Post by refbasics on Mar 2, 2010 17:36:22 GMT -6
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2076601,Missing-teen-Waubonsie_SCN030110.article#
Missing teen once attended Waubonsie
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March 2, 2010
By SUSAN FRICK CARLMAN scarlman@stmedianetwork.com
Scott Zagurksi got the call from his best friend early Friday morning.
It was Brent King, calling from southern California to let Zagurski know that King's 17-year-old daughter Chelsea was missing.
»
"I was on the 12 o'clock flight," Zagurski said.
He remained with the King family Monday, when search teams were spending a fourth day scouring rugged terrain in San Diego for the former Naperville teen, who vanished after she went out for a run Thursday night.
Search crews Tuesday morning resumed their search for Chelsea King, 17, who spent her freshman year at Waubonsie Valley High School in 2006-07 before her family relocated to the California coast.
The girl's father, Brent King, told a morning television news show Tuesday that he his holding out hope that she will be found alive.
The teen, a member of her school's cross country team, parked her car Thursday afternoon at the sprawling Rancho Bernardo Community Park before heading onto the trails. When she was late coming home, her parents notified the authorities.
Police detained a registered sex offender Sunday in connection with the disappearance, but the search did not let up.
"There are law enforcement and volunteer searches going on today," media liaison Sara Fraunces said Monday morning, a day after more than 1,400 volunteers fanned out in 45 teams to comb the park's trails, streams and the winding coastline of nearby Lake Hodges. A similar number of searchers also looked for the missing teen on Saturday.
Tight-lipped suspect
San Diego County sheriff's deputies arrested John Albert Gardner III, 30, outside a local restaurant Sunday afternoon. A department spokesman said numerous pieces of physical evidence led to the arrest of Gardner, who was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14, according to the California attorney general's office.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that police also suspect Gardner was involved in a thwarted Dec. 27 attack on another female jogger in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, and in the disappearance of 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido, who has been missing for more than a year.
Gardner remained in custody without bail Monday, although no charges had yet been filed. Steve Walker, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said a decision about charging Gardner would be made by Wednesday.
Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday with Brent King and his wife Kelly, Sheriff William Gore said Gardner's interrogation had not been fruitful.
"We questioned Mr. Gardner into the evening, and so far we still don't know where Chelsea is," Gore said. "We're confident that we have the right man in custody. Now we've just got to find Chelsea."
Chelsea's parents remained nonetheless upbeat that the arrest will lead to a break in the case.
"We now have someone who can tell us where she is," Kelly King, Chelsea's mother, said in a telephone interview Monday morning. "It's just a matter of time."
Awesome outpouring
Kelly King said she and her family, who lived in Naperville for 10 years, have been amazed at the response to Chelsea's disappearance. The love, support and prayers offered by strangers has brought them strength, she said.
"They'll come up to us and say, 'We feel as if Chelsea is our daughter as well,'" said Kelly King, who also expressed confidence in the huge network of law enforcement people working day and night on the case.
Zagurski agreed that the sustained energy of the search is encouraging.
"It's still a tremendous effort. We've got a lot of volunteers. We could use a lot more," he said, speaking on the phone from the volunteer center.
The family is remaining positive about finding the teen, exhibiting "incredible strength and resilience," said Zagurski, who met the Kings when his son and Chelsea's brother Tyler were kindergartners at May Watts Elementary School. He said he flew his son out to be with Tyler on Saturday morning.
Some in Naperville also were focused on the mystery Sunday. A prayer vigil drew about 200 participants to St. Thomas the Apostle Church, near the King family's old neighborhood in the northwest part of Naperville.
Although the Kings didn't attend St. Thomas while they lived locally, Pastor Joel Fortier said friends and neighbors contacted him asking for a place to gather and pray for Chelsea's safe return.
"Apparently it was very helpful. I got feedback from people who were there, and they said that it allowed them to release some of their pent-up feelings, to get in touch with their emotions," Fortier said.
Smart, sweet, studious
At Waubonsie, the teen is remembered as an inspiration.
"What I remember of Chelsea was a vivacious, sweet young lady," said Anna Ahonen, secretary to Associate Principal Rudy Keller. "We were all real sad when she said that she was moving."
Ahonen sent a mass e-mail to the school's teachers and social workers when she heard about King's disappearance."I wanted them to have a heads-up, just in case anyone needed anything," she said.
The same sort of consideration is typical of Chelsea, according to her mother.
"I can tell you that Chelsea's one of the most passionate, caring and energetic people that you'll ever meet. She's all about making the world a better place," Kelly King said, her voice breaking slightly. "She lights up our world every day, and when she's not here, it's a dark day."
Zagurski echoed the glowing comments about the missing teen. He related that Chelsea, now a straight-A senior at Poway High School, began her college search with a list of 90 schools before winnowing the possibilities down to 11.
"Chelsea's the all-American girl. She's a great kid. She's a great student, plays the French horn in the symphony," Zagurski said. "She's the kind of kid who her dad would say, 'Gee, I wish you would stop being so serious, and go out and have fun.'"
The effort to find the young woman won't let up until she's been found, her mom said.
