(Something about reading it?)…because I don’t want to forget anything. I want to give a complete very detailed statement of everything that went on – on the day before, the day Hailey disappeared, and the day after. Just everything I could remember.
I want to thank everyone for coming this afternoon and giving me the opportunity to make a statement. First, I want to speak directly to Hailey in case she’s listening. Wherever you are Hailey, I’m looking for you. Hundreds of people are looking for you. We all want you home safe. I just want to see you and touch your beautiful face. I really love you. I desperately need you home. There’s not a minute that goes by that I’m not praying for you or crying, wishing you were in my living room. I can’t handle not knowing where you are or if you’re safe. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on and I’m very proud that God chose me to be your mother.
(inaudible)
If someone out there has Hailey, please let her go. Just turn her loose. Drop her off at a church or school, police station. Anywhere that she can get to a phone and call police or call her family. Even if… anyone has any information on Hailey’s whereabouts or where she might be, please call the police. Even if they think the information is not relevant or too small to worry about, or that it’s already been reported, please call it in anyway. Any information you might have may tie something together or make something click for investigators.
Someone out there knows where Hailey is or knows something that can help find her.
I feel like I need to go over the days surrounding Hailey’s disappearance again for different reasons. Many people who are not close to the case seem to be confused because there are so many conflicting accounts of what actually happened. After watching many of the interviews, I’m beginning to see why myself. I have yet to see an entire interview aired or printed. They are cut or pasted, edited for time and space. And often I’m not quoted in correct context. My words are sometimes picked apart and twisted around in such a way that I don’t even (inaudible). I’ve been flat out called a liar by some people. Others speculate on my possible involvement in Hailey’s disappearance or wonder if I’m covering up for somebody. Some people accuse me of withholding information and of not cooperating with law enforcement. These things are not true but I now feel that I have to defend myself from ridiculous accusations, slander, or defamation of character.
With that said, I want to start out by saying that there was no blowout on Christmas, there were no arguments or disagreements. Everyone was getting along fine. And everyone pretty much got exactly what they asked for. On Sunday, Dec 26, Hailey returned home around noon after spending the night with Clint. I cooked a small Christmas dinner for the four us. WE ate around 2:00. After dinner, we all just relaxed and hung out. I was just a nice, quiet enjoyable lazy day. Later in that evening around 8 o r9, DD left to spend the night with a friend. That’s where some of the inconsistencies with family comes along. DD says he left at 9 o’clock at night, I was saying he left at 6 or 7. That’s the inconsistencies. Shawn and I were watching TV in our bedroom. Hailey was playing a xBox game in DD’s room. Around 10 o’clock I saw that Hailey was in her room watching TV. I told her good night and I went to bed.
On Monday Dec 27, Shawn left the house at 5:30. My alarm was going off around the time he was telling me bye. I got up and got ready for work. I usually leave the house around 6:20. When my ride didn’t show up, I called her to see what was keeping her. I peeked in at Hailey b/c I’m used to seeing her asleep on the couch. She wasn’t there and I remembered ‘oh yeah, she’s in her room’. I peeked in and it was dark, but her TV was on. And it definitely pacified me. I didn’t touch her but I seen my daughter and felt good. I came into the living room to wait on my ride.
I left the house around 6:30 and got to work about 7:-00. Shawn called me while I was at work that afternoon. I asked him about the kids. He told me that DD wasn’t home yet and that Hailey had left to go to Clint’s and then was going to a friend’s to spend the night. Normally I work 7 to 7 but I left work early that Monday. We had a staff meeting and the person that was usually there to relieve me was there at the meeting and offered to cover the rest of my shift since she was already there. I called Shawn to make sure he would be there to pick me up. We left the hospital about 6:15. We stopped by the ATM close to the hospital to get some money out because I was running short on cash, then we went by mom’s house to check on her, see if she needed anything. Shawn and I still got back to CCity about 7:30 that evening. And we were probably in bed by 9:00. DD came in to stay good night sooner after. I was kind of upset that Hailey hadn’t called me, confirmed that Shawn had let me know that she was staying the night with a friend. But I wasn’t worried about her. I went to bed.
Tuesday morning on the 28th, Shawn and I both got up around 5:30. WE left the house together about 6:20 to go to work. It’s not unusual for Shawn to take me to work. He always has to be there by 7:00. Sometimes he had to go in earlier but he was always told the night before and I would arrange to get another ride on those days.
He dropped me off at the hospital at 7:00. Around noon I called DD on my cell phone I had left at home. He told me Hailey wasn’t home yet so I asked him to text her friend, see if Hailey was there, tell her to go ahead and tell her to come home. He called me back within a few minutes to say that Hailey hadn’t been there and hadn’t stayed the night there. I then told him to walk over to Clint’s to check with him – Clint’s phone was broke. So he walked over there and called me back. Told me that Naomi said Hailey had been over there for a minute on Monday but didn’t say the night. I told DD to give the phone to Clint. After telling Clint how worried I was, I told him I was going to get a ride home and report Hailey missing to the police. I asked him to call the PD and let them know that I was coming. He agreed to make the call but for some reason he never did. My sister-in-law gave me a ride home from Snyder to CCity. I stopped at the house first to make sure Hailey hadn’t come back home. Grabbed my cell phone, started texting Hailey’s friends while my sister-in-law took me around to a couple of their houses before going to the police station. I got home from the police station around 3:00. Shawn called me on my cell and talked to David who told him what all was going on. So Shawn left and got the house around 4:00, with me and David. Officer Alexander arrived shortly after to take a more detailed report from me.
