The rain has stopped and although we got to Charlottesville early enough to grab some lunch we ended up being 10 minutes late when we couldn't find McIntire Park. Apparently we were on the wrong Rugby Avenue (or was it Road, which I think was the problem). Once again Shawn White is our host so we knew before we got here everything would be running smoothly. This is the third of our four stops in Virginia, and the third and last stop that Shawn has hosted with family members. Although she is still coming to our last stop in Virginia this evening. As a coordinator myself, I find it inconceivable to be able to not only pull that off but to excel at it. Taking on the responsibility of hosting 3 stops in 2 days, located hours from one another, is beyond dedication and she is inspirational in her dedication both to the organization and to her missing families. We love when a coordinator takes charge of a rally stop, they know what we need and will have already thought out where our table and banner will go, they may already have their own CUE table set up with our information eliminating the need for us to take everything out of the van. I can't thank Shawn enough for hosting 3 stops, also by including a missing family as a cohost she was able to empowered them at the same time.
We are honoring 3 missing persons at this stop plus we have some family members from our last 2 stops that have followed the tour since we started in Virginia. Dashad "Sage" Smith was last seen walking in town at 6:30pm at age 19 in 2012. Bonnie Santiago, a 56 year old mother of 7 and grandmother of 14 disappeared on July 12, 2014. Janet Renee Fields, 49, left her home on July 2, 2014 and hasn't been seen since. Her abandoned vehicle was found 2 days later.
When Dashad's grandma spoke we got a real true sense of Dashad. She told lots of stories. I truly enjoy hearing those type of stories, I know we need to know the circumstances of disappearances and the aftermath. But I love getting to know the person missing, besides the picture and the statistics. Both Bonnie and Renee went missing this past July. Both families are in the early stages of dealing with a missing loved one. Bonnie has a large family, 7 children, twice as many grandkids. Where is she? What happened to her? The shelter was full of family members of all ages wanting answers. It was an emotional day for all of them. Renee's husband also told us all about her, her love of animals, taking in strays, her hobbies. That she used Renee and not Janet, for instance, is something we should know. She left her home one day and never returned with her abandoned vehicle found the following day. She took nothing with her, she didn't disappear on purpose. She simply vanished. Answers are needed. There is so much to do.
Elisa
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