Excellent as usual, Larkin. Thanks.
Gee.
No one has anything to say?
Well, except Steve, I mean. 
Larkin - you are a powerful yet personable writer - if that makes sense. Thank you for giving such life to those we might not know of otherwise.
You also remind me of how messed up our law enforcement/ rules / laws etc... can be. And you made a sadly accurate point. If Heather had been top of her class, of a certain neighborhood, anything that made her stand out, her vanishing might have been treated differently and she might have been a "celebrity" and not a statistic.
But she was someone's daughter, someone's mother and someone's friend and for those reasons alone she deserved better!
How could one life be so lost? Young folks get a grip. xxoo mom and dad
This is just a tragic story all around. In some ways, I have very little sympathy for Heather, then again I do. I feel sorry that she was such a lost soul that she made the decisions she made repeatedly that led her to be in a dangerous environment. I don't know her parents, but I do wonder what was going on in the home that she was acting out so often. Reading the stats on the school just makes me sad. I want to know why these children are not graduating.
Obviously she was too young and immature to raise a child, but it is a tragedy that this child will grow-up without his mother. Hopefully Devin will grow-up in a loving home and not have any contact with his sorry excuse for a father.
As for the response or lack of response from LE, I don't really see why this is shocking. Sad? Yes, but shocking? No. It really is the classic tail of the boy who cried wolf with a modern twist. The police have to allocate resources to those cases that truly raise alarm bells, and though those bells certainly went off for Heather's parents because it wasn't her "typical" run of the mill runaway from home excursion where she phoned home, LE only sees that this is the 7TH time she has repeated the behavior. They made a judgement call based on the information they had. I'm guessing that had she never runaway before then they would have been out looking for her like they did the previous times when they brought her home, only to have her runaway again.
Larkin, I didn't see the words "habitual", "runaway", or "troubled" as insults, (though I admit to not seeing the context in whihc they were used), I see those words as the truth. She obviously was a very troubled girl who ranaway repeatedly. It doesn't make her death any less tragic to me though.
Beyond the "pretty white girl" syndrome, the media does not follow cases such as these because there is a lack of mystery or shock value. In the media's eyes this life story makes sense, and already seemed to be on the way to tragedy in one way or another. They want the story that makes no sense. The life that was "perfect" that was then ripped to shreds. It sells.
Folks,
She left without a cellphone or her wallet. She did NOT run away this time, she simply went to a party for her brother.
Still, because of her past behavior (fairly mild when truly examined) the media and law enforcement indicate that, in their opinion, her death sentence was earned.
I am really sick of the victim being blamed. I hope that all who pass judgment, have never had their past, or their lack of opportunity, or their choices made in the foolishness of youth cost them the very breath they draw.
I grew up with better education, anupper class family in a good neighborhood and, as I was often reminded, every advantage, but I sure wouldn't want my life to hang in the balance of the choices I made when I was 18.
It doesn't matter how carefully I crafted this piece (though I appreciate the kind words) if I couldn't make you see that law enforcement made the wrong decision, that the media's behavior was reprehensible and that Heather Walker was a person whose life was worth something, then I have failed.
White female gang member (or wannabe) dead. But it's all the fault of the police who gave her a "death sentence" as if it's certain they would have found her. APB? Meghan's Law wouldn't apply.
Plus the sarcasm when a dead friend disappears from a myspace page: "a guy's got pressures"?
Would you have "crafted" this story for a black male raising a kid on his own?
And whence this straw man argument that nobody considered her life worth anything? Leaving her (only?) cellphone behind meant she deserved a manhunt? I've been a model citizen, and I wouldn't expect the police to comb the city for me if I disappeared, do you?
Poerba, it isn't anyone's "fault," except the perpetrator's. Just as Ira Yarmolenko's death isn't anyone's fault except the perpetrators. Just as the death of Eve Carson is nobody's fault but the perpetrator, just as for Meredith Emerson, etc. et al. ad nauseum. Perhaps self indulgent American culture which glorifies violence is to blame.
