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You answer the phone, and the worst words you can imagine come over the line….." Teresa is missing!"
Your breath catches in your throat, your heart feels like it is about to squeeze out of your chest, and you have a sinking sensation like you never thought possible.
We were living in Iowa, Mother's day weekend, 1981, when this call came from California. My stepdaughter had been gone the whole weekend.
She had just turned 18 years old, was staying in a spare room at her boyfriend's mother's home. She and her boyfriend had an
argument, and she walked away. She was never seen again……
Her car, her schoolbooks, everything was left behind when she left.
Teresa was working at a Burger King in North Highlands. She was supposed to be there at 6 a.m. to open on Saturday, she never showed up…..
The police were called, and the first thing they said was that she was a runaway. They figured she didn't get along with her mother, since she wasn't living at home, which was not true. How could she be considered a runaway?
If she left without her car…..
There was a Kmart across the street from the Burger King, and there was a dumpster behind it. In that dumpster were found some of her clothes, her purse, her makeup, and all her I.D. If running away was the thing, why would all these things be in a dumpster?
The police changed it to homicide……. Again, no leads, no news whatsoever.
They changed it back to a runaway…….
We have never heard another word about Teresa. ….
Her mother has since passed away. Her brother lives in her mother's house, and has the same phone number that Teresa would have known as her mother's.
If you, or anyone you know, feels as though you may know this girl or her whereabouts, please, please email me right away.
Help us find her, or least find out what happened to her that horrible
weekend.
The police have filed this case away, but it's always open to us.
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