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Remains of Brooke Wilberger Found Five Years After Disappearance - ABC News

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TPeR8Aq6BQ

Music video by 3 Doors Down performing Here Without You: Rev 1 MTV/VH1 Cut with Marc Webb [Video Director], Bill Boyd [Video Producer] (C) 2002 Universal Motown Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

A video dedicated to the search for Carrie Culberson. We will find her one day.

The following blog entry is from my main blog located on http://findcarrie.blogspot.com - I post these periodically for readers to sample. Come by and read the main blog if you get some extra time. In support of all our missing and murdered loved ones..........

Three years ago (October 17, 2003), a mystery began to unfold in Southern Florida when Neil Wayne Eddleman Sr. and his teenage son boarded a boat with Gary Lisk for an overnight fishing trip. The three men were to return by the following day by 6 p.m., but did not. When the boat was still missing on October 19th, Neil Alan's mother, and ex-wife of Neil Wayne called authorities. It appeared something had clearly gone wrong with the boat excursion and three men were now missing without a trace.
(Pictured left - Neil Alan Eddleman Jr. and Neil Wayne Eddleman Sr.)


On November 3, 2003, what appeared to be boat wreckage washed ashore near NASA's launch pad (nearly 450 miles from where it was last seen), and it would later be identified as that same boat that the Eddleman's and Gary Lisk had left in on October 17th. Intertwined in the wreckage authorities would find Gary Lisk's body. An autopsy could not determine his cause of death, only deepening the mystery surrounding what may have happened to the Eddlemans.

There has been much speculation that something more sinister may have been connected to the disappearance mystery in that the following day after the three men vanished, Gary Lisk's computer files were all mysteriously corrupted, and all the locks on his residence were changed without warning. Why would somebody do all of this and was it connected to the disappearance(s)?

With Gary Lisk being the only known person to have definitely perished in the boating trip on October 17, 2003, one would have to wonder, did the Eddlemans die as well because of something they witnessed by accident? When would the questions surrounding this mystery ever be answered?

Two years after the mysterious disappearance of the two Neils, Karen Eddleman, ex-wife of Neil Wayne Eddleman, Sr., filed a lawsuit against the boats pilot claiming that they were negligent in the incident that took place in 2003. The suit claims that Eddleman Sr. and Gary Lisk knowingly took Neil Alan out on the open waters without safe guarding the boat's passengers. In the lawsuit it states that nothing in the weather reports stated that there could be a possible weather change to cause damage to the boat and it goes onto state that the father and son never were found, but it does say the boat's damaged condition suggests "great bodily injury and possible death to the occupants."

While Karen's lawsuit may cause some people to answer for their careless actions on that fateful day, I wonder if it'll answer the burning question she still has? That being, "What happened to Neil Alan and will he ever be found"?

Could Gary Lisk been involved in a business deal that went sour? Could Gary have been targeted at a time when he was with two people that could have been potential witnesses to his death and they were taken out as well?
With so many questions and few answers, there's only one fact that still remains. The two Neils are both still missing without a trace. If they died that same day as Gary Lisk, one has to wonder why they were not discovered as well?

If you have ANY information regarding the disappearances of the Eddlemans, you are asked to call the Naples Police Department (Florida) @ 1-239-213-4844. Please see links provided below for more in depth case information and photos.

Related Links:

Finding the Eddlemans

Finding Neil Alan - Website By His Mom - Includes Disappearance Timeline

Today is part two of taking a look at what it's like to have someone you love disappear without a trace. I decided that I wanted to have a few relatives tell our viewers what it's like to live a day in their life. Today's story comes from Karren Kraemer, a lady I met through Patti and Ed Bishop this past July at the Midwestern Coalition for the Missing. Karren and I bonded immediately because she's just a nice lady. She tells me that Debbie and I have given her inspiration and strength. She's given us so many wonderful things as well. I'd like for you all to please read her words about her missing daughter. Once you complete it, please visit Becky's website. We need to find Becky and bring her home. Karren, thank-you for sharing this with us. We will find Becky!

