Posted on 08/01/2002 7:48:20 PM PDT by The Bugler
FORT STOCKTON — Holly Johnson tries to hold back tears as she describes her 4-year-old grandson as “ornery, mischievous” and just your “typical little boy.”
While Johnson waited with the rest of the family, Schyler Lee Fain’s mother, Julie Fain, spent Wednesday putting fliers on cars throughout town. The fliers had a picture of her brown-haired, brown-eyed son holding his football. The word “MISSING” was printed in red across the top.
For two and a half days, the family, along with volunteers and several law enforcement agencies, searched for Schyler throughout the hot and rugged West Texas terrain.
On Wednesday, the Pecos County Sheriff’s Office called off the search after looking within a 10-mile radius of where Schyler was last seen at the 25-acre farm owned by his great-grandparents, O.L. and Jacky Ward. The house is located six miles north of Fort Stockton on 48th Lane off Farm-to-Market Road 1053.
The search has included local law enforcement, officers on horseback from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, a helicopter with the U.S. Border Patrol and volunteers on foot. The last time an incident like this happened in Fort Stockton was about 30 years ago.
A rainstorm Monday hindered part of the search, washing away any footprints and making the area muddy.
“We’re at the end of our search,” said Pecos County Sheriff Cliff Harris. “We’ve explored areas five or six times now.”
The only information officials have been given is that an Airborne Express driver saw a little boy walking down 48th Lane near FM 1053 around 11:30 a.m. Monday, 30 minutes after Fain left his great-grandparents’ house.
“I hate to say it, but our biggest fear now is that the child has been abducted,” Harris said.
The family still is holding onto strong hopes that Schyler is alive.
“Someone has taken my baby,” Johnson said. “Someone has to have him. We just don’t know where.”
Johnson said that at about 11 a.m. Monday. Schyler told his great-grandparents he was going out to check the goats. When he didn’t return, family members searched for him and reported him missing at about 1 p.m.
Johnson said it was not uncommon for the boy to wander around the area, where he has stayed since he was 2 weeks old.
“This is a country boy,” Johnson said. “He knows all the rocks, the goats, everything around here. This is his world.”
David Cook, a member of the Texas State Guard, said 17 members of his group searched for the boy.
“We looked for any trace of evidence,” he said. “A piece of clothing, a toy, but we didn’t find anything.”
Cook, who lives in Fort Stockton, said he helped with the search because it was happening in his community. “I have two nephews and three nieces. If something happened to them I would do the same thing,” he said.
Members of the Fort Stockton High School Band delivered a teddy bear with a blue and white bow to Schyler’s family. The ribbons had gold letters that said the “Panther Land Band is praying for the safe return of Schyler.”
“You hear about all the other kids who are missing, but you never think it would happen in your town,” said band member Andrea Chavez, 18.
Sixteen-year-old Albert Casas and his family spent many hours searching for Schyler, as did many others from Fort Stockton and surrounding towns.
Albert said he walked through mud looking in cars, in shacks, under houses and all over the area.
“This has been a tremendous unity in our town,” said band member Christina Matta.
“All races and ages have come together,” added Kendra Gray.
Johnson, who is originally from Fort Stockton but now lives in Ruidoso, N.M., said when she arrived Monday night, the street in front of the family’s house was lined with cars, motorcycles, bicycles and other vehicles.
The community support has just been “mind-blowing.” It’s “something that makes me glad I’m from Fort Stockton.”
Contact Melissa Williams Perner at mwilliams@texaswest.com or 659-8263.
I think this is by far the better thread and ought to be the primary one.
I was watching my 4 year old son on the park playground the other day. We had the place to ourselves. From a hundred yards away, some slow moving hulk got a bead on me. He sauntered over, sat down, and asked me about fishing (?), my son, whether I wanted to smoke, and if I was having a good day. He outweighed me by 200 lbs. He either wanted to sell me sh!+, bugger me, or bugger my son. Hispanic, broken English.
Security crackdown here. To the best of my ability, no detail is ignored. I pack again, and more.
Komm, Jesu, Komm -- mein Leib ist mude...(can't do an umlaut over the "u" in "mude".)
Yes, it is, Texas girl.
Thanks for the ping; that's my hometown.
I know my people out there; if a person is responsible for this, and has done him harm, he/she had better not let those people find out their identity.
They still believe in rope justice!
LibWhacker, that was a very astute observation.
Not many people know that Ft. Stockton is the same terrain as Big Bend National Park, and mountain lions prowl inside the city limits occasionally.
My daughter had six (yeah, SIX!) rabbits eaten out of a cage in the back yard one night before I could get out there.
All I found were the tracks of a huge mountain lion.
I hate to think of that happening to Schyler, but it's possible, as is the coyote theory.
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