Missing Alabama Girl

This story makes me so sad. Maybe it's because it hits so close to home with her being from Mountain Brook, AL, a nice suburb of Birmingham, AL, of which I'm quite familiar. Maybe it's because she is a young, beautiful honor student ready to embark on the next phase of her life, and I can vividly remember that time in my own life, not so very far away. Maybe it's because it could have been my sister, or my friend, or possibly even me. Sometimes even smart girls, trusting girls, make bad decisions. Maybe it's the outpouring of complete concern and care from the people, government, and tourists of Aruba that have joined the search. I'm not quite sure, but this story just really hits home with me. I saw an interview with her mother, and I couldn't hold back the tears collecting in my eyes. Her mother has so much faith that she'll find her daughter alive that she won't let the thought of anything else invade her thoughts. Typically an optimist, and not wanting to be a pessimist, I think I, along with the rest of the world, might not be as optimistic about this as her mother and it just breaks my heart. It seems as if they're getting closer to an explanation of what may have happened, and I pray that whatever the resolution, it comes quickly. It's hard to watch the family suffer without any answers. I keep them in my thoughts and prayers.