Help Find Becky Marzo


Words by Karren
Today, I took a minute to think about how my life has changed. Some people never ask themselves this question but today I felt it was important that I share this thought with the people I care most about. I am the mother of as missing person. You know I never in my life thought I would lose a child, someone that I gave birth to, someone that I loved. A daughter that any parent would be proud to have.
When my mother died I thought that I had felt the worst pain of all. I never thought I would or could feel such an overwhelming pain and loss, one that hurt so deep. I remember back to that evening when I walked into the emergency room so unprepared for my mothers death. I looked at my mother and thought oh God please let her life with you be better then the life she had on earth. I prayed that God took all her pain away and let her walk through the gates of heaven pain free and happy. Something she wasnt able to feel for so many years. I had to believe that God was that powerful, to help her escape the painful life she had and that he somehow knew that, that night was the night to bring her home. You know I felt guilt and pain when she died. Did I do everything I could to help her? Why did I ignore the truth for all those years? It took me a long time to overcome that pain and loss, I still struggle to force myself to go to the cemetery to visit her grave. I go there and even though its been so long ago I am reminded of her sad painful life. It still causes the pain to return, the sadness, the sorrow for her life of pain in the end.
I did everything I could to protect my children from the pain I saw in my family. Yet, it wasnt enough! I thought if I raised the kids in a better neighborhood with great schools and was always there for them, they would never have to endure what their parents endured. They had a great father who showed his love to them everyday. My husband cared about their happiness, he would give his life for each and everyone of them. He showed such pride in each and every one of their accomplishments. I never knew what that felt like as a child. I as a child never experienced that type of love and compassion. I thought I could stop the cycle.
Then it happened!!!
I saw my daughter Becky going down a road that I knew could eventually kill her if she didnt get out. I kept begging her to leave her boyfriend. I couldnt understand the pain she let him inflict on her. She was so smart and beautiful. She could have had anyone she wanted. Why did she stay with him? Why didnt she listen to us? Why did she distance herself from the people who really loved her?
Becky went missing!!!
Then I lost Becky. My Becky, God I loved her so much. I will never be able to tell you guys how much I miss her . I hope none of you will ever have to walk in my footprints. For those of you, my Sisters and brothers in search, you understand so well my pain. We share it and understand each other like no one else could ever understand us. When we have our breakdowns and periods of crying you understand, and wait for the moment to pass. I have had my share of sad days and nights. You know when you get up in the morning and you see something that reminds you of that very special person that youve lost. It could be a commercial, a picture, or a song. Reminders are there all the time. Sometimes they are more prevalent than other times. I think to myself, how will Life ever be normal again? Then, I realize this is my life, changed forever. .
I have spent two and a half years in pain and helplessness because of my loss. I have been forced to ask myself questions like. Where is my daughter? Is she dead or alive? If she is indeed dead, why was she murdered? What gave him the right to take her life? These are the moments of wonderment I now have. How could this happen to my Becky? How could the police treat this as just another ordinary crime? How I can I overcome this with some dignity intact? What can I do to make a difference?
Then today as I cleaned the house I took the time to think, Multitasking That Im good at, I thought you know maybe everything does happen for a reason, maybe Gods plan is greater then mine. I dont know, but I do know that I cant let Beckys life be for not. It is up to me as her mother to make the difference, and find her. I have to get the strength and courage to go full circle with this. My goal is to make people hear my story, and the stories of all the women and men who have gone missing. This is a very hard road to cross, as most government officials dont want to get involved. Most politicians want pretty topics during election year. Domestic Violence, Murder, and our missing children, seem to be way to messy for them. I can tell you all that I am going to stay committed to getting this Coalition going and it needs to be done with urgency. Everyday another woman is battered by her spouse or boyfriend. If shes lucky she will get away, if not she will end up like our daughters murdered and dumped somewhere. These beautiful souls lost forever. It is up to us the parents, the brothers and sisters and the public to help put an end to this type of violence. I have to fight this battle because I need and deserve closure.
My life has changed, I know that there has to be something I can do to make a difference. I need to have a mission to help bring justice to all the families that have suffered through the same pain that I have. . I look at all my Sisters in Search and I think there are no boundaries here. This is not a crime for a special group of people. This is a crime that crosses every boundary line race, religion, and economic class. I need to find the people who will listen and I need to make them hear our lost ones voices. I need to find the answers and start educating our children, daughters and sons our legal system, and the police. I need to stay focused on what my objectives are. It is to put an end to the loss that will most certainly affect another innocent family today, tomorrow and in the furture.
As a parent I feel so much pain on a daily basis. Ive had cops say, You need to talk to someone, Ive had cops say, Dont talk to anyone you might foil the case. As a parent what do I do? Do I call the Crisis Intervention at the DAs office and talk about my pain? Will he use my pain to work against me later on? Do I seek help out of the control of the DA and Police? Will that help? Do I find a support group where I can talk openly and honestly? Who can I trust? Is it wrong to want to blame the cops for my fear of screwing up the case so I go no where with my pain except the occasional frustrated call to the cop in charge of Beckys case. She must think Im a total emotional wreck. Then I remember I am the victim, or Am I? Do I feel like Im a victim but really Im not? Who is the victim? Is Becky the victim? Does her pain and death institute the type of justice Im seeking? Do I as a parent of an adult victim have any real rights? What is the answer? Do any of us really know? I ask these questions daily of myself? Im only one person, yet I feel that I must do something. I need to make a difference for Becky and all our missing children...
I need to make things right. I need to make all the men that have hurt our daughters, mothers and sisters think twice before they do it again. I need every voice possible to help me make this happen. It is only a question? Is it the right question? I dont know any more. All I know is that my Becky is gone! Deb Culbersons daughter Carrie is gone, Patti and Ed Bishops daughter Karen Jo is gone, Margie Mortiors, son Amos is missing, Dawn and Tom Vowells mother Sandra Kay Travis is missing, Darlene Pitts sister Kathy Fry is gone. This is such a small list and yet it grows daily. These are the families that need to know the truth, these are the people who wake up every day thinking,How has their lives changed?
Our lives will never be the same. The pain will never go away.
Today, my life has a mission. Three years ago I had a good nights sleep. Three years ago I had a great job, three years ago I was planning for an Alaskan cruise. Three years ago life was normal. Today I look at every ditch and railroad track as a possible place to hide my daughters remains. Today when I hear a news story about an unidentified female body discovered somewhere I call the local Medical Examiner to see if they know who it is and should I send Beckys DNA or Dental Records. Today I drive into the darkest streets in Milwaukee to hang Posters on telephone poles. I knock on doors and ask strangers if they knew my daughter. Today I go to my computer and start the search all over. Is he on a different website or does he have a new e-mail address. Today I cry. Yes my life has changed forever as I have to continue to search for my daughter. I need answers to my questions. I need to know what happened to her. I need to know that the person responsible for her disappearance and murder is held accountable. I need to have a good nights sleep. I need your prayers. I need support. Yes my life has changed forever!

