Two weeks ago, Thursday Feb 25th, in the afternoon Chelsea went to the rancho bernardo community park for a jog on some trails that go around a lake. Her parents reported her missing that evening and then the search for her began. Posters of her went up all over poway and RB immediately. For days volunteers and police authorities searched for her, even in the pouring rain.
On Sunday evening a sex offender was arrested as a suspect in the case, for rape and murder. It was unknown what clues led to this conclusion but it was hartbreaking.
Five days after she went missing, Tuesday afternoon, her body was found, 1/2 a mile from her car, buried in the lake, 10 ft. from the shore. It was completely devestaing, however I was grateful that they did find her so fast so that the family could have closure.
I don't think there was a dry eye in all of San Diego as this news came out.
Chelsea was a really good girl. Straight A student at Poway High, 1st chair french horn, cross country all star. She (though it is always good to run with a partner) didn't do anything wrong and was in a safe place. The park she was abducted from is one that we go to at least twice a week. It is well used by runners, bikers, dog people and many others. There are baseball and soccer fields, a rec center, a dog park and a playground. This event has rattled this community where things are usually very quiet and where we all feel very safe. It has been inspiring to watch the volunteers and other members of the community rally around the King family and offer support.
There are blue ribbons tied around every tree in town in loving memory of Chelsea.
There is a second story - possibly tied to this one - Amber Dubois. Amber was abducted on her way to school about one year ago. Her remains were found just this week in a remote outskirt of San Diego county.
The man who raped and murdered her was a known sex-offender. "Chelsea King's accused killer, John Albert Gardner III, was described by a court-appointed psychiatrist as a "danger to the community," in a probation report filed a decade ago, and released Tuesday by the San Diego County Superior Court. Gardner pleaded guilty in 2000 to committing lewd and lascivious acts on a 13-year-old girl. He is now accused of attempting to rape a woman in December and of killing Chelsea. Gardner is also being investigated in the suspected slaying of Amber Dubois, a 14-year-old Escondido, Calif. girl whose skeletal remains were found Sunday in a remote area of northern San Diego County."
These things are not plesant at all and it makes me too sick and sad to read daily updates so I usually don't. But at the same time it is importnant to be reminded every once in a while that people like this exist and we need to be careful. (It honestly makes me scared to have my children grow up and be allowed to leave home w/o me).
Chelsea's parents are using this wave of media attention to try and start a movement to prevent this kind of thing from happeneing again. To make sure sex offenders are punished as they should be and not be allowed to wander the streets.
http://www.facebook.com/chelseaslight
3 comments:
you better be taking that 100 lb dog w/ you everywhere you go. that is very tragic and sickening that he had committed these acts before and was let loose. makes me sick. that is so terrible for the families.
That is so sad. It would be terrifying to see that happen in your community. I feel so sad for her parents. I think about her last moments of life and feel so sad for her. There are some bad people out there, but there are way more good people. I hope that the justice system can do more than they have done in the past about this particular perpetrator. I am scared for my kids to grow up too.
That is such a sad story. I did hear about it on the news and when the mentioned Poway, I was wondering about you guys.
I am scared to death for my kids safety as they grow up for various things, and especially sex offenders. They should never be let out for the crimes they do. I think it is an extremely high % that they will re-commit a crime again. Tragic...
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