johnny
10-30-2003, 12:53 PM
Families plead for help finding missing girls
LARRY MCCORMACK / STAFF
Family friend Linda Russell, left, consoles Vivian Mink (Johnna Brown's aunt) and Madison Hamilton (Johnna's cousin) as other family members pass out fliers and plead in a news conference for any information about Brown, 16, and Katie Donaldson, 17, the two missing teens from Dickson County. Brown and Donaldson have been missing since Oct. 22.
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By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF
Staff Writer
A tearful group of family and friends made an emotional plea yesterday to law enforcement and the media to intensify the search for two teenage girls from Dickson County who disappeared eight days ago.
Johnna Brown, 16, and Katie Donaldson, 17, never would have left home suddenly, taking with them no extra clothes or money, and leaving for so long without any real contact, they said.
''I just want to send out a plea to anybody in the world, or anywhere, if you know where our daughters are at, we love both of them, and we want them back home,'' said Katie's father, Malcolm Donaldson.
''We miss them both. Both are good girls.''
They were last seen leaving White Bluff the afternoon of Oct. 22 to attend a church service in Nashville's Bellevue neighborhood.
According to the families, the girls left the service, and then went to the Bellevue Center mall. They used a cell phone to call Brown's mother around 9 p.m. to say they were coming home.
They never arrived.
Dickson County investigators consider the girls ''missing and endangered.'' Family and friends described the girls as good students who had dreams of college and who were involved in church and school activities.
Johnna's mother, Roberta Brown, said the last known contact from the girls was Katie calling from Johnna's cellular telephone at 8:02 a.m. the following Thursday morning. Katie called her grandmother.
The call was traced to a cell tower in Champaign, Ill., Roberta Brown said.
''There was a lot of static,'' she said. ''Her grandmother said 'hello' four or five times. Katie said, 'It's Katie. I'm OK. I'm OK,' and then 'click' — the phone went dead.''
Sobbing, both families called on authorities to spread the word about the missing teens.
Johnna's brother, Brad, has driven to police stations in Illinois and Wisconsin, urging authorities to step up their investigation.
''Just come home,'' Brad said yesterday, staring into television cameras.
''If you can get to a phone and call, just call. Say you're OK. If you can come home, come home. Nobody's mad. You will not be in trouble for anything.
''We love you,'' said Katie's sister, Cori, 25, who was crying.
Brad finished ''very much, and we're not going to stop.''
''And if you can't call, just be positive, and be strong, and we will get you home,'' Cori said.
''And we won't give up looking until we know something, until we find you,'' Brad said.
A family spokesman said Malcolm Donaldson's wife, Tina, was home yesterday and was afraid to leave, fearing that she would miss a telephone call from the girls.
Child welfare investigators involved with family before
State child welfare investigators have been involved with the Malcolm Donaldson family before, said Carla Aaron, spokeswoman for the Department of Children's Services.
The state Department of Human Services became involved in 1995, and the case was closed in May 1996, Aaron said. Details of the case are no longer available, Aaron said. The state human services department handled child welfare cases before the Department of Children's Services was created.
Meanwhile, there were no records showing that state Department of Children's Services was ever involved with the Brown family, Aaron said.
Asked about DHS' involvement yesterday, a spokesman for the Donaldson family said that Malcolm Donaldson did not know or was unaware of any involvement by the agency.
The Missing teenagers
Johnna Layne Brown is 16, 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighs 130 pounds, has brown eyes and blond hair.
Bethany ''Katie'' Donaldson is 17, 5-feet-7-inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, has blue eyes and brown hair.
The two were last seen in Brown's white 1994 Chevrolet Camaro, bearing a Tennessee personalized license plate that says: ''JOHNNAB.''
LARRY MCCORMACK / STAFF
Family friend Linda Russell, left, consoles Vivian Mink (Johnna Brown's aunt) and Madison Hamilton (Johnna's cousin) as other family members pass out fliers and plead in a news conference for any information about Brown, 16, and Katie Donaldson, 17, the two missing teens from Dickson County. Brown and Donaldson have been missing since Oct. 22.
_____Today's Top Stories_____
• Ultimate goal? Graduate every student
• A tale of archaeology, looting and a savvy Vanderbilt professor
• Internal affairs to help with DUI probe
• Halloween now top holiday for DUI arrests
• Families plead for help finding missing girls
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly (text only)
Subscribe to The Tennessean
By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF
Staff Writer
A tearful group of family and friends made an emotional plea yesterday to law enforcement and the media to intensify the search for two teenage girls from Dickson County who disappeared eight days ago.
Johnna Brown, 16, and Katie Donaldson, 17, never would have left home suddenly, taking with them no extra clothes or money, and leaving for so long without any real contact, they said.
''I just want to send out a plea to anybody in the world, or anywhere, if you know where our daughters are at, we love both of them, and we want them back home,'' said Katie's father, Malcolm Donaldson.
''We miss them both. Both are good girls.''
They were last seen leaving White Bluff the afternoon of Oct. 22 to attend a church service in Nashville's Bellevue neighborhood.
According to the families, the girls left the service, and then went to the Bellevue Center mall. They used a cell phone to call Brown's mother around 9 p.m. to say they were coming home.
They never arrived.
Dickson County investigators consider the girls ''missing and endangered.'' Family and friends described the girls as good students who had dreams of college and who were involved in church and school activities.
Johnna's mother, Roberta Brown, said the last known contact from the girls was Katie calling from Johnna's cellular telephone at 8:02 a.m. the following Thursday morning. Katie called her grandmother.
The call was traced to a cell tower in Champaign, Ill., Roberta Brown said.
''There was a lot of static,'' she said. ''Her grandmother said 'hello' four or five times. Katie said, 'It's Katie. I'm OK. I'm OK,' and then 'click' — the phone went dead.''
Sobbing, both families called on authorities to spread the word about the missing teens.
Johnna's brother, Brad, has driven to police stations in Illinois and Wisconsin, urging authorities to step up their investigation.
''Just come home,'' Brad said yesterday, staring into television cameras.
''If you can get to a phone and call, just call. Say you're OK. If you can come home, come home. Nobody's mad. You will not be in trouble for anything.
''We love you,'' said Katie's sister, Cori, 25, who was crying.
Brad finished ''very much, and we're not going to stop.''
''And if you can't call, just be positive, and be strong, and we will get you home,'' Cori said.
''And we won't give up looking until we know something, until we find you,'' Brad said.
A family spokesman said Malcolm Donaldson's wife, Tina, was home yesterday and was afraid to leave, fearing that she would miss a telephone call from the girls.
Child welfare investigators involved with family before
State child welfare investigators have been involved with the Malcolm Donaldson family before, said Carla Aaron, spokeswoman for the Department of Children's Services.
The state Department of Human Services became involved in 1995, and the case was closed in May 1996, Aaron said. Details of the case are no longer available, Aaron said. The state human services department handled child welfare cases before the Department of Children's Services was created.
Meanwhile, there were no records showing that state Department of Children's Services was ever involved with the Brown family, Aaron said.
Asked about DHS' involvement yesterday, a spokesman for the Donaldson family said that Malcolm Donaldson did not know or was unaware of any involvement by the agency.
The Missing teenagers
Johnna Layne Brown is 16, 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighs 130 pounds, has brown eyes and blond hair.
Bethany ''Katie'' Donaldson is 17, 5-feet-7-inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, has blue eyes and brown hair.
The two were last seen in Brown's white 1994 Chevrolet Camaro, bearing a Tennessee personalized license plate that says: ''JOHNNAB.''