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Author Topic: Missing Woman: Leona Kinsey--OR--10/25/1999  (Read 760 times)
Kelly
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« on: October 11, 2008, 11:13:22 AM »
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Name:  Leona Kinsey

Date of Birth:  12/15/1953
Date Missing:  10/25/1999
Age at disappearance:  46
City Missing From:  La Grande
State Missing From:  Oregon
Gender:  Female
Race:  Native American/White
Height:  5ft 2in
Weight:  110 lb
Hair Color:  Brown
Eye Color:  Brown
Complexion:  Almond

Identifying Characteristics:  Tattoo of a tomahawk and peace pipe crossed on bicep. glasses, small scars on the outside of both feet and next to both small toes and fingers.

Circumstances of Disappearance:  Leona was last seen on October 24, 1999 at home. Her vehicle, a 1980's light golden brown GMC Jimmy, was found in the Albertsons parking lot four days later. All of her possessions, including her purse and her dog, which was very important to her, was left behind.

Investigative Agency:  La Grande Police Dept.
Agency Phone:  (541) 963-1017
Investigative Case #:  991782


Print a poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_LeonaKinsey.pdf
« Last Edit: October 23, 2008, 11:20:10 AM by Jenn » Logged
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« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2008, 05:42:28 PM »
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Leona Kinsey--OR--10/25/1999

Leona's case is open, as she is still missing.
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« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2008, 09:45:03 PM »
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AAN Notify Sent: Annual
Code 27

Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml
« Last Edit: October 10, 2009, 01:00:29 PM by Kelly » Logged

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2008, 10:03:11 PM »
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http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Remembering-Leona

Remembering Leona

Written by Bill Rautenstrauch, The Observer October 28, 2008 02:44 pm

Leona Kinsey has been missing under mysterious circumstances for nine years, but she hasn’t been forgotten.

Friends and family of Kinsey, who vanished from the La Grande area on or about Monday, Oct. 25, 1999, plan a gathering in her memory at 2 p.m. Saturday at Riverside Park. They hope the memorial ceremony will keep interest in the case alive.

“Her family and friends are going to be there to say, ‘We didn’t forget and we are still looking,’” said Crystal Burnell, who grew up a close friend of Kinsey’s daughter, Carolyn DeFord.

Kinsey, who was 45 when she disappeared, ran a local landscaping and yard care business. DeFord said at the time of the disappearance her mother was working hard and left behind a date book that showed she was booked for a whole week.

Kinsey had a dog and cat she doted on. Following the disappearance, the pets were found unharmed at Kinsey’s Hall Street residence.

According to a report in The Observer, Kinsey’s boyfriend, a man identified only as “Lonnie,” said he last saw her about 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25. Other friends reported seeing her at Wal-Mart around the same time.

Kinsey’s brown GMC Jimmy showed up the following Friday morning in the parking lot at Albertsons. A manager there said he didn’t believe the vehicle was in the lot overnight.

Police said the Jimmy yielded no clues. They said there was no sign of foul play in or around the vehicle.

Carolyn DeFord lived in Lacey, Wash., at the time and now resides in Georgia. She said this week she doesn’t think her mother simply walked off from her life in La Grande.

“She had lived in Eastern Oregon 25 years and she loved it. She loved the lifestyle, the hunting, the fishing, the camping, all the outdoor activities. She wouldn’t have just walked away,” she said, adding that her mother loved the dog and cat and would not have abandoned them.

DeFord said she hopes the fact that a memorial is being held will “get people talking and jog some memories.”

“I’m willing to bet there are people in La Grande who have information that could help bring closure. We want closure, we’re ready for closure. It’s been nine years and that’s too long to constantly wonder what’s happening,” she said.

She added, “When I was a kid growing up there, I couldn’t sneak out of the house to go skating or whatever without the whole town knowing about it. It’s hard to understand how something like this this can happen and nobody knows anything.”

Sgt. John Shaul, a detective with the La Grande Police Department, investigated the case in 1999 and 2000, then rotated back into the patrol division. Recently reassigned as a detective, he has charge of the case again. “It’s a case that’s stayed with me,” he said.

He said the department has continued with the investigation, and welcomes any help from the public.

“We’ve done a large number of interviews, and it’s still an open case. We’d be happy to get more information,” he said.
Shaul said information received will be treated as confidential. He can be reached at 963-1017.

