As Jen awoke to a new day and new beginning in South Florida, things back home began to hit the fan as it is often said. Her Mother realized she had not seen her for a full day, which was not uncommon Wednesday through Saturday because of her job.

This was Sunday and her mom knew she did not work on Sunday's. She knocked on the door to Jen's room a few times before entering.

She noticed that the bed had not been slept in and the opened door of her closet showed that it was empty. Mom opened all the drawers on the dresser and nightstand and they too were empty. Anger gripped her as she returned to the kitchen and sat down and began to call her friends, she was not at any of their houses. She then called the police and was informed it was less than 48 hours and to call back later.

She told the rest of the family about her discovery and they promptly began to make calls to their friends, the search was on. Finally Tuesday arrived and Jen's mother called the police again, an officer came to the house and took down all the necessary information. She made sure to insist they speak to Vlad as her daughter had a serious crush on him and he liked her a little too much for her liking.

The officer returned to the station and filed a missing person report. Later that day the official investigation began. They went to the pizza shop and spoke to her former boss. Libby was polite as she answered all their questions. Then they asked if she ever heard Jen talk about leaving home .

"Yeah, I heard her talk about it a few times."

"That didn't cause you any concern?'

"No, a lot of my teenage employees talk all kinds of silly stuff from running away to getting married."

"Did she ever give a reason why she would think about it?"

"Not really. I did hear her mention that thanks to her mom her life was all school and work"

The officers made contact with some of her teachers and the story was the same with all of them. She was an intelligent and goal driven female that got great grades and was never in trouble. Her schoolmates basically said the same things except always added it really sucked that her mom was such a bitch and would not let her go to games or dances.

They finally went to Vlad's house and questioned him. They all knew him from the bar he worked at that they all frequented in their off duty hours. He invited them in and despite the lack of a search warrant allowed them to search his residence, they found nothing incriminating. He answered all their questions without reservation.

"Yes, he was aware she had a crush on him."

"Yes, he thought that she was very pretty, but come one she was only 16 years old. That kind of problem I don't need. Yes, he was aware that her mom didn't trust her or him or any of her friends and no he didn't know why".

When the officers returned to the station they were summoned to the Chief's office where two detectives were waiting. It seems the Chief had received the letter Jen wrote and the handwriting and content had been examined and analyzed by the detectives. They came to the conclusion that Jen had left home voluntarily. 

The detectives and not the officers returned to Jen's house to update her family and they were shown the letters that her brothers and father received, and these too were examined. Their findings based on the evidence and interviews suggested that Jen had left of her own free will.

That answer was not acceptable and not what her mother wanted to hear. She cursed them for being lazy and probably being bought off by her one of her friends.

They departed amid more accusations of incompetency. Once in their vehicle the senior detective said to his partner, "If that was my Mom I would have run away too." The case was deposited in the closed case files.

About a month later the Chief of Police received another letter from Jen, this one too was at Vlad's insistence. She apologize to the Chief, patrolmen and detectives for any and all problems she had caused them. Jen went on to say that she was attending senior high and working part time and was finally allowed to attend dances and sporting events. She was very happy.

This letter was also deposited in the closed case files and no further action would be taken.