Wabasha MN Elisa

We left Illinois with a 6 hour drive in the dark and with it pouring rain. We hoped to drive half, stop somewhere in Wisconsin and leave early in the morning. The long nighttime driving is stressful, and  I don't even do the driving, the rain makes it worse. We worry about finding a motel late at night, and though it might seem easy to run in and get a few hours sleep, it is not. Checking in and carrying everything for a few hours when you are exhausted is not fun, and it's worse when it's cold and raining. Usually I check and make sure what time we need to leave, but for some reason I only thought that we were 3 hours away and went with that, not taking into account the extra half hour leeway  that I usually give us for traffic, gas, etc. I wake in a panic and try to rush everyone but we start the morning in a big rush knowing we may be late. We somehow make up the time on the road until we need to get gas. Monica informs us that as soon as the tank is full she is leaving as we all rush towards the bathrooms. Arrival times can be tricky, you want to be there within a 5 minute window of  the scheduled time. If we are earlier than that, great, we stop and eat, or freshen up. Anytime over 2 minutes late and we stress. Especially today because this stop is for our Tour Honoree, and also because it's a Law Enforcement stop and they always run early.

It's a beautiful day out and the views on the ride are incredible. Colorful fall trees, scenic mountain views, the sky hitting the water, just mesmerizing. As we get close Tricia Reis, our Minnesota State Outreach Coordinator starts checking on us and our arrival time. Just as we thought everyone was there early and awaiting us. There was even some consideration to starting without us which luckily didn't occur. I think we ended up being 10 minutes late to the Wabasha County Government Center, what looks to be a new building surrounded by individual trees with red leaves. At a LE stop sometimes we can't set up a table, we never know the rules arriving so we send Monica quickly off and just grab the banner .

As we enter the room there's an easel with a Leave A Message For Donna Board. The room is full of LE, press, volunteers and family members. There is a CUE table already set up thanks to this being a tour hosted by one of our State Directors and we are also allowed to have one. Tricia has provided everyone with Child ID kits as well as our new coloring book. She has door prizes and the family has a table set up front in Donna's honor.

Donna Ingesoll was 25 years old when she went missing in 1990, almost 24 years ago. She had an argument with her boyfriend that day and left her apartment without any belongings, possibly without even her coat in the dead of winter. A year after her disappearance her boyfriend committed suicide without ever being cleared as a suspect. Donna is my age and  I can't imagine my family not knowing what happened to me. I  wonder if her parents are alive, how her sisters are dealing with the renewed interest in her case and all the  new relatives that have been born into this nightmare possibly being  already grown.

Donna's sister, Christina, attempts to read a poem that she wrote "Not Knowing", but she is full of emotion and can't get through it so Tricia calls up a member of the newly created City of Wabasha Cold Case Unit, Miranda Klees, to stand by Christiana's side and finish it for her. Some of the poem.... It's been over twenty some years, still no word, no grave, no marker to visit...... Not knowing what happened to you or where you are, whether you're still alive or dead.... Not knowing one way or the other that's the hard part, the puzzling part, the unable to move on and heal wholly part...

Both the Wabasha County Sheriff and the Wabasha Chief of Police spoke. Donna's case has been handed down  over the years with incoming LE always pledging to find her. This year they reached out to CUE and reopened the investigation with the hopes of being proactive instead of reactive. We are told its been the case that has haunted the department for decades and that the family deserves closure, that the community deserves closure and that law enforcement deserves closure. The Mayor gets up to speak, choking up and holding back tears, he welcomes us to his city, while wishing he didn't need to. His emotional reaction effects everyone here.

After the press conference is over we have some time to talk and look around better. There a photo album of Donna out. There are some volunteers helping Tricia, who have recently become CUE volunteers. Everyone here is on the same page, one of renewed hope. Donna's table is decorated for Christmas since that has always been her favorite holiday, it's so creative. In complimenting it to Donna's sister she insists on giving credit to Miranda. There is a list  there of all the holidays that Donna has missed since her disappearance. 24 New Years, 25 Christmases, a mind blowing total of 238 holidays. Another list, 10 Things You Maybe Didn't  Know About Me lists that she was in the Army Reserves, and loves children and animals. Number 10 simply said My Life Matters!

Elisa