Erin Pospisil in Gazette articles since teen’s 2001 disappearance

Posted by John McGlothlen on May 31, 2009

ERIN POSPISIL

Search on for missing teen

The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City) - Saturday, June 23, 2001
Author: Steve Gravelle, Gazette staff writer

CEDAR RAPIDS - They’re so common, the homemade fliers almost slip beneath the mental radar, sharing utility poles, laundromat bulletin boards and convenience store windows with notices for yard sales, neighborhood meetings or church suppers.

“MISSING Have You Seen Erin ?” is the headline Carolyn Minney chose for the poster she made after her stepdaughter, Erin Pospisil , went missing. Minney hasn’t eaten or slept regularly since.

“Everybody’s taking it hard, but her one brother especially is,” said Minney of northeast Cedar Rapids. “The two of them have been very close.”

Erin , 15, was last seen June 3 in the 100 block of 12th Street SE, getting into a black Chevrolet Cavalier with tinted rear windows. The car, about 10 years old, was unfamiliar to Erin ’s friends or family, but she seemed to know the people inside, according to the friend who witnessed her departure.

“She said something to one of the people in the car, and we haven’t seen her since,” said Minney, Erin ’s stepmother for 8 years. “We hope she ran away. Isn’t that bad? But it’s better than the alternative.”

Most reported runaways are located, often within days, according to the National Runaway Switchboard. But at three weeks, Erin ’s been gone longer than most, and, as time passes, it’s more likely she may have left the area, according to the group’s spokeswoman, Cathleen Carolan.

“The longer the kid is gone, the harder it is for them to come back, for a number of reasons,” said Carolan. Most prevalent is the youth’s fear over their welcome on their return.

“Each day gets harder and harder for them and they get get caught up into a certain life,” Carolan said.

Most first-time runaways stay within 300 miles of home, according to Carolan. But as time passes, they may flee to larger cities where they can blend in with other youth and avoid the attention of authorities.

Carolan said it may be time for Erin ’s family to “widen the net.”

“They need to talk to the friends,” she said. “Did they ever talk about going someplace? Kids don’t usually do things without setting out a trail, at least with their friends.”

Minney said she’s checked with Erin ’s relatives in Nevada, Iowa. Erin ’s friends are at a loss, too.

” Erin ’s a very social kid,” said Minney. “It’s not like her. She has friends she calls every single day, and they haven’t heard from her.”

The Cedar Rapids Police Department received reports of 115 people missing and cleared 114 of those cases in 2001. It received 509 reports of runaways and cleared 498 of those cases.

The National Runaway Switchboard takes toll-free calls - 1-(800) 621-4000 - and relays messages from missing youth to their families. The Chicago-based staff also arranges conference calls between parents and children.

According to Switchboard’s records, most runaways flee over problems at school or with their family.

Erin had “routine sibling stuff” between her sister and two brothers, Minney said.

But her attendance at Metro High School, where she was a freshman, was spotty.

“She was doing fine, as long as she goes,” Minney said.

Police have run down leads provided by Erin ’s family, said Sgt. Bob Hagist.

Patrol officers have been provided copies of her photo.

Erin Pospisil is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds.

She has brown eyes and dark brown hair with red highlights. She was last seen wearing beige short overalls and a light-colored tank top.

Anyone who’s seen Erin , or may have information about her whereabouts, should call Cedar Rapids police at 286-5378 or 1-(800) 272-7463.

“We just want to know she’s OK,” Minney said. “She’s not in any trouble, or anything.”

Parents widen search for teen - Missing C.R. girl could have gone to Chicago, family says

The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City) - Monday, August 13, 2001
Author: Steve Gravelle, Gazette staff writer

CEDAR RAPIDS - The parents of Erin Pospisil are expanding their search for the missing Cedar Rapids teen-ager.

“If she was in Cedar Rapids we would know,” said Carolyn Minney, Erin ’s stepmother. “There’s no way a kid goes 10 weeks without talking to somebody.”

Erin , 15, was last seen June 3 getting into a car in the 100 block of 12th Street SE. The black Chevrolet Cavalier, about 10 years old, wasn’t familiar to Erin ’s family, but friends said she seemed to know the people inside.

