Dec. 20, 2007
Missing Marshall Student Lived Near Burned-Out, Abandoned Homes
Friends Describe Her as Safety Conscious; Vigil Thursday at Student Center Fountain
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Writer
Huntington, WV (HNN) – When Marshall University completed the fall semester on Friday, students had visions of holidays and vacations dancing in their heads. One young woman --- Leah Hickman --- planned to return to Point Pleasant after working a Saturday shift at the Dress Barn on Merritt’s Creek. The journalism major, who worked also had a shift on campus radio station WMUL-FM, did not show up for work.
Roger Parker, one of her best friends, met Hickman on a November day three years ago. They were both starting work as Sears employees. They have been friends since then.
Caitlin Starkey, an MU junior psychology major, has known Hickman even longer. “I grew up with Leah,” Starkey explained. Their friendship goes back eight years to middle school and high school. Leah would usually tell Starkey “everything.”
Ms. Hickman had almost an obsession with safety, Starkey said. She would check her car door three times to make sure it was locked. She lived with her sister at an apartment on 403 Eighth Avenue. The apartment has four units and two of them are vacant, Detective Rocky Johnson said told Fox News' “On the Record” Wednesday night, Dec. 19.
Parker told HNN that she generally only slept at the apartment, as she was too busy with school work, friends, and family. That’s why it’s an anxiety-prone existence for Leah’s family and friends right now.
She’s always stayed in touch.
Neither Starkey nor Parker knew of any potential boyfriends with whom she could have run off. Her friends says she was not in a relationship, but had been dating some fellow students. In a way, both Starkey and Parker would now consider her leaving with a boyfriend a favorable outcome, since she has been missing six days.
Starkey asks the community to gather at the Memorial Fountain on the Marshall campus today, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. whether you knew Leah Hickman or not. Come light a candle and say a prayer that the 21-year-old brunette will be found safely.
In addition, a benefit concert to raise funds for the continued search will be held Friday night at 9 p.m. Dec.21 at Marley’s Dog House. Currently, Leah’s employer has offered a $10,000 reward for her return.
Detective Rocky Johnson, talking to Greta Van Susteren on Fox, described Leah's neighborhood as a nice residential one near a city park, surrounding a four-unit apartment. However, Ritter Park is several blocks away from 403 Eighth Avenue where Leah lives. It is near the Cammack Middle School construction site and contains a few burned out and vacant houses. On Wednesday, Huntington Police began searching some of those abandoned structures hoping to find clues to Leah’s disappearance.
While Starkey spoke confidently of Leah’s Eighth Avenue accommodations, Parker told HNN that she had not been truly comfortable in that community.
Starkey said “there were a couple of times” she was concerned about the apartment in which she lived with her sister, but “she’s so overly cautious. She was very aware of her surroundings. Her doors were always locked. She got out of her car and would triple-check her doors over, over and over again. She was very careful, safe and conscious. That’s why [her disappearance] is so bizarre.”
However, the last cell phone call came from Leah at about 5:45 Friday afternoon. She was in a drive-through at McDonalds. Some of her friends suggest she had planned to go back to the apartment and do laundry. She would have been the only person in the four apartment complex on that Friday evening. The other tenant was visiting friends in Columbus, Ohio. Also, the laundry room is located in the basement of the structure.
Starkey said Ms. Hickman did not tell her about any difficulties or fears of neighbors. “She told me everything,” Starkey, who lives a few blocks away, explained. “She was welcome to stay at my house if she had any fears, but she never took me up on it.”
Despite the woman’s reputation for caution, WV State Police and Huntington Police are searching buildings and homes in and around the 400 block of 8th Avenue. About 8 officers are involved in the canvass which began around 11 am Wednesday.
A number of the homes in the area have been abandoned and officers are paying particular attention to these structures, reported a local TV station. Two supervisors with the detective bureau are spearheading this investigation. They canvassed the neighborhood looking for any clues Wednesday. They searched alleys, yards and abandoned homes for any clues and police say time is of the essence with a missing persons case.
Starkey described the missing woman as “the sweetest girl you could ever imagine,” adding that “when she first started at Marshall, all she talked about was wanted to find a job where she could help people. “A couple of weeks ago she called me out of the blue crying hysterically because she had watched some videos on the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,) website. She was like, ‘I'm going to become a vegetarian.’ [it’s like eating meat] broke her heart.”
Jessica Vickers, Leah’s sister, last saw her Friday at 4 p.m. during a quick lunch break. Vickers told “On the Record” that Leah had just gotten grades and was pretty happy with her grades. Vickers did not return to the apartment Friday. “I stay with my boyfriend on weekends,” she said.
Still, Parker said Leah spent little time at the apartment. “If she was not at school, she was at work.” She often visited friends and family in Point Pleasant, too.
Roger Parker has set up pages on My Space and Facebook hoping that some visitor to the sites will recognize her.
Those sites are:
Leah Hickman Search Page
http://www.myspace.com/rogeraparker
Leah Hickman's MySpace Page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51341948
“When we hung out, she never really talked about school. We talked about other stuff,“ Parker said. “I know she was doing good in school.
Asked what he would like to tell Leah, Parker said, “I miss you. I'm worried please call.” Starkey added, “Come home or find a way to let us know where you are. We just want you back.”
On her My Space webpage, Leah’s joked about life’s meaning: “Life is all about ass: you're either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it, behaving like one, or you simply live with one."
Hickman has shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. She's 5'2" and 130 pounds. Anyone with knowledge of her disappearance or who may have seen her, should call the HPD at 304.696.4420, or one of her friends.
