Monday Evening, June 10, 1967
Lisa: A Storm Blows Into Our Lives
The last two weeks of the semester are only for finals and thankfully my last one is on a Monday afternoon! I'm confident of making good grades in all of my classes, I'm just tired and ready for a break.
Hurrying home late in the evening I feel my excitement building, eager to celebrate the last day of my semester. I'm not too surprised that Kendra's not home yet. Now that she's finished with her classes, she's been trying to work extra hours at the cafe to earn a little more money. But, I do feel a little let down that she isn't here to celebrate with me. Checking the time, I figure she's bound to be on her way home now and decide to take a quick shower...my thoughts turning to happy ones knowing we have all summer together.
By ten o'clock, I'm wondering what's keeping her so long. At midnight, I accept that something has happened to her. I have no idea where to look for her, she almost never goes anywhere without saying something first. The cafe closes right after the dinner crowd and Kendra would never go anywhere this late. No...something is wrong.
I call the cafe just to make sure, when no one answers I know I have to call the police. The person I'm talking to puts me on hold, when she comes back I'm told they have no record of Kendra as having an accident or other police related emergency. I sit and think what else I can do. I call the hospital, and they too check and tell me she has not been admitted. Now I'm terrified and debate whether to call her parents or wait a bit longer. I hate to make them worry for nothing.
It's so unlike her to just forget to come home or call, I finally accept that something must be terribly wrong. Not knowing what else to do, I call her parents. The voice on the other end of the line sounds like he's just awakened, "Hello."
"Mr. Mitchell, this is Lisa, Kendra's roommate."
"What's happen Lisa?" His tone making it clear that this is one of those late night phone calls all parents and lovers dread, it is never good news at this hour of the night.
"Kendra hasn't come home, and it's not like her at all. I've called the police and hospital but they haven't seen her either." I know my words are gushing out of me, but I can't slow down. "Mr. Mitchell, I don't know if she's told youβshe got a letter from Bobby the other day. He's out of the Army and is demanding she move out there. She sent him a letter telling him its over between them. We haven't heard anything back though. Do you think he might have come back? We hardly ever go anywhere except school and she went to work today...I don't have any idea where she could be."
I finally let go, my tears build and shaking hands take over. I hear Clair ask what happened. After just a moment, Ross is back on the phone and says, "Lisa, I wouldn't put anything past that fool. Sweetheart, I'm going to have to go talk to a few folks and see if I can get any information on him. You just stick by the phone and call if you hear anything...Clair will be here. I'll call you back as soon as I find out anything that might be important."
"Thank you, I'm sorry for calling so late...I just didn't know what else to do," the tears finally overflowing and running down my cheeks.
"No, no, you did the right thing. You're right, this doesn't sound like something she would do. Something's wrong. We'll be in touch...it's the same phone number you gave us, right?"
"Yes sir, and I'll be here until you call back. Thank you so much...I'm worried sick."
"Don't imagine the worst Lisa, we'll figure it out. Bye now."
"Goodbye Mr. Mitchell."
With no idea what he could do or find out so far away a feeling of desperation washes over me. There's nothing I can do! The police already told me to call back tomorrow morning if she still isn't home. This is the most frightening realization I've ever experienced...there's not one thing I can do. The person I love more than anything or anyone in the world has just vanished without a trace...and I can't do one damn thing but sit here useless. I debate with myself as to whether I should take the car and go look for her...but Mr, Mitchell might call back any minute...I have to wait here.
*****
Early pre-dawn June 11, 1967
Eden, Texas
Kendra's Father and his Good Friend: Family And Friends In A Time Of Need
"Clair, honey just calm down. Lisa told me that Kendra sent a letter to Bobby telling him it's all over between them. I think the first thing we can do to help is try to find out if anyone around here knows anything about where he is. I'm going to call Pat. He's got the whole Sheriff's Department to help figure out where's he's at."
"Oh dear Lord, I never imagined he would hurt her," Clair replied, then just stared silently at the floor.
"Don't imagine the worse. Let's just get busy figuring out where he's at. It may not even be Bobby, but we have to start somewhere. That's why I'm going to call Pat right now, he'll know best what to do."
"Hello, this is Sheriff Randall. Who's calling?"
"Pat, it's me, Ross."
"What's happened Ross?"
"Kendra's roommate just called to tell us that Kendra has gone missingβshe never came home from work tonight. Her roommate said she already checked with the police and hospital, no one's seen her. The only other thing she could think of is that Kendra wrote to Bobby and told him she's leaving him...she wondered if he might do something stupid."
"Okay. Ross, I'm going to have to make a few phone calls. I want my office to start digging into Bobby out west. At this time of night, it might be hard to get much information, but we may as well get started. I'm going to call Bobby's folks as soon as you and I are done. Then I'm heading over to your house and we can talk some more. Give me half an hour or so."
"Thank you Pat. We'll be here waiting for you."
After just over half and hour, I see Pat's headlights as he swings into the driveway, and I hurry to open the door for him. The look on his face doesn't tell me much. "Well, his folks haven't heard much from him either. They said they got a couple of letters early on, but then no more. So they're no help. I told them Kendra's missing and thought maybe Bobby might know how to help find her if we could get his phone number. They didn't have one, but said they would try to find out if they could. I didn't tell them we suspect him, so I figure they're telling it straight."
"What can we do Pat? How can Clair and I help you?"