missing

I understand that a missing person ad is not what you would expect here, but a) I do think it's important that word get out through whatever means possible (including their own website) and b) this particular case freaks me out just a bit because it happened just around the corner from my house. You know, a half a block away. Kids, unfortunately, disappear all the time, but it doesn't really hit you until it happens in your neighborhood. And you have kids. And said kids haven't quite grasped the concept of Stay Where We Can See You when you are outside the house. And your Other Half seems to think that he's still in Morgan, Utah (where he was raised), and leaves the doors unlocked and lets the kids run around willy-nilly because kids should be able to run free and jump off of bunk beds onto LoveSacs, barely avoiding decapitating themselves with the operating ceiling fan.

Anyway, that's enough about my neuroses.

I first learned about Destiny's disappearance yesterday morning, even though she had gone missing the previous night around 8:30. As Dec and I were getting out of bed, we heard someone knocking on the door.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Hmm, says I. Someone's at the door.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Okay, let me get some pants on already.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

I finally get to the door and open it as the police officer is about to whale on the door a fourth time. At eight in the morning. He apologizes gruffly. Then he launches into his Have you heard about the disappearance? Have you seen her? I understand the urgency, but I could have used a bit less of the brusqueness. Especially when he demanded my name and date of birth while some woman (not in uniform and with no visible badge) wrote that information down.

So as I'm showering, I'm starting to get a bit suspect of Officer Rude. What if he's some scam artist trying to collect information to steal my identity? (You laugh, but this was what I was thinking, having not heard of the disappearance prior to his visit.) I mean, if he were a real officer, he would have at least introduced himself and shown his badge, right? That's what they do on TV. By the time I'm finished showering, I've decided that I'm calling the police department to a) verify that there was a disappearance and b) file a complaint against Officer Rude Whose Name I Don't Know.

Fortunately, Dec's mom has called in the meantime, wondering if we'd heard anything about the abduction in our neighborhood. So I'm pacified, though still somewhat steamed. I notice that one of our garbage cans hasn't been emptied (the recyclables one, because I now live in a city that at least likes to pretend it's somewhat environmentally friendly), so I go outside to check if the other has been emptied yet (which it hasn't). While there, I run into our neighbor Owner of Yappy. We talk a bit about the gruff policeman doing the rounds. She also mentions that the police came by the previous night. (Dec and I didn't get home until 11:30ish and merely tidied up the house from the kids' visit and went to bed.) Anyway, I go back in and get the rest of the garbage I had neglected to take out the previous night.

As I'm walking back in our front gate, I see two other police officers walking the street. These are plain clothes policemen, but they have their badges hanging around their necks. They actually smile. I go inside, and as I'm closing the front door, I see that they are the reason our garbage hasn't been picked up yet (normally it's gone by six in the morning); their job is to go through everyone's trash cans. That right there is a depressing and sick thought. My hope is that they were looking for the girl's discarded clothing, though you never know anymore.

What I've learned this week is that my life will be different now that I live downtown. I don't mind, but at least I know that I can expect to see the police out and doing real work (instead of writing up speeding tickets at 6:45 in the morning on barren streets like they do in Provo). I commend them for their diligence. As sad it is, I'm pleased to see that they still have a base of operations set up in the Church parking lot around the corner. I'm glad to see them out with volunteers still searching the neighborhood. Bad things happen, but it's nice to know that there are people out there who try to fix those bad things.

(And if you happen to have any information about Destiny, please call in what you know.)