Minney said she’s contacted family members who may have heard from Erin , without success. Police have turned up no leads, she said, nor have telephone tips prompted by posters and news stories.

“There were some calls, but it wasn’t anything that panned out,” Minney said.

So Minney is looking to Chicago, contacting Erin ’s Metro High School classmates for the names of anyone she may know there.

“A lot of the kids she goes to school with are Chicago-based, and her dad and I are trying to get some names together to go out there,” Minney said.

Most first-time runaways stay within 300 miles of home, but as time passes they may head toward larger cities where they can blend into the street scene and avoid attention, according to the National Runaway Switchboard.

Erin Pospisil is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds. She has brown eyes and dark brown hair with red highlights. She was last seen wearing beige short overalls and a light-colored tank top. Anyone who has seen Erin , or may have information about her whereabouts, should call Cedar Rapids police at 286-5378 or 1-(800) 272-7463.

C.R. parents still awaiting word on missing girl’s whereabouts

The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City) - Monday, January 14, 2002
Author: Steve Gravelle, The Gazette

Question: Any word on Erin Pospisil , the Cedar Rapids girl missing since June?

Answer: “We have not heard from her,” said Carolyn Minney, Erin ’s stepmother. “We have literally not heard anything at all.”

Erin , 15, was last seen June 3, 2001, getting into a car in the 100 block of 12th Street SE. The black Chevrolet Cavalier, about 10 years old, wasn’t familiar to Erin ’s family, but friends said she seemed to know the people inside.

Minney’s family and friends posted fliers with Erin ’s photo in the weeks after she went missing, but neither they nor police have turned up any clues.

“We are literally at a standstill,” Minney said. “Obviously, someone has seen her since we have, but we haven’t heard anything.”

Minney is becoming convinced Erin didn’t leave of her own accord.

“It’s been over seven months,” she said. “The chances this is a runaway situation are less and less, but I can’t say she did and I can’t say she didn’t.”

Erin Pospisil is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds. She has brown eyes and dark brown hair with red highlights. She was last seen wearing beige short overalls and a light-colored tank top.

Anyone who has seen Erin , or may have information about her whereabouts, should call Cedar Rapids police at 286-5378 or 1-(800) 272-7463.

CRIMESTOPPERS

The Gazette (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City) - Friday, July 18, 2003

Police still searching for missing girl

CEDAR RAPIDS - Police are seeking help in locating a 17-year-old girl missing since June 3, 2001.

Erin Kay Pospisil was last seen on in the 1400 to 1500 block of Second Avenue SE getting into a two-door, dark-colored car, possibly an early 1990s-model black Chevrolet Cavalier with tinted rear windows.

She is white with brown eyes; brown, red-highlighted hair and is approximately 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 125 pounds. Pospisil was wearing beige overall shorts and a light-colored tank top when she disappeared.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Pospisil should call the Crime Stoppers hotline, 1-(800) CR-CRIME. Callers remain anonymous and may be eligible for an award.

Benefit concert recalls missing C.R. teenager

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Friday, June 4, 2004
Author: Steve Gravelle: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS … Three years after she rode off in a strange car, Erin Pospisil will be remembered this weekend in Cedar Rapids.

“Being gone as long as she has been, it’s frustrating for us,” said Carolyn Pospisil , Erin ’s mother. “Most people didn’t know she is still missing.”

Pospisil , who moved to Council Bluffs about a year ago, plans to return to Cedar Rapids for a benefit concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Leisure Time Billiards and Sports Bar, 3233 Sixth St. SW.

The event will include performances by area blues artists Kevin B.F. Burt and Bryce Janey and California singer-songwriter Jannel Rap.

Admission is $6. Proceeds will benefit Pospisil ’s Help Find a Child organization and GINA for Missing Persons, an organization started by Rap after her sister, Regina Bos, disappeared in October 2000.

After meeting Rap through another missing persons support group, “we decided we’d put together a Midwest concert series,” Pospisil said.

Erin Pospisil was 15 on June 3, 2001, when she got into a car in the 100 block of 12th Street SE. The black Chevrolet Cavalier, about 10 years old, wasn’t familiar to Erin ’s family, but friends said she seemed to know the people inside.

Family and friends posted fliers with Erin ’s photo in the weeks after she went missing, but neither they nor police have turned up any clues.

