I just finished reading the book The Missing Girls by Linda O’Neal, Phillip Tennyson and Rick Watson. 

It is a very very sad story about Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis who died way too young!!! Ashley Pond was only twelve years old when she vanished from a school bus stop in town south of Portland, Oregon. Police began a frantic search, then another tragedy was just about to take place.

Miranda Gaddis was Ashley’s best friend. Just two months after Ashley’s disappearance, Miranda was on her way to school when she too was abducted.

Linda O’Neal was instrumental and heroic lady who brought the killer to justice!!!!! She is a private investigator intimately involved in this shocking case.

Here the community added lots of stuffed animals and notes to their memorial fence on the property where they died. During the 2 year anniversary of their deaths, a service was held and Miranda’s older sister said, “You Can;t change the past, no matter what you do. But you can take advantage of the present and plan for your future”.

Lori Pond said “What if? Life originates with God. Even our personal lives are not our own. Life has nothing to do with fairness, and its values or justification can not be measured by longevity It is not sad to die young, it is sad to die and never to have lived: to have been alive and never to have seen anything or known God”

Those statements touched my heart! It is so very sad when any young person dies too soon and doesn’t get to live their lives until they old and gray! It is so sad when it happens to anyone anywhere but somehow it really tugs more at your heart strings when it happens in your small city or neighborhood. It hits so close to home and socks you in the eyes!!

If you get the chance, read their story!

Hugz Blondie and Boo Bear