Without A Trace

On October 8, 2009, The Jamison Family (Bobby, Sherilynn, and their 6 year-old daughter Madyson), piled into their pickup truck, and backed out of their driveway…family and friends never heard from them again.

As we near closer and closer to the 9th year since the family’s remains were unearthed: All the more, a cloud of suspicion ominously lingers overhead, adding no more evidence to conclude this family’s mystery once and for all: Without a “finish line” anywhere in sight, we can’t help but beg to answer the question: “Where is the ‘smoking gun’ that we desperately need to uncover, in order to FINALLY bring Bobby, Sherilynn, and Madyson Jamison the justice that is already long overdue?” Sadly, it has been 9 years since the family’s rains had been discovered. Intriguingly, the authorities are still no-closer, today with solving this crime, than they were, in 2009.

OCTOBER 8, 2009:

Bobby, Sherilynn, and their 6 year-old daughter (Madyson), took a drive with Madyson’s beloved dog tagging along. The family travelled 30 miles away from their home in Eufaula, Oklahoma, and ended up stopping in Red Oak, Oklahoma. The series of events, that later transpired, are just as unexplainable as “Area 54.”

Three days after the family went missing, their truck was found. Inside, the police recovered: $32,000 in cash, Bobby & Sherilynn’s cell phones, two wallets, and Madyson’s dog – which was on the brink of dying from dehydration. According to members of the family, it wasn’t unsual for the Jamison’s to have a large amount of cash on them; However, it was also reported, that thousands more dollars should have been discovered. Even though it was normal for Bobby and Sherilynn to carry around that much cash, why was the dog, Madyson’s most treasured possession, left abandoned?

1 pic – money

2 pic – truck

WHO WERE THEY MEETING?

Did Bobby and Sherilynn plan on meeting a certain person(s), with acres to sell? How would they know to stop at that specific location, if there wasn’t anyone guiding them? Perhaps, they stumbled upon, “the wrong place, at the wrong time”? Maybe this case will fall on deaf ears, as it slips through the cracks, while the file collects dust on a shelf? Although, there is ONE bizarre clue, that was left behind – a picture.

1 pic – Madyson in distress?

UNDER DURESS, OR DEFIANCE?

When I first saw the picture of Madyson, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Some would argue that the 6 year-old is just irritable, and refuses to let one of her parents take a picture of her. I beg to differ. To me, she looks vulnerable, and scared. First of all, her hair is disheveled, and honestly, she looks like she was already crying, before the picture was even taken. Also, her outfit doesn’t seem like it fits her properly. Were the Jamison’s rushed out of the house, suddenly? Did someone else dress her? In addition to my other unanswered questions, I can’t help but wonder: ” If the cell phones were left in the truck, how were they able to obtain this photo?”

CULPRIT CAUGHT ON CAMERA?

Surveillance pic 1

Surveillance pic 2

Surveillance pic 3

Is there 2 different men, or did Bobby change his shirt?

Nebraska

Source: Nebraska

Nebraska

“I saw her standin’ on her front lawn, just twirlin’ her baton. Me and her went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people died.”

Even though I’m a Jersey Girl, and I grew up with an uncle who was EXTREMELY obsessed with Bruce Springsteen, I always thought liking his music would be rather cliché of me. Even though he may be “THE BOSS,” I can only listen to a few of his songs. Two years ago, I was begged into submission, to listen to “Nebraska.” At first, I thought the song was slightly melancholy, and recorded too dramatically. Springsteen barely annunciates in the song, and quite frankly, I was only listening to patronize a close family member of mine – I had pure “tunnel hearing,” right after the first sentence.

Fast forward to the present: The song came on Pandora a few weeks ago, and I chuckled for obvious reasons – I thought to myself, “Oh what the hell? Uncle David would be SO proud of me…ok, I’ll give it a listen.” As soon as “Nebraska” ended, I became intrigued. I thought to myself, “Why in the world was Bruce Springsteen so fascinated with Nebraska? What a traitor (lol)!” I GOOGLED the reason behind the song, and boy was I dumbfounded!

How many people do you know with the last name “Smith”? Or is the last name “Williams” more common to you, instead? I know we could name a famous “Jones.” I’m certain people in Tokyo could name at least one person from the “Kardashian” crew by now. Throughout the years, I have heard the last name “Starkweather” slip through my ears, like a swift Summer breeze, blowing through the opened window. It was a name I was so familiar with, but I never paid enough attention to why that name was so popular. Apparently, Jersey boy Bruce Springsteen was so enthralled with the name, he made “Nebraska” after the notorious spree killer…Charles Raymond Starkweather.

“They wanted to know why I did what I did. Well sir, I guess there’s just a meanness in this world.”

Charles Starkweather may have been born to parents who weren’t all that wealthy, but he seemingly had a normal childhood. When he got older, he was bullied because he had a speech impediment. Even though he was delayed because of this learning disability, he did excellent in gym class. After a while, he became physically fit, and then he’d let his aggression out on those who had once bullied him. When Starkweather turned 18, his father kicked him out of the family home. Shortly after, he became a sanitation engineer…and then he started dating Caril Ann Fugate. In the midst of starting their relationship, Starkweather started to self loathe, and then he became bitter. Thinking he was just as worthless as the trash he dumped every day, he formed a new philosophy on life – “Dead people are all on the same level.”

Caril Ann Fugate was a quiet 14 year old who lived with her mother, her stepfather, and her 2 year old half sister, Betty Jean. Her parents were disapproving of her relationship with Starkweather, but she rebelled and continued dating him, nevertheless. Eventually, the couple decided to run away together – but not before murdering Fugate’s entire family first. Caril Ann claims her innocence, saying Starkweather kidnapped her, and threatened to kill her family if she did not stay with him. IS THAT SO?!

Fugate told the police that she was NOT a willing participant, and that she had no clue her family was murdered until after the two were apprehended. Hmm…so she stayed hidden in her family home with Starkweather, for 6 days after the murders, but she was oblivious to them being dead that whole time? Where the hell was everyone for those 6 days then?! The pair fled the home when the grandmother called the cops out there to investigate suspicious circumstances. Fugate and Starkweather ended up at the farmhouse of a Starkweather family friend, 70 year old August Meyer. It is still unknown why Starkweather murdered Meyer, but he shot him point-blank in the head, and then he strangled his dog. Continuing on their killing spree, they came across two local teenagers, who had stopped to give them a ride after the getaway vehicle got stuck in the mud. Starkweather admits to killing 14 year old Robert Jensen, but he put the blame on Fugate, swearing she was the one who shot and killed Robert’s friend, Carol King. Fugate swears Starkweather murdered King out of frustration, because he wasnt able to rape her. Is that what it was though? Perhaps Fugate got jealous, so SHE murdered King out of frustration? In an interview, Starkweather told the officer “I never saw someone so trigger happy in my whole entire life,” when discussing Fugate’s involvement with the killing spree.

Let’s go back to Fugate’s family members…somewhere along the line, it supposedly happened THIS way: Starkweather went to the residence, and since Fugate was not home, they sent him away. I guess that is what made him amgry? He barrelled through the home, and murdered Caril Ann’s mother, half sister, and her stepfather. Starkweather killed her parent’s with a shotgun, and then he stabbed and strangled 2 year old Betty Jean? For me, I don’t buy that nonsense! Why would he murder the parents in such a meaningless, rapid fashion, but then murder an innocent baby in such a personal manner? There goes Fugate’s jealousy again…angered with her parents not understanding her, because obviously they were never teenagers, she got sick of the baby getting all of the attention. I firmly believe Caril Ann Fugate DID murder some of the victim’s on their murderous rampage, and I think she enjoyed killing them too – especially her baby sister.

“I can’t say I’m sorry for the things that we done; At least for a little while, sir, me and her, we had us some fun.”

Starkweather was sentenced to death for the murder of Robert Jensen, the only victim he stood trial for. Not once had he claimed any innocence, and he felt that he AND Fugate deserved death for the crimes they had committed. On June 25, 1959, Charles Starkweather was executed in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was buried in the Wyuka Cemetery, along with 5 of his victims.

“Sheriff, when the man pulls that switch, sir, you make sure my baby is sittin’ right there on my lap.”

Caril Ann Fugate was given a life sentence, in a prison for all women. On November 21, 1958, she was parolled, after just 17 and a half years of imprisonment in York, Nebraska. Fugate changed her name, became a janitor, and settled down in Michigan. In 2007, she married Frederick Clair, and was residing in Stryker Ohio. On August 5, 2013, Fugate was seriously injured in a fatal car accident, that claimed the life of her husband.

