Re. LE initial response: once LE was called in, we can assume the mother and close friends/ neighbors had checked Jorelys' friends homes and her usual play areas. Once LE arrived, the next step SHOULD HAVE been searching the nearby wooded areas and the other apartments (vacant or not, just door to door, come in and check if the resident permits, everyone rejecting gets a threat of warrant if suspicious.)
I moved into my neighborhood as homes were still being built. Several unsupervised kids (not mine, thank god) had made something of a clubhouse in a new (no locks yet) home..so as a parent, my first thought is to check vacants, not because someone may have taken her there, but because she may have wandered in there on her own. Of course a parent is not going to know every single vacant apartment, but once LE is knocking on doors, I assume they will be turning the handle and immediately checking unlocked vacants. I am of the opinion that LE didn't do the best they could have, and I feel that opinion is backed with the fact that once they brought in outside help, what they were unable to do Friday pm-Sunday pm was completed quite swiftly Monday morning.
On a different note, my daughter was quite moved by the interaction she had with Jorelys' mother yesterday. I know there were a thousand mourners in attendance and I don't know how she got through it, and I have no idea if she will even remember the hug and words shared with my daughter, but my daughter will remember that for the rest of her life. This morning she said, "mom, she was so tense.. but when I hugged her, I felt her body relax a little, and I think that it helped her just a little." If it did offer comfort, that is wonderful, but it sure helped my daughter feel that she had done something good. Of course my girls are heartbroken about Jorelys but their first concern has been the family left behind, and what can they do to help. My daughter immediately sought out Jorelys' school friends to hug them, and then her mother. I understand that there is no true help that could ever be close to enough, but support can give strength.
My older daughter was more quiet and she seemed to be more concerned about MY emotion than anything else. and to add to the diary talk, my youngest has had one since kindergarten, mostly "I love dogs" "my sister is annoying" and Christmas lists. No big dramatic typical diary stuff, just normal kid musings.