Pospisil started Help Find a Child to educate parents and the public about missing persons. She said her father helped set up her Web site, www.helpfindachild.com

“However this ends with Erin , it’s something we’re not going to walk away from,” Pospisil said of her work. “We want to make sure that people are aware this is not just us. We want people to be aware that `stranger danger’ isn’t something you have to stop talking to your kids about when they leave elementary school.”

Cards delight students, comfort parents

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Saturday, June 4, 2005
Author: Diane Heldt: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - Polk Elementary third grader Aleena Hobbs glanced at the still-developing Polaroid photo of herself and decided it was a nice picture.

It’s a good thing the 9-year-old liked the photo, because it was taken for an identification card to be given to her family.

“I’ll keep it, and it’s in case I get lost,” Aleena said of the card. “It’s a good idea.”

Polk students and their siblings were invited to get laminated identification cards Friday at the school during an event sponsored by Help Find a Child, an organization launched by the family of Erin Pospisil after the teen disappeared from Cedar Rapids four years ago June 3. Pospisil would be 19 now and is still missing.

Each identification card includes a child’s photo, height, weight and fingerprint. Organizers expected about 200 kids to get cards Friday. The students also received DNA collection kits. State Farm Insurance helped sponsor the event.

Student volunteers from Metro High School measured the height and weight of the youngsters and helped them with fingerprinting.

It was all pretty exciting for the elementary students.

“Awesome - he gets his own ID!” said first grader Joseph Schossow Jr. after a friend flashed his freshly laminated card.

As for his first experience being fingerprinted? “It’s just ink,” said Joseph, looking at the splotch on his right thumb.

Logan Clark, 5, wore a big grin upon receiving his laminated ID card.

“Is this so we can buy stuff at the store?” he said.

Also at the event was Lisbon parent Bev Vermace, whose son, Tyler, has been missing since running away in January. Now 17, he was last seen in Cedar Rapids.

The identification card event is a way to raise awareness of missing or runaway children and get children and parents talking about the issue, Vermace said.

“It’s just something you pray you never have to use, but it would be nice to have it,” she said.

Girl’s disappearance 5 years ago brings family back for clues

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Saturday, June 3, 2006
Author: Steve Gravelle: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - Erin Pospisil would be 20 this summer, five years after she rode off in a black Chevrolet with tinted rear windows.

“I always hope she still is (alive) and that we’ll be able to bring her home,” said Carolyn Pospisil , Erin ’s stepmother. “I’m still convinced the answer still lies in Cedar Rapids. There’s someone that has more information than we have.”

Friends saw Erin get into the car June 3, 2001, in the 100 block of 12th Street SE. The 1990s-model Chevrolet Cavalier wasn’t familiar to Erin ’s friends, but she seemed to know the people inside.

To mark the fifth anniversary of Erin ’s disappearance - and maybe jog someone’s memory - the Pospisil family returns to Cedar Rapids today to distribute fliers detailing her case.

A billboard - “literally a big `missing’ poster” - went up this week along First Avenue East near Coe College, Pospisil said.

“We always have hope. We haven’t had any leads that have panned out,” said Pospisil , who moved her family to Council Bluffs about three years ago. “You always still occasionally get something that filters in from the posters, or that comes in from a Web site, but for the most part, they haven’t gotten anywhere.”

Pospisil is seeking volunteers to help distribute the fliers. Volunteers may gather at the parking lot of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1340 Third Ave. SE, at 9 a.m. today. After the fliers are distributed, a remembrance ceremony and balloon release will be held at the parking lot at 11 a.m.

Today’s events are a project of Help Find a Child, a non-profit organization founded by the Pospisil family. The organization has sponsored safety clinics and distributed identification cards for children, and Pospisil has delivered talks to middle school and high school classes.

“The big thing we’re working on right now is a sibling support program,” she said. “There is no national program that does that.”

Pospisil and Erin ’s younger sister and two older brothers participated in family counseling after her disappearance, “but it was kind of hard to find anyone who knew what to do with it,” she said. “You’re not really in a grief situation. You’re kind of stuck in the middle.”

