Post by Scumhunter on May 5, 2016 12:24:43 GMT -5
(above photo credit: facebook.com/findmegnow)
From northjersey.com:
Oakland - It has been a year since Meaghan McCallum left her grandmother's home in Montvale, forsaking her family along with her beloved pet, Sweetpea, a pitbull she had rescued from the side of a highway in South Carolina on the way to a Phish concert. It was Sweetpea's barking that sounded the alarm around 3:30 a.m. March 11, waking her grandmother, Betty Sidow, who found both Meaghan and her car gone.
"The dog started to bark," Sidow recalled in a phone interview Wednesday, March 2. "I got out of bed. I looked in the bedroom. The room was empty. She was gone.
"She left in a hurry. She had my front door key. She left it in the normal place by the door. And it's still there."
When days passed and Meaghan did not show up at her job at Visiting Angels in Ramsey, a statewide search was set in motion. It initially focused on Meaghan's car, a 1998 Subaru Impreza. On April 11, it was found in Long Branch in the parking lot of Edgewater East apartments on Avenel Boulevard. Authorities said it had been stolen and then purchased after four weeks left unattended in a parking garage in Long Branch. Police reviewed video footage which showed Meaghan had arrived at approximately 5:30 a.m. March 11, disembarking and walking in the direction of the boardwalk. That footage was the last solid lead in a case that haunts all those who know and love her.
"Every day I wake up and I hope this will be the day that Meg calls or that I find out she's in California on some farm or whatever," said her mother, Heidi. "And every day goes by and nothing. It's very, very crushing."
"It's difficult to engage, to pursue the search for her," James said in an interview at the family's Manito Avenue home on Feb. 16. "When I found out her car was down the Shore, I drove thousands of miles. I was all over that place for a month. I went down to Camden, Atlantic City, everywhere. It's just exhausting. But you're driven by the hope that, you know what? They haven't found her yet so she's probably still out there."
Both Heidi and James describe Meaghan, 31, as the proverbial "free spirit," driven by empathy and determined to help everyone she could. Graduating from Montclair State University with a degree in English, she dedicated the majority of her time to charitable efforts.
"She was a very special person," said Heidi. "If you were a part of her life, she really touched you in a way that you would not forget."
Meaghan even volunteered for City Green, a non-profit organization focused on building urban farms and gardens in Northern New Jersey, and Eva's Kitchen, a program to feed the homeless.
"Overall, I learned a lot from her just about accepting all people," said Toyin Adekoje, Meg's freshman year roommate and longtime friend. "Accepting their differences. Being patient. Being open-minded."
Adekoje said Meg was fun, smart, and most noticeably, unabashedly kind, always eager to listen and help when someone needed it the most.
"Whenever you were going through something, it doesn't matter what's going on in your life, Meaghan is one of those giving people who'll always be there," she said.
In spite of her kindness and her desire to help others, Meaghan was battling mental illness. She had suffered from bi-polar disorder since the age of 25, and the medication would often put her in a daze.
"She suffered," Heidi shared. "She had breakdowns. There were attempts to take her life."
In September 2014, Meaghan had ceased taking her medication. This resulted in a disagreement with her parents, but Heidi and James see it as an effort by Meaghan to reclaim her independence and lucidity.
"She wanted to try one more time to get off the meds," said Heidi. "She wanted to live as 'Meg.' "
After the disagreement with her parents, Meaghan moved in with Sidow, only four days before she would disappear.
So quickly, Sidow said, they hadn't even had time "enough for me to sit down and talk to her. If she had been here a little longer, I could have talked her into going back on her medication.
"She didn't like the medication, the way it made her feel."
Meaghan often visited her grandmother, living with her for nine months two years previously. When she visited on the weekend of March 7, Sidow said, "I barely saw her. She was out all day Sunday. She went to work Monday and Tuesday. She behaved a little different Tuesday night."
The two were very close. Meaghan helped her grandmother around the house; Sidow offered what advice she could.
"She was very outgoing," said Sidow. "In spite of her illness, she was still outgoing. She was always willing to help, especially me."
Meaghan also was instrumental in getting Sidow to take the trip to Munich when Meaghan's brother Glenn was to be married.
"She was the one who convinced me to go to Germany for her brother's wedding," said Sidow. "She said, "I'll take care of you, Grandma.' She was the one who influenced me."
"I had a good time. I was glad she convinced me."
Meaghan's desire to help others even extended to her professional career and around two and a half years ago, applied to Visiting Angels, a living assistance service for the elderly.
"When Meaghan interviewed, she was so effervescent," said Beth Nelson, owner of Visiting Angels. "She was really thrilled and looking forward to taking care and working with the elderly."
In her time working with Nelson, the two grew close, as Nelson recognized a kind soul.
"I was so drawn to her energy, her enthusiasm," said Nelson. "I was really impressed with her commitment."
According to Nelson, the feedback from clients mirrored hers, with positive review after positive review coming by way of phone calls and conversations.
"They were all so crazy about her," said Nelson. "They loved that she brought a very natural compassion, creativity, because she would have ideas. She was incredibly generous of spirit. She was generous of any of her talents - she was a great cook and a great baker. She wanted to contribute."
Meaghan's desire to help often resulted in close friendships, as it did with Jackie Bollens, a friend since 2009 who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
"She drove my van and we used to go out together," she said. "She was just very nice. She was good-hearted."
Bollens said she and Meaghan's bonded over their shared affinity for Bob Marley and their love of the outdoors. They took a cruise together to Bermuda and it rained most of the time. The two couldn't have cared less, she said.
"I miss her for her friendship."
As the anniversary of her disappearance approaches Friday, March 11, James and Heidi take it one day at a time and hold fast to the hope that the "live-wire," self-sufficient woman they raised will soon walk through their front door. Until then, they're doing what they can to remind people about Meaghan and what she means to them and to press the search for her. Toward that end, the McCallums have organized a special prayer service at 4 p.m. March 12 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, where all will be welcomed - just as Meaghan would like.
"There wasn't a prejudiced bone in her body," said Heidi. "Or a mean bone. She was better than me at being a forgiving person. At cutting people breaks."
"She was the best of us, for sure," said James.
www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/a-year-later-search-continues-for-missing-oakland-woman-1.1521015?page=all
Thoughts? I found a "Find Meg" Facebook page (where I posted the above wanted poster) and unfortunately she is still missing, but in my opinion, this is a solvable case and she can be found. It's just a matter of the right person seeing Meg's story:
www.facebook.com/findmegnow/
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