Kinsey was a Native American woman described as 5-foot-5, 110 pounds, with brown eyes and long, shoulder-length brown hair. She wore glasses. She had a tattoo of two crossed feathers on one shoulder.
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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
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« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2008, 11:14:49 AM »
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A Project Jason Brief:

Missing La Grande Woman Remembered

La Grande, OR—11/1/08   Carolyn Deford remembers her mother as a hard working woman who loved the outdoors, and in particular, the mountains of eastern Oregon, but something went wrong on October 25, 1999. Carolyn’s mother, Leona Kinsey, then age 46, disappeared from this small town, leaving behind all of her possessions including a thriving yard care business, never to be seen or heard from again. 

Today, Leona’s friends and family will gather 2pm at Riverside Park in LaGrande Oregon to honor her and remember her. Riverside Park is located on the corner of Spruce Street and Fruitdale Lane.  The family is inviting friends and anyone from the community who would like to come.  They will be handing out posters, reminiscing, and taking a moment to toss a small stone into the river in Leona’s memory.  There will be a representative from the local police at the event.

Carolyn wants to ensure her mother won’t be forgotten, and also hopes that the event will net leads that could bring her mother home and end her family’s tragedy.

To contact Leona’s daughter, Carolyn, call xxx-xxx-xxxx.
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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2008, 06:43:04 PM »
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http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Ceremony-honors-missing-woman

Ceremony honors missing woman

Written by Bill Rautenstrauch, The Observer
November 03, 2008 02:24 pm

About 20 people came together along the north bank of the Grande Ronde River Saturday to honor the memory of a woman who mysteriously vanished from La Grande in 1999.

In a gathering organized locally by a family friend, Leona Kinsey, whose October 1999 disappearance remains an open case with the La Grande Police Department, was eulogized in Native American song and prayer.

Those present also heard a plea for closure for Kinsey's loved ones.

"If it was your mother or my mother, we'd want them found. I think we would think of her every day," Crystal Burnell, who grew up with Kinsey's daughter Carolyn DeFord, said in remarks to open the ceremony in Riverside Park.

Kinsey, who was 45 when she disappeared, ran a local landscaping and yard care business.  DeFord said at the time of the disappearance her mother was working hard and left behind a date book that showed she was booked for a whole week.

As best as police can determine, Kinsey was last seen alive Monday, Oct. 25, 1999. Kinsey had a dog and cat she doted on. Following the disappearance, the pets were found unharmed at Kinsey's Hall Street residence.

Kinsey's brown GMC Jimmy showed up the following Friday morning in the parking lot at Albertsons on Island Avenue. A manager there said he didn’t believe the vehicle was in the lot overnight.

Police said the Jimmy yielded no clues. They said there was no sign of foul play in or around the vehicle.

According to Sgt. John Shaul, a detective with the La Grande Police Department, the case remains open. Shaul said last week the department has interviewed "a large number" of subjects connected with the case.

DeFord currently lives in Georgia. She was unable to attend Saturday’s memorial, but listened in on a cell phone. She also sent along written remarks which were read aloud.

In those remarks, DeFord said her pain and grief never goes away.

"Three thousand two hundred and eighty-nine days, and not one goes by that I don't miss my mother," DeFord said. “Nine years later I am still crying over the loss and I know the tears are real because they come from the inside out."

Burnell put together the event at Riverside Park to rekindle interest in the case. Both she and DeFord believe there are people living in the La Grande area who can shed light on the mystery.

"This whole experience has devastated my family," DeFord said. "We are ready for closure and for answers and we are ready to heal. It is time to find all the pieces of this puzzle and put them together."

Kinsey was an American Indian of Yakima and Puyallup heritage. She was remembered as someone who loved nature and being in the outdoors.

Members of the Blue Mountain Sundance Society —  people of Native American ancestry who hold a ceremonial dance each summer in Union County — offered prayers and song during Saturday's gathering.

Society member Tom Futter said he thinks a love of nature and belief in a spiritual being sustained Kinsey throughout her life.

"When you get to where you're going, look at Mother Nature. Say a prayer to Grandfather and he will guide you," Futter said.

After the ceremony, Burnell said she was happy that almost two dozen people attended. But she also expressed frustration that there isn’t more interest in the case.

"I'm pleased with the turnout, but we're a big community and there should have been more," she said.

