The police and the search party spent the rest of the day searching for Linda at the preserve. Other than the cell phone, they didn’t find her or anything else. The sun was starting to set when sheriff Luis called deputy Rhonda Dean and asked for an update on their progress. She told him about finding Linda’s cell phone but nothing else. The sheriff told her to wrap up the search out there and come back to town.
“Let’s move on to interviewing the people in Linda’s social circle. I’ve already talked to Dean Simmons at the college,” the sheriff said.
“Okay sheriff,” deputy Dean ended the call.
Linda’s mother Cathy sat at her home and anxiously waited to hear from the police. Joann, Linda’s close cousin sat in her dorm room in Texas and waited for her aunt Cathy to call her with some news. Joann tried to do some studying besides checking her phone for missed notifications. When 8 pm rolled around, Joann couldn’t wait any longer and called her aunt Cathy.
“Hi Joann, let me call you back, the police are here now,” Her aunt ended the call.
Joann looked at her phone and wondered what the police might be telling her aunt. She turned on the television and grabbed a bag of plain chips. Joann munched on the chips and stared at the TV while she nervously waited for her aunt to call her back. It wasn’t until 9 pm when aunt Cathy returned Joann’s call.
“Did they find her?” Joann answered her phone.
“No, not yet,” Cathy said.
Cathy went on to tell Joann that they found Linda’s phone lying in a grassy area. She also told her that the police were asking for all of Linda’s friends' names and contacts. She told Joann that she will probably be called too since they are so close. Joann started to cry so Cathy tried to comfort her. She told Joann that there is still hope because they didn’t find her body out there.
“I know, but we still don’t know where she is,” Joann cried.
“I know dear, but we have to have faith that she is okay and that she will come home,” Cathy fought back the tears.
“If she’s not back or found tomorrow, I’m coming up there. Summer break starts next week anyway,” Joann sniffled.
“Okay, I could use your help and company anyway. Try and get some sleep tonight and I will call you tomorrow,” aunt Cathy said.
“Alright aunt Cathy, you try and rest as well. Good night.”
“Good night dear,” Cathy ended the call and put her cell phone down.
Cathy did one more check on Facebook and didn’t see any activity from Linda. Where are you, she thought. Cathy went into the kitchen to make a sandwich and get something to drink. She poured herself a glass of milk and carried it and her sandwich into the family room. She sat down and watched the local news while she ate. The newscaster mentioned a missing college student. Cathy focused on what the lady was saying. The police sent the network a photo of Linda and asked them to ask the community for help. This gave Cathy more hope and she was touched by the sincere focus that the police have on finding her daughter.
Joann turned on a funny movie titled, “Bridesmaids” to hopefully ease her mind for a while. She lay down on her bed on her side and grabbed her pillow. She tucked it under her head and left cheek and watched the movie. Her focus on the silly scenes of the movie relaxed her enough to drift off to sleep. Joann and Linda grew up close and are both freshmen in college. They went to different schools only because of the career interest that Joann has, the colleges in Utah didn’t carry.
Linda is a slender, 5’6” tall, short-haired blonde with a love for animals and nature. Joann is a little chunky and 5‘4” with long red hair. The two of them have been inseparable growing up until Joann moved to Texas to learn more about actuarial science. Linda wants to do everything she can to help the animals on the planet. So she’s focused on her conservation and ecology studies. Whereas Joann is more into understanding money and everyone’s financial future.
Even though the cousin's career choices are different, they both are driven to protect something. Linda and Joann have always loved and cared about their family and friends. Linda’s mother Cathy, has raised Linda by herself since she turned five. Linda’s father died in a horrific car crash which was hard on them all at the time. Joann’s parents died in a train crash when she was ten and her aunt Cathy took her in then. The two young women have struggled a lot in their lives but together they have had the drive to overcome every difficulty. With Cathy and Joann’s prayers and faith, Linda will be found.
Please join me again for more of the Unexplained Encounter.