Tears, balloons mark bittersweet event

by Lynn Meredith

            Tears fell amid raindrops on Aug. 28 at the Maple Park fire station as a crowd of about 40 gathered to remember Maple Park resident Bradley Olsen, missing since Jan 2007. Friends and family came out to pay tribute to Olsen and others in Illinois whose cases are yet unsolved.

            As they waited to welcome the Community United Effort (CUE) Center caravan, making a tour across the country in an effort to keep awareness on missing persons, Brian Adams of B95 radio in DeKalb spoke to the crowd.

            “Not only is this a sad memorial but also a joyful occasion. We're here to remember people who have seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, leaving families wondering what has happened. In cold cases, the memories fade, evidence disappears, new cases come up and are given attention to,” Adams said. “The caravan will pay tribute. We can say there are people out here who still remember.”

            The CUE Center for Missing Persons is traveling 5,300 miles through 17 states  in 12 days to bring attention to 110 missing-persons cases and six unsolved murders. The day before it arrived in Maple Park, the CUE caravan stopped in Bolingbrook to gather with the family of Stacey Peterson, and in Chicago with the family of Diamond and Tionda Bradley, sisters missing since June 2001.

            The Olsen family spoke of the support they had received from the community and the incredible turnout that saw 340 people join in for the second search soon after Olsen's disappearance. He was last heard from after an evening in January 2007 with friends at a DeKalb bar. He made a last call on his cell phone at 2:24 a.m.

            “This is not a cold case. We have leads. We have people we are interviewing,” DeKalb County Detective Angel Reyes said. “The case will stay active as long as we have someone to talk to, as long as we have someone to chase.”

            Village President Ross Dueringer spoke about the effect of the disappearance of a son of longtime Maple Park residents, Bill and Sue Olsen.

            “When something like this happens in a community, it has an effect on the whole town,” Dueringer said through his tears.

            Described by one family member as a daredevil with a killer smile that came on slow, Olsen is remembered by the yellow ribbons on the tree in front of the community center. The tree was lit every night after Olsen's disappearance until his birthday in April. Sue Olsen explained that yellow signifies bringing people home and that her home over the holidays was decorated in yellow, not green and red.

            Following prayers led by Maple Park United Methodist Pastor Mike Meyers, not only for Olsen, but for John Spira and Scott Acaro, both of whom were last seen in February 2007, the crowd assembled on the north side of the fire station. Each person held a yellow balloon printed with “Remember Us” on its side. The breeze carried the balloons westward as one by one they were released.

09/05/2008