The Stranger Beside Me

     She was a classmate of mine.
     We were side by side in the senior yearbook, that juxtaposition purely due to the alphabetical closeness of our last names and not because we were close friends.  Truth is, I barely knew her.  
     To me, she was Regina Rap.  We shared the same stomping grounds of northeast Lincoln, Nebraska, certainly crossed paths in the hallways of Lincoln Northeast High School many times, and became Rockets for life because as it is said, "Once A Rocket, Always A Rocket."  We probably sat close at pep rallies, relatively close at places like Seacrest Field and Pershing Auditorium, and passed each other while cruising "O" on the weekends.  Acquaintances, friends, classmates, dancing around the periphery of each other while barely knowing that the other even existed.
     After graduation on a stormy May night, Gina and me and the rest of our class went our separate ways, scattering to the Midwest wind like so many pieces of naive multi-colored confetti.  Further education followed for some; the military for others; marriage and/or work for more.  

     Gina found her way into her music, becoming a talented singer and songwriter.  That love would eventually shape and determine her destiny.
     On October 17, 2000, Gina (then Gina Bos) left home for an open mic performance at Duggan's Pub just south of downtown Lincoln.  She left the bar shortly before close and was last seen walking to her car with her guitar.

     At that point - and to this day - she has vanished without a trace.  The next morning, police found her car in the spot she had left it outside Duggan's.  The trunk was ajar; her guitar inside.  She was gone.  Authorities believe they know who is responsible for her disappearance, but cannot prove it.
     Her sister Janell, also a singer-songwriter, within the last few years has started the Squeaky Wheel tour, a world-wide event consisting of hundreds of musical artists that came together to promote and shed light on the plight of missing persons.  (Janell's song "October 17th" that chronicles the cause can be seen here).  It usually begins on that same date and ends on Bos' birthday, November 4th.  At a recent concert in Lincoln where Janell performed, the 2010 missing person case of Peru State College (NE) student Tyler Thomas was profiled which shows that this problem continues over the years and across the generations.  To date, over 1,000 missing persons profiled by the GINA:  For Missing Persons FOUNDation have been located.
     To her credit Janell has turned her sister's plight into a positive, spreading the word of Gina's disappearance and that of so many others with the hope of bringing them home and finally finding resolution for all involved.  For my part, I write this post to do my part to make sure she is not forgotten and to ask that all who read this take a look at this page to familiarize yourself with Gina's characteristics with the hope that someone, somewhere might know something and tell about it.
     As I go back and read the first sentence, I realize that I used the past tense to describe my relationship with Gina.  Gina?  You'll always be my classmate.  And the people who love you - and a stranger beside you in a faded, nicked-up yearbook  - will never give up hope that you will one day be found safe.