Would I have cared as much if Heather was a "black male raising a kid on his own"? It depends. Certain crimes rivet my attention, for a variety of reasons. Why Heather Walker? Not because of her skin color or gender, but certainly her age was a factor. Stories like Heather's play out every day across the country, but I think it was her mother, finally, that broke my heart.
The (yes, only) cell phone and wallet left behind were anomalies and should have been treated as such. Did I expect that the police would have found her? No. But it would have stung less if they had tried.
The media judged her . . . they distanced their audience from the victim by showing her as "different from us" and "bad;" in a way they were only shoring up the unspoken law enforcement attitude that her death was inevitable and that she had brought it on herself. Which might be true, but doesn't make it any less sad.
My remark about Mikey Rush wasn't sarcasm, but resignation. For Heather to appear throughout his webpage as "future wife" and in his site name on Monday and to be totally erased from it on Tuesday is odd. Something or someone compelled him to edit.
Finally, if your disappearance was similarly earmarked and the people closest to you felt that you must be in imminent danger, then yes, I would expect law enforcement to make a concerted effort to locate you, even though your lack of empathy makes you something other than a model citizen.
Larkin, you offer no rebuttal for the strangeness of your "death sentence" comment above. Instead you resort to an ad hominem "lack of empathy" attack. There is no such thing as misplaced empathy; rather I just offered the opinion that your outrage is misdirected. What about the killer, or the drug dealer? Or the girl who may have thrown her life away?
It was well-written as a true-crime blog post. But your argument -- that since she wasn't a girl-next-door type nobody cared she disappeared -- begs the question why you make so many moral judgments based on the case, since if she were a he, my sense as a reader is that this story would not have been written. I hope I'm wrong.
Beautifully written!
Poerba
I do blame the killer. See first sentence of rebuttal. I don't think that the police or media sentenced her to death, only that their apathy in regards to this case (and it should be noted that calls to the media to publicize her absence were unheard) contributed to the fact that she (and hundred of others like her,) perish.
But if you think I've misplaced the blame on this case, wait 'till you see the piece I'm working on, where the perp has been sentenced, to five years. I have to take a valium before I talk to the prosecutor.
I am headed back to Montana in a couple of weeks where I will be immersed in a case there-- two black athletes from Montana State Univeristy murder a white drug dealer. One subject turns states evidence (he was a jr. and had a clean record). He was just sentenced for his part in the murder of the drug dealer . . . to 120 years!
Would someone like to explain to me why the life of a white drug dealer is worth 120 years (esp. when defendant was cooperative) and the life of a single, pregnant young woman is worth five?
Anyway, your sense that if she were a he that the story would not have been written is based on nothing but your own bias.
I have to stop now, I'm getting KingCast-itis... Hailcall to Chris!
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
Beautifully written article about an ugly story. For me, it personifies a question that has been haunting me lately. From whence does the glorification of living a "thug" lifestyle come??? Stop the press. I ain't stupid. I have heard the top 10 rap songs, and I occasionally watch BETV. In this particular case, you can layer the blindness of LE on top of the traigc comedy that surrounds so much of our youth today. This seems to be the story of someone who was smart - street smart - and yet they became a victim. How did it happen?? She deserves an answer.
Fantastic writing once again, Larkin. I do hope you write more and more articles. I'm becoming quite a fan.
My heart breaks for her precious little boy who will now grow up without a mother. I hope her family and friends will get some answers.
18 is still too young for those of you passing judgment to do so. She comes from a place I am sure most of you would not even know how to relate to, yet you judge her and try to lay blame upon her? Death is not the same to these youths as it is to you and I. They see it often. Can you imagine losing several friends and classmates before you even lose a grandparent? Please, if you can't relate even a little bit to the world they live in you should not pass judgment. Empathy has been the keyword here. It would be nice if more people had the ability to empathize. Maybe we would be progressing instead of regressing.
I love reading steve's work and Larkin this post was just as captivating. I hadn't heard this story yet and it is a sad reality of today's selective police response. Thank you for writing.
I am not sure where you people are getting that the police dont care. The girl had run away NUMEROUS times. No way do I think that anyone deserves to get murdered, and please dont jump on me and say I am blaming the victim, but if you engage in "at risk" behavior, guess what? You put yourself at risk.