Kinsey was 5-foot-5, 110 pounds, with brown eyes and long, shoulder-length brown hair. She wore glasses.

She had a tattoo of a crossed peace pipe and tomahawk on one shoulder. An earlier report described the tattoo as crossed feathers.

Anyone with information about Kinsey should contact Shaul at 963-1017.
« Last Edit: October 10, 2009, 01:06:03 PM by Kelly » Logged

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
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Project Jason
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« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2008, 12:44:19 PM »
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This is the remembrance written by Leona's daughter, Carolyn, and read at the event:

"I remember when I was younger and I crashed on my bike, I came inside crying and My mom cleaned my scrape and told me to stop crying, because my tears weren’t real. I thougth she was crazy“ Those aren’t real tears, you’ll forget about the pain in a few minutes.”  She was right.  I soon forgot and before I knew it was outside playing like it never happened. Now, nine years later I am still crying over her loss and I know the tears are real because they come from the inside out.

First of all, Thank you to my family, friends and  to everyone who has supported us and came out to day to join us in remembering my mother. Additionally, thank you to Crystal who made today possible, when I try to express how thankful I am for all of her efforts and constant motivation in this it brings tears to my eyes. The amount of time and energy her and her family have put into todays event are more than I ever could have asked for and I appreciate that more than my simple words can express.  When I mentioned that I’d like to do an event this weekend I had no idea that things would fall into place like they have.  It started with the idea of having a small event and hoping for media coverage. I cant help but hope that the way this has worked out is only the beginning of things falling into place. 

I’ve spent days trying to find the right memory to share here, something that precicesly  captures my moms personality.  I can’t. She was so much more than words can define. She was one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.  She instilled the value of treating  others the way you want to be treated, and to always respect your elders. She was fiercly independent and I can hear her loud and clear saying “I’ll do it myself”. She had an offbeat silly sense of humor and used to find amusement in the simplest of things. We had our own little inside joke about her impersonation of The kids in the Hall. We would smile at each other from across the room and she would say… “Im pinching your head”. 

Three thousand two hundred and eighty nine days, and not one goes by that I don’t miss my mother, or that I don’t wish I could pick up the phone and share a story with her or ask for advice.  I never got a chance to say those things that shouldn’t be left unsaid. I never got a chance to say that  I am proud to be her daughter. As a  kid I was mortified at the idea of growing up to be like my mom. Now, I am proud to look in the mirror and see pieces of her face in mine, catch my self saying something silly to my children that she would have said to me. I see her everyday when I see her eyes in my sons. She should be here to see the remarkable people her grandchildren have grown into. She would be proud.

It is hard to believe that she has been gone nine years already. The more time that passes with out an answer the harder this loss is to deal with.  This whole experience has devastated my family and we are  ready for closure we are ready for answers and we are ready to heal. It is time to find all the pieces of this puzzle and put them together."
« Last Edit: November 08, 2008, 12:45:08 PM by Kelly » Logged

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2008, 11:40:27 AM »
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Leona has been placed on Project Jason's 18 Wheel Angels campaign. A special poster has been made for her and can be downloaded and printed for placement. More information about the program, and the link for the poster can be found here:

http://projectjason.org/18wheel.shtml

In addition to the campaign, Leona was also featured in a national trucking publications, Indepenent Contractor. This free magazine is distributed in truck stops nationwide and has a circulation of about 150,000.

Indepenent Contractor and TruckJobSeekers are two of Target Media Partner's many publications. In partnership with Project Jason, they each feature two missing persons each per month. You can pick up your free copies at a local truck stop, but if it's far from you, you may want to call and ask if they carry that magazine. These are NOT with the regular for purchase magazines.

We hope this helps in the search for Leona. Please consider printing and placing a poster in businesses in your community.



Thank you.

Kelly, Project Jason

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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2008, 03:25:43 PM »
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This story is published with permission and used for Leona's 18 Wheel Angels campaign.

I Love You Three, I love You Four
By Carolyn DeFord-Eden, Daughter of Leona Kinsey

Part I

“I am still trying to get things together to get on the road. I really want to see you guys. I miss you so much. I love you Kiddo.”

“I miss you, and I love you too Mom.” I got off the phone with out having to go back and fourth: I love you three, I love you four, as we usually would have. As we had nearly every time we said goodbye for as long as I could remember.

That was the last time we spoke.