On the Net

–For more information on Erin Pospisil ’s disappearance and other Help Find a Child projects, visit www.helpfindachild.com

Rescued boys give woman hope

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Thursday, January 18, 2007
Author: The Gazette

Carolyn Pospisil cried through most of the night after she learned two kidnapped Missouri boys were found safe Friday in suburban St. Louis.

The tears were ones of joy and hope. And frustration.

That William “Ben” Ownby, 13, missing four days, and Shawn Hornbeck, 15, gone for four years, were found alive gave her hope that someday she’ll find her stepdaughter, Erin Pospisil , who disappeared at age 15 from Cedar Rapids on June 3, 2001.

“It definitely gave us hope that long-term stuff can happen and you can get a positive outcome after this long,” Pospisil said.

Pospisil , who now lives in Council Bluffs, often reaches out to parents of missing children and has spoken to Hornbeck’s mother a couple of times.

The Pospisil family organized the non-profit Help Find a Child to keep Erin ’s story circulating, to hold safety clinics and to educate others about missing kids.

“I don’t want anyone to be in the same position that we were in, where we didn’t know who to talk to. We didn’t have anyone to go to,” Pospisil said.

Key in finding both Missouri boys was the immediate attention paid Ben’s disappearance. There wasn’t as much attention - or immediate attention - when Shawn disappeared in 2002 at age 11. With Ben, there was, Pospisil said.

“The biggest thing was that people were paying attention. It was a teenage boy that helped find these kids,” Pospisil said.

It’s been 5 1/2 years since friends saw Erin get into a 1990s Chevrolet Cavalier in the 100 block of 12th Street SE. She vanished. Three days later, after the family had exhausted every resource, they went to Cedar Rapids police.

When Erin disappeared six weeks after her 15th birthday, she had been going through “normal 15-year-old, growing pains kinds of things,” Pospisil said. Police decided she was a runaway, Pospisil said, making it more difficult to get law enforcement involved.

Most kids will let someone know when they’ve run away. Law enforcement should trust the parents when they say a child didn’t run away, Pospisil said.

“I know my daughter didn’t run away,” Pospisil said. “We always knew where she was even when she was mad…You just know your kids.”

Part of her would like to believe that she’s wrong: “That seems better than the alternative.”

Cedar Rapids Police Lt. Chuck Mincks said most of the reports taken about missing people are for runaways, juveniles up to the age of 18 who leave home of their own free will.

How police handle missing person reports is decided case by case. If there is reason to believe a person has been abducted - maybe their car is found parked with a door open - then the search becomes more urgent.

“If we don’t know why a kid is missing, probably the quicker we can act the better,” Mincks said.

Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay agreed, saying police backtrack to the last place the child was seen and start the search from there.

Noreen Gosch of West Des Moines, whose 12-year-old son, Johnny Gosch, became the face for missing children everywhere after he disappeared while delivering newspapers in 1982, said she, too, was thankful the two boys were found in Missouri. Since Johnny was kidnapped, laws have improved as has the awareness of pedophiles, she said, noting many of the changes came because of her son’s high-profile disappearance.

She described the Amber Alert system as “a huge step forward” because information can be sent out nationally, including the description of a vehicle, when a child is abducted.

Gosch joins Pospisil in urging people to regularly review Web sites that post photos of missing children.

“You never know when you’ll be the one to spot a victim who is too afraid to cry out for help,” Gosch said.

Missing persons in 2006

–Cedar Rapids: 85 adults reported missing (76 returned, two arrested, four unfounded, three still missing); 430 runaways reported (381 returned, nine cleared, 40 still missing).

–Iowa City: 48 reports of missing persons; 151 reports of runaways. (The department does not track cases cleared.)

–For more information, go to www.missingkids.com or www.helpfindachild.com

Friends, family gather to mark C.R. girl’s 2001 disappearance

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Saturday, June 2, 2007
Author: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - Family and friends of Erin Pospisil will mark the six years since her disappearance with prayers and a balloon release Sunday. “Not only is Erin still missing six years later, we are no closer to knowing what really happened to her than we were on that Sunday night six years ago,” said Carolyn Pospisil , Erin ’s stepmother.

“Somebody out there knows what happened to Erin that night. We continue to wait for that someone to share that all-important lead that will help us to bring Erin home.”

Sunday’s event is scheduled for noon at Maranatha Bible Church, 701 25th St. NE. Members of the community are encouraged to attend.

