NEW YORK — People who were heavily exposed to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center still had elevated risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorder even five years later, according to a study released Tuesday by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The study contained better news about asthma. While those who developed respiratory symptoms soon after the attacks were still being diagnosed with asthma some years later, rates among people who first showed symptoms after 2003 were consistent with normal asthma rates.
The study, based on data from a health registry that tracks the health effects of 9/11, found elevated levels of post-traumatic stress disorder among the more than 46,000 people who were surveyed in 2006-2007.
While asthma cases rose most sharply right after attacks, they were still being diagnosed after some years had passed.
by th eassoiated press
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Lupus, Vitamin Dconnects Oklahoma Scientist
For people genetically predisposed to lupus, a deficiency of vitamin D may be a catalyst for developing the disease, say scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
The research by Dr. Judith James and graduate student Lauren Cole could be useful in treating lupus, which has no cure and strikes up to 2 million Americans.
"Vitamin D could be beneficial to lupus patients and people who are at increased risk of developing the disease, such as their family members,” James said. "With vitamin D supplements, doctors might be able to reduce the chances of an autoimmune attack,” which occurs when the body mistakes its own tissue for foreign invaders.
James and Cole presented their findings at the annual Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies Conference in Boston.
Cole said their research found that in both lupus patients and healthy individuals, low levels of vitamin D correlated with increased autoantibodies — proteins that attack the body’s own tissue.
"By boosting vitamin D levels, we’d hope to see a drop in autoantibodies,” Cole said.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system turns its defenses against itself. It can affect any part of the body, but it most commonly attacks the skin, joints, blood and kidneys of sufferers.
Sunlight serves as the primary source of vitamin D, which is formed when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet B radiation. But because skin sensitivity to light is a symptom of lupus, James said, patients would likely need supplements to keep their vitamin D levels up.
from the oklahoman
The research by Dr. Judith James and graduate student Lauren Cole could be useful in treating lupus, which has no cure and strikes up to 2 million Americans.
"Vitamin D could be beneficial to lupus patients and people who are at increased risk of developing the disease, such as their family members,” James said. "With vitamin D supplements, doctors might be able to reduce the chances of an autoimmune attack,” which occurs when the body mistakes its own tissue for foreign invaders.
James and Cole presented their findings at the annual Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies Conference in Boston.
Cole said their research found that in both lupus patients and healthy individuals, low levels of vitamin D correlated with increased autoantibodies — proteins that attack the body’s own tissue.
"By boosting vitamin D levels, we’d hope to see a drop in autoantibodies,” Cole said.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system turns its defenses against itself. It can affect any part of the body, but it most commonly attacks the skin, joints, blood and kidneys of sufferers.
Sunlight serves as the primary source of vitamin D, which is formed when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet B radiation. But because skin sensitivity to light is a symptom of lupus, James said, patients would likely need supplements to keep their vitamin D levels up.
from the oklahoman
IronKids compete Lake hefner
Children from across the country will have a chance to compete in the IronKids Triathlon Sunday at Lake Hefner.
The event is the fifth in a series of eight races giving participants a shot at qualifying for the national championship race Oct. 4 in Tucson, Ariz. If athletes place in the top five for their age group they qualify for the race in Tucson.
"I think it’s good for kids to be around other kids who lead healthy, active lifestyles,” said Catie Case, public relations coordinator for World Triathlon Corporation. "Healthy competition is a good thing, but we don’t want kids to be upset if they don’t get first. We encourage them to have a good time, but also to learn how to use the healthy competition.”
Children can compete in the event in three age groups: junior, ages 6-8; intermediate, ages 9-11; and senior, ages 12-15.
The senior race starts at 8 a.m. Sunday and consists of a 300-yard swim, 8-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run. The intermediate race starts at 9 a.m. and features a 150-yard swim, 4-mile bike ride and a 1-mile run. The junior event starts at 10 a.m. with a 50-yard swim, 2-mile bike ride and 500-yard run.
Competitors can register at www.ironkids.com or from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday or 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Lake Hefner. The cost is $50 per child. For families with more than one child, the cost for subsequent participants is $35 each.
An IronKids expo will take place Saturday at Lake Hefner. A nutrition clinic will be featured, along with product samples and triathlon materials.
from the Oklahoman
The event is the fifth in a series of eight races giving participants a shot at qualifying for the national championship race Oct. 4 in Tucson, Ariz. If athletes place in the top five for their age group they qualify for the race in Tucson.
"I think it’s good for kids to be around other kids who lead healthy, active lifestyles,” said Catie Case, public relations coordinator for World Triathlon Corporation. "Healthy competition is a good thing, but we don’t want kids to be upset if they don’t get first. We encourage them to have a good time, but also to learn how to use the healthy competition.”
Children can compete in the event in three age groups: junior, ages 6-8; intermediate, ages 9-11; and senior, ages 12-15.
The senior race starts at 8 a.m. Sunday and consists of a 300-yard swim, 8-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run. The intermediate race starts at 9 a.m. and features a 150-yard swim, 4-mile bike ride and a 1-mile run. The junior event starts at 10 a.m. with a 50-yard swim, 2-mile bike ride and 500-yard run.
Competitors can register at www.ironkids.com or from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday or 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Lake Hefner. The cost is $50 per child. For families with more than one child, the cost for subsequent participants is $35 each.
An IronKids expo will take place Saturday at Lake Hefner. A nutrition clinic will be featured, along with product samples and triathlon materials.
from the Oklahoman
Arthritis poses cancer risk
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Tuesday added stronger warnings to a group of best-selling drugs used to treat arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, saying they can increase the risk of cancer in children and adolescents.
After more than a year of review, Food and Drug Administration scientists said the drugs appear to increase the risk of cancer after they are used beyond 2 ½ years.
The agency studied several dozen reports of cancer in children taking the drugs, some of which were fatal. Half of the cases were lymphomas, a cancer that attacks the immune system.
The drugs are known as tumor necrosis factor blockers and work by neutralizing a protein that, when overproduced, causes inflammation and damage to bones, cartilage and other tissue.
The drugs are prescribed to children with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disorder and Crohn’s disease.
The FDA will bolster the "black box” warning on the five drugs sold in the U.S., including Abbott Laboratories’ Humira, Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade and Simponi, and Enbrel which is co-marketed by Amgen Inc. and Wyeth. All the products are multibillion-dollar sellers. Enbrel was the biggest moneymaker of the group with sales of $3.4 billion last year.
The action also affects Belgian drugmaker UCB’s Cimzia, which launched in May.
Shares of North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories and New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J fell after the FDA announcement.
Along with updating the drugs’ labels, the FDA is requiring companies to add information about cancer risks to the medication guides given to patients. The FDA said it is also working with the manufacturers to further define the scope of the cancer risk.
J&J said in a statement it "will coordinate closely with the FDA to ensure that health care providers, patients and caregivers are properly informed.”
Amgen and Wyeth said they will continue working with regulators to evaluate "the potential risks and benefits” of their drug.
by the associated press
After more than a year of review, Food and Drug Administration scientists said the drugs appear to increase the risk of cancer after they are used beyond 2 ½ years.
The agency studied several dozen reports of cancer in children taking the drugs, some of which were fatal. Half of the cases were lymphomas, a cancer that attacks the immune system.
The drugs are known as tumor necrosis factor blockers and work by neutralizing a protein that, when overproduced, causes inflammation and damage to bones, cartilage and other tissue.
The drugs are prescribed to children with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disorder and Crohn’s disease.
The FDA will bolster the "black box” warning on the five drugs sold in the U.S., including Abbott Laboratories’ Humira, Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade and Simponi, and Enbrel which is co-marketed by Amgen Inc. and Wyeth. All the products are multibillion-dollar sellers. Enbrel was the biggest moneymaker of the group with sales of $3.4 billion last year.
The action also affects Belgian drugmaker UCB’s Cimzia, which launched in May.
Shares of North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories and New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J fell after the FDA announcement.
Along with updating the drugs’ labels, the FDA is requiring companies to add information about cancer risks to the medication guides given to patients. The FDA said it is also working with the manufacturers to further define the scope of the cancer risk.
J&J said in a statement it "will coordinate closely with the FDA to ensure that health care providers, patients and caregivers are properly informed.”
Amgen and Wyeth said they will continue working with regulators to evaluate "the potential risks and benefits” of their drug.
by the associated press
Oklahoman's begins treating Guatemalans
LAS LOMAS, GUATEMALA — Las Lomas is a village high in the Sierra Madres of southern Guatemala.
The homes are made of cinderblock with sheet metal roofs.
To get to Las Lomas we took a treacherous mountain road, much of it dirt, and the members of the medical missionary team I am traveling with spotted cows and people sharing the same water sources. An old school bus from Omaha, Neb., rested beside the road.
When our bus loaded with medical supplies arrived after the three-hour journey from Chichicastenango, the waiting villagers got their first look at Americans. Once the clinic was set up, many received the first medical care they had ever had.
A small building behind a church was provided for the clinic. Two of the rooms, where the dentists and triage nurses worked, had electricity. The physician worked in a room with a single lightbulb.
The patients were, as group leader and retired dentist Bill Brewer said, the "have-nots” of the world. Women in ornate dresses smiled at us, showing chipped teeth. Children hid behind wooden posts, peeking out only to giggle at the flash of a digital camera.
We handed out numbers to try to organize the chaos. I worked in the pharmacy, helping a nurse fill prescriptions and trying to explain the dosage in Spanish. The Guatemalans smiled and thanked me as I butchered Spanish to tell them to take the ibuprofen three times a day, or to take the sleep medication once, just before bed.
I found out later that the patients went to our translators and asked for the instructions in Ki’che. Rosetta Stone doesn’t offer a course in Mayan.
Most of the patients suffered from the same ailments: headaches, foot pain and intestinal problems. These are societal problems.
"You saw all the people walking with poor shoes, with stuff on their back and head, and poor nutrition,” said Dr. Matt Crespo, my father and a team physician.
Dr. Brewer spent the day hunched over, pulling teeth. There was little more he could do for their mouth pain, but his patients were appreciative.
The volunteers from Texas and Oklahoma treated about 60 patients Monday, including many children. Everyone who saw the doctor left with at least a pack of vitamins.
The church asked for money to help cover the costs of operating the lights, but those who couldn’t pay were treated anyway. We left expecting larger crowds on Tuesday as news of the area’s first medical clinic spreads.
"Bring them on,” my father said with a smile as we jostled along the rough road on the way back to our hotel.
from the oklahoman
The homes are made of cinderblock with sheet metal roofs.
To get to Las Lomas we took a treacherous mountain road, much of it dirt, and the members of the medical missionary team I am traveling with spotted cows and people sharing the same water sources. An old school bus from Omaha, Neb., rested beside the road.
When our bus loaded with medical supplies arrived after the three-hour journey from Chichicastenango, the waiting villagers got their first look at Americans. Once the clinic was set up, many received the first medical care they had ever had.
A small building behind a church was provided for the clinic. Two of the rooms, where the dentists and triage nurses worked, had electricity. The physician worked in a room with a single lightbulb.
The patients were, as group leader and retired dentist Bill Brewer said, the "have-nots” of the world. Women in ornate dresses smiled at us, showing chipped teeth. Children hid behind wooden posts, peeking out only to giggle at the flash of a digital camera.
We handed out numbers to try to organize the chaos. I worked in the pharmacy, helping a nurse fill prescriptions and trying to explain the dosage in Spanish. The Guatemalans smiled and thanked me as I butchered Spanish to tell them to take the ibuprofen three times a day, or to take the sleep medication once, just before bed.
