Post by gagal on Jun 29, 2007 12:45:59 GMT -5
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Originally appeared in Walker County Messenger, 03/30/2007
Theresa's family fearing the worst
With more than eight days passed since any word came from her, 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker’s family is growing more fearful that she has met with tragedy.
“Something bad has happened to her,” said her sister Christina Hall in recalling a long list of appointments and events Theresa has missed since last seen Wednesday, March 21.
“The hardest thing is not knowing,” said her brother-in-law Jonathan Wilson, who came up from Florida with his wife, Theresa’s sister Hilda, to hold vigil on Monday. “What we’re focusing on right now is bringing our sister home.”
The mystery is taking its toll on the family’s emotions.
“We’re worn out and broken,” Jonathan said. “We just want to find her, and once we have that we’ll want
From left, Christina Hall and Hilda Wilson, sisters of missing 911 operator Theresa Parker, stand alongside their mother, Claire Caruthers, during a prayer vigil Thursday night. (Messenger photo) answers.”
Family last saw Theresa when she visited Christina and her twin 7-year-old sons in Fort Oglethorpe that Wednesday night. “She couldn’t have children of her own so she kind of bonded with them at birth, and has a super close relationship with them,” her sister said. “She is like their second mommy — they think she is ‘it.’”
Because of her pending divorce from husband Sam Parker, a LaFayette police sergeant, Theresa was preparing to move out of the couple’s home in LaFayette, and left her sister’s residence about 9:30 p.m. to go over to her new apartment nearby and clean.
“She said she would probably be there until after midnight, go back to the (couple’s) house in LaFayette to get some sleep, then get up and start packing and moving on Thursday,” her sister said.
According to Christina, Theresa and Sam agreed that Sam would stay at his father’s house in Summerville (his father died very recently).
But Christina believes Sam was at the house that Wednesday night, because at 10:44 p.m. her phone rang and the caller ID showed it was from the house in LaFayette.
“I knew it was not her because she was over at her apartment cleaning. A neighbor saw her outside about 10:15 p.m. talking on her cell phone,” Christina said.
If that is accurate, it would be unlikely that Theresa could have traveled in 29 minutes the distance of more than 24 miles between the new apartment at 59 Flagstone Drive in Fort Oglethorpe to the couple’s house on Cordell Road southeast of LaFayette.
Sam Parker was not on police duty that Wednesday night.
On Thursday Christina did not hear from Theresa, but says she didn’t think much of it because she knew Theresa was going to be busy moving and having things delivered to her new apartment.
But Christina says when she woke up Friday morning she had a strange feeling that something bad had happened. “I had no reason to think that, but the first thing that popped into my head was Theresa,” she said. “So I called and left a message on her cell phone saying for her to call me at work to let me know she was okay.”
Christina was at work all day with no word from her sister, and by Friday evening felt sure something was wrong. “I mean, if one of us was away and didn’t contact her she’d really give us what for, so I was worried.”
The couple was scheduled to meet at The Bank of LaFayette on Friday to finalize the splitting of the equity in their house for the divorce, according to Theresa’s mother Claire Caruthers.
At 8 p.m. Friday, Christina took the twins to a late ball practice. A few days prior Theresa had mentioned coming. “She loves my boys like her own and loved watching them play.”
They got home from the practice at about 9:30 p.m., and Christina called her niece in Florida, who is close with Theresa but who had also not heard from her. She then called her mother — same story. At this point, about 10:45 p.m., she thought to call Sam Parker, who was on duty but could be reached through the 911 dispatch.
“It took him about three minutes to call me back. He didn’t seem concerned. He was like, ‘Hey, what’s goin’ on?’ I asked him when was the last time he had seen Theresa, and he said he went to the house (on Cordell Road in LaFayette) on Thursday morning to get the motor for his fishing boat.”
This was about 6 a.m. and according to Christina, Sam said he went into the house where he saw Theresa’s bedroom door shut, so assuming she was asleep, he did not disturb her. He told Christina that when he returned around 3 p.m. Theresa was gone but her vehicle was still there.
“I asked if he had called my house Wednesday night at 10:44 and he said he did not,” she said, adding that he again denied making the call when she asked him on Saturday.
Theresa told her sister Wednesday night that Sam had been uncharacteristically nice in helping her with the move by getting her boxes. “That’s not like him at all,” Christina said. “It was kind of strange, and Theresa and I even discussed that. I know he could not stand the fact that she was moving out.”
Theresa and her family had been keeping the location of her new apartment secret from Sam, and Christina’s impression is that Sam was perhaps trying to get Theresa to let her guard down to tell him where the apartment is.
She says that Sam had accused her sister of having an extra-marital affair, and she adamantly denies the allegation. “My sister and I are best friends, and I pretty much know where she is all the time, and she simply did not have time for that. There is no truth to that at all. I think it’s just something Sam has dreamed up in his mind.”