Friends Describe Her as Safety Conscious; Vigil Thursday at Student Center Fountain
 Leah N. Hickman |
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Writer
Huntington, WV (HNN) – When Marshall University completed the fall semester on Friday, students had visions of holidays and vacations dancing in their heads. One young woman --- Leah Hickman --- planned to return to Point Pleasant after working a Saturday shift at the Dress Barn on Merritt’s Creek. The journalism major, who worked also had a shift on campus radio station WMUL-FM, did not show up for work.
Roger Parker, one of her best friends, met Hickman on a November day three years ago. They were both starting work as Sears employees. They have been friends since then.
Caitlin Starkey, an MU junior psychology major, has known Hickman even longer. “I grew up with Leah,” Starkey explained. Their friendship goes back eight years to middle school and high school. Leah would usually tell Starkey “everything.”
Ms. Hickman had almost an obsession with safety, Starkey said. She would check her car door three times to make sure it was locked. She lived with her sister at an apartment on 403 Eighth Avenue. The apartment has four units and two of them are vacant, Detective Rocky Johnson said told Fox News' “On the Record” Wednesday night, Dec. 19.
Parker told HNN that she generally only slept at the apartment, as she was too busy with school work, friends, and family. That’s why it’s an anxiety-prone existence for Leah’s family and friends right now.
She’s always stayed in touch.
Neither Starkey nor Parker knew of any potential boyfriends with whom she could have run off. Her friends says she was not in a relationship, but had been dating some fellow students. In a way, both Starkey and Parker would now consider her leaving with a boyfriend a favorable outcome, since she has been missing six days.
Starkey asks the community to gather at the Memorial Fountain on the Marshall campus today, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. whether you knew Leah Hickman or not. Come light a candle and say a prayer that the 21-year-old brunette will be found safely.
In addition, a benefit concert to raise funds for the continued search will be held Friday night at 9 p.m. Dec.21 at Marley’s Dog House. Currently, Leah’s employer has offered a $10,000 reward for her return.
Detective Rocky Johnson, talking to Greta Van Susteren on Fox, described Leah's neighborhood as a nice residential one near a city park, surrounding a four-unit apartment. However, Ritter Park is several blocks away from 403 Eighth Avenue where Leah lives. It is near the Cammack Middle School construction site and contains a few burned out and vacant houses. On Wednesday, Huntington Police began searching some of those abandoned structures hoping to find clues to Leah’s disappearance.
While Starkey spoke confidently of Leah’s Eighth Avenue accommodations, Parker told HNN that she had not been truly comfortable in that community.
Starkey said “there were a couple of times” she was concerned about the apartment in which she lived with her sister, but “she’s so overly cautious. She was very aware of her surroundings. Her doors were always locked. She got out of her car and would triple-check her doors over, over and over again. She was very careful, safe and conscious. That’s why [her disappearance] is so bizarre.”
However, the last cell phone call came from Leah at about 5:45 Friday afternoon. She was in a drive-through at McDonalds. Some of her friends suggest she had planned to go back to the apartment and do laundry. She would have been the only person in the four apartment complex on that Friday evening. The other tenant was visiting friends in Columbus, Ohio. Also, the laundry room is located in the basement of the structure.
Starkey said Ms. Hickman did not tell her about any difficulties or fears of neighbors. “She told me everything,” Starkey, who lives a few blocks away, explained. “She was welcome to stay at my house if she had any fears, but she never took me up on it.”
Despite the woman’s reputation for caution, WV State Police and Huntington Police are searching buildings and homes in and around the 400 block of 8th Avenue. About 8 officers are involved in the canvass which began around 11 am Wednesday.
A number of the homes in the area have been abandoned and officers are paying particular attention to these structures, reported a local TV station. Two supervisors with the detective bureau are spearheading this investigation. They canvassed the neighborhood looking for any clues Wednesday. They searched alleys, yards and abandoned homes for any clues and police say time is of the essence with a missing persons case.
Starkey described the missing woman as “the sweetest girl you could ever imagine,” adding that “when she first started at Marshall, all she talked about was wanted to find a job where she could help people. “A couple of weeks ago she called me out of the blue crying hysterically because she had watched some videos on the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,) website. She was like, ‘I'm going to become a vegetarian.’ [it’s like eating meat] broke her heart.”
Jessica Vickers, Leah’s sister, last saw her Friday at 4 p.m. during a quick lunch break. Vickers told “On the Record” that Leah had just gotten grades and was pretty happy with her grades. Vickers did not return to the apartment Friday. “I stay with my boyfriend on weekends,” she said.
Still, Parker said Leah spent little time at the apartment. “If she was not at school, she was at work.” She often visited friends and family in Point Pleasant, too.
Roger Parker has set up pages on My Space and Facebook hoping that some visitor to the sites will recognize her.
Those sites are:
Leah Hickman Search Page
http://www.myspace.com/rogeraparker
Leah Hickman's MySpace Page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51341948
“When we hung out, she never really talked about school. We talked about other stuff,“ Parker said. “I know she was doing good in school.
Asked what he would like to tell Leah, Parker said, “I miss you. I'm worried please call.” Starkey added, “Come home or find a way to let us know where you are. We just want you back.”
On her My Space webpage, Leah’s joked about life’s meaning: “Life is all about ass: you're either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it, behaving like one, or you simply live with one."
Hickman has shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. She's 5'2" and 130 pounds. Anyone with knowledge of her disappearance or who may have seen her, should call the HPD at 304.696.4420, or one of her friends.