I found out later that the patients went to our translators and asked for the instructions in Ki’che. Rosetta Stone doesn’t offer a course in Mayan.
Most of the patients suffered from the same ailments: headaches, foot pain and intestinal problems. These are societal problems.
"You saw all the people walking with poor shoes, with stuff on their back and head, and poor nutrition,” said Dr. Matt Crespo, my father and a team physician.
Dr. Brewer spent the day hunched over, pulling teeth. There was little more he could do for their mouth pain, but his patients were appreciative.
The volunteers from Texas and Oklahoma treated about 60 patients Monday, including many children. Everyone who saw the doctor left with at least a pack of vitamins.
The church asked for money to help cover the costs of operating the lights, but those who couldn’t pay were treated anyway. We left expecting larger crowds on Tuesday as news of the area’s first medical clinic spreads.
"Bring them on,” my father said with a smile as we jostled along the rough road on the way back to our hotel.
from the oklahoman
Agents seek answers about shoot out
DEL CITY — The rifle used in the shooting deaths of two Seminole County sheriff’s deputies was bought by the suspect at a military surplus store in Del City.
The 9 mm Kel-Tec rifle was purchased by Ezekiel Holbert five years ago today at Brigadoon military surplus, The Oklahoman has learned.
Holbert, 26, is accused of killing deputies Chase Whitebird, 23, and Marvin Williams, 43, on July 26 when they tried to arrest him at a home in Seminole.
Pontotoc County District Attorney Chris Ross said Tuesday that Holbert had been keeping the rifle at a relative’s home, but retrieved it weeks before the shooting.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents are trying to track the history of the rifle, including how Holbert was able to pass a federal background check with his criminal and mental health history, Ross said.
Past troubles
Ross said it’s unclear whether Holbert’s criminal and mental issues dated back far enough that he shouldn’t have been able to buy a gun in 2004.
Ross said if Holbert lied on the federal firearms application, he could face additional charges in Oklahoma County or federal court.
Holbert’s mother, Patsie Holbert, said she signed paperwork on three occasions in recent years to have Holbert committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Holbert was charged in 2002 with felony assault in Dallas County, Texas, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor under a plea agreement, court records show.
At the time of his arrest on murder complaints, he faced a domestic abuse charge in Seminole County.
Brigadoon owner Rita Leffler said the 9 mm Kel-Tec rifle is a favorite among gun collectors and is used mostly for target practice.
Leffler said she doesn’t remember Holbert, but she is confident he passed the FBI’s background check or they wouldn’t have sold him the gun.
Everyone who buys a firearm must complete an application from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said Jeff Cochran, resident agent in charge at the ATF’s Tulsa office.
The form has more than a dozen questions and many cover criminal and mental health history. The application is forwarded by the gun dealer to the FBI for a computer generated background check before a potential buyer is allowed to take possession of a gun, Cochran said.
from the oklahoman
The 9 mm Kel-Tec rifle was purchased by Ezekiel Holbert five years ago today at Brigadoon military surplus, The Oklahoman has learned.
Holbert, 26, is accused of killing deputies Chase Whitebird, 23, and Marvin Williams, 43, on July 26 when they tried to arrest him at a home in Seminole.
Pontotoc County District Attorney Chris Ross said Tuesday that Holbert had been keeping the rifle at a relative’s home, but retrieved it weeks before the shooting.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents are trying to track the history of the rifle, including how Holbert was able to pass a federal background check with his criminal and mental health history, Ross said.
Past troubles
Ross said it’s unclear whether Holbert’s criminal and mental issues dated back far enough that he shouldn’t have been able to buy a gun in 2004.
Ross said if Holbert lied on the federal firearms application, he could face additional charges in Oklahoma County or federal court.
Holbert’s mother, Patsie Holbert, said she signed paperwork on three occasions