Paris, TN- How would you feel if five years went by and you
didn’t know what happened to a missing loved one? As of 2011, the National
Center for Crime Information estimates that there are over 85,000 missing
persons in the United States. That’s 85,000 with families; moms, dads,
siblings, even children. When you’re talking about numbers in the tens of
thousands, it’s easy to overlook the fact that these are people. People with names,
hobbies, interests. People whose lives were cut short for some reason or
another. Let me tell you about one of those people.
Rachel Conger was a pretty, young mother. She was devoted to
her then 13-year-old daughter, and her daughter described her as being her best
friend. They both had an intense love for their dachshunds, Mia and Lynnia. Rachel
had plans for her life. She ended her turbulent marriage and she and her
daughter moved out to start fresh. I can’t drive through Como without looking
at their house and wondering what might have been.
I put off writing this because I was trying to retain some
type of objectivity, but I find that hard to do. At one point in time, Rachel
was my sister-in-law and I respected her as a mother and we were at a
place where we were friends. I hate it for Amber and the rest of their family
that they lost her so young and in such a tragic manner.
On this anniversary, I want this day to be about Rachel and her family. She
was such a sweet woman and deserves to be remembered for the wonderful person
that she was. Please keep her daughter, her mother, and the rest of her family
in your thoughts and prayers today and always.
"When those we love have left this earth, we still can feel them near.
We'll see a picture, hear a song, and it’s just like they are here. And when
we call upon our faith, when we believe and trust, we know the ones we care
about are always close to us."
-Constance Parker Graham
