“Listen, I have an idea for our next
book,” Jennie said. “I’ve been collecting newspaper clippings from the Boston Globe and other newspapers around
this area and there are lots of stories about missing persons and unsolved
murders and several of them stand out. One of the most compelling is the story
of Agnes Freeman, a 30-year-old fast food worker who left her home about two years
ago on her way to work and simply disappeared. She had kids at home and parents
who lived nearby and two other jobs. When she didn’t show up for work, her boss
called around and finally alerted the police. That was on May 18, 2007, the
papers said. The story goes on to say there were several clues left behind but
authorities were never able to connect the dots. I mean, think about it, Rob,
connecting dots is what we do. Maybe we could solve this case and then write
about it.”
Rob
took a drink of his beer, handed the newspaper to Jennie and suggested she read
the story in the lower right-hand corner. The story read as follows:
Chatham
police have no new leads
on 20th
anniversary of disappearance
Twenty years ago this week,
18-year-old Melinda Marie Swinson went with her Chatham Central High School
senior class for their annual weekend graduation trip to Martha’s Vineyard,
departing the school parking lot on Friday morning, June 9, for a ferry ride to
the island, with a planned return on Sunday at 6 p.m.
When Sunday evening arrived and
the Vineyard Ferry pulled into the Chatham docks, the students and their
chaperones filed off quickly and went to meet parents and friends who were
waiting to collect them. However, one student—the girl known as “Mellie”
Swinson—was not among the group.
Her sister, Judith, was at the
dock waiting, but went home alone after calling her parents and informing them
what had happened. Police were contacted and a search for the missing girl was
begun.
Students interviewed in the
following days could not agree on whether Mellie had even boarded the ferry at
Edgartown that evening, and if she had, whether she could have fallen overboard
during the 55-minute ride across the sound. Mellie was a quiet girl who kept to
herself and had few friends at school, they agreed.
One or two remembered seeing her
buying a soda at the concession area as the ferry pulled into port, but no one
remembered sitting with her or even talking to her after that, and no one has
seen or heard from her since.
Police in Chatham and Edgartown
have never closed the case officially, but acknowledged this week they still
have no idea what happened to Mellie Swinson and have no new leads to
follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment