Chapter 46 -Nowhere Search
The documentary screened on prime time Monday night, at the end of May for an hour with the two follow up episodes running on successive nights. It was called ‘Nowhere Search.’ It was the highest rating show of the year. At the same time they reran the “Lost Ones Appeal” and, until after midnight on the third night, the phones rang off the hooks. By the end of the last night over half a million dollars had been pledged and over the next week with postal, internet and phone donations they comfortably passed a full million dollars.
The day after the TV documentary finished the book “Lost Girls – Nowhere Search” was launched. It had five main parts, one for each of the girls, then, at the end, a small part titled Josie. Each part told a story of a girl’s life up until the time she disappeared. After that, where they could, they had used Mark’s diary to fill in blanks. It was story of four dead girls and two where nobody knew. It was generally agreed that Elin, Amanda, Isabelle and Josie were now all deceased.
In the week after the program screened hundreds of calls came in which needed to be investigated. The police and missing persons’ organisations worked their way through them, successfully re-uniting three families with their long lost children, so that was something good.
But of the fate of these four presumed dead girls and of the two still listed as missing nothing new came.
Anne felt, at her core that Susan and Cathy were probably both dead, yet she refused to let her mind go there. Something beyond explanation was at work here. It sustained an unending hope in her for one of them to walk through the door. But she was utterly exhausted with the looking.
In the end she realised that she had done all she could, her own search was now concluded and she must get on with her own life. She knew that, if Susan was here, she would have told her to do exactly that too, she would not want yet another life damaged through her.
So she and David set a date and agreed that they would go ahead and get married as soon as the final memorial day has passed. With that she thought she could close the book on her “Nowhere Search”.
Lost Girl Diary Page 50