The Ghost of Fossil Glen

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Authors: Cynthia DeFelice
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“So I’ve pulled out information on fossils, lake and stream ecology, and the Seneca Indians, for starters. There’s a pile of newspapers, too, containing articles about the recent and not so recent history of the glen. Come to me if you have any questions, and I’ll be happy to help you.”
    After looking through the stacks of materials, the students scattered to tables to work. Mr. Henry had told them each to think of one question about Fossil Glen and try to find the answer. That afternoon, they would share what they had learned.
    Allie headed straight for the information Mrs. Foster had gathered about fossils. She was about to reach for a book called Secrets in Stone , when she heard the voice inside her head.
    â€œ Look at the newspapers ,” it said.
    Allie froze.
    â€œ The newspapers ,” repeated the voice.
    Forcing herself to act natural, Allie walked toward the table that held a stack of old editions of the local paper, The Seneca Times . She riffled through the pile. A photograph of a young girl with dark curly hair caught her eye.
    It was the girl from her nightmare, the girl whose face had appeared to her in the kitchen!

Fourteen
    The headline blared in large black letters: RESCUE WORKERS SEARCH FOSSIL GLEN FOR MISSING GIRL . The paper was dated Thursday, May 19, 1994. Allie began to read.
    The search for Lucy Stiles continues.
    Lucy Stiles! Allie’s mind flew to the small, lonely grave she and Dub had found in the cemetery. With a mixture of curiosity and dread, she continued reading.
    Village and state police are asking for the public’s help in locating an eleven-year-old girl who was last seen by her mother at about 5:30 Wednesday night.
    Rebecca A. Stiles, the girl’s mother, reported to police that she became worried when it grew dark and her daughter had not returned from fossil hunting in Fossil Glen. Searching the glen, Mrs. Stiles found a blue sweatshirt belonging to her daughter on the cliff above the third falls, along with a small pile of fossils. When it began to grow dark, Mrs. Stiles left the glen to call for help.
    Police, fire and rescue workers, and volunteers searched through the night. Officials speculate that Lucy lost her footing on the steep, rocky precipice and fell.
    â€œThere was a drizzly rain last night, and that made the cliff real slick,” said Police Chief Ron Webster. “If she fell onto the rocks, we’d have found her. We figure she must have fallen into the creek and gotten washed downstream. That creek’s running pretty good, so we’ve been searching along the banks, hoping she pulled herself out.”
    So far, searches have found no further sign of the girl. Tomorrow, officials are planning to drag the lake bottom near the mouth of the creek. Divers will also join the search.
    â€œWe’re still hoping to find her alive,” said Chief Webster. But he admitted to reporters that that possibility was becoming increasingly remote.
    The missing girl is described as being 4′ 6″ tall, with blue eyes and black curly hair. She was last seen wearing jeans, sneakers, a red-and-black-checkered flannel shirt, and the blue sweatshirt that was found at the scene.
    Anyone with information about Lucy Stiles or her whereabouts is asked to call the Seneca Village police department.
    Allie refolded the paper and grabbed the next day’s edition, marked Friday, May 20, 1994. The headline announced: LUCY STILES STILL MISSING . The article continued:
    Publicly, rescue workers speak hopefully about finding eleven-year-old Lucy Stiles alive. Privately, they express fears that the girl did not survive an apparent fall from the cliffs above Fossil Glen.
    Officials searched the creek bed downstream from where the girl’s blue sweatshirt and some fossils were found on the cliff, without result. A thorough search of the waters near the mouth of Fossil Creek also failed to produce any sign of the girl, missing since 5:30

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