Day 10 - Dad

Maddie is back home now, she's with Maggie and we're taking next steps. Thank you everyone for all of your love, thoughts, prayer, and support.

jtg

Day 9 - Dad

We finally heard from Maddie last night so we know she is at least okay. Still no idea where she is. She only spoke with Maggie but did so on several occasions. It was all quite emotional. We're taking time off to meet with Dr. Gersh. The four parents are deciding what the best next steps are.

jtg

Day 8- Mom

She checked her MySpace account today which made my heart a little lighter knowing that she was ok. We still haven't heard from her and it is becoming more difficult to get out of bed in the morning. I was still at work at almost 7pm on Friday night wondering how in the heck I was going to get through the weekend with nothing but her to focus on. It consumes my every moment.

We went to a 2 year old birthday party today and as we were driving home we passed some people from the neighborhood walking. I waved and smiled at them and Gracie said to me, "Mom, I never see you smile anymore". I was crushed. How do I do this everyday? My strength is waivering, my other children are suffering. I have got to find a way to make it through.

We had decided late last week to go to church today. It has been some time since we have had a "church home". Brian made a suggestion that I wasn't thrilled with so I decided to do a google search on Cherokee County churches and I found BridgePointe. I looked at their website and saw that the current series was "Get Back Up". I decided at that moment that BridgePointe was where we would go. The Associate Pastor gave the message today on Prayer. The message was good, even really good but I found myself doubting the power of prayer while he was speaking given the current situation. I even fell asleep on Brian's shoulder for about 5 minutes. At the conclusion of his message he sang a song. Then he began praying in song unrehearsed and said "Bring our teenager home". I think I jumped because Brian put his arm around me and the tears began to roll. Luckily I was able to bring myself under control pretty quickly. We left right after that and went to the birthday party without really discussing the service. Later this evening we were sitting on the back porch and talked about it. Brian was having the same thoughts about prayer, questioning God, etc. The words from the Associate Pastor had affected him as they had me. It was a goose bump moment for sure.

Prayer isn't prayer without believing. I am believing tonight for the safe and quick return of my first born. Until then, I pray that you are okay.

Day 7- Mom

Nothing significant today. We were able to gain a couple of new contact numbers for kids who know Maddie's boyfriend Christian but so far they are dead ends.

It has been a week now and I can only pray that she is becoming tired of being on the run. I pray that she has a moment of clarity where she remembers how very much she is loved and decides to come home. We are waiting every second of every day.

Maggie

Day 6 Evening Update- Mom

Just arrived back home from a trip down to the Zone 6 precinct dropping of packets for distribution. The amount of administration that has to be completed in this situation is truly mind boggling.

You never truly think it is going to happen to you. Sure we've had our issues, we are a blended family with lots of children between us. No family is perfect but I feel that we have made the absolute best out of our family situation. Alecia is one of my bestfriend's and has been for years. We talk for hours on the phone about anything and everything. We celebrate birthdays together, used to celebrate Halloween together until Maddie & Austin wanted to be with their friends. We make decisions together and maintain a united front when it comes to issues with Maddie & Austin. Divorced families are never ideal but we are the best case scenario for one. Which constantly leads me to the question of what went wrong?? I can beat myself up continuously for a myriad of things. Maybe we moved too much. Maybe we gave too much freedom and "stuff". Maybe we've created this nightmare by empowering her too much when we believed we were just making her a stronger, more independent person. The list could go on for days. The statistic is that 1 in 7 children will run away. That is an alarming statistic. With the way my mind works I think to myself that we have 7 children between us so hopefully the statistic is accurate and we never have to experience this again. The more comforting statistic is that 95-98% of runaways do return home. I hold on to that everyday.

My friend Danielle is one of the most comforting and uplifting people I know. Not long ago she sent me this scripture that I have carried in my heart ever since: 1 Peter 5:10 says that "AFTER you've suffered awhile, He'll perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you". I am ready to be perfected, established, strengthened and settled and I pray for this tonight.

Prayer..what an amazing thing to watch unfold even in little ways. We have been blessed by obtaining a P.I. that is not charging us right now. He may have to at some point in the future depending on how long this goes but for now we don't have that additional stress. Out of the blue this evening I was called by an old friend of mine that I haven't spoken to in years. We have communicated via Facebook periodically but tonight of all nights he called to say hello. I believe that God is sending me the people that I need to help carry me through. I received a comment to my first blog from a lady named Becky who also had a runaway daughter. She doesn't know me but took the time to reach out and offer comfort. I am getting phone calls from mother's of children at Maddie's school offering to help with anything and everything they can. I have never seen so much selflishness or felt so much love in all of my life. It is truly amazing.

With these words I will sign off. I feel blessed to have each and everyone of you in my life, whether we've known each other for years or don't know each other at all. Thank you for helping in whatever way through this very difficult time in our lives.

Maddie, I can't wait to see your smile again and smell your hair when I hug you.

Much love,
Maggie

Day 6 - Dad

We met with the PI today and followed some leads in Sandy Springs. We've got a good plan and we're just trying to stay busy and keep our spirits high. Maggie, Dee-Dee, Austin, and Nanny came down to drop off more flyers in zone 6 and we've already started to get calls in from the flyers put up on Thursday night so it is starting to work. I'll link the flyer and the email that went out to friends and family soon.

Please come home Maddie, we miss you.

jtg

Day 6 Morning Update- Mom

Didn't have a chance to post last night. My sister and I hit the streets. We canvassed Little 5, walked to Candler park and then on to the Candler Marta Station. Earlier yesterday afternoon Matt (sister's ex-husband) and I hung flyers all over Candler Park and nearby areas. I have never experienced anything quite so devastating as seeing my baby's face on a telephone pole.

We still have not heard from Maddie and her phone has not been on since Wednesday night. It's funny how attached you can get to leaving voicemails and text messages. It gives you the perception of communicating with her. Not being able to send texts and leave voicemails telling her how much I love her is a little more than I can take.

We finally made contact with the Detective on our case yesterday. Hopefully some progress will begin to be made. Until then please continue to pray for us. We are receiving blessings so I know the prayer is working.

Love to all and most of all to our Maddie. We miss your face.

Day 5 - Dad

We heard from our detective today (it only took the City of Atlanta Police 4 days and an escalation to Lt. Roey to assign a detective!) but not much help there. We have a spreadsheet composed of timelines, contacts, hangouts, and so on that we've handed over to them but it becomes clear that we're probably going to have to do this on our own. We continue to look for a private investigator and will be hiring one soon. All of Maddie's friends and parents have been made aware of the situation already and will contact us if or when they hear from her or see her. Maggie and Dee-Dee put out flyers today all over Candler Park, Little 5 points, and other known "hang outs". The Lake Claire land trust has an eye out as well as other local Atlanta communities. We appreciate your continued thoughts, prayers, and support.

Best,

Jason "Todd" Grimm

Day 5

Still no word from Maddie. Her cell phone voicemail is full and has been all day which means she isn't checking it. That in and of itself is concerning.

We completed the paperwork for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children today and have submitted photos as well. They will create fliers for us and help distribute them.

The Atlanta P.D. has been somewhat worthless thus far. I plan on writing a scathing letter to every Atlanta government official once this is over.

Other than that we are just hanging on. Forcing ourselves to get out of bed every morning and take care of the other 6 children that we have between us.

Please continue to pray for us through this nightmare. I will continue to update this blog on a daily basis.

Love to all and most of all to our precious daughter Maddie. We miss you.