And there would be many reasons that someone would dispose of a body where the person accidentally overdosed. They are afraid of getting caught with drugs for one comes to the top of my head.
In any case, it is a sad story.
Melissa,
She was held somewhere for nearly a month, the m.e. found the t.o.d. to be no earlier than March 1. In that time, she did not contact anyone she knew, nor was she seen by anyone she knew, or even anyone who may have recognized her from the posters. This is different from the times she ran away, when she still remained "in orbit."
She had not run away February 6, merely left for a birthday party for her brother, and never arrived there. Every indication was that she planned to come home. Clearly, I haven't made this evident in the telling of the story, because you are not the only who has missed it.
Victims of drug overdoses are often left in alleys, in abandoned buildings, in hospital driveways. This was not the case for Heather Walker. Each of us has put ourselves at risk at some time in our lives. Thank God we don't all pay the price Heather did, or that her parents go on paying, everyday.
Reannan, January, Michelle-- everyone, thanks for taking the time to read the story, and for your kindness.
L.
Larkin, I admit that I did not quite understand in your post that she had definitely not runaway this particular time. I am always one to look at all sides of the picture before making any comments. I can empathize with her parents and their heartache and frustration over not being able to get the attention of LE. I can also see how LE would look at her history and make some assumptions about where she was.
I do believe that each case should be handled individually and had that occurred here, and there was foul play, they would have possibly found some evidence or witnesses. With the passage of time they are swimming upstream to catch up.
I agree that there are way too many cases such as these where those less fortunate end-up having an unsolved case b/c LE allowed the initial evidence to slip away while they were making assumptions. I don't know what the answers are to fixing the problem because to give each case its needed attention takes more men and more money, and without those two things LE makes judgement calls to save both, which leads to cases like Heather's. It is a sad state of affairs.
Wow Larkin, You had me locked in from the first sentence and when finished I walked away and went through a range of emotions and feelings, which is what most writers, artists hope to achieve.
Without gatting too personal this story really caused me to relive a long wagged battle to save my daughter, a battle lost! My daughter is still alive but has been incarcerated for most of the last 10 years (I am raising her 10 year old son) and also brought back many beautiful young faces of children no longer living, 2 of them were found murdered in an alley in Los Angelos and were showcased on the Unsolved Mysteries program.
Yesterday I went on a Nature Hike here in the Sierra nevada wetlands with our school (2nd and 3rd graders),
we discovered animal tracks, scat and
captured and studied invertabrates, I took many many pictures and couldnt wait to download and print them last night, One of the pictures proved to be very disturbing, 2 beautiful little girls (again 3rd grade) had snuck gang signs in on me and my heart plummeted.
I have seen children from many different circumstance's grasp this horrible imitation of Life and I dont think that blaming the parents is fair or looking for a cause or asking why holds any answers.
Having worked with the San Diego North County Gang and Narcotics task Force, I know how overloaded they are and once that problem child becomes an Adult?
they become just another Stat.
When I viewed Heathers photos I got the same gut feeling as when I viewed
my own last night it was one of great sadness.
I wont go on, I am not a Pollyanna Politico, but it is not the time for Brutal honesty either, I know that Heather has found peace and only hope that her parents and son can do the same.
Excellent writing. I'm just wondering however, would you have written about her if she had been found dead after one of her "known" runaway episodes?
There is a very thin line here. She had run away so many times and (luckily) made it home safe. Her life could have ended at any point during those runaways, and the risky behavior would have dented sympathy from most folks. Also, LE would have gotten more of a break due to her past behavior.
Now, since she *may* have been taken by someone else (still not known for sure) and ended up dead (still not known if homicide), LE should be critized for following State law?
I'm not sure what how I feel about this yet.
There are hundreds of missing young adults in California right now (18 to 25) and nothing extraordinary is being done by LE to bring them home. The money and manpower is not there in this state - or any other - to try and bring home our *children* (they are and always will be children to their moms and dads).
So, are her parents going to sue the City or State due to their lack of involvement in this case? Will they take more money away from the State that could be used to help solve some of these disappearances? I would hope not.
