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DEC.'04---SPECIAL EDITIONNews from the heart
THEY WANT THEIR MOMMY HOME...

YOLANDA BINDICS
Q. Can you tell me a bit about Yolanda, what kind of person she is.
Yolanda is a very sweet mother, sister, daughter, aunt and friend. Yolanda is the youngest of eleven children with four of her own and is very close to her family and children. Her children mean the world to her. Yolanda can be a very vibrant outgoing woman who cared about the people around her. She always seemed to have a smile even at the worst of times.
I believe that while Yolanda is a strong person she is too trusting of people and this trust may have put her in harms way. She was so willing to love all and trust all that I believe this could have been her downfall. She was able to trust and fall in love with men too easily, men who she thought felt the same way about her.
Don't get me wrong, she definitely wasn't lacking of morals, she really truly believed that she was in love. Yolanda, like most women, made mistakes. She may have had quite a few boyfriends but she had romantic relationships with each one at different times. It was her love to love that brought her four beautiful children into this world.

Q. How long have you and Yolanda been friends and how did you meet?
We met as young teenagers about 13 years ago. We lived in the same building so naturally we hung out together. In fact, there were several of us that hung out and nothing could separate us, we were the typical "Brat Pack". We all did everything together and basically grew up together. I have many fond memories of those teenage years.

Q. Yolanda has children. Can you tell us about her children?
Yolanda has four wonderful daughters. Her oldest, Katelyn is only 8 years old. Courtney is 5, Allison is 3, and her baby, Emily, is 18 months old. Emily is such a cute little girl with the curliest locks that I have ever seen. Emily started walking on her own shortly after her mother vanished. It so sad that a mother had to miss such an important milestone. Courtney is just so adorable and funny; she can say the most amusing things. Courtney started Kindergarten this year, yet another important event missed. Allison is probably like most 3 year olds, getting into everything and anything. Katelyn her oldest is the cheerleader, always dancing, always has a story to share and is the most outgoing 8-year-old I know.

Q. How are the children coping with mom being gone.
The two youngest girls, Allison and Emily, I believe are too young to realize that something is terribly wrong. Unfortunately they are at such a young and crucial age, that I believe unlike the older girls they will not have any memories of their mother. Courtney has asked repeatedly, "Where's Mommy? When is she coming home?" I can't imagine, or don't want to imagine what is going on in that poor girl's head. Katelyn is old enough to know that she may never see mommy again. She is the one that has to deal with rude questions or remarks from other children at school. She is the only with the most memories and now the most worries. Although she shows a brave face, I believe she is suffering terribly. I just pray that there will be no long-term damage to her psyche.

Q. Are they all able to stay together or has Yolanda being gone meant that they are having to be split up?
Because the girls have different fathers, the girls have been separated from each other, causing more heartache among these poor girls. Three of the girls are living with their fathers and the youngest is with one of Yolanda's Sisters. These girls not only do not have their mother, but they don't have each other as well, when they need each other the most! They lost everything, their mother, their home and each other.

Q. Are they angry?
I would think that they are angry. They've been ripped away from everything that they have ever known and trusted. I pray that they do not blame themselves or their mother and one-day come to peace.

Q. Do they talk about mommy being gone?
I think that as time passes there may be less talk of mommy. I believe they are trying to push the "hurt" out and quite possibly feel that if they don't mention the "hurt' it won't feel so bad.

Q. Is there something that we can do for them?
These children will need all the love and understanding they can get. They need to be aware that they are loved and that they did nothing wrong. It is not their fault and life will go on. They need keep their mother in their hearts always, and never, ever forget.

Q Do you think law enforcement is doing all they can to find Yolanda?
I'm not sure what to think about our local law enforcement. We've been on many searches with no help and given many tips with no answers. I would truly like to see more cooperation and understanding from our local law enforcement. They did not take Yolanda's disappearance seriously until it was probably to late. They considered her to have just run off. It wasn't till we pushed and fought and brought in the media that they started thinking otherwise. Although what seems to be lacking in support, I am very hopeful that they are still working hard at finding Yolanda. It's very possible that they are working behind the scenes as to not leak important information. I would like to believe they know what happened and that they working hard to gain proof positive evidence. I just hope this will be soon because we all need closure of some sort!

Q. Do you have any theories as to what happened to her?
My theory is that she fell for the wrong guy and was torn between "love" and doing the right thing. I think she may have chosen a path to possibly better her life and her children's lives, but it was too late. I think that possibly this "wrong guy" did not like what she had to say and got crazy with jealousy.

