Home from the CUE Center for the Missing: 'Expanding the Vision' Mational Conference, Wilmington, NC.
Have a thousand stories to share, but one in particular that simply fractured my heart:
Let me start by saying that Monica Caison, is an amazing lady whose Vision began over three decades ago, which has been honed to the point of excellence! She has the ability to coordinate searches from alligator infested swamp land, to the Colorado Rockies, Ground Zero NY/NY, to Haiti.. When a victim needs help, they are Priority, 24/7-365. This includes the families. She is an absolute firecracker!
I was an Atlanta Firefighter, stationed near the Atlanta Stadium in a depressed and high crime area of the city.
On November 1, 1978, only blocks from this station lived a 16 year old teenager named Donna Green. Donna was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, to give birth to a beautiful baby boy named Raymond Lamar Green.
A Couple days after giving birth, she received a visitor; a teenage stranger that said that her sister had given birth to a baby in an adjacent room. She said that her sister was asleep and ask if she minded if she visited her.
Donna, being polite and always open to new friendships, said that she would love to have her company. Her new friend visited her everyday thereafter.
Once Donna and Baby Raymond was released to go home, she received a knock at her door on Prior Street. Much to her surprise, it was her new friend, that had came to check on her and the baby's welfare.
Donna decided to go upstairs to take a shower and left the baby in the care of her brother. Baby Raymond, got fussy, so her brother was relieved when Donna's friend picked him up and consoled him.
Her brother dozed off thinking that Raymond, was being well taken care of.
'Baby Raymond vanished that day, over 31 years ago'...
Donna frantically called APD and reported the abduction. An investigation was conducted and concluded that Baby Raymond was sold on the Black Market.
A couple years ago, after three decades of anguish, Donna contacted APD to request a new cold case investigation. She found that there were no records indicating the abduction. She presented APD with the newspaper article for verification.
Donna was reading a magazine article one lonely night, a few days ago at 1AM, which was about Monica Caison and CUEs National Conference. Donna, at wits end, dialed her number. Donna, expecting a recorder was shocked when Monica answered her phone, listened to her traumatic story, and invited her to the conference, although the registration deadline had passed.
One of the classes at the seminar was taught by renouned 3D & Forensics Sketch Artist: Diane Trepkov.
Monica arranged for Donna to meet with Diane, upon arrival. Diane extracted over 4 pages of descriptive information from Donna's memory as well as other pertinent info and had a sketch completed, which was identical to the suspect, by the following morning. By that afternoon, Diane had a sketch completed of Baby Raymond.
Needless to say Donna Green was overwhelmed wirh emotion, that complete strangers would go to these lengths to locate her lost child, by a simple late night phone call, over 3 decades later...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WENJbSPSmqg