly. Kelly and I talked about the missing person problem and what we can do to help.

Sunday morning Kelly and I drove to the site of the New York Missing Persons' Day. I met missing Suzanne Lyall's parents, Doug and Mary. The Lyalls' organization is the Center for Hope. The Lyalls and the Center for Hope have done a lot for missing persons and their families. The biggest thing they've done is to push for the passing of Suzanne's Law. The law adds college- aged youths to the list of missing persons who have to be placed on the NCIC missing persons' list within 48-hours of when they are reported missing. Before Suzanne's Law, only those under the age of 18 were included in the NCIC 48- hour rule.

Many families of the missing were present, including John and Molly Bish. Their daughter Molly was abducted and murdered four years ago. Molly's remains were just found last year. I met John Bish at the DNA Initiative meeting in Virginia. The event ended with each family of a missing person placing a picture of their missing loved one on a board. After the picture was placed, Mary Lyall handed each family member a yellow rose.

After the families of the missing placed pictures on the board, three families with murdered family members placed a picture of their lost loved one on the board. Mary Lyall gave those family members red roses.

The Lyalls, Bishes, my friend Lanie, and I went out to dinner after the event. We all compared our experiences and ideas for helping with the missing person problem. The Center for Hope, the Molly Bish Foundation, and Rachel Alert Network may team up for a joint event in the future to raise missing person awareness.

Monday, April 5

I woke up to find a thin blanket of snow on the ground in Albany. It is hard to believe since it's April now. I drove to the airport and caught a flight home to Austin. Yesterday was a long but rewarding day, but I am glad to be home.

The news story the local FOX station did last Friday was sent out to other FOX stations. It was shown in Milwaukee, WI, Orange County, CA, and Louisiana.

Tuesday, April 6

Tonight I spoke to the Williamson County Young Republicans. I talked about the missing person problem in the United States and what I feel needs to be done to help improve the situation.

I made a special invitation to the women at the Young Republicans' meeting to attend our next M.U.S.T.women/teen self-defense and awareness seminar. The seminar will take place at B's Gathering House, 106 W. Bagdad, in Round Rock on Tuesday, April 20. The class will be from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 7

A local business has invited me to speak to their employees next Wednesday. They are especially interested in learning about the M.U.S.T. seminars and about any safety tips I have.

When I was in New York, I bought a copy of the Center for Hope's cookbook. They used the same publisher that we are planning to use. Mary Lyall gave me some good tips on what cookbook options to choose.

Thursday, April 8

I am surprised at all of the people who have stated that Audrey Seiler is a victim and shouldn't be held accountable for faking her own abduction. To my knowledge, no one ever abused Audrey. This is necessary to be a victim.

I'm sure Audrey has some mental issues to work out, but she should pay for what she did. Perhaps working in a search center for a real missing person would be enough. She could see the anguish when the person is not found after weeks of searches or the horrible feelings when the person is found deceased.

Maybe she will even be lucky enough to see a missing person found safe and then reunited with his or her family.

Friday, April 9

I have now entered 391 recipes into the Rachel Alert Network cookbook. I'm saving the last nine entries for recipes from families of the missing. We also still need recipes from Idaho, New Hampshire, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

I also updated the calendar on both rachelalert.org and r achelcookesearch.org. I will add the months of June and July to the calendar soon.

Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11

Another holiday has passed without any word about Rachel. This is the third Easter without Rachel. I miss her so much.

Monday, April 12

We had the Rachel Alert Network Officers' meeting today. The Run/Walk for Rachel was the primary topic since it's coming up on May 15. We are still lining up some last minute sponsors for the Run/Walk.

We now have only seven states left from which to get recipes for the RAN cookbook. Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and New Hampshire are the states we do not have a recipe for.

Tuesday, April 13

We have some great news today. My friend JR contacted Applebee's Restaurant and they have agreed to be a major sponsor of the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel. After the race, Applebee's employees will be serving breakfast tacos to all of the participants.

With Round Rock Donuts also sponsoring the Run/Walk, people will have plenty to eat. We greatly appreciate all of our sponsors.

Wednesday, April 14

I spoke at a local business today to a group of around 25 women. The topic was children's safety. I covered items such as having a secret word with your kids to identify yourself and having a meeting place outside your home in case of a fire.

I also covered abduction topics with the women such as Internet lures, lost pet lures, etc. The creeps who take our children are always thinking of new ways to lure them.

Thursday, April 15

Our new notebook arrived from IBM. IBM has an employee volunteer participation program where after working several hours for a nonprofit corporation, an IBM employee can apply for a grant for that agency. Rachel Alert Network will use the computer for presentations and educational purposes.

Several reservations are coming in for the next M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminar on April 20. This will be the last seminar before the summer. Information about the seminar may be found on rachelalert.org/must.

I e-mailed Greg Allen today. He is having a two-year remembrance of Sabrina's abduction next week. They will have a service marking this occasion at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church 9508 Great Hills Trail. The remembrance will be on Wednesday, April 21, 2004, at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 16

We now have 47 states that have sent in a recipe for the Rachel Alert cookbook. Only Wyoming, North Dakota, and New Hampshire are missing. It would be really nice if someone from all 50 states in the U.S.A. would submit a recipe.

The 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel is less than a month away. The T-shirt design is being finalized and we will be ordering the shirts soon. The on-line registration is up and running. I will drop some registration flyers by all of the RunTex stores next week.

Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18

Dru Sjodin's remains were found in North Dakota. Dru disappeared in November of last year. Alfonso Rodriguez was arrested last year for Dru's abduction. Dru is coming home, but her family will never be able to fully heal from this. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Monday, April 19

I ordered 600 bibs for the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel. We still need people to sign up. Even if you can't come and still want to donate the $20, you can. Send an e-mail to info@rachelalert.org after you do an on-line registration with your name and address, and I will make sure a Run/Walk T-shirt is mailed to you.

The Run/Walk is our primary source of income. If people want Rachel Alert Network to continue its work, we need participants. People get exercise, have a light meal from Applebee's and Round Rock Donuts, and they get a T-shirt. This is all for just $20.

Tuesday, April 20

I had lunch with Greg Allen today. His daughter Sabrina was abducted by her non-custodial mother two years ago and taken into Mexico to hide. Greg has received a promising lead which is being followed up on. As with Rachel's case, I do not post sensitive information about missing persons' cases. This is because anyone can read this journal.

The M.U.S.T. seminar in Round Rock went well tonight.Our instructor, Deborah Brown, is such a dynamic speaker and the seminar content is so good the audience always benefits from attending.

After the seminar, as with any class, a few women admitted to being sexually attacked. It takes great courage for them to come forward. Part of the mission of Rachel Alert Network is to supply information about other agencies that can help a victim or her/his family. Agencies such as SafePlace and People Against Violent Crime in Austin, the Williamson County Crisis Center, and others can help these women.

Victims need to know that there are people who care and can help them. Our job is to make sure the victims know about these people and their agencies. A list of helpful organizations may be found on rachelalert.org/links. As Deborah Brown likes to put it, they are survivors, not victims. Victims' services agencies can help them feel this way.

Wednesday, April 21

I attended the 2-year remembrance of Sabrina Allen's abduction. After a church service, Sabrina's father Greg gave everyone an update on Sabrina's case. He went into detail about last summer's near arrest of Sabrina's mother Dara.

The 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel registration forms have been updated to include Applebee's as a sponsor. I will drop off flyers at the RunTex Riverside and Gateway stores tomorrow. The Round Rock and Lake Austin Blvd stores already have them. Applebee's restaurant in Georgetown will also have some registration forms.

Thursday, April 22

All four RunTex stores now have the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel registration and information forms. I am sending out reminders about the Run/Walk to sponsors and volunteers this week. The Run/Walk is only three weeks away.

As soon as I receive a recipe from North Dakota, we will have recipes from all 50 states in the U.S.A. and 12 foreign countries. I have received over 400 recipes, so I'm going to delete some of the repetitious ones.

Friday, April 23

We now have recipes from 49 states. No recipes have been received from North Dakota yet. I have two possible people in ND who might send a recipe to us. It would be really nice to have someone from all 50 states submit a recipe. We are up to 12 foreign countries that have had a resident send in a recipe.

I have requested a briefing with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office next week. It's been a while since Janet and I have been updated on Rachel's case.

I added a student comments page on rachelalert.org/mustcomments. The page contains some feedback from M.U.S.T. seminar

Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25

Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 I began printing out the instruction flyer and other documents which will go into the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel packets. We are expecting over 500 runners and/or walkers this year.

A recipe came in from North Dakota. Now the Rachel Alert Network has received recipes from all 50 states and 12 foreign countries. This shows the extent to which Rachel's story has reached.

Monday, April 26

Tomorrow night we are hosting another M.U.S.T. advanced seminar. The advanced seminar teaches some additional self-defense moves and lets the students practice the moves on each other.

We are scheduling another Round Rock M.U.S.T. seminar in July. I'm hoping to schedule a June seminar in Central or South Austin. A few requests have come in for seminars, but no one has offered use of a meeting room yet. We will not have a M.U.S.T. seminar in May.

Tuesday, July 27

Seventeen females attended the advanced M.U.S.T. seminar tonight. As with most seminars, the ages ranged from young teens to senior citizens. They learned several new self-defense moves and practiced those moves as well as the moves they learned in last week's class.

The next M.U.S.T. seminars are scheduled for Sunday, July 11, for the beginners' seminar and Sunday, July 18, for the advanced seminar. Both seminars will be at B's Gathering House in Round Rock and will start at 2:00 p.m. We are still considering doing an Austin seminar in June if a location can be confirmed.

Wednesday, April 28

I finished my Powerpoint presentation for the seminar I am teaching next week. The seminar is entitled "My Child Is Missing, What Do I Do?". Although I don't have all the answers for dealing with a missing loved one, maybe I can help a few people.

People are already reserving a spot for the July 11 M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminar. I'm glad that the word about the seminar is spreading.

Janet and I have a briefing with the Sheriff's Office next week. It's been a while since we have been updated. I want to find out what the task force has been working on.

Thursday, April 29

Janet and I met with the sheriff's office this morning. The task force has interviewed over 100 people this year. Unfortunately, nothing substantial has been found yet.

The task force is still in place, but the members are no longer working full time on Rachel's case. The members will be brought in to help when they are needed.

Friday, April 30

I started making the packets for the 2004 Run/Walk for Rachel. Filling the bags with information material, bibs, and safety pins takes a long time.

The cookbook submissions have been shut down. We will start to proof the recipes tomorrow. The cookbooks will be ordered in early June and be available for purchase in July. We might start a pre-sell of cookbooks in late June after we get an idea of when the cookbooks will arrive.