FEB 12, 2021
17 years later, family of Phylicia Thomas asks for help to ‘bring her home’ | Times Leader
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Pauline accepts that Phylicia is dead — the presumed victim of a brutal murder that occurred at a party in Hunlock Township on a cold February night in 2004.
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Pauline says there were as many as 17 people at that party who would have heard the screams and seen a body being carried out of a bedroom and out of the trailer and taken somewhere and buried.
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Pauline wants closure. She wants to be able to bury her daughter’s remains and then be able to visit her gravesite and place flowers, knowing that Phylicia is at eternal rest.
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“She’s not a statistic, she was a person who had hobbies and interests,” Urban [PA State Trooper] said. “It is definitely an active investigation and we continue to talk to people, exploring different avenues.”
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“It’s hard for me to believe that someone would do that to her and that it’s still not solved,” PE said of the aunt she looks like, but never met.
Pauline said her daughter used to love the outdoors, going camping and taking long hikes in the woods.
“She loved to sit around a campfire,” Pauline said.
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Pauline said Phylicia didn’t drive, so she was glad to get a job at the Pump N Pantry at Route 118 and Route 29 in Lehman Township because she could walk to work.
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Jesse said Phylicia came home with a few chickens one day because she wanted free eggs.
“Two of them were under my bed,” he said. “I think there was a third one in her bedroom.”
Phylicia also brought home a large Doberman that would drag her around while she was on her roller skates.
“We had to find the owner and return the dog,” Pauline said.
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“Phylicia cared so much about people and animals,” Hayley said. “Anything to help a living creature and she was there.”
Hayley went on to say, “My beautiful cousin was my idol growing up. I remember looking up to her and everything she did — the way she cared. I wanted to be just like her.”
Hayley was just 10 years old when Phylicia went missing.
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Hayley said she used to love to play basketball. She said Phylicia never missed Hayley’s practices or games.
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“Ever since the day she disappeared, I gave up basketball. I couldn’t stomach not seeing her in the stands.”
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“I can’t recall ever having a bad day when she was around,” Hayley said. “She was the glue to this family, she kept us strong and together. When she first went missing, I remember crying myself to sleep. I remember having nightmares and praying she was okay.”
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”I remember counting the days thinking she will be found and brought home, but that day ever came,” Hayley said. “Years and years went by and still nothing.”
Hayley finds it difficult to understand how such a horrible death could happen to such a beautiful and wonderful person like Phylicia.
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Some 17 years later, Hayley said it still feels like Phylicia was just taken from the family.
“The pain of her being gone is always so fresh — like a wound that just won’t heal — but it feels like an eternity since I got to see her smile,” Hayley said. “I still laugh about all the memories till they are tears because of how much we miss her and no matter how much time passes that pain will never go away.
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Pauline Bailey said she will never forget Feb. 11, 2004 — she calls it the “day of horror” — when her daughter disappeared off the face of the earth and she and her family were devastated.
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Speaking to those responsible for Phylicia’s death/disappearance, Pauline said:
“One way or another you will have to pay for what you did. Please, anyone with information, please call — you don’t have to leave your name. Help us stop the killers from hurting anyone else.
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A socially-distant digital vigil of sorts was held throughout the day on Facebook on Thursday, with organizers encouraging friends and family members to light a candle and post it in Phylicia’s honor.
Dozens of posts were made to the group, with many referencing Pink Floyd, a favorite of Phylicia’s. Their song “Wish You Were Here” is often sung at the annual vigils. This year, though, that sentiment had to go virtual.
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Much more at the link; very length