It had been almost a month since I’d had that conversation with my mom. I was having one of those days. It was the kind of day where you just don’t want to get out of bed. Something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Everything was making me cry. I cried because I had to go to work, I cried because it was raining, I just cried.

I picked up the boys from my dads house where they stayed the night. When I pulled into the driveway Kyegar who was only four at the time came running up to me with all of the excitement of Christmas morning. In his tiny little hand was one of the biggest maple leaves I’ve ever seen.

“Here Momma, I got one for you too.” He said as he handed over his prized leaf.

I chalked my moodiness up to hormones and forced myself into my work uniform. I couldn’t exactly call in sick due to estrogen imbalance although it was sounding awful tempting.  I took Kinsey, Kyegar, and Kiley to daycare, told them I love them and kissed them goodbye. I continued to cry on my way to work, I even cried because I was stuck at a red light. The sobbing was coming from somewhere inside of me, somewhere I’d never felt.

 I dried my eyes and walked into the office. My assistant Sandra was hovering over the schedule when I walked in the door.

“Are you ok? You don’t need to be here,” Sandra said as she put her hands on my shoulders and forced me to make eye contact. “You really should be at home with your family. We’ve got your shift covered.” 

“I’m fine, just having a bad day.” I wondered what the big deal was and held my chin up again. Damn her for opening the flood gates. “I’ll get over it.” I tried to convince her.

“A lady has been calling for you all afternoon. She said it is important, about your mom. Did she get a hold of you at home?”

I shook my head in reply and checked my voicemail. There was a message waiting for me, an urgent message from La Grande.  This time it was not my mom. It was from Nancy, mom’s best friend. She told me that the night before; mom went to Albertsons and was supposed to stop at her house on her way home. Nancy was concerned because she waited all evening and my mom never showed up. Well, mom was a grown woman and it wasn’t unlike her to spontaneously change plans, so I didn’t take the news too seriously. To be polite, I returned the phone call and told Nancy not to worry. I was sure my mom had a good reason; maybe she had a headache and went home to get some rest. I would make some phone calls and let her know what was going on.

“Hey mom, it’s me.” I said confidently “I have an emergency. I need you to call me back as soon as you get this.”

I left several messages on mom’s home phone and on her pager I was starting to get mad at her for letting me worry. She hadn’t returned any of my calls, which was not like her. She always called right back. I was trying not to overreact but I kept imagining the worst.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up from a dream that was both disturbing and consoling. My heart pounded and tears were rolling down my cheeks. I replayed it over and over in my head desperately hoping to not let it escape my memory.  I had been working in the yard when my mom walked around the corner of the house and handed me a big maple leaf just like the one Kyegar gave me that morning.

“I want you to keep this one kiddo.” She told me, and then I woke up.

With all the stress I had forgotten about something mom did the last time she was here to visit. She was cleaning out a flower bed and brought in a giant maple leaf, pressed it between two stacks of old record albums and told me when it was pressed it would be neat and I should save it. I had just moved and in the middle of unpacking that old disintegrated leaf fell out and I threw it away. 
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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
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Project Jason
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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2008, 03:28:39 PM »
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I Love You Three, I love You Four
By Carolyn DeFord-Eden, Daughter of Leona Kinsey

Part II

Two days passed without a hearing from her, and the sinking feeling was getting harder to ignore. I was debating whether or not I should report her as a missing person. I started to think about the likelihood of my mom being a missing person. I couldn’t make any sense of it. It was the kind of thing I heard on the news, but never imagined that I would have to deal with.

“This can’t be happening. She is not a missing person. She’s my mother!”   I was trying to convince myself this was all just another vivid dream.

I lifted my head up, pulled my shoulders back and stuck my chin out. Trying to sound calm I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I could feel my voice start to quiver. The phone was cold in my hand and suddenly seemed to be made out of lead.

“My mom is missing.”  I told the lady on the phone.

Her manner came across as stern and impatient as she asked me the routine questions. She talked to me like I was a little kid whose mommy left her home alone. She may have had to handle phone calls like this twenty four hours a day, but this was my first and far from routine. My composure escaped me and I cried as I gave her information about my mother. I could see crystal clear in my minds eye the features that I quite possibly would never see again. I described the tattoo on her left bicep.  I remembered helping her pick it out. She chose a little peace pipe and a tomahawk crossed over each other with a feather hanging from the bottom of each. It was one small symbol, a testament of her native pride. 