This post is a copy from our original blog located on

http://findcarrie.blogspot.com

What It's Really Like To Have Someone You Love Turn Up Missing

When Helpfullness Turns To Harassment With Victim's Families

When Helpfullness Turns To Harassment With Victim's Families

It's been nearly ten years since her daughter Carrie disappeared without a trace. Although it's been proven by a court of law and her mom knows that Carrie will never return alive, Debra Culberson still would like to find her Carrie's body and bring it home for a proper burial. She struggles with the every day uncertainty of possibly never finding the humanly body she used to hold and love knows as Carrie. While she continues to wait and suffer in her own personal hell, Debra Culberson is determined to help others from going through what she's dealt with the last decade.
This past week she was in Washington DC testifying about a subject she feels is very important. That is the fact that there is no mandated DNA database that could match all human remains that are found. There are over 50,000 unidentified people right now who we are confident that there is a family just like the Culberson's who are waiting and wondering - where is my loved one. Although they may not know for sure if their loved one is even dead, if the mandate was in order in all 50 states, there'd be no doubts or persons sitting in undiginified boxes on shelves in dark rooms, but rather being sent home to be with their families who have been searching for them. At this time, there are less than ten states in the United States that have a law that states that all human remains found must go into a matching database. This simply has to happen in all states. We have wonderful people like the Doenetwork who volunteer their time and efforts to help law enforcement because it is known that the police often do not have time to spend on these cases to solve all of them, but imagine what we could accomplish with both Doe and the mandate?

Something that most people will never be able to understand is waking up every single day waiting and wondering where is my child/friend/sister/etc? I know that there is the one person who holds the key but they refuse to tell me anything. I will have to accept that somehow in my heart and continue searching for them, but maybe just maybe could they be already be found and lieing in a morge but cannot be identified due to certain pieces of the puzzle being missing?

