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The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Wednesday, March 1 through Sunday March 12, 2006

The Rachel Alert Network will sponsor two M.U.S.T. self-defense and awareness seminars in April 2006. On Tuesday, April 25, a free beginners seminar will take place at B's Gathering House in Round Rock from 6:30-8:30 p.m. On the following night, Wednesday, April 26, at the same time, there will be an advanced seminar. Both seminars are for females 14 and older. More information and directions may be found at www.rachelalert.org/must

Additional locations and dates are being researched for future M.U.S.T. seminars in North and South Austin. Please monitor the M.U.S.T. information web page.

Monday, March 13 through Sunday, March 19

The Rachel Alert Network officers voted to order additional cookbooks for a fund-raiser. Although the cookbooks are not selling as well as they did in the past, there are some additional markets where we may be able to sell.

The next missing person training class will be held in York, SC. I will pass out brochures at the CUE Center missing person c onference in North Carolina. The CUE conference will be in North Carolina, which is not too far from the training location.

Monday, March 20 through Sunday, March 26

Rachel's mother Janet, my sister Elaine, and I flew to Wilmington, NC, to take part in the second CUE Center Missing Person Round Table Conference. The conference had several educational seminars on forensic artist techniques, search and rescue, sonar, and more.

Saturday night there was a tribute to missing and murdered persons. Kelly Jolkowski, mother of missing Jason Jolkowski, and I both spoke. The ceremony was very moving.

Several problems and action items were identified by the conference attendees. The various agencies will try to work on these issues.

We are scheduling a May 21 M.U.S.T. seminar. The seminar will take place at the Lakeway Activity Center in Lakeway. The Lakeway Police Department is co-sponsoring the seminar with RAN. We will probably have both the beginner and advanced seminars, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Monday, March 27 through Friday, March 31

Sometimes when I think I can live a semi-normal life something reminds me of how my life has changed. Friday I was called for jury duty and should have been selected for a simple speeding ticket trial.

During the jury panel interview process they asked if anyone has had a bad experience with law enforcement of any kind. To be truthful I had to raise my hand and explain about the slow response we received from law enforcement when Rachel first disappeared. This was enough to receive a strike from either the prosecution or the defense. Although jury duty is not usually something to look forward to, it is part of being an American citizen. It's probably something I will never take part in again.