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October 27, 2005

Lynn Moran - Waiting in the dark

A $10,000 reward is being offered in the case. Portland police ask that anyone with information on Lynn call 207-874-8524.

More than two weeks after Lynn Moran was last seen in Portland, Maine, her family and friends remain emotionally in the dark.

With no clues as to the 24-year-old Shrewsbury resident's whereabouts, they go through their daily routines in a daze, they say, not really believing she's gone but seeing traces of her everywhere.

"What we're feeling are feelings that no human is conditioned to access and experience and the result is you've got a bunch of numb people looking out for each other," high school friend Joanna Hibbard said.

Moran was visiting family and friends in Portland on Columbus Day weekend, authorities said. She went out to a bar Oct. 10, visited a friend's apartment, stopped into a music store and hasn't been seen since. Police say they have no leads and no idea if she is alive or dead.

The uncertainty has been "maddening," not knowing whether to grieve or remain hopeful, Elizabeth, her oldest sister, said.

"The idea of her not coming back...I haven't even grappled with that," she said.

"It's very distressing," said Andrea Constantino, a co-worker of Moran's. "You know that I want to help and there's nothing really to do except sit around and wait."

Sometimes it's hard for family and friends to believe that she's actually gone.

But then Constantino has to leave her office that she shares with Moran when sadness overwhelms her. Elizabeth Moran reads the card that says "Thinking of You" that her sister sent to her and arrived in the mail the day after Lynn was last seen. Jessica Healy, whose daughter Lynn used to babysit in Portland, sees the flyers with her friend's photograph that read "MISSING" and hears the whispers as people speculate on her fate.

"I just think 'Oh, my God, they're talking about Lynn' and I just don't say anything," she said.

Born and raised in Windham, a suburb of Portland, Moran excelled as a ballerina, dancing professionally after her graduation from Portland High School. But her petite stature is contrasted by her large personality, her sister, Chris Moran, said, describing her as eccentric, intelligent, feisty and fun.

"She just doesn't do anything unless she puts herself fully into it," Chris explained.

Chris and Lynn shared an apartment in Natick until recently, she said, where most of their time spent together was with a pot of coffee, their cat, and plenty of conversation. The two last saw each other Oct. 8, shortly before Lynn drove to Maine.

"I think right now, we're all just missing Lynn," she said.

At the youth bridge homes in Waltham and Dedham where Moran acted as assistant director and worked 12-to-14-hour days, the children think she is on vacation. Constantino, the director of both homes, said that they don't want to upset the children, who have been through enough hard times without having to deal with potentially losing one of their closest companions.

"She loves these kids and she is probably one of the biggest advocates these kids have," Constantino said.

"They're just coming from such an unsafe situation and then someone that's advocated for them, supported them...it's really hard."

Hibbard, who flew back from her work in France to be with the Moran family, has experienced a bizarre homecoming. All through her town, the signs are posted on lampposts, bulletin boards and tied with string to balloons that are released into the air. The effect is both haunting and comforting, she said.

"The fact is, we're all kind of on auto pilot...There's no grieving happening here."

Tag: Lynn Moran

Other websites covering this story: MissingAbducted.com

Posted by Nealus at October 27, 2005 12:37 PM

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this is just a test

Posted by: Nealus at November 2, 2005 08:23 PM

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