“She had dark brown hair, just past her shoulders. Brown eyes, about 5’4”, 110 pounds.” I caught my breath knowing that this little bit of information was vital.

The rest of our conversation and the remainder of that day were a blur.

I kept calling mom. Now I wasn’t expecting her to pick up, still praying for it, but the expectation was gone. These calls were more for me than anything else. I just needed to hear her voice. I resorted to replaying old messages. I listened to the same ones until I could recite them back. Sometimes I would even answer “I love you too.” More then ever I appreciated her usual response, “I love you three”. I would give anything to hear that again. Funny how old annoyances become priceless when we no longer have them to take for granted.

Four more long days stretched by. Finally, Nancy spotted my mom’s blazer in the Albertsons’ parking lot. She waited there most of the afternoon for my mom to come out. We thought that she might have left with a friend or had car trouble. When we realized mom wasn’t going to show up, we called the police. I told a detective where the car was. I was stunned by his cold insensitive attitude.

“I am very busy ma’am. I can not check into every unattended vehicle.”

“Busy with MIP’s and kids out after curfew? I don’t want you to check into every unattended vehicle, just this one!” I snapped at him.

“If you don’t calm down, I will hang up on you.” He barked. And then he hung up. In the heat of the moment I’m sure I perceived his threat as a challenge, but still, I couldn’t believe he hung up on me.

I had filed a missing person’s report and I had practically handed them her abandoned car in a parking lot.  But they maintained that it was possible for her to just walk away, to leave on her own free will. I insisted that the vehicle be impounded and checked for evidence. Detectives found that the steering column had been damaged, and could have been driven with out the keys. There was also a box of rubber examination gloves behind the seat. Aside from that there was not enough evidence to build a case. I felt nothing was being done by law enforcement to bring my mother home safely. I expected her house to be searched, and the neighbors to be questioned. This was definitely not like television where they find a hair and have enough information to solve a case. 

The end of October had come and gone. It had been two weeks since I received that phone call. Now the rent was past due, and the land lord was evicting her. I drove the eight hours to my home town. For the last two weeks I had thought, almost expected to be able to walk through the front door and feel what ever had happened. Crazy, I know, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if some horrific vision of her fate had come to me while I stood there. Quite the opposite though. I did find myself standing in her house. But I felt anxious, like she should walk in any minute, or like she had just stepped out for a pack of cigarettes and I needed to wait for her.

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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
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Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2008, 03:32:47 PM »
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I Love You Three, I love You Four
By Carolyn DeFord-Eden, Daughter of Leona Kinsey

Part III

My mom lived in a little old trailer. By trailer I mean the aluminum sided trailer houses with the hitch still attached to the front. There were two small bedrooms and one bathroom hardly big enough to turn around in. She lived there with her black lab Libby, who had taken my place as her baby ever since I moved away eight years ago. Mom’s coat was hanging on the back of the kitchen chair. There was a small wicker basket on the kitchen table full of over ripe bananas and dried out oranges. A full loaf of mold speckled bread waited on the kitchen counter. Left over coffee in the pot from her last morning home had gone bad and had a thin layer of green skin across the top. On the counter was the answering machine, still beeping, and probably full of all of my messages.

“Please, please come home.” I begged silently. Mentally I was making all sorts of promises, if only she would walk through that door…

I composed myself and walked through the kitchen into the living room. Her tennis shoes were kicked off under the coffee table. I sat down and let her house sink in. Her smell, just like old books, and linen was strong in the air. I wish now that I cold have boxed that up with everything else to take out and soak up when I need her. There wasn’t a wall in the place that didn’t have a shelf or something hanging on it. Like an antique mall, antiques cluttered almost every available surface. I looked at the collection of old bottles. They were various heights all different shades of light blue and pink. She had them lined up in front of a west facing window on an old cracked wooden shelf where they shined in the sunlight. I remembered the spanking I got in the fifth grade for rough housing and breaking one of her favorites. It was an old Bitters bottle. I still have no idea what made it so special, but after that I just made a mental note that all of those bottles were worth more than my hide to my mother.

