Christina Williams
 I first heard Christina's story during her disappearance in '98. I felt so deeply for both her and her family. I volunteered at a Canadian branch of a Missing Children's organization called Child Find, so Christina's story was being bandied about along with the stories of many other beautiful missing children.

Locally, we were dealing with a case of three brothers ranging in age from six to twelve. Their father propane-rigged the  house to blow and took off with the kids in a 1989 Ford Tempo. They were never seen or heard from again. A year later, divers retrieved the vehicle's engine from the waters not too far from the boys' home in Torbay. Driven off a cliff and to their deaths, they died at sea, their bodies never recovered. We were crushed.

During this time, I became a friend to the boys' aunt - their father's sister. Can you imagine the devastation? Not only had she lost three of her nephews, whom she was very close to, but she also learned that her very own brother took their lives.

Note: though the fatality of the tragedy described above has never been confirmed, given the suspicious coincidence of the events, there has been little speculation as to survival or non-malicious intent... but in the wake of speculation there is always hope. Always.

My hand-beaded portrait of Christina pales in comparison to her mortal beauty. It's just too profound to be reproduced.

Think of all the love she has given and know she still lives within us.