Q. You have done a website, do mass emailings, publicize searches and vigils. What a wonderful thing it is you are doing for your friend!! Is there anything that Child Seek can do to help you?
I send out mass emails regularly to a lot of people, even total strangers and to the media agencies. I receive many hits on the site dedicated to Yolanda not only across state lines but as well as country lines and even across seas. I use the site and the mass emails to inform people of new information regarding this case. It has made awareness to many people that this terrible tragedy could happen to any one of us. Many strangers are praying for the safe return of Yolanda. I'm so grateful to all those strangers out there who truly genuinely care. The site and all the emails have brought so many together.

Q. Thank you for doing this interview about your friend. How has her just disappearing affected you and your relationships with others?
I have learned not to take people for granted because I could wake up one morning to find that they are gone. My children will know that I love them and I will cherish everyday with them. My worst fear is for them to go through what Yolanda's children are going through. As Christmas comes and I sit by the tree watching my children open their presents I will think of what Yolanda is missing. No amount of presents will make their mother come back.

Q. Is there anything that you need in terms of support?
I'm grateful for all the prayers and support we have received. I just ask everyone to remember Yolanda and her children and to never give up the faith and hope that she will return home.

Q. Again, thank you for doing this interview! Is there anything else that you would like to say about or to your friend?
Yolanda, you are missed by all, terribly. If you could only know the love and support that you have from so many people, not only from your loved ones but also from total strangers. So many have come out to wish you well and to help you find your way home. I pray that one day you can look back and read this and put the past behind you. I pray that you find your way home soon. Yolanda you are loved by us all and we will never give up on you!

For more information about Yolanda please visit Yolanda's Child Seek Forum or you can visit Her Website.

Also be sure and check out the video created by Jim Viola.

********************

A BROTHER ASKS...HAVE YOU SEEN MY SISTER? 

Monica Appleton was last seen when her mother dropped her off in Amarillo, Texas, in 1999. Below her brother, Donny, talks about his sister and the two children that are left wondering what happened to their mom.

Donny, so that our readers can become familiar with your sister, can you please tell us about her?
A. Yes. Monica is 34 years old. She is 5' 5" tall and at the time she came up missing she weighed approximately 110 – 120 pounds. She had long blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was a very pretty young lady. She was born and raised here in Pampa, Texas. She was a graduate of Pampa High School. After graduating high school Monica got married to a Mr. Marlon Larue. He is the father of Monica's two children. Approximately one year or more prior to her disappearance they were divorced. Monica had been involved with Marlon in drugs off and on. In the year prior to her disappearance she had gotten tied in with some drug dealers from both Amarillo and Pampa. She got into prostitution as well. In that year I watched her in a downward spiral. It was one of the hardest things I could see, one of my own flesh and blood in that situation.

Q. Under what circumstances did Monica go missing?
A. On October 13, 1999 my mother took Monica over to Amarillo (which is approximately 55 miles west of Pampa) at Monica's request. My mother reluctantly did it. As Monica got out of the car she told my mother to get out of there. My Mother would ask Monica what was wrong and Monica would only look over her shoulder and say "I can't say now" or something to that effect. Monica told my mother that she would tell her later. Later never came. Monica has not been seen by my family since then. She even stopped picking up her child support checks which is very unlike her.?

Q. Monica has children and she has been gone from them for a long time. How are they dealing with their mom being missing for so long?
A. Now they are dealing with it better than before. In the beginning, Lesleigh (the daughter) was so young. Lexton on the other hand was a few years older. Lesleigh has done fairly well over the past five years. Lexton had to be placed in a boy's home to help in controlling him. Even I could not control him in his anger fits. Plus I had been nearly arrested (I found out later. at the direction of the previous Chief Charles Morris) one night when Lex had one of his fits and was being very destructive to himself and the house. We had to call the police to transport him to a detention center just so we could sleep without fear of him doing something bad to himself or us. Since that time he has become a very polite young man.
I have always tried to protect them from the information about their mother. This was probably not the right thing to do. Recently I sat down with them and told them everything I knew about the case. I let them review the newly developed site for Monica. After doing this I felt a big burden lift off of me and then they understood a lot of what I had been trying to protect them from.

Q. Is there an ongoing investigation regarding Monica's disappearance?
A. The case has basically gone cold. Occasionally a tip will come in that someone has spotted her in another state. That always turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. In the beginning I contacted the Amarillo Police Department to report her missing in November 1999. I was told that there would not be a report made due to people come up missing all the time and there is just not enough man power to investigate every missing case. To this day they have not made an attempt to look into the case anymore than allowing our investigator to go over and interview people with one of their officers present. After not getting any competent reaction from Amarillo I came back to the department I am employed with and made an official report. I wrote the report myself and it was approved by my supervisor. Since that time leads have come in and to what extent they all were followed up on I do not know. I can say that recently I asked to look at the case file and was given permission by the Chief to look at its entirety.