• Jessica Wedul-Meier

Do The Sushi Roll! (Now, Dip Baby, Dip)

Admit it: After a long day of diaper changes, scrubbing crayon off the walls, mopping bathroom floors (because your 8 year old forgot to put the seat up, AGAIN), and nipping on the cooking wine when you’re making pasta for dinner (AGAIN), you scroll through Pinterest. There, you find relatable quotes, tips on how to knit a baby bottle out of pipe cleaners and plastic. While we’re confessing, as if we’re 7th grade students in CCD class all over again, admit THIS: While we would LOVE to be that “extra mom” who goes above and beyond, to make sure the kids don’t end up being dysfunctional as us, we just can’t! We may get on our children’s asses for being lazy, but let’s face it, adults are much more lazy! Are we so zombified, we turn to screenshots for our next meal, rather than a Betty Crocker cook book? Well…hell, yes! Yes, we are! I Am the queen hoarder of screenshots. I have to delete apps, to take more pics, and I have to delete pics, to add more apps! Why did we ever want to grow up?! Rest assured, I have the healthiest, most innovative snack recipe below.

For all of those sleepless nights, ruined onesies due to projectile spitup, discarded magic erasers, lack of showers, and countless amounts of laundry and dish soap gone down the drain (literally), we also have to admit: None of it is in vain. Sure, our faces light up as bright as our Christmas trees when we get underwear and socks every year, where as, our children blow up the dancing Santa in the front yard, because they got a notepad instead of an IPAD. Never the less, it IS exciting to bond with the tiny humans we created. We don’t have to be Martha Stewart, Julia Child, or Rachael Ray, in order to create some magic in the kitchen! Here are the easy steps, to my favorite snack:

Synthetic Sushi Rolls

1) Cut 3 bananas into 3’s

2) Peel off the crust of a slice of bread, then flatten the bread. 

3) Spread peanut butter on the bread, then set the banana (one set of 3) upright, on top of the peanut buttered bread 

4) Start rolling the banana in the bread, forming it into a cylinder shape

5) Sprinkle the “roll” with cinnamon sugar (our personal favorite), sprinkles, flavored decorative sugar, or even put peanut butter on the outside and dip it in rice crispies! 

6) Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoyed my favorite snack recipe, and I hope you had fun creating a mess…I mean, MAGIC in the kitchen, with your little terrors…I mean, TYKES!

• Jessica Wedul-Osborn

Have You Seen Me?

A couple of months ago, I was sitting in the waiting area of a local clinic, waiting to get a TB shot for work. As I sat anxiously, I couldn’t focus on my husband’s bantering, as he tried keeping my mind at ease. Even though he was speaking in full sentences clearly, his words were muffled – as if he was trying to converse with me, as we both swam under water; Even eavesdropping on fellow patients didn’t tickle my fancy, like it usually did in the past. In order to keep my mind off of my immense fear of needles, I took to Google, thinking maybe I’ll calm down if my eyes AND hands can stay idle at once. In the “related images” section, I came across a picture of Etan Patz. 

On October 9, 1972, Etan Patz was born, to Julie and Stan Patz. On May 25, 1979, Etan left his Manhattan home, at the age of 6, and he vanished into thin air. 

Even though The Patz Family lived moments away from Etan’s school bus stop, they refused to let him walk there alone – despite his many efforts. Etan begged relentlessly, and eventually, Julie and Stan succumbed to their son’s angelic face and his elation for wanting to experience the world “like a big boy.” Considering he was walked to the bus stop every single day, they thought, “What’s the harm?” They knew the neighborhood, and nothing about their surroundings raised red flags. After all, they lived in a friendly area, and his bus stop was only two blocks away from their SoHo apartment. 

Even though Etan’s disappearance was widespread in the media, ultimately making him the first missing child to be featured on a milk carton, I never heard of him. In fact, I became so plagued by the disappearance, the minute I saw his “missing child” flyer on Google. It started out as a joke, considering he bizarrely resembles my husband, when he was a child, but then it turned into something more – Why was I so intrigued by a disappearance, that happened in the late-70’s? 

Perhaps, that question will be something I’ll ask myself often. Despite my own lack of response, for a meaningless question, in a much bigger picture, I HAD to find out more – I HAD to read into the most agonizing, grueling question: “What happened to Etan Patz?”

I had high hopes, when I typed “Etan Patz” in my Google search engine. With all of the macabre, repulsive things in the news this year, I silently prayed Etan was found safe and sound. I tightly closed my eyes, and I pressed “enter.” Hoping I’d get a joyous response, I felt a rush of crippling pain sweep right through me, when I read that a man confessed to murdering Etan, after he sexually molested him. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, IT DID. I continued reading, as tears filled my eyes: “Pedro Hernandez faces life in prison, after admitting he murdered Etan Patz, and threw his body in the trash.”

My heart sank, and a large lump formed in my throat. This monster carried a child’s lifeless body into a back alley and put it in the dumpster?! I couldn’t believe what I was reading! 

