I had some business to attend to in Dallas and Garland today, so used the opportunity to drive past WM's house; also checked out some nearby parks and areas I was wondering about.
When I drove by the home, the lawn looked like it was starting to be in need of mowing. I saw no sign of life at the property. I gone past a neighbor standing out in his front yard so wasn't at all tempted to park. (I had no reason to, as I hadn't planned to check out the memorial. I would still like to hope she's alive, even though I understand the feelings prompting its creation.) When I was there, there were no reporters, no TV, no people searching, nothing.
I drove 'around the block' and paused for a bit setting my map to my next destination, and then when I came back out onto Sunningdale, I noticed a dark blue sporty sedan idling near the mailbox with two dark-haired men in the front. There were two mailboxes, so this wasn't necessarily theirs. Didn't want to appear nosy so I kept on driving.
Driving out of the neighborhood towards Central, I took an impulsive jog right onto a smaller back street off Spring Valley where there is a bit of newer multi-family development--there were some creek/culvert/drainage areas I wanted to check out. Parked and searched there (it's called McKamy Park and is quite small). At 2pm there were a fair number of people coming and going with their dogs, including some South Asian Indian folk (the area appears to have a fair representation of this ethnic group). A few of them were walking in a group, and one or two stopped and looked into the fenced drainage area; not sure if they were looking for Sherin but I'd like to think they might have been. I looked into the culverts and walked the drainage ditch area throughout the park and complex. (It was a beautiful, sunny day for being in a park in Texas.)
Got back in my car and headed down Central to check out Medical City Hospital (the Park Central area with creek and walking paths).
ETA: enroute, checked out the Walmart I saw there along the service road--and fielded the dumpster at a service station there despite getting the hairy eyeball from two homeless men.
It had a chain wrapped around the latch, but it wasn't locked. Only bags of food garbage inside.
Arrived at Medical City, and parked across the street from the drive exiting the "Emergency" part of the hospital so I could explore that park and creek area, thinking it was *perhaps* where he'd have exited when leaving the hospital if he'd taken her there but then noticed she'd died when he arrived. I was curious about that hospital location because I was wondering if it might be familiar to him (yet without an obvious strong connection), IF the parents had possibly taken SM to Medical City for treatment when her arm was in a sling. (MC has its own children's hospital just off Park Central.) With its extensive creek, lakes, and vegetation, it'd be an easy, quick choice if he'd decided to hide her body in that vicinity in the middle of the night. The area has a walking trail (sidewalk) with grass and then undergrowth and vegetation as a buffer before you get to the creek itself. It is extensive, with several lakes that I didn't have a chance to explore. I just walked the hospital 'exit' area along the vegetation line looking for any sign of SM or disturbance--but found neither.
Went back out onto Forest from Park Central heading west, and then took the next right (with hopes of searching the other side of that drainage/creek area). Unfortunately, what looked like parking spaces along the right side of that street was actually a 'Bike Path'--and the short road led to the entrance of a beautiful, gated neighborhood. This western side of the creek/drainage area was a completely fenced-in park, with gate and combination-key lock for a residents-only entrance. A doubtful drop-zone.
Headed back out to Forest, took the 1st right onto Hillcrest going north, and after passing LBJ explored just the road-culvert areas of a park north of there (Valley View Park) where our children had played more than one soccer game back in the day. (Still testing out the drive-to-the-hospital theory--still exploring where he might have headed if he'd left the hospital in a panic after realizing she'd died). This park--even on a Saturday--was a lot more secluded than others; a drop-off at 3am would hardly be noticeable. A home under construction was directly across the street, but otherwise this park had virtually no sign of life. I only saw ONE person, a cyclist, the whole 15-20 minutes I was there. Again, no sightings. But I felt better for checking (as well as for the exercise and sunshine).
And that was my afternoon. First time ever to go on a "missing" child search.
