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NEWS | Piquette awarded Federal Way’s Key to the City [2]
VOL. 18, NO. 38
MIRROR
F E D E R A L WAY
DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
OPINION | Campbell: Student safety a top priority for Federal Way Public Schools [6] Roegner: State Senate change? [6] BUSINESS | Federal Wayans say goodbye to Weyerhaeuser [4] COMMUNITY | Farmers Market Chili Cook-Off selling tickets, seeking volunteers [10]
SPORTS | Gilbert answers call, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 | 75¢ impressive in Gators loss [8]
NEWS | Ex-Federal Way Public Schools employee accused of theft [21]
Technology helps mother, son reunite after 46 years apart I BY JEROD YOUNG
jyoung@fedwaymirror.com
n 1970, Patricia “Pat” Wilson and her exhusband had a simple custody agreement in place for their son, Sean Barron. Sean’s father had regular visitation dates, with each visit lasting a few hours. But one day, Pat and her new husband, Bob Wilson, grew worried when Sean was not returned to them on time.
Her sense of panic growing, Pat reached out to mutual friends and family, but no one could help. She wouldn’t see her son for the next 46 years. Thankfully, Sean’s wife, Trysha Barron, is the techsavvy sort. Trysha found her mother-in-law through ancestry.com and connected her to her estranged son via Facebook on May 21, 2016, the morning of Pat’s 70th
City installs memorial bench for murder victim
birthday. Pat and Sean reunited this August in Sean and Trysha’s hometown, Anchorage, Alaska. “The experience was just incredible,” Pat said. “Bob and I got to the airport and all we knew was that he would have a sign. So we’re walking through the airport and I’m seeing all these families. But then there he was, holding a sign that read
‘Mom.’ “I was just so happy and overwhelmed – I just dropped my suitcases, ran over, and wrapped my arms around him and didn’t want to let go.”
THE WAY WE WERE
Technology in 1970, of course, was nothing like it is today. When hours passed and Pat realized her son and his father had gone missing,
the worry and panic set in. Those feelings quickly turned to motivation to find Sean. But Pat and Bob had no idea where Pat’s 3-yearold son could be, and they had no leads to help them search. “They were only supposed to be gone for a couple hours,” Pat recalled. “When he didn’t come back, we knew something
was up. We called mutual friends, and nobody seemed to know anything. In those days, the authorities just didn’t get involved with custody. So we had to keep calling people but nobody could help. “So that was the thing. It was like the end... We hired a private detective, but it just floundered and we couldn’t find any trace of him.” [ more REUNION, page 22 ]
For some, 15 years after, 9/11 still not over
BY RAECHEL DAWSON
Adam Gutierrez’s widow, Marianne Gutierrez. “But, City of Federal Way ofafter reality started setting ficials last Thursday helped in, I think we all thought the family of Navy veteran realistically that they’re Adam Gutierrez install a eventually going to take memorial bench near the it down and there’s going site at which he was shot and to be nothing and it’ll just killed in May. be like it was before and Fully funded by the nothing happened. But Gutierrez family, the bench something sits at the did happen intersection there.” of SouthAdam west 356th Gutierrez’s Street and death was 18th Avenue the third Southwest. murder In the center within 48 is a plaque hours in that reads, Federal Way A memorial bench was “In loving this past installed at Southwest 356th memory May. Street and 18th Avenue Southwest of Adam “The in honor of Adam Gutierrez, a Edward deaths of Navy veteran who was murdered Alex Kelley Gutierrez.” May 10. RAECHEL DAWSON, the Mirror Adam and Frank Gutierrez, Cohens 30, was walking his dog in a Jr. on May 9, and Adam local neighborhood when he Gutierrez on May 10, had was murdered on May 10. A a profound impact on our makeshift vigil has memoricommunity,” said Federal alized him for months. Way Police Department “I’m thankful the city has Chief Andy Hwang. “The left it there for so long, since police investigations the bench wasn’t there,” said are very active and our detectives are aggressively pursuing leads in all of the cases.”
rdawson@fedwaymirror.com
[ more MEMORIAL, page 3 ]
South King Fire and Rescue’s annual Sept. 11 memorial ceremony was held at the department’s station No. 64 in Federal Way . The memorial at that station has artifacts from all three 9/11 sites: Steel from the World Trade Center, a building block from the Pentagon, and a fieldstone from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a hijacked plane was forced down after Todd Beamer led a passenger revolt that likely spared the White House. Photo courtesy of Bruce Honda
New York Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Alles was the keynote speaker at South King Fire and Rescue’s Sept. 11 memorial ceremony. Alles’ remarks, edited for spelling, punctuation, grammar and length, appear here with permission. Today I’d like share my Sept. 11 remembrances and also tell the story
of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Sept. 11. If that sounds like the title of a famous Clint Eastwood movie, you’re right. I’d like to delve first into the bad, move on to the ugly, and close out with the good. I’m sure you’re all wondering, “What good could possibly come from such a devastating day for the fire service as well as for the American people?”
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was a battalion chief assigned to Battalion 58. My office was located in Canarsie Brooklyn, in the FDNY’s busy Division 15. At the time of the first plane striking the first tower, I was in my office finishing up paperwork after a 24-hour shift. By the time of the second plane strike, when a terrorist attack was now confirmed, I was in the process of mus-
tering up with fellow 15th Division members. FDNY had issued a total recall of the department. While on a bus in transit to Ground Zero, we were already aware of the first collapse. While en route, we were informed of the second collapse. It’s truly difficult to comprehend such a cataclysmic event and to try to grasp the [ more 9/11, page 14 ]
PROMISE Federal Way 34415 16th Ave S (253) 927-1159 • lesschwab.com 6
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BEST BRAKE VALUE •