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WISCONSIN'S MISSING CHILDREN December 1, 1999 (from msnbc.com) (Author information unavailable) Weyauwega, Dec. 1 - Of the almost one million people reported missing last year in the United States, most were children. A picture of a smiling, 12-year-old Cora Jones still hangs outside her parent's home in Weyauwega. They keep it there in her memory. According to Cora's mother, Vicki Jones, "Every day we know she isn't coming home. Some days harder than others." Cora was kidnapped in 1994 while riding her bike. Hundreds searched for her. Her body was found five days later in a ditch in Antigo. Those were the longest days of the Jones' lives. "That was the worst. That was harder than her death, not knowing where she was," Vicki Jones said. But many parents do cope with the unknown every day. Hundreds of children can be missing at a given time. Just ten children from Wisconsin are listed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They include: Emily, Dominic, and Andrew Koch of St. Croix Falls, who authorities believe were abducted by their father, 15-year-old Linda Correa, a runaway from Milwaukee and Wisconsin's longest known missing child, Bobby Joe Fritz. BOBBY JOE FRITZ Fritz was a cute, 5-year-old boy who disappeared in 1983 from Campbellsport on his way home from a friend's house. What is especially baffling about the Fritz case, is how short a distance was involved. It's less than the length of a football field from the house were Bobby Joe was playing to his own house. No evidence was ever found to explain what might have happened. Lieutenant Ed Sheppard was part of the original investigation for the Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department. "We've always hoped we would get a call, 'I'm alive and well somewhere,' but I think that's unrealistic," Sheppard said. Bobby Joe's family has since moved out of the state. His mother says she still thinks of him every day. She added that the years of not knowing have taken a physical and emotional toll on her. The case also weighs heavy on the sheriff's department according to Sheppard. "Our previous sheriff said when he retired, one of the things that bothered him at retirement, (was he) never resolved this case." Most cases are resolved. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates more than 90 percent of their children are found, some with sad endings like the case of Cora Jones. "Time does help, it never goes away, (you) just learn to live with it," Cora's dad, Rick Jones said. The Jones' do laugh and smile again. They have their other child, 14-year-old Zack and they now have a Web site dedicated to Cora, created by someone she didn't know. Vicki Jones said she looks at the site almost every day. It helps the family remember Cora. For more information about missing kids anywhere you can call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or online at www.missingkids.org. |
