So sad to say that I almost hate to voice it, but I just feel like one day some hunter or farmer is going to stumble over Sara's remains
Ahhhh, same here. I keep hoping that she is surrounded by good friends, happy, safe and secure, but "life" here on WS, and keeping up with events in the world and the US makes me think that news of Sarah, whenever we get it, will not be good.
I was born & raised in a town in Robeson County, and was there till I went to college. When I was in elem -- high school, there were city schools -- which I attended -- and county schools. At that time, there were school systems for whites, blacks and Lumbees, believe it or not. The schools fully integrated when I was in high school, and things went extremely well. Through sports, band, chorus, and classes, we met and mixed very well. There were several big factories, textile mills, etc., and the employment rate was much better than it is now. It's a shame how that has happened to so many small towns.
The kids graduate or leave school with no local prospects -- some do live on family farms, but most are small -- so drugs, gangs and usually petty crime are very compelling. I don't go back there -- I have no family there (parents deceased), and only a very few of my school friends are there. I have only good memories of my years there, and I am sad that it is in the situation that it is.