http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2005/08/10/local_news/news/news03.txtFamily anxious for answers in woman's 2002 disappearanceWednesday, August 10, 2005 8:49 AM CDT
By JIM WILLIAMSON
Texarkana Gazette
VALLIANT, Okla.-Every day Harold Boggs wonders why his daughter, Hope Danelle Meek, suddenly disappeared more than three years ago.
"This is on my mind all of the time. I'm not going to rest until they find my daughter or I get some answers from questions," Boggs said. "This angers me that I can't get any answers."
He is also angry about the FBI going to Aruba to assist in the search for missing Alabama teen Natalie Holloway, especially since he can't get help from other law enforcement agencies and a little news media coverage on the disappearance of his daughter, who worked for the McCurtain County Sheriff's Department in Idabel, Okla. She worked as a jailer escorting prisoners from the cells to court appearances.
When Hope disappeared, she left behind her three children ages 6, 3, and 11 months.
The 26-year-old Hope Danelle Meek was last seen on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002, by her husband, Jerry. He reported her missing five days later.
No one answered the telephone on Tuesday at the one number given to the Gazette where Jerry Meek might be contacted. The telephone information service showed no listing for Jerry Meek or Hope Meek in Valliant.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has joined the Valliant Police Department in the search for the missing woman. OSBI Agent Cliff Fielding said Tuesday morning there are no new developments in the investigation. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information regarding the disappearance of Hope.
She is described as a white female, 5 feet 2 inches tall, 105 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing gray sweats and tennis shoes.
Her parents, Harold and Shelia Boggs, live in DeFuniak Springs, Fla., and have recently had to travel to East Liverpool, Ohio, to take care of his parents who have been having medical problems.
"What do you do if your kid disappears? We're not rich and can't afford a lawyer or travel all the time back and forth to Valliant," Harold Boggs said. "And we can't get the attention from the news media. I know my daughter is no better than anyone else's daughter.
"We're here in the central part of the country and don't get the media attention received on the east or west coasts. I'm not going to quit bitching until I get some answers," he said.
"In Aruba, the federal government sent extra FBI agents and they can drain lakes and ponds and even the Coast Guard gets involved," said the missing woman's father.
He said in an attempt to find his daughter, the law enforcement agencies searched a landfill in Southeast Oklahoma and used a cadaver dog, but found nothing. He wonders if they dug deep enough into the investigation and the landfill.
Part of Boggs' frustration lies in the fact that his son-in-law waited five days before reporting Hope missing.
"He called us and asked if we had seen Hope. I told him he better report her missing," Boggs said. "When we hung up, I called the police and was reporting our daughter missing.
They put me on hold and then came back saying her husband was on the other line reporting Hope as missing."
Hope left her 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck at home, along with her glasses and car keys.
Another source of frustration for Boggs is that Hope's husband filed for divorce just 15 days after his wife disappeared and sought custody of their children.
The Boggses say their son-in-law, Jerry Meek, also initially refused to allow them to visit their grandchildren.
The Boggses were unable to pay for a lawyer to help them obtain visitation rights and received help from Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma to seek court action allowing them to see their grandchildren. Jerry Meek eventually agreed to let the grandparents visit them.
Boggs said during the last visit with his three grandchildren, he and his wife stopped by the elementary school in 2003. The principal granted the couple a visit.
He vividly remembers the oldest grandchild crawling onto the lap of his wife and whispering, "Where is my mom?"
"Those are the things that bother me," said Boggs.
A local newspaper has been unsuccessful in reaching Jerry Meek.
"We tried to contact Jerry Meek several times, but I think he doesn't want to talk to the media," said Valliant Leader Editor Pete Wilson.
Wilson said since the woman disappeared, his newspaper has published about six articles regarding her, along with articles published in the McCurtain Daily Gazette in Idabel, Okla.
"We've published articles on the anniversary of her disappearance and on her birthday," said Wilson.
Anyone who may have seen Hope Meek should call either the Valliant Police Department at 580-933-4555 or the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.
Harold Boggs said if someone wants to send material anonymously, mail it to Harold Boggs, 5581 Highway 1087, DeFuniak Springs, Fla., 32433.
Print a poster:
http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_HopeMeek.pdf