"We are still looking for Chelsea," she said. "That focus has not changed direction or speed in any way whatsoever. We're going to find her and we're going to bring her home — whatever it takes, wherever she is, anywhere around the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Missing teen once attended Waubonsie
Comments
March 2, 2010
By SUSAN FRICK CARLMAN scarlman@stmedianetwork.com
Scott Zagurksi got the call from his best friend early Friday morning.
It was Brent King, calling from southern California to let Zagurski know that King's 17-year-old daughter Chelsea was missing.
»
"I was on the 12 o'clock flight," Zagurski said.
He remained with the King family Monday, when search teams were spending a fourth day scouring rugged terrain in San Diego for the former Naperville teen, who vanished after she went out for a run Thursday night.
Search crews Tuesday morning resumed their search for Chelsea King, 17, who spent her freshman year at Waubonsie Valley High School in 2006-07 before her family relocated to the California coast.
The girl's father, Brent King, told a morning television news show Tuesday that he his holding out hope that she will be found alive.
The teen, a member of her school's cross country team, parked her car Thursday afternoon at the sprawling Rancho Bernardo Community Park before heading onto the trails. When she was late coming home, her parents notified the authorities.
Police detained a registered sex offender Sunday in connection with the disappearance, but the search did not let up.
"There are law enforcement and volunteer searches going on today," media liaison Sara Fraunces said Monday morning, a day after more than 1,400 volunteers fanned out in 45 teams to comb the park's trails, streams and the winding coastline of nearby Lake Hodges. A similar number of searchers also looked for the missing teen on Saturday.
Tight-lipped suspect
San Diego County sheriff's deputies arrested John Albert Gardner III, 30, outside a local restaurant Sunday afternoon. A department spokesman said numerous pieces of physical evidence led to the arrest of Gardner, who was previously convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14, according to the California attorney general's office.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that police also suspect Gardner was involved in a thwarted Dec. 27 attack on another female jogger in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, and in the disappearance of 14-year-old Amber Dubois of Escondido, who has been missing for more than a year.
Gardner remained in custody without bail Monday, although no charges had yet been filed. Steve Walker, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said a decision about charging Gardner would be made by Wednesday.
Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday with Brent King and his wife Kelly, Sheriff William Gore said Gardner's interrogation had not been fruitful.
"We questioned Mr. Gardner into the evening, and so far we still don't know where Chelsea is," Gore said. "We're confident that we have the right man in custody. Now we've just got to find Chelsea."
Chelsea's parents remained nonetheless upbeat that the arrest will lead to a break in the case.
"We now have someone who can tell us where she is," Kelly King, Chelsea's mother, said in a telephone interview Monday morning. "It's just a matter of time."
Awesome outpouring
Kelly King said she and her family, who lived in Naperville for 10 years, have been amazed at the response to Chelsea's disappearance. The love, support and prayers offered by strangers has brought them strength, she said.
"They'll come up to us and say, 'We feel as if Chelsea is our daughter as well,'" said Kelly King, who also expressed confidence in the huge network of law enforcement people working day and night on the case.
Zagurski agreed that the sustained energy of the search is encouraging.
"It's still a tremendous effort. We've got a lot of volunteers. We could use a lot more," he said, speaking on the phone from the volunteer center.
The family is remaining positive about finding the teen, exhibiting "incredible strength and resilience," said Zagurski, who met the Kings when his son and Chelsea's brother Tyler were kindergartners at May Watts Elementary School. He said he flew his son out to be with Tyler on Saturday morning.
Some in Naperville also were focused on the mystery Sunday. A prayer vigil drew about 200 participants to St. Thomas the Apostle Church, near the King family's old neighborhood in the northwest part of Naperville.
Although the Kings didn't attend St. Thomas while they lived locally, Pastor Joel Fortier said friends and neighbors contacted him asking for a place to gather and pray for Chelsea's safe return.
"Apparently it was very helpful. I got feedback from people who were there, and they said that it allowed them to release some of their pent-up feelings, to get in touch with their emotions," Fortier said.
Smart, sweet, studious
At Waubonsie, the teen is remembered as an inspiration.
"What I remember of Chelsea was a vivacious, sweet young lady," said Anna Ahonen, secretary to Associate Principal Rudy Keller. "We were all real sad when she said that she was moving."
Ahonen sent a mass e-mail to the school's teachers and social workers when she heard about King's disappearance."I wanted them to have a heads-up, just in case anyone needed anything," she said.
The same sort of consideration is typical of Chelsea, according to her mother.
"I can tell you that Chelsea's one of the most passionate, caring and energetic people that you'll ever meet. She's all about making the world a better place," Kelly King said, her voice breaking slightly. "She lights up our world every day, and when she's not here, it's a dark day."
Zagurski echoed the glowing comments about the missing teen. He related that Chelsea, now a straight-A senior at Poway High School, began her college search with a list of 90 schools before winnowing the possibilities down to 11.
"Chelsea's the all-American girl. She's a great kid. She's a great student, plays the French horn in the symphony," Zagurski said. "She's the kind of kid who her dad would say, 'Gee, I wish you would stop being so serious, and go out and have fun.'"
The effort to find the young woman won't let up until she's been found, her mom said.
"We are still looking for Chelsea," she said. "That focus has not changed direction or speed in any way whatsoever. We're going to find her and we're going to bring her home — whatever it takes, wherever she is, anywhere around the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
