The white panel truck that I followed on my way to work today had a black graffiti tag just visible on the left side side. The plates were New York, the mudflaps from Troy. And bracketing the doors in back were two green lettered bumper stickers with the message: "Jaliek Rainwalker Still Missing".
That sort of thing tends to occupy the mind when driving slightly below the posted speed limit on a winding road with 8 miles before the next passing opportunity. I caught vague impressions of the driver in the side view mirror. The glint of glasses. A white T shirt. Short dark hair and a white face with no facial hair. Was it his truck? His message?
It stayed with me at work, so I looked for the name. Jaliek was a 12 year old, in and out of foster care, who disappeared while in the care of his adopted father has been missing since November 1, 2007. Within the last two weeks, skull fragments were discovered in the woods in Saratoga county but they proved to belong to a missing 18 year old woman and not Jaliek. Some people cannot forget Jaliek, and now, neither can I.
Comments