I urge each person who wants to make a difference to determine who your congressman or congress woman is and begin a campaign within your state to mandate this database to help these missing people. This could be your loved one or even maybe yourself someday that needs identification. Think of those who'd be hurting and working so hard to find you and would have it so much easier if this were in place. Please read the article below regarding Debra Culberson's efforts in Washington DC.

Related Article from Channel 13 News
By Tom Walker - Eyewitness News

Local police and law enforcement agencies in other cities could benefit from a new national database. It would help find missing people and identify the remains of those already recovered.
Debra Culberson has a mission that stems from ten years of painful and sometimes horrifying frustration. The pain began with the murder of her daughter Carrie in 1996 and the fact that Carrie's body has still not been found. A website dedicated to her case still pleads for information.
The horror came with rumors her body had been dismembered before being dumped in the Ohio River and the wondering if it's true.
"The not knowing of where your child is, not knowing the fate they had suffered. You can only imagine," said Culberson.
The uncertainty is similar to that surrounding cases in Indiana like the disappearance of six-year-old Shannon Sherrill, missing since 1986 from Thorntown and IUPUI student Molly Dattilo, last seen two years ago.
"That's not all that unusual in this country, where people are literally missing and maybe in another state and they're not necessarily identified and so the family members never find out what happened," said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH).
Debra Culberson told members of Congress states should be required to run DNA tests on all remains found so they could be put in a national database. She says another state might already have her daughter.
"If they picked up those remains and put them in a box and put them on a shelf because there is no mandatory testing, then Carrie could already be found and sitting in a box on a shelf," Culberson said.
She says such a database could not only find her daughter but many others. "You'd think it would be something that should automatically be done. It shouldn't have to be mandated."
As it stands now, there are only six states where DNA tests of remains are required. Indiana is not one of them. That could change if Congress decides to make it mandatory everywhere.Carrie Culbertson disappeared near Cincinnati. Her mother says there are as many as 50,000 unidentified remains nationwide.
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5062051&nav=9Tai

This week my posting has been slow on here. I've had a few things going on that demanded my time and I just couldn't devote as much time to the blog as I should.

This past Saturday, May 20th, there were two important events held on separate parts of the United States for two ladies who remain missing. The first was Kristin Smart whose family held a special run/walk in her honor. On May 25th, Kristin will be missing for 10 long years. The run was to bring awareness to her case and to possibly help bring that one tip that can lead authorities to her.

My group was unable to go this year due to some other obligations that we had. I knew that we had to do something to remember Kristin as well as Brandy Hanna whose family held a special vigil for her Saturday night in Charleston, South Carolina.

Brandy's mom has become one of my favorite people. I met her briefly at the Cue Center for the Missing Conference back in late March, but we've communicated a lot online since then. I felt terrible that I could not go to the one year vigil for Brandy. Donna has searched endlessly for her daughter since she vanished last year. She's also started working with other moms to help them cope with the situation of losing your child.

My family decided that we would release some balloons for both the missing ladies to remember them here where we live. We walked out to the garden and let the blue balloon with a special note for Brandy float into the sky. Next we released the 10 mult-colored balloons for Kristin Smart. We do this frequently when we cannot be at these important vigils or events for those who are missing or murdered. Although it's a small gesture, it makes me feel better knowing we did something to remember these people.

May God bless each of them and help them through this tough time they are going through. Hopefully soon, they will have the answers they need.

Additonal Links

Find Kristin Smart - Son of Susan
Missing Brandy Hanna


News Article Regarding Kristin Smart

Questions remain unanswered in Smart case
By Quintin Cushner/Senior Staff Writer - Santa Maria Times