In 1979, Pedro Hernandez worked at a little store, on the same street of the Patz’s apartment. Pedro admitted he watched Etan every morning, as he walked to the bus stop. Pedro was a young teenager at the time, but it wasn’t until years later, when he confessed to murdering Etan. In his confession, Pedro claims he “got scared after he molested the kid.” Since he didn’t want Etan to tell his parents what Pedro had done, he was convinced he had to murder him, because he “didn’t want the secret to get out.” 

Despite a confession from Rodriguez, and an April 2017 conviction, there wasn’t any physical evidence tying him to Etan’s death. A search was conducted in the store’s basement, where he claims the murder ensued, but nothing was recovered. Many people confess to crimes they did not commit – could Pedro Rodriguez be one of them? 

When Etan first disappeared, authorities had another PRIME suspect – José Antonio Ramos. José was a friend of one of Etan’s babysitters. This babysitter had walked Etan to his bus stop a few times, and oddly, Ramos had a written map of the school bus route. Although Ramos claimed he had taken Etan back to his house to rape him, he swears he put him on a subway after the fact. Julie and Stan Patz won a civil suit against Ramos, and they were awarded 2 million dollars. Regardless of these admissions, Julie and Stan apparently have been convinced Rodriguez murdered their son, since Rodriguez confessed in 2012. Why haven’t they followed up on Ramos’ claims? 

What if Etan Patz is still alive? Entertaining the thought of Ramos being honest, what if he actually did put him on a subway? What if the babysitter and Ramos staged the kidnapping? Isn’t it possible that Ramos and the un-named babysitter were selling Etan, which would ultimately lead him having to get on a subway for a potential buyer? Just because Etan was DECLARED legally dead in 2001, that does not mean he actually is. 

Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, since the joyous outcome I hoped for, ended up becoming a devastating heartbreak. It is quite possible that I disregarded Rodriguez’s confession, because my incessant jokes about my husband being Etan, actually turned into a yearning – that maybe, JUST MAYBE, my 29 year old husband is actually the lost little boy from the milk carton in 1979. Maybe I’m just crazy for thinking Etan is alive, in order to answer the million dollar question that started it all: “Have you seen me?”

My husband Jim when he was younger:

The resemblance is uncanny! 

– Jessica Wedul-Osborn

For The Parents Who Want To Give Up

Of course, I have to open this blog, with a quote from A Cinderella Story: “Don’t let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.”

What does that quote mean to you? Well, that depends on if you’re a “glass half-empty”, or a “glass half-full” person. Oh, wait…considering this is my blog, I guess you’re all waiting for my opinion? Ok, crap. I forgot about that “rule of thumb.” Then again, what if I didn’t “chime in”? Better yet, what if I only “chime in” with the most popular response, just to be a part of “The In-Crowd”? Whatever opinion I go on a tangent about, would you believe me anyway? I mean, it IS posted on the internet, so it MUST be true.

I’ll give you a sneak peek into my most private thoughts, then YOU can decide what type of person I Am – “glass half-empty”, or “glass half-full.”

I do hope a good majority of you can relate;  I’ll tell you that much. 

In the Summer of 2016, something absolutely crazy happened, that made me feel quite CONVINCED I needed my own reality show. Considering I never had a sex tape of Ray J and me, I unfortunately, am not deemed worthy of one quite yet; instead, I’ll opt for blog-writing, and maybe my life can actually impact others in a more suitable way – hopefully a way that expands farther than North West…

I’m over the Kardashians, if you haven’t caught on by now. 

I’ll do my best to condense, because I have Real Housewives who need to bring me up to speed, on Netflix.

As I “scarf down” the only 2 pieces of chocolate I have to my name, since I started a cliché diet, for a cliché New Year’s resolution. 

Once upon a time, on a humid, breeze-so-chilly-it-made-my-nipples-hard, kind of night…oops, I forgot I wasn’t writing a screenplay for Kim Kardashian and Ray J. ANYWAY…

My husband and I went to a local Big Lots (mainly, because…let’s face it – why wouldn’t we?! Prices are amaze balls there!), and we found a black trash bag in the parking lot of the plaza. Our curiosity got the better of us, so we threw it into the back of our Ford Explorer.

I know, I know: “curiosity killed the cat.” But after all, didn’t satisfaction bring it back? 

We drove back to my mom’s apartment to pick up our 2 children, and we decided to bring in the black trash bag. Inside, we found musty, dingy, “old lady clothes.” Yes, they were so old, MY MOM even thought she was too young to wear them! All the way at the bottom, I found a satchel, and inside the satchel was gawdy-ass jewelry. Considering my 47382 year old mom was too young for the stuff, of course I’d think so too! Jim ALMOST held onto the one bracelet, but he knew a lot of other people wouldn’t understand how well it matched his eyes.