The event is a project of Help Find a Child, a non-profit organization founded by the Pospisil family. More information on the event and the organization are available at www.helpfindachild.com

Missing girl’s family hopes balloons bring answers

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Monday, June 4, 2007
Author: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - A total of 150 balloons were released shortly after noon Sunday, each carrying a picture of Erin Pospisil , who has been missing for six years.

“We’ve tried to do something every year to honor her memory,” said Carolyn Pospisil , 37, of Cedar Rapids, Erin ’s stepmother.

On Sunday, several dozen people gathered inside Maranatha Bible Church, 701 25th St. NE, for a prayer service to pray for Erin and the more than 400 people who are currently listed as missing across Iowa.

After the service they moved outside into the rain to release the balloons.

Carolyn Pospisil said maybe with Erin’s story being in the news again somebody who knows something about her whereabouts will decide that it’s time to step forward.

Missing teen case from 2001 still open

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Monday, April 28, 2008
Author: News correspondent

Q: Is there any new information on Erin Pospisil , the Cedar Rapids teenager who went missing almost seven years ago?

A: Billboards and fliers have made Pospisil a familiar face in Cedar Rapids, but the efforts of her family and law enforcement have not led to her return.

Erin was 15 on June 3, 2001, when she was last seen getting into a black Chevrolet Cavalier in the 100 block of 12th Street SE.

Her friends said they did not recognize the vehicle but Erin seemed to know the people inside and went with them willingly.

Neither family members, friends at Metro High School nor police have had any contact with Erin since that evening.

No leads resulted from police efforts, posters and billboards or news stories.

Her stepmother, Carolyn Minney of Cedar Rapids, said at the time they hoped Erin was a runaway. It is better than the alternative, Minney said. She suspected Erin might have been heading for Chicago since she had friends at Metro who had come from Chicago.

Efforts to find her there also were unsuccessful. Most first-time runaways stay within 300 miles of home, but as time passes, they may head toward larger cities where they can blend into the streets, according to the National Runaway Switchboard.

At the time she left, Erin was 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds. She had brown eyes and dark brown hair with red highlights.

The case remains open, said Sgt. Cristy Hamblin of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. In June she will have been missing for seven years.

Family and friends continue to hold events in Erin ’s honor hoping to keep her in the minds of those who knew her and let those who have any information on her whereabouts know that she is still missing.

Anyone who may have seen Erin or has information about her, should call Cedar Rapids police at (319) 286-5378.

The National Runaway Switchboard takes toll-free calls from runaways and relays messages from missing young people to their families. That number is 1-(800) 786-2929, 1-(800) RUNAWAY.

Background Erin Pospisil was last seen June 3, 2001, climbing into a black Chevrolet Cavalier in the 100 block of 12th St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Friends did not know who was driving the car but they said Erin climbed in willingly. Despite the efforts of her family and police, the then-15-year-old Metro High School student has not been located, nor has she contacted her family.

Balloon release to mark anniversary of girl’s disappearance

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Thursday, May 29, 2008
Author: The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS — Family and friends of Erin Pospisil will gather Sunday to mark the anniversary of the day she went missing.

The public is invited to attend a balloon release at 1 p.m. at the Van Vechten Park pavilion off 12th Avenue SE past the 19th Street intersection.

Pospisil , then 15, was last seen June 3, 2001, in front of a friend’s home in the 1500 block of Second Avenue SE. Friends saw her get into a car that was unfamiliar to them, but told police Pospisil seemed to know its occupants.

Since the disappearance, Erin ’s stepmother Carolyn Pospisil has worked to keep the case and others involving missing children and teenagers visible.

“Not only is Erin still missing seven years later, we are no closer to knowing what really happened to her than we were on that Sunday night seven years ago,” said Carolyn Pospisil . “Somebody out there knows what happened to Erin that night.

“It is our hope that by continuing to hold events in her honor that someone will remember something and come forward with that all-important lead that will help us to bring Erin home.”

More information on the event and the organization is available at www.HelpFindAChild.com

Iowa News Hawk

Erin Pospisil in Gazette articles since teen’s 2001 disappearance

ERIN POSPISIL

Search on for missing teen

Parents widen search for teen - Missing C.R. girl could have gone to Chicago, family says