Ten years after Kristin Smart's disappearance, no one surrounding her case has felt anything near closure.
Not Smart's family, who remember her as a loving and persistent 19-year-old, excited to be attending college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. They assume she is dead and buried somewhere, but cannot be certain.
Not Paul Flores, a 1995 graduate of Arroyo Grande High School, who was the last person to see the young woman alive and who remains under investigation in her disappearance. Flores is out on bail facing a fourth drunken-driving conviction and continued scrutiny for his actions the night Smart vanished.
Not detectives from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department, who still believe they can crack the case.
And not Dennis Mahon or Terry Black, two men working to keep the Kristin Smart case from fading. Mahon maintains a Web site and has written a book. Black is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone with information leading to Smart.
Each of these lives was altered early on May 25, 1996, after Flores walked with Smart and another student from an off-campus party onto campus.
Flores and Smart apparently met at the party, where both had been drinking. The third student broke off from Flores and Smart about 2:30 a.m.
Flores, then 19, told law enforcement he and Smart parted ways near his dorm, and that she returned to her Muir Hall dorm room alone.
Police say there's no proof Smart ever returned to her room. Her roommate reported her missing May 27. Smart's clothing, toiletries and identification were undisturbed.
Cal Poly police first interviewed Flores on May 28. He sported a black eye from what he claimed was a basketball mishap. A friend of Flores later told police the young man had arrived at the pick-up game bruised.Campus police appear to have made a crucial mistake early in the investigation. Officers failed to secure Flores' room at Santa Lucia Hall until after he vacated the dorm for the term.The Kristin Smart case was soon after turned over to the Sheriff's Department.More than a month after Smart's disappearance, cadaver dogs searching the dorm honed in on Flores' room. Once inside, the dogs zeroed in on his mattress.During a grand jury hearing convened in October 1996, Flores refused to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He has never been charged in the young woman's disappearance.Later searches of Flores' family home in Arroyo Grande turned up nothing substantial. Psychics, national talk show hosts and local media all tried in vain to discern Smart's location.San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Roger Piquet later declared Smart dead as of May 25, 2001, so her family could pursue a wrongful-death lawsuit against Flores.SuspectThat civil case, which alleges Flores violently assaulted and murdered Decedent Kristin Smart and disposed of her body in an unknown location, presumably in San Luis Obispo, returns to court June 9.The civil suit has been repeatedly delayed since the Smart family filed it in 2002. The Sheriff's Department still considers its investigation open, and has refused to release any evidence to the Smarts' attorneys.Denise Smart, Kristin's mother, said she has mixed feelings about the criminal case staying open.As long as it's still open, there's hope, she said. But I'm frustrated by the lack of progress.An educator living in Stockton, Denise Smart said the slow reaction from Cal Poly police damaged the case.It was way over their head, she said. When Kristin's roommate reported her missing, they didn't even go check on her. It was a total failure to respond.In 1998, Gov. Pete Wilson signed a state law named after Smart, requiring universities and colleges to notify local law enforcement quickly if a violent crime may have occurred.I know that members of the Smart family have complained that our police did not respond properly, said Cal Poly Provost Bob Detweiler. I wasn't here at the time, but I can find no evidence of us handling the case inappropriately. Because of Kristin's disappearance, we have beefed up our emphasis on alcohol awareness and sexual assault awareness on campus.Since they took over the case, sheriff's deputies have focused on Flores, who is now a 29-year-old living in Lawndale in Los Angeles County.Paul Flores is the only person of interest that we have not excluded as a possible suspect, said Undersheriff Steve Bolts. We've got several avenues we're pursuing that I can't really discuss. The case remains very active.Bolts said Detective Dave Kenny is spending the majority of his time working on the Smart case. Kenny declined comment.Bolts had no estimate of how many hours have been spent on the case.It's one of those cases that has the potential to be resolved, Bolts said. We are reasonably certain that she's deceased, and we're optimistic that her remains will be found some day.Bolts would not comment on a specific theory about Smart's disappearance.There's no evidence to exclude an intentional homicide, he said.Since Smart went missing, Flores has racked up three drunken-driving convictions and a probation violation. Flores served time in 2000 at Santa Barbara County Jail for driving