Sheriff Douglas Luis was called by deputy Rhonda Dean and was informed about the missing college student. He told deputy Dean that he will call the K-9 unit and direct them to meet her at the preserve. And in the meantime send the mother (aunt Cathy) home just in case Linda shows up there.
“Okay, will do sheriff,” deputy Dean said.
Deputy Dean told Cathy that the K-9 unit is going to come but that she needs to go home. Cathy argued with the deputy at first about going home when she could be there to help. After Deputy Dean explained, Cathy understood that if Linda was abducted by someone, they might call her house. The deputy took Cathy’s cell phone number and her house phone number and sent her on her way. Before Cathy left the parking lot of the preserve, she called Joann.
“Hi aunt Cathy, did you find her?” Joann answered her cell phone.
“No, but the police are searching and they are having a K-9 unit come.”
“Oh, good. I’m sure they’ll find her,” Joann said.
“They told me to go home just in case for some reason Linda shows up or someone calls the house,” Aunt Cathy said.
“But her car is there, why would she show up at your house without her car?” Joann stood up from her chair.
“I don’t know Joann, but we have to trust what the police say,” aunt Cathy said.
“Okay, I guess… How are you doing with all this?” Joann asked.
“Well, I’m scared… I don’t know where my baby is. But I have to get going home now. I’ll keep you informed Joann,” aunt Cathy wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Okay, Aunt Cathy… She’ll come home, don’t you worry,” Joann fought back the tears.
Aunt Cathy ended the call and left the preserve parking lot. She headed back to her house with the hope that for some strange reason Linda would be there. Joann looked at her phone to see if she received any notifications from Linda. She also opened up her Facebook App to see if Linda had posted anything on her page but found nothing. Where are you Linda, Joann thought.
When Linda’s mom arrived at her house, she ran inside but found no one. Linda wasn’t there and there weren’t any messages on the answering machine. Cathy sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She wanted to check Facebook for any activity from her daughter. Cathy checked her notifications and her page and found no new activity. She sent a message to Linda hoping that she would respond. She also created a post to go to Linda’s page asking her friends for help.
While Joann was on Facebook, she received a notification. But when she opened it, it was the post that her aunt Cathy just posted. That’s a good idea, she thought. Joann was friends with a couple of Linda’s friends on Facebook, so she messaged them. She asked them if they had heard from Linda in the last few hours. Her friend Jenna responded right away and said no. Joann messaged her back and asked when she last talked to her. Jenna answered two days ago, why what’s going on? Joann went on to explain to her.
Cathy called Linda’s roommates and asked them if they have heard from Linda yet. They told her no and that they will look for her at the coffee shop where they all liked to hang out at. Cathy thanked them and ended the call. Cathy sat there looking at a picture of Linda on Facebook and started to cry. All the thoughts and worries that were running around in her mind finally overwhelmed her.
At the preserve, two K-9 units were there along with a search group that the police put together. They searched for about an hour before one of the K-9s found a cell phone. It was lying in an open but grassy area about 100 feet away from the main path. The deputy called deputy Dean and told her that they found a cell phone and where. Deputy Dean rushed over to the area and looked down. She then called Cathy and asked what Linda’s cell phone looks like.
“Did you find my baby?” Cathy cried.
“No, just a cell phone,” deputy Dean said.
Cathy told her that it was a Samsung and that it has a pink glittery case on it. Deputy Dean looked at the deputy standing by her and nodded her head yes.
“Cathy, I want you to stay calm. She might have just dropped it and wasn’t aware of it.”
“It’s hers isn’t it?” Cathy cried.
“Yes, we believe it is. We’re going to continue looking for her now and I’ll keep you posted,” Deputy Dean said.
“Okay,” Cathy ended the call and cried.
Deputy Dean glanced at the surrounding area and observed the way the grass was laying, “doesn’t it look like something big was sitting on this grass for a while?”
“Yes it does,” the other deputy looked around.
Please join me again for more of: Unexplained Encounter.