Q. Has your local media been helpful in keeping the story of Monica in the public eye?
A. The media has ran three or four stories in the five years. They would run an article when asked to by the police department investigator.

Q. Has the fact that you are a police officer helped or hindered you in your search for your sister?
A. Actually I believe it has hindered me. When you are as dedicated to a profession as I was and still am, it can be a hard row to hoe. I have been torn from wanting to quit and do the investigation on my own or wait, and hope that the case gets the needed attention it deserved. I was told that I would NOT become involved in any of the investigation what so ever unless I happen to stumble across it on my own. Then I would have to give the information to the investigator and let them follow up on it. The entire story is posted on her website now and I do not intend to remove it any time soon. I was made to remove a lot of the information that is there now by the previous Chief. I was told that it would be in my best interest to remove the information from the site because it could hinder the investigation. After taking that as a threat against my job I removed it.
I can remember a tip coming into us that Monica had been seen in Albuquerque New Mexico. My mom and I traveled there and spent sever days looking up and down every street looking to see if we could see her. We passed out hundreds of fliers and even talked to several police officers in the areas we had been told she was and no one had seen her.

Q. Do you think that Monica could be in hiding?
A. No ma'am, there is no way in the world she would be hiding. She loved these two kids to much to do something like that. Monica had been into drugs for sometime before all of this but she always made that extra effort to see them as much as she could. I don’t care what anyone thinks of her, she was a good mother to them. She had a problem. A problem that is tearing this nation and others like it apart. Until people stand up and look around instead of putting their head in the sand it is going to continue to get worse. In 17 years of law enforcement I have seen my home town go from a prosperous town to nearly blowing away. All because of the drug problem that no one wants to me admit that they have.

Q. Do you have a theory as to what happened to Monica?
A. Yes, I believe she is gone. I believe that she was murdered by one of those coward ******* d’s. I know in my heart that she is out there somewhere lying in the cold just waiting for us to find her, bring her home and get the ones who did it.

Q. How has this affected you personally and professionally?
A. Personally it has affected me like so many other families with missing loved ones. No one really knows how it feels unless you have lived through something like this. Not knowing what happen or where they are. There is not a day goes by that you are not reminded by it. There is a void there. A void that just can’t be filled.
During the conversation with the previous chief where I was threatened with my job, he said "I know how you feel. I lost my son in an accident in Austin Texas a few years ago". I just looked at him thinking "You have no idea how I feel, you got to bring your son home and bury him. At least you knew where he was and how he died”. I got up at that point and walked out of the office.
Professionally I would have to say I don't think it has affected me that much. I do look at any case that someone is reported missing a little closer. I can't tell you how many times I would be called out to a missing child call and cringe at the thought of having to take the report for fear of breaking down myself. Fortunately, all the children reported missing calls turned out to be kids going to neighbors or hiding in the house. I can even remember getting upset one time at an investigator for not following up on another reported missing adult. She was later found to be safe and sound. When something like this happens to you, you take a long, hard look at all of these types of cases. It brings it all back like a tidal wave. After a couple of years of trying to fight with the very system I had grown to respect over the years, I finally basically gave up. I was getting to weak to deal with it. In that time I had back surgery and had developed a bad lung infection due to aspirating stomach fluid into my lungs from an ulcer that had developed from all the stress. In the past two years I have done well. I have had to just flick whatever is on my shoulder off, move on and try and remember what I set out to do...... find Monica.

Q. What kind of support have you gotten from missing person organizations?
A. I have gotten excellent support lately. With the help of some online support groups I found out what I can do to keep Monica's case alive and out there for everyone to see. Monica has been listed on several of the missing person organizations for at least a couple of years that I am aware of. As far as I can recall I have received one phone call since that time asking for an update. I am sure more have called and we have missed the call. Well, they will not have to call me anymore unless they so desire. It is my intention to keep the website up to date with information about the case daily.

Q. Finally, Donny, if your sister were able to read this, what would you like to say to her?
A. Monica if you are out there I want you to know how much we love you. We will never stop looking for you no matter what is thrown in our path to redirect us away from finding you. You are my baby sister and I miss you more than anything. I miss seeing you smile. I miss you telling your jokes. Whatever you have done could never take my love for you away. I know we did not always see eye to eye and you thought that I did not understand what you were going through, but I did. Monica I felt your pain. It hurt me to see you like that. You just made some bad choices. We all do that sometimes. It doesn’t make us bad people. It just shows that we are human. You are my flesh and blood. Lex and Lesleigh miss you more and more every day. You have been gone long enough. We all miss you so very dearly. If you need me to come and get you, just call me and I will. Come home Monica. Come home. I love you "pooter tooter". Donny "Pooter tooter was her nick name we called her from when she was very young."