drunk in Santa Maria, and was sentenced again to County Jail for drinking while on probation.On Dec. 20, 2005, he was again flagged for drunken driving, this time in Los Angeles County. He is free on $100,000 bail while the case works its way through the courts.Flores could face prison time if convicted, said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Paulette Paccione. The case returns to court June 29 for a preliminary hearing.Flores has rejected a plea deal in the latest drunken-driving charge that would have landed him in jail for a year, Paccione said.He wants to fight the case, she said.Bolts has several theories on Flores' battles with alcohol.I think it's reflective of a chemical dependency that may be at the root of Kristin's disappearance, Bolts said. It also may be a product of a guilty conscience.Denise Smart said Flores has negotiated in the past with law enforcement. She is certain Flores knows her daughter's whereabouts.Do we know what he did? No. Do we know he knows where she is? Yes, Denise Smart said. He's kind of making his own prison. But for us there's no punishment we feel would be enough. Where she is is not where she wants to be and it's certainly not where we would want her to be.Bolts wouldn't comment on any negotiations between law enforcement and Flores.Even if there were negotiations, he said, they are privileged and are not presumed by us to be evidence.Attempts to reach Flores were unsuccessful. Calls to his criminal and civil attorneys were not returned. His parents, Susan and Ruben, have separated and live in Arroyo Grande.Outside both of their homes is a printed flier with this message:Notice: Please respect the privacy of the occupants of this residence. They have chosen to resolve their legal matters in the courtroom, not the media.A man who emerged from Susan Flores' home last week snapped several pictures of a visiting reporter, but declined comment.The activistsDennis Mahon of Charlotte, N.C., has spent years tracking the case. Mahon's Web site, www.sonofsusan.com, includes his short book on Smart's disappearance and a log of Flores' legal troubles.Mahon used to park outside the Flores' home in Arroyo Grande and took to photographing Paul Flores during his court appearances.For his diligence, Denise Smart considers Mahon a saint.The Flores family sees it different. They have a restraining order against him.It's a matter of not abandoning Kristin, Mahon said. My Web site is geared toward getting Flores to cooperate with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department. The crime is in the cover-up.Terry Black, a Sacramento investor and political consultant, recently offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the location of the missing woman or her remains.Black, who believes Smart's body could be buried on the Nipomo Mesa, said he has provided police several tips received through his hotline.I just would like to see closure to the family, and sometimes money is the only thing that motivates people to come forward, Black said. My sole concern is retrieval of the body. I'm not in the blame or punishment role here.PersistenceDenise Smart remembers her daughter's persistence and discipline above all else.An avid swimmer who stood more than 6 feet tall, Smart cared deeply about her health, Denise Smart said.Before it was cool to be fit, she exercised and watched what she ate, Denise Smart said. She never had egg yolks.The young woman loved Hawaii and even managed to graduate high school early to work as a camp counselor there.Originally accepted at UCSB, Smart decided to switch schools shortly before her freshman year. The prospect of transferring from her communications program into Cal Poly's elite architecture school was a lure.Denise Smart said her daughter also would have been content to work in TV.She thought Joan Lunden had just about the best job in the world, Denise Smart said.Ten years later, Denise Smart is still acutely aware of how her daughter's life was cut short.She was a very loving and compassionate type of person, and it's hard to have lost her, Denise Smart said. Her friends are now getting married and having children.Matt Smart was just 16 when his sister disappeared.In a moment, your life is turned upside down, he said. You go from watching the news on TV to being on the news. From reading the newspapers to being in the newspapers.His sister's disappearance inspired him to take life seriously at a young age, he said. Matt Smart threw himself into swimming competitions, eventually making it to the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials.Now a pharmaceutical representative, he tries to live well every day. Still, his sister's disappearance lingers.It's one thing to have a death in the family, he said. It's another thing to not know what happened. You can't allow it to eat at you.Tana Coates, attorney for the Smart family, said she is heartened that police continue to investigate.I'm sure Denise thinks of this as if it were yesterday, Coates said. It's so important to keep the public's interest. It's a terrible mystery. The family would appreciate closure. Let's hope that happens.Kristin Smart would have turned 29 this past February.