I’ve just told you everything I know first hand. The rest I learned later, either from DD or from Shawn. I’m going to touch briefly on that. Monday morning Shawn quit his job. He didn’t tell me about this until Wednesday the 29th. I knew that Shawn had been thinking about quitting but he knew I was would mad if he did. He told me that he went into work Monday, turning in his coveralls and to clean out his locker. Then he went to his grandmother’s house in Dunn but they didn’t answer the door. So he came down to I-20 – he didn’t come into CCity – just I-20 and then went to Big Spring. He got to Big Spring before 8:00 and he knows that because his mother hadn’t left for work yet. He stayed there until just after 2:00. When he left to come to Colorado City, Shawn said that… Around 2:00 he left to come to Colorado City. Shawn said that he didn’t get home until around or a little after 3:00. Hailey left just about 15 minutes after he got there. DD told me that he and a friend came home Monday sometime between 4:00 and 5:00. The door was locked. He knocked for several minutes before reaching in through - the glass had been broken out - Hailey broke it with a basketball. He reached in through there and unlocked the door. When DD and his friend walked into the house Shawn was coming from my bedroom where he had been watching TV. They all said ‘hi, what’s up’ to teach other and then DD and… Shawn returned to my bedroom and DD and his friend went to DD’s room. Shawn remained home until he left to go pick me up from work.
One other thing that I want to mention is that it has been reported that we hosted a New Year’s Eve party at our house. This is an absurdity beyond belief. Members of my family were at my house to be with me in this time of distress and to worry about Hailey.
While I sincerely appreciate the time and effort of law enforcement agents, that law enforcement agents (inaudible) investigate Hailey’s disappearance, I do not understand why they seem to have disregarded all of the witnesses who have come forward to say they saw Hailey on Monday Dec 27th. Two of my neighbors came forward to say they saw Hailey in my back yard around noon. Another neighbor said he saw Hailey and a small dark boy, probably Naomi’s son, two times between 10:30 and noon. A woman who knows Hailey and the friend she was supposed to spend the night with saw them both walking together in front of Alco around 8:30pm. This woman was returning a movie to the Redbox and passed by them. She still had a receipt and brought it by and showed it to me the other day with the date of the 27th and the time of 8:36.
I also don’t understand law enforcement’s reluctance to publicly name any other person(s) of interest and if for whatever reason they are unable to locate someone to question them, then why not take advantage of the media to get their name and description out and let the public find them. Investigators keep telling me about numerous other people that they are interested in questioning but there is no sense of urgency to actually get it done. It has been over a month since Hailey has disappeared. Knowing that someone might have information about Hailey but law enforcement have still not gotten around to question them is (disturbing?) me. While I am not trying to deflect suspicion away from anyone, I do absolutely want every single person who may have information about Hailey or her whereabouts checked out. in my mind not to have already done this is negligence. It’s been over a month and we seem no closer to knowing where Hailey is than we did in the beginning. She needs to be found and come home to be surrounded by everyone who loves her.
I want to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends who continue to stand by and support me unconditionally and are always there for me. I want to thank Marc Klaas and Brad Dennis who are both great guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to find Hailey, for continuing to stay in contact with me and offer their help,. Thank you to the Laurie Recovery Center who came down and organized searches and trained volunteers. Thank you to all the people who have searched for Hailey. To everyone who is praying for Hailey’s safe return. And to everyone who has brought me everything from cooked meals to groceries to Find Hailey t-shirts and handmade cards. Thank you to Deena with the Somer Thompson Foundation who ordered me a grant. Thanks to the media who are keeping Hailey’s picture on the TV and in the newspapers so that she is in the front of everyone’s mind. Although I have not and will not ask for money, I greatly appreciate those who have found it in their hearts to want to help me. What I want most are your prayers for Hailey’s safe return.
There are some people who are going around demanding or begging for money. I am disgusted that these individuals who never held down jobs are exploiting Hailey to get a handout. I’ve always worked and supported my kids by myself and I will return to work as soon as I am able. I do not want a handout. And if anyone asks for money on my behalf please know the request isn’t coming from me and I’m not getting money.
I do hope this will lay to rest the confusion and speculation surrounding Hailey’s disappearance, on my part anyway. I do not want to have to defend myself or anyone else. I only want to concentrate on Hailey and everything that can be done to bring her back home. I will continue to hold onto the hope that Hailey is alive and that she will be home soon. I ask that everyone out there also hold onto the hope that she is alive. Please continue to look for Hailey when you’re in the store, when you’re driving down the street – wherever you go. Whatever you do, please do not give up hope that my daughter Hailey is alive and out there somewhere. Thank you to everybody that came out and everybody that can get that aired or typed up. I just really appreciate all of you guys coming out, giving me the opportunity.
(What’s your relationship like with Shawn Adkins?)
We’re friendly. We talk on the phone. But I’m not going to take any questions because I don’t want my statement cut into. I’ll do interviews again tomorrow and every day, all day. Thank you.
