4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF HARLEY KANSAS
MONDAY, MAY 7, 2007
POLICE INVESTIGATION
Retired friend duo missing
No sign of women two weeks after they leave for a shopping spree
BY DAN SEWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEBANON, Ohio — Mary Ellen Walters and Ada Wasson set out from their retirement community for a routine day of outlet-store shopping, not telling anyone they planned a long trip or asking anyone to feed Walters' beloved dog.
There hasn't been a trace of them in more than two weeks.
Authorities, volunteers and relatives have driven up and down roads covering thousands of square miles of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and flown over the region. They've looked for credit card activity, studied store videotapes, checked under bridges and passed out thousands of filers.
Warren County Sheriff's Maj.
John Newsm said it is one of the broadest investigations ever in
this area about midway between Dayton and Cincinnati.
He said there has been no indication of foul play.
"They're out there somewhere. It may be the next square mile we search," said Brad Nixon, Walters son-in-law. "The optimism is reduced ... but how do you stop?"
Walter, 68, and Wasson, 80, are believed to have left the closely knit Otterbein Retirement Living Community on April 19, headed to a J.C. Penney outlet store in either Columbus or Carrollton, Ky., with Wasson driving her 2000 Chevrolet Impala. They were reported missing three days later, when Waters' daughter came to pick her up for an evening out and found worried neighbors.
"That's all we think about," said Dorothy Pfeiffer, Walters' next-door neighbor. "We're kind of like zombies now."
Walters is a mother of three whose husband was in Florida with his own ailing mother. Wasson is a widow with no children.
They had set out for Carrollton's outlet mall, some 80 miles to the southwest, earlier that week but got lost. They had lunch at a restaurant in Kentucky, then came back home, laughing about it, said Cindy Nixon, Walters' daughter.
The two women preferred driving scenic highways rather than Interstate 71. That complicates the search.
Authorities know Wasson filled her car's gas tank the night of April 18, and they left some time the next day.
There, the trail goes cold.
There has been no activity on their credit or bank cards, police say. They didn't take any luggage or give any other signs of planning for a long trip.
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BY KATY BLAIR
Celebrating a good cause
Watkins Scholarship Hall uses Cinco de Mayo to hold fundraising event
COMMUNITY SERVICE
A Cinco de Mayo festival at the Wilma Crawford Community Center on Saturday started with clothing donations and ended with fundraising.
Adam Knoermeld, Carlos Hernandez and David Goodlove, members of Adam's Play, play music at a Cincio de Mayo festival Saturday evening at the Willa Crawford Community Center. The event included a fashion show and a clothing drive for the Lawrence community.
Watkins Scholarship Hall played host to its first Cinco de Mayo party in the recently dedicated center. Organizers of the event said it was time for the scholarship halls to have an entertaining event during the spring season.
"We wanted a tradition for Watkins that could be carried on throughout the years," said Natalie Penn, Topeka sophomore and social chairwoman for Watkins.
Penn said it was important to have fun events for students to attend, but also to help out the community.
More than 1,000 pieces of clothing were donated by scholarship hall students and will be given to the Social Service League in Lawrence. Donated clothes were modeled during the fashion show to exhibit the contribution of KU students.
of what the schol halls are doing," Sanders said of the fashion show. "They're doing a lot of good things for the community"
Watkins Hall and Miller Scholarship Hall students competed in the fashion show, modeling their outfits on the stone patio.
Penn said Lawrence businesses worked with Watkins Hall staff to fund the event by providing prizes
and donating clothes.
"There's a lot of people out there who don't have enough clothes," said Jonathan Evenson, Lawrence senior. "Anytime of the year, people need something."
The evening concluded with a live performance by Adam's Eve, a band of scholarship hall stu
"I thought it was a nice display of what the schol halls are doing. They're doing a lot of good things for the community."
MEGAN SANDERS
Lenexa sophomore
Megan Sanders, Lenexa sophomore, said she appreciated what Watkins Hall was accomplishing through the event.
Evenson said he participated in several clothing drives to help out the Lawrence community, and donated spare clothes for the Watkins Hall drive as well.
"I thought it was a nice display
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Penn said the party's attendance was good and the community service the scholarship halls were performing was a step in the right direction.
Kansan staff writer Katy Blair can be contacted at kblair@kansan. com.
and try to get people involved,you might as well get something good out of it."
Edited by Katie Sullivan
WORLD Roadside car bombs claim soldiers' Iraqi citizens'lives
Two other American soldiers died Sunday in separate bombings in Baghdad.
BAGHDAD — Roadside bombs killed eight American soldiers in separate attacks Sunday in Diyala province and Baghdad, and a car bomb claimed 30 more lives in a wholesale food market in a part of the Iraqi capital where sectarian tensions are on the rise.
The deadliest attack against U.S. forces occurred in Diyala, where six U.S. soldiers and a European journalist were killed and two U.S. soldiers were wounded when a massive bomb destroyed their vehicle, the U.S. military said.
In all, at least 95 Iraqis were found dead nationwide Sunday, police reported. They included 12 policemen, among them Samarra's police chief, who died when Sunni insurgents launched a suicide car bombing and other attacks on police headquarters.
Associated Press
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