It’s ok, babe – I noticed how full it made your eyelashes look,  and of course, I noticed how it brought that glimmer of green out of your, otherwise-boring-brown iris’! 

The infamous black trash bag, opened a huge, nasty can of worms! Before we knew it, Au Diamond and Gold Buyers were calling the cops on us, claiming we sold them stolen jewelry! I was booked and processed by a “Mayberry” detective, who SWORE we “knocked off” the old man down the street!

Am I the only one singing John Fogerty to themselves right now? Phew! You had me worried for a second there – I was starting to think that I had to “jump and run again…” 

As I was crying in the processing room, my daughter was festering in her own pee, inside of their “playroom.” No, I was not allowed to take her home to change her, BEFORE I WAS PROCESSED AND BOOKED. I cried to the detective, pleading with him to not release the bullshit into the media. He assured me that the story would NOT be released, and he even mustered up some fake-ass, kind words: “Look, I never said you were a bad person. I don’t think you are a bad person;  I’m just doing my job.”

On a scale of,  Kate Middleton-Betty White, how super hot was I though?! I rocked that shit, I know. 

Almost a month after the incident, our story was released to the press. All of Cape May County saw it? Haha! No, no…try, from Cape May County-New York! Needless to say, those who know me best, know I fight hard for what I want. I earned myself a nice, full grant to a certain course, in the medical field. Guess what? They saw my face in the paper, and they pulled out of their sponsorship!

I guess not everyone thinks Kate Middleton is as hot as I think she is… 

For months, we’ve been waiting around for a grand jury’s response: whether we get indicted, or all charges get dropped. Only a select few sympathize with us. On the NJSP page, we’re labeled as “junkies”, and “bums.” On one of the article’s pages, a commentator suggest we “never reproduce.”

Too late for that, buddy! We have Kate Middleton’s and Betty White’s running rampant all over this county! 

Even though we’re being evicted by my father in law, who likes to degrade his son at 3 in the morning, for doing “scumbag things seen all over the A.C. Press”, we’re still kicking and screaming. Even though my son’s school called DYFS on us more times in a week, than I changed my underwear, it didn’t break us. Stresses may be high, but we have each other. Even though we don’t have EVERYONE in our corner, we still have those who have proven their love and devotion toward us, over and over again.

With my severe claustrophobia, it’s safest not to have EVERYONE in one corner with me anyway…

Even though life can be a climb, the view is great.

Cue Miley Cyrus…”there’s always gonna be another mountain. I’m always gonna wanna make it move…”

In all seriousness, life is one hell of a roller coaster ride. But how fun would it be without having someone sitting next to you, getting their flying drool all over your face?

Even though certain situations knock you down, that does not mean you go down without a fight. Remember the Gettysburg Address? president Lincoln had so much faith in our fellow Americans – fellow Americans even had faith in all that we stood for, in all that was sacred. Soldiers fought on a battlefield, stained in their brother’s blood, and they KNEW they might not have lived to see the next day. But you know what? They gave it their all, and some gave all they had. If they’re willing to put their own necks on the line for each other, why can’t you do the same for yourself? If you have nothing to lose, what have you really gained? Whether you have children, a child, spouse, 6 best friends, or one, you have SOMETHING worth trying for. Honestly, everyone has to go to war on a battlefield, every single day – constantly waging a war inside of their head. But, you can’t just give up!

Is that what a dinosaur would do?! 

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. If you don’t like it, tough! We’ve all been put on a planet, that we didn’t ask to be put on. Life really is a bittersweet symphony, but we all have one person…one person who runs to the door to greet you, in their messy “mom bun”, wrapping their shaky arms around our neck to give you a bear hug – shaky arms that are just as brittle as yours, from scrubbing dishes, the grass stains out of the soccer uniform, and picking up and putting down a clingy, teething toddler. We are all equal, and we all have someone to fight for, and not only do we fight FOR them, we fight WITH them.

THAT is why we never surrender on that battlefield. THAT is what we call HOME. 

Underage Drinking — michaeldeleonblog

“During the last 30 days, 26.4% of underage persons (aged 12-20) used alcohol. Binge drinking among the same age group was 17.4%. Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today’s teenagers.” – SAMHSA & NIDA “Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug, among youth in the U.S.” – CDC Bringing a child into this […]

via Underage Drinking — michaeldeleonblog

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