To read more about Monica's disappearance you can visit her Child Seek Forum.

To see more pictures and information about Molly, please be sure to visit Monica's website.


For more information about missing children and adults, please visit Child Seek forums.

                 
Editor's Corner

One of the hardest parts of being editor of this newsletter is trying decide just who to feature. I would love to have the space and the time to make sure that ALL missing persons are given the same amount of time and space. But I don't. And all of the cases tug at my heart. I think about those that are left behind, with no answers. I worry about them at night, when trying to go to sleep. Sometimes I wonder how MY family would cope. Mostly, though, I wonder about the kids....the ones that are missing and the ones left behind.

This special edition is about the mothers who have kids left behind. This isn't how it is supposed to be. They are supposed to have their mothers with them...at home. I can only pray that this new year will help bring the moms' back to their children.

   
If you have a missing case that you would like to see featured in the Child Seek Network Newsletter or comments about the newsletter please email me at clk@childseeknetwork.com

If you, or someone you know, is in need of help, advice or support, please feel free to contact us by filling out the Child Seek Network Request for Help and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

The Child Seek Newsletter has our copyright. The information in the newsletter is provided to us by the families of missing loved ones. Please respect that and do not reprint, move, copy or alter it. If you would like to use any part of the Child Seek Network's Newsletter, please email the editor for link instructions....Thank you!!
 Please visit our Prayer Bags of Hope page.

Spotlighted Missing
This newsletter is dedicated to Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. It is because of them that the Child Seek Network was formed.


     


      FEATURED MISSING


More information about these cases can be found at The Child Seek Network


http://www.crimelibrary.com/graphics/photos/missing_children/emily_rimel.jpg
           EMILY RIMEL

Classification: Endangered missing
DOB: Mar 24, 1999
Missing: Dec 7, 2004
Age Now: 5
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 3'0" (91 cm)
Weight: 48 lbs (22 kg)
Missing From:
MADISON TOWNSHIP
OH
United States
Circumstances: The child was last seen at home around midnight on December 7, 2004. At approximately 8 a.m. she was discovered missing and was believed to be in the company of an adult male. This male has since been located but the child's whereabouts remain unknown. The child was last seen wearing an outfit similar to the one pictured above. The outfit consists of purple spandex pants and a light purple sweatshirt with a picture of a ballerina on the front and the word "Cutie" written underneath it.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Madison Township Police Department (Ohio) 1-614-836-9000 or



             



PLEASE READ BREAKING NEWS IN HER FORUM

      CHRISTINA TEDDER

Case Type: endangered missing
DOB: Nov. 09, 1992
Age Now: 12
Missing: Dec. 24, 2004
Sex: Female
Race: White
Height: 5'1" (150 cm)
Weight: 100 lbs (52 kg)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Missing From: Indianapolis
IN
United States
Case Number: NCMC1004817

Circumstances: Christina was last seen on the evening of December 24, 2004 when she left her home to walk to a nearby gas station. She never returned home and has not been seen or heard from since. Christina was last seen wearing a pink coat with a hood, blue jeans, black Nike sneakers, and pink gloves. Her nickname is Chrissy .

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or Marion County Sheriff's Office (Indiana) 1-317-327-3811


         



Non Family Abduction


             




          MARLA RICARD

Case Type: Non Family Abduction DOB: Jul 17, 1990
Missing: Dec 12, 2004
Age Now: 14
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Lt. Brown
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
Weight: 120 lbs (54 kg)
Missing City: Springfield
Missing State : OR
Missing Country: United States
Case Number: NCMC997496

Circumstances: Marla was abducted by Corey Joseph Cooksey. A felony warrant was issued for the abductor on December 13, 2004. They may be traveling in a white 1984 Mazda RX7 with Oregon license plates YMR753. They may have traveled out of the state. Marla has shoulder length curly hair and her ears are pierced. Marla was last seen wearing blue jeans, Birkenstock sandals, and a T-shirt.


        COREY COOKSEY
Abductor
DOB: Oct 4, 1984
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
Weight: 220 lbs (100 kg)
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST) or the Lane County Sheriff's Office (Oregon) 1-541-682-4150





Words from the Silent Victim

What right did you have to walk into my life?

What right did you have to take my faith and run?

What right did you have to take me away from my home?

Did you not stop to think I was happy?

I looked at you with trust,

A friend we called you,

You walked into the night and took me,

What was it you said when you left?

God has a place for people like you,

Someone who pretends to care,

God has a place for sinners,

And it's not in Heaven where the angels cry.

You acted like you were a good friend,

Your acting turned into a lie.

So go away from my anger,

Make sure you don't pass my door,

For what you did will haunt you.

Today and forever more.

Written by
Laurie Knowlton 12/22/04




  
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