Originally appeared in Walker County Messenger, 03/30/2007
Theresa's family fearing the worst
With more than eight days passed since any word came from her, 911 dispatcher Theresa Parker’s family is growing more fearful that she has met with tragedy.
“Something bad has happened to her,” said her sister Christina Hall in recalling a long list of appointments and events Theresa has missed since last seen Wednesday, March 21.
“The hardest thing is not knowing,” said her brother-in-law Jonathan Wilson, who came up from Florida with his wife, Theresa’s sister Hilda, to hold vigil on Monday. “What we’re focusing on right now is bringing our sister home.”
The mystery is taking its toll on the family’s emotions.
“We’re worn out and broken,” Jonathan said. “We just want to find her, and once we have that we’ll want
From left, Christina Hall and Hilda Wilson, sisters of missing 911 operator Theresa Parker, stand alongside their mother, Claire Caruthers, during a prayer vigil Thursday night. (Messenger photo) answers.”
Family last saw Theresa when she visited Christina and her twin 7-year-old sons in Fort Oglethorpe that Wednesday night. “She couldn’t have children of her own so she kind of bonded with them at birth, and has a super close relationship with them,” her sister said. “She is like their second mommy — they think she is ‘it.’”
Because of her pending divorce from husband Sam Parker, a LaFayette police sergeant, Theresa was preparing to move out of the couple’s home in LaFayette, and left her sister’s residence about 9:30 p.m. to go over to her new apartment nearby and clean.
“She said she would probably be there until after midnight, go back to the (couple’s) house in LaFayette to get some sleep, then get up and start packing and moving on Thursday,” her sister said.
According to Christina, Theresa and Sam agreed that Sam would stay at his father’s house in Summerville (his father died very recently).
But Christina believes Sam was at the house that Wednesday night, because at 10:44 p.m. her phone rang and the caller ID showed it was from the house in LaFayette.
“I knew it was not her because she was over at her apartment cleaning. A neighbor saw her outside about 10:15 p.m. talking on her cell phone,” Christina said.
If that is accurate, it would be unlikely that Theresa could have traveled in 29 minutes the distance of more than 24 miles between the new apartment at 59 Flagstone Drive in Fort Oglethorpe to the couple’s house on Cordell Road southeast of LaFayette.
Sam Parker was not on police duty that Wednesday night.
On Thursday Christina did not hear from Theresa, but says she didn’t think much of it because she knew Theresa was going to be busy moving and having things delivered to her new apartment.
But Christina says when she woke up Friday morning she had a strange feeling that something bad had happened. “I had no reason to think that, but the first thing that popped into my head was Theresa,” she said. “So I called and left a message on her cell phone saying for her to call me at work to let me know she was okay.”
Christina was at work all day with no word from her sister, and by Friday evening felt sure something was wrong. “I mean, if one of us was away and didn’t contact her she’d really give us what for, so I was worried.”
The couple was scheduled to meet at The Bank of LaFayette on Friday to finalize the splitting of the equity in their house for the divorce, according to Theresa’s mother Claire Caruthers.
At 8 p.m. Friday, Christina took the twins to a late ball practice. A few days prior Theresa had mentioned coming. “She loves my boys like her own and loved watching them play.”
They got home from the practice at about 9:30 p.m., and Christina called her niece in Florida, who is close with Theresa but who had also not heard from her. She then called her mother — same story. At this point, about 10:45 p.m., she thought to call Sam Parker, who was on duty but could be reached through the 911 dispatch.
“It took him about three minutes to call me back. He didn’t seem concerned. He was like, ‘Hey, what’s goin’ on?’ I asked him when was the last time he had seen Theresa, and he said he went to the house (on Cordell Road in LaFayette) on Thursday morning to get the motor for his fishing boat.”
This was about 6 a.m. and according to Christina, Sam said he went into the house where he saw Theresa’s bedroom door shut, so assuming she was asleep, he did not disturb her. He told Christina that when he returned around 3 p.m. Theresa was gone but her vehicle was still there.
“I asked if he had called my house Wednesday night at 10:44 and he said he did not,” she said, adding that he again denied making the call when she asked him on Saturday.
Theresa told her sister Wednesday night that Sam had been uncharacteristically nice in helping her with the move by getting her boxes. “That’s not like him at all,” Christina said. “It was kind of strange, and Theresa and I even discussed that. I know he could not stand the fact that she was moving out.”
Theresa and her family had been keeping the location of her new apartment secret from Sam, and Christina’s impression is that Sam was perhaps trying to get Theresa to let her guard down to tell him where the apartment is.
She says that Sam had accused her sister of having an extra-marital affair, and she adamantly denies the allegation. “My sister and I are best friends, and I pretty much know where she is all the time, and she simply did not have time for that. There is no truth to that at all. I think it’s just something Sam has dreamed up in his mind.”