 The creamy white paint was peeling off the walls in the high traffic areas and hallways to reveal the dark trailer house paneling underneath. My Great Grandfather’s old wooden trunk sat next to the couch like an end table. On top was an aged Victorian style tin with a picture of Queen Elizabeth painted on the top. Mom had that tin for as long as I could remember. I looked inside and found a lock of hair from my first hair cut. The tin was usually inside the trunk with all the other treasures she saved. News paper clippings, pictures, postcards, I was sure they were important to her and from some special time in her life. I also knew they had stories to tell, stories I could now only imagine. When I was a little girl I used to snoop through that old trunk while

I was home alone. Now, I felt like I was snooping again. I closed my eyes and wished she was here to explain all the things she saved that seemed too special to have out for everyday enjoyment.

Soon my aunt arrived. Auntie Vel is my mom’s oldest sister, and the resemblance is remarkable. They both had Native American features; almond complexions, high cheekbones, long thin faces and dark, deep-seeing eyes that as a little girl I always thought could see right through me.  We hugged, and walked through the house sharing memories. Pointing out where certain things were collected from or who gifted what to whom. That evening the rest of the family came, my dad, cousin and friends. They all helped me to decide what needed to be done next.

I started in mom’s bedroom, but didn’t know where to begin so I laid there, smelled her pillows and looked at her walls. I was afraid that if she came home and found all of us rummaging through her things she would be angry. I wanted to wait, but there wasn’t enough time. I only had a weekend to pack what had taken my mom a lifetime to acquire. I noticed mom’s purse on the floor next to her bed, inside were her house keys, cigarettes, lighter, and her pager.

No wonder she wasn’t returning my calls.

 Instantly it all clicked, and I let go of my denial. It was then that my hope deflated, I went numb and reality settled in. I knew my mom would have wanted me to be strong and in my head I could hear her telling me…

Lift your head up, pull your shoulders back, stick your chin out, and be strong.

That weekend we moved everything out of the house and into storage. We shared her life between us: my dad, cousin, my Auntie Vel, and me.  We kept the things we hoped she would have wanted us to have. But the things that we could not contain, pick up, or hold onto are the ones we cherish the most.

That was nine years ago this October. I haven’t heard anything and the case is still open. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to say I love you to my mom. When I tell my kids I love you, I keep it going. I love you three, I love you four, like my mother used to do with me. Those simple things that my mother and I used to share are the most valuable things that she could have left me.



We'd like to thank Carolyn for sharing her story and this aspect of her life with us.
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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
Kelly
Project Jason President and Founder
Administrator
Hero Member
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Age: N/A
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« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2009, 03:01:12 PM »
ReplyReply



Project Jason announces the featured missing persons in the September 2009 issue of the CDLJobs.com Online Magazine, which can be viewed at http://www.cdljobs.com/cdljobsonlinemagazine/SEPT09.htm  This month's ad is on page 12. The site receives thousands of visitors per day.

Each month, CDLJobs.com publishes a full color ad in their popular online magazine which will feature 5-6 of Project Jason’s missing person cases from across the country. The ad has clickable links which take the reader to additional information about the missing person, and a link to their printable poster.  Readers are encouraged to sign up for the AAN program and help with poster distribution. “You can be a Hero” is the theme of the joint venture.

Awareness Angels Network (AAN). AAN, begun by Project Jason in 2008, provides a way for the public to assist the families of missing persons. Missing persons posters designed specifically for the AAN program are disseminated via email to those enrolled in the program. Participants can then upload the posters to websites, print and place the posters in public areas, and forward them to their contacts. The program helps spread the word and increase the chances of finding the person.

In the September issue, the following missing persons were featured:

Pam Biggers, missing from Panama City, FL since 1/28/2008
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=2266.0

Shirley Hunt, missing from Good Springs, TX since 6/19/2007
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=1120.0

Leona Kinsey, missing from La Grande, OR since 10/25/1999
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=4169.0

Trevor Morse, missing from Las Vegas, NV since 5/6/2007
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=1380.0

Vinyette Teague, missing from Chicago, IL since 6/24/1983
http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=897.0

William Weinischke, missing from Los Angeles since 11/1/1997
http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=6010.0


You can read more about this program at http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=6319.0
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Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
Kelly
Project Jason President and Founder
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Offline Offline

Age: N/A
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 4929



View Profile WWW
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2009, 12:24:59 PM »
ReplyReply

AAN Annual Poster Notify Sent to AAN Subscribers   Code 60

Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member and receive notifications about missing persons via email.

Click here to become a part of the solution: http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml
Logged

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.shtml

If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.
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