soon as she saw Kathryn, she flashed a smile of relief and hung up. “Thanks for coming so fast. Our uncommunicative runaway is down the hall in the isolation area, Room Six. Her tests just came back. She’s got the H1N1 virus.”
“Is she coherent?”
“Oh, yes, but she won’t tell us how long she’s had symptoms. I think she’s been sick for a while. When they wheeled her in, she was very upset about being brought to the hospital. She told us to let her go. If she’s refusing to talk, it’s because she’s terrified about something. When the ambulance picked her up, she had no ID on her.”
“Where was she found?”
“Down near the Rio Grande Café. A pedestrian saw her collapse and called 911.”
One of the homeless shelters was near there. The airport, the Greyhound bus depot and the Amtrak station were all close by, and it seemed possible she’d come in from out of town.
“Did she speak with an accent? You know—Alabama, Boston, Texas, New Joysey?”
Nancy laughed at her imitation and thought for a minute. “Nothing stood out. I’d say she’s from somewhere in the western states, but no central Utah drawl if you know what I mean.” They both smiled.
Good. That narrowed the field a little. “You want me to tell her about her condition?”
“Yes. I’m hoping that when you do, she’ll break down and open up to you. See what you can get out of her, will you?”
“Sure.”
Kathryn went around to a back room where she shed her parka. After removing the brochure from her purse, she stowed everything in a locker, then washed her hands. Donning a surgical mask and lab coat, she then slipped a small notepad and pen in her pocket along with the brochure and found her way down several halls to Room Six.
They’d hooked up an IV to the pretty brunette lying there in a hospital gown with her eyes closed. Before she did anything else, Kathryn opened the girl’s locker and took her bag of clothes out in the hall to examine.
She’d been wearing a North Face parka, navy jeans, a red, long-sleeved pullover sweater, Nike Air Morgans with hook-and-ladder fasteners, and tube socks. Everything higher end and clean. No smell of smoke. All items could have been purchased in a major department store anywhere across the nation.
After Kathryn returned the bag back to the locker, she walked over to the computer and brought up the police report first.
Jane Doe. Age 14–16. Caucasian. Picked up at 4:10 p.m., Friday, Nov 19. A pedestrian, Ronald Ewing, 50, Grantsville, Utah, saw her slump onto the sidewalk at 300 south, fifth west, Salt Lake, and called emergency on his cell phone. Approx height 5’5?, weight 115 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, teeth in excellent condition. No evidence of alcohol. No needle marks. No sign of drugs hidden on her body or in her clothes. No purse or wallet. No money. No injury marks, no sign of assault, rape or foul play.
There were a lot more things Kathryn could add simply by looking at her. Aside from the fact that she had the flu, she was the picture of health and excellent hygiene. Her nails were well cared for, her shoulder-length hair had a gloss to it.
The hospital stats indicated a fever of 101.4 when she was brought in. No vomiting or diarrhea. They were hydrating her and giving her medicine to bring down her temperature. Since the last check of vital signs, there’d been a drop of one degree. That was good news.
She was someone’s darling.
Kathryn snagged a stool and sat down at the side of the hospital bed. “Hi, Anna. I’m Katy.”
The girl opened her eyes. They were velvety brown. Lovely eyes. Anxious.
“Don’t let the mask scare you. It’s a protective measure because you’re fighting the H1N1 virus, but judging by the progress you’re already making, it’s not such a serious case. Unless I made a lucky guess, I know your name isn’t Anna. I gave you my old name. The one I was given after I was kidnapped. It’s as good as any.”
Anna blinked. If Kathryn didn’t miss her guess, she’d gained the girl’s attention.
“I brought a brochure with me. My family had it printed when I was taken from them.” She pulled it out of her purse. “Let me show you the picture of me at the top.” Kathryn held it up so she could see it. With her other hand, she pulled down the mask so the girl could see they were one in the same person. Then she put it back in place.
“It was taken four years ago. You’ll notice what it says beneath the picture. ‘Kathryn McFarland, lost for twenty-six years, has been FOUND!’ You’re probably feeling too tired to read it, Anna, so I’ll read it to you.” Kathryn continued to read.
May 3 marks the twenty-sixth anniversary of the abduction of our fourth child, Kathryn McFarland, from the McFarland home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Born April 2, she was only a month old at the time she was taken.
Soon after the kidnapping and community search, the Kathryn McFarland Foundation was founded and now honors Kathryn’s memory by finding missing children, and preventing them from going missing in the first place.
When Kathryn was kidnapped, our community and many others joined together to help us find her because there was an immediate recognition that she was everyone’s child and that we are all in this together.
Child abductions across our nation since its beginning have highlighted the need for legislation to enhance our ability to protect our children from predators of all types. When a child is kidnapped, time is of the essence.
All too often it is only a matter of hours before a kidnapper commits an act of violence against the child. That is why we’re pleased that the U.S. Senate has acted to pass legislation creating a national AMBER Alert system, which galvanizes entire communities to assist law enforcement in the timely search and safe return of child victims.
Since its inception, the foundation has assisted approximately seventeen thousand families and law enforcement agencies in their searches. We have seen over eight-five percent of those children returned home safely. This is what continues to give us hope.
Kathryn put the brochure down on the bedside table. “Someone out there—somewhere—is dying inside because you’re missing, Anna. I don’t know how long you’ve been missing, or why. I don’t know if you were kidnapped and let go, or if you left home of your own free will.
“What I do know is that a beautiful young woman like you is very lucky not to have been exposed to serious danger. I also know that anyone who loves you is in agony right now, fearing the worst.”
The girl’s eyelids fluttered closed, but they couldn’t hold back the trickle of tears.
“My family went through so much agony, they would have died if they hadn’t decided to do something positive with their pain. Did you hear those statistics? Seventeen thousand families assisted. That figure has changed since four years ago. It’s now twenty-three thousand, with an eighty-five percent rate of success.
“I have parents, two brothers and a sister who’ve dedicated their lives to helping children unite with their loved ones. Now that I’ve been found, I’ve devoted my life to helping someone like you get the help you need.
“Consider
