Donna McLaughlin - Special to the Sun

As a child, I remember my dad telling us about his younger brother, Frank, who would have been around 51 years old. Frank had disappeared in the Kern River in June 1958. Apparently, his wallet and other belongings had been found by the river. Dad never really believed that Frank had drowned. For years and years, dad waited for Frank to call, but there was never a phone call. I'm sure dad never forgot about Frank, but we never heard anymore. I was 13 years old when Uncle Frank disappeared - I don't remember if I ever met him - I only remember the story. Eventually my dad and his sisters passed away. Life goes on.

As the saying goes, life is stranger/better than fiction. Who could have written the following events? I believe it was April 15th (2008) when the call came, tax day to most people, but a date we will never forget. Sgt Tom Wright of the Tulare County Sheriff/Coroners office had tracked down my brother trying to locate Uncle Frank's children for disposition of Uncle Frank's remains. His Remains?? Uncle Frank disappeared in 1958 we told him. Even our family genealogy report that was done in 1982 recorded the disappearance. Was this a 'cold case' like you see on TV? Did some sheriff official find the old unsolved disappearance case and resolve it? Not even close.

The truth was dumbfounding. Uncle Frank's remains were found in the Kern River in 1962 - a skull and femur. The remains were sent to an anthropologist at UC Berkeley who confirmed (as best he could) the remains were Uncle Frank. Uncle Frank was also apparently the only person listed 'missing' at the time. Frank's wife was notified, but for some reason, unknown, she did not notify Frank's brothers or sisters. My dad and his sisters went to their graves not knowing what happened to Frank.

Sgt. Tom Wright had recently become aware of the case. He said the case was well documented with newspaper articles, correspondence with the spouse, as well as reports from UC Berkeley. There were also documents on the search for Uncle Frank when he went missing. Sgt Wright had tracked down my brother in San Diego, who, ironically has my dad's last name, lives in dad's old house and thank goodness, has never changed his phone number. Sgt. Wright was trying to locate Frank's children, I don't know if he ever knew them. The children are probably now in their 60's and 70's. I did ask Sgt Wright if he could not locate Uncle Frank's children, would he consider giving me possession of Uncle Frank so I could put him in the same cemetery as my dad.

Through a lot of research and work, Sgt. Wright was able to locate the 'children'. I came home one night and there was a phone message, "Hi, Donna, I'm your cousin George." What a nice surprise, what a pleasant voice. George is 72 years old and I hope to keep in touch with him. With George's approval and Sgt. Wright's hard work, Uncle Frank will now have his final resting place at El Camino Cemetery here in San Diego

Years? It is a long, long story, and ultimately it doesn't matter. Why weren’t Uncle Frank's bothers and sisters not told of his remains being found in the 1960's? If anyone knows the answer, it is probably not a nice answer, so we don't want to know.

Words cannot express our gratitude to Sgt. Tom Wright of the Tulare County Sheriff/Coroner's office. Without his exceptional steadfast devotion to duty and his perseverance, Uncle Frank might not be in his final resting place. Since Sgt. Wright's call, I have been in touch with cousins I haven't talked to in years, who have helped with this search.

Thank you Sgt. Wright for closing a chapter in our family's life!