The revelation that missing California girl, Sandra Cantu, was recently found dead has sparked my memory from not all that long ago when Katie Collman was also found murdered. Katie was a mere 10 years old when she went missing; Sandra was only 8. I had hopes that the search for the small girl from California would have a different outcome, and was saddened when I heard the news of her fate.
Maybe I just watch too much CNN — but it seems that right now there’s a rush on children disappearing — some being found dead within a few weeks, and some simply not being found at all. Florida’s Caylee Anthony’s remains were found, and every clue seemingly points back to her Mom, Casey, as the one ultimately responsible for her demise; Haleigh Cummins is still missing, and who knows what’s going with that family; there was news of a small, special needs boy, Adji Desir, also from Florida, disappearing from his yard, but his disappearance is no longer pulling headlines… I could go on and on…
Every single time that news headlines are about a child disappearance, I’m pulled back to 2005 when the burg’s own Katie Collman didn’t make it back home from the Dollar Store. Every time that I hear of an Amber Alert, I think of the photo circulated to help find Katie — you know, the school photo where she flashes a beautiful, trusting smile. Almost as quickly, I then think about the photo of Anthony Stockleman, her murderer. Not the photo from the front lawn of the Brownstown Courthouse, but instead the one that circulated over the Internet.
Why this photo? Because to me, his eyes look dead — void of any hope, love or faith. That’s the least that he (and others like him) deserve.