ArtiBrandy Hanna News cle

Daughter's Disappearance An Open Wound
By Brian Hicks - Charleston Dot Net

It has been a year, and still she cannot sleep.Her life has become one long nightmare, a hunt that never ceases. Everywhere she looks, Donna Parent sees her daughter - on the street, in the store. She has to force herself not to follow every passing car with a thin blond woman inside.It's not her, she constantly has to tell herself.The restaurant she manages has become a shrine of missing person posters and well-wishers who come in to eat every day. A year later, and the Alex's Restaurant's reader board still asks 'Where is Brandy?'After work, Parent spends much of her time on the computer, reading about and corresponding with people who are just like her, who have lost someone without a notion of when they may find out what happened. Like her, they try to avoid the unthinkable: that they may never know. So many people out there like her, she realizes with great sadness.Every night as she lies down to attempt sleep, Donna Parent looks at her daughter's picture and asks the same question:Where are you?On Saturday night, nearly 100 people gathered at Alex's Restaurant on Dorchester Road to mark the one-year anniversary of Brandy Hanna's disappearance with prayer and a candlelight vigil. On May 20, 2005, Hanna, then 32, got off from work there on a Friday afternoon with big plans for the weekend.She caught a ride home with a customer and made plans to go shopping that night, to be ready for a trip to the beach. She spoke with her mother once more on the phone. And then nothing.All leads in the case have proven dead ends. The few suspects brought in passed polygraph tests, leaving police stumped. Every day more time passes without answers, without clues.One year later, and all of the sudden Brandy's disappearance is a cold case.'This is a situation that a year ago I never thought I would be in,' Parent says. 'I can't stop looking, because if I stop, who's going to look for her?'Parent has become disillusioned about a lot of things. Mostly, she is upset that no one has found her daughter. When she first reported her missing, it was nearly a week before police would investigate, because adults have a right to be missing.Police departments across the country say they cannot investigate every call that comes in on a missing adult - they would get little else done.There are nearly 2 million people missing in the United States right now, about half of them adults. While there are networks and agencies and Amber Alerts for children who go missing, there is no mechanism ? save for dozens of networks that exist on the Internet and in the kitchens of people who have suffered loss ? to hunt for adults who disappear.'Adult missing person cases are hard. You have the right to be missing, a right to privacy,' says Monica Caison, the founder and executive director of the CUE Center, a missing persons organization in North Carolina. 'I've heard police say they don't want another Runaway Bride story. We've got to stop judging people, and listen when families say someone is missing. If they turn up on a beach drinking pina coladas, so what? Let it embarrass them.'Caison says that if police had looked quicker at Brandy Hanna's last-known whereabouts, they might have turned up a clue. But in this case, there are no guarantees. Because, unfortunately, hers was a trail that went cold fast.North Charleston Detective Eric Jourdan said there has been no new information in Brandy's case since last August, when Caison brought search teams and cadaver dogs to town to search several areas. Police followed up on a few leads from those searches, but they were all dead ends.'What's most frustrating is that she had such a close circle of friends, only four or five people she associated with, and none of them could think of any reason she would want to disappear on her own,' Jourdan says.A boyfriend, as well as a recent ex-boyfriend, were considered possible suspects, but both submitted to polygraph tests and passed. Since then, one of them, Ray McAdams, has died of natural causes.'I check Brandy's Web site all the time, looking for anonymous tips, and I check into all unidentified bodies found in the state,' Jourdan says. 'But there's not a lot we can do without some sort of clue.'Parent has pushed the city to do more, and in February got Mayor Keith Summey to agree to put up billboards with Brandy's face, asking for information in her disappearance.Parent is upset those billboards have not gone up, but Summey said he's at the mercy of charity. MAC Advertising has agreed to put up a city-designed Brandy billboard starting June 1. They will leave it up all summer, moving it to a new location every month.'We've been working with MAC, but we've had to wait until they had space available,' Summey said.On Saturday night, Parent set up a table with Brandy's pictures - as a baby, in the ROTC, at work at Alex's - and the vigil attendees signed the guest book with notes such as, 'We all pray for your safety' and 'You are and always will be my best friend.'Cindy Cornell, who worked with Brandy at Pappy's in North Charleston, said when she first heard the news, she assumed her friend had 'just gone off somewhere.''I hope that's right, I hope she's off somewhere,' Cornell said. 'I just hopes she comes back.'As the people crowded around the shrine to Brandy began to light their candles, a mighty wind blew up where moments before it had been calm. For several minutes, they tried in vain to light a few flames to Brandy's memory on the anniversary of her disappearance.Eventually, Parent said it was no use and asked them to simply hold the candles high above their heads for a moment. There would be no candlelight at this vigil.It was a disappointment for sure, but Parent has had many of them in the past year. This was a small problem, she knows. There is a much bigger one out there, one that has been looming over her entire life for a year now.http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=89037§ion=localnews

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