I wanted to offer my compliments on a well written article. I really feel the pain of the parents and the family. This story hits close to my heart. I have a somewhat similar situation with my sister, for me she will always be a lost girl, with so much opportunity gone. It is hard to find a reason to justify why young girls behave in a way that is unacceptable to soceity's standards. Unless, you walk in these kids shoes we don't understand why or how? I think for some kids being insecure about who they are allows them to find this "imaginary" life where they all act like "gangstas" -- on another note I also feel that it is quite possible that many of these kids suffer from some sort of chemical imbalance and no matter how hard they try, they can't get it together. Just my opinion of course. I have spent many years around rehab, loosers that have filtrated in and out of my sister's life, and all the while I work damage control. It is only recently that I have had to let go otherwise I will never find any peace for my own family.
My condolences go out to this family. We are not always able to control these types of situations, I have seen kids that are uncontrolable and they make their own history, unfortuantly.
Larkin, you did an excellent job in writing this article. I understand that she didn't run away on February 6th. What I don't understand is WHY LE and the media didn't take it more seriously when no one heard from her.
Prayers to her family, may they find the peace they deserve.
Wow. I hadn't been to check here for several days, too busy with "real" life and also following the Ucar deaths. Thanks to all for your kind compliments, they are much appreciated.
Emerson, it is a conundrum how LE should respond to these cases... not just Heather, but the hundreds of other kids out there like her. You're right in that takes more manpower and more money, and also, I think more training. I wonder how useful it would be if every city (or at least every state) used a Behavior Analysis Unit, or at least a profiler or two. In any case, I think listening more carefully to the citizens they're charged with "protecting and serving" would be a step in the right direction.
Susan, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. That must be very difficult for you. We have a "lost" one too... she married a member of a cult, who won't allow her contact with her family or friends. Nothing we can do, but let her know the door is always open for her. I don't get the gang sign thing either, and I have seen it in elementary age kids. It's pretty chilling, particularly as the "wannabe" gangsters are just as dangerous (more, my black neighbors say) than the real deal.
PJ... I hear you. I don't know if I would have written about her or not. I don't know if I would have written if I hadn't seen her parents. As a writer (and I'm sure Steve will echo this) you don't know in advance which stories will speak to you and compel you to write. In terms of law, LE could have classified her as an "endangered" missing person. I think they don't have to look for adults, not that they're not allowed to. Her parents don't strike me as the lawsuit type. I think they are just enraged and heartbroken because their child is dead, and because they got so little assistance from the police, for which you can hardly blame them.
Nicole, a chemical imbalance is an interesting theory. Certainly clinical depression is rampant. When you look at the sad, sordid details of some of the lives these kids lead, is it any wonder they'll take escapism any way they can find it.?
Tezi . . . I don't know either. One can only hope that Heather's death will serve as a reminder to listen, and hear what's going on.
I, too, hope the Walkers find the peace they so desperately need, but I'm afraid it will be a long time coming.
Again, my heartfelt thanks for taking the time to read and comment on this piece.
Larkin Thankyou for bringing light to this story and I will burn candles for your lost one!
I cant sleep tonight, my mind is just absolutely flooded with memories, memories of a beautiful little girl a little girl who flirted with coyotes!
then of all the interventions,private detectives, getting shot at by a 12 year old with a 9 millemeter at the back gate of Camp Pendleton while hanging missing posters, memories of
having my daughter put in 4 point restraints after proving her 51/50,memories of learning in a truth circle that my daughter had shot someone in a drive-by, hearing a commotion in the middle of the night and walking out to find someone holding a gun to the temple of my 3 month old grandson,coming home to all my windows being shot out and my favorite horse dead in the pasture,memories of the Police saying to us Well what do you Want us To Do your daughter is a Gang Member! turning states Evidence against a gang member (parole) in possession of 3 pounds of Meth and an Uzzie (he got 6 months) and we packed and moved int he middle of the night.
memories of beautiful young faces, who flirted with the Coyote
memories of lying awake at night waithing for the Sheriffs Knock and the release that knock might bring and then the quilt of thinking and feeling such a horrible thing.
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