I thought that writing a story on a 37-year-old missing woman (from Newport News, Virginia), Kathleen Haley, was the right thing to do, after seeing the case posted on Michelle Sigona’s International Crime Wire last night (after I got home from work). Okay, so I had my doubts this morning, once I saw how little information has been released (or reported by the media). Well, let’s try anyway to get Kathleen Haley’s fragmentary case out there, so maybe some local news reporters will dig a little deeper into the (heretofore) hazy circumstances of her disappearance.
We do have a few crumbs, but little to account for what may have happened to this Virginia woman. I’m only seeing a grand total of one photo of Kathleen Haley, but we’re hearing she was most active on Facebook, so maybe her friends over there know a bit more about her. I needed to orient myself to the geography and demographics of Newport News, since the last time I went there was in the late 1960s, when I visited historic Williamsburg with my family on an early August vacation.
I printed a nice, big Google map of of the Virginia Peninsula and what they call the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, with Interstate 64 running down across the peninsula (and right through Newport News). I see from the Wikipedia entry they have a rich history there, which is a worthwhile project to undertake, but not for now, since I’m more interested in the nonsensical circumstances of Kathleen Haley’s disappearance.
Studying the geography may seem like it’s a sidebar, and yet I suspect this is exactly what detectives do, when realizing how Ms Haley interacted with her immediate surroundings, which must play a role explaining why she left, or who she may have interacted with, whether it was someone she knew well or contrarily, not at all. An example of the aforementioned dearth of information, is the fact that we don’t even know where Kathleen Haley worked.
The only television broadcast news report I’ve seen (so far) on Kathleen Haley, was from WAVY out of Newport News. WAVY managed to interview Kathleen’s sister, Diane Roman, who mentioned that the family didn’t even know where Kathleen works! The reporter hinted that Kathleen Haley tended to keep to herself, so this was obviously true, if nobody even knows where she’s employed. September 1st is the last time family members spoke with her.
Nine days before 9/1 would be August 22nd, which has been reported as the last time anyone has seen her in person. I take it, it was a family member who last saw her, but the skinny news stories don’t expand the information to this level of detail. Kathleen lived in the 2800 block of West Avenue, and yet it doesn’t say whether this is a house or just an apartment? We know, her car never left her residence, but what kind of car did she drive?
Okay, so we also know some of her personal items are missing from the place where she lives. But we long to know, what items are gone? Her cell phone, any clothes, her purse (for financial transactions), how about a suitcase? Why are the Newport News Police holding back so much, if not everything?
We know she didn’t drive her car out of there. Did she leave as a result of her own willing decision, or did somebody take her away against her will (is the most obvious question)? At this point, Kathleen Haley’s mysterious vanishing act is highly under-reported, but it’s time for that to change, RIGHT NOW!
Kathleen Haley Missing: Police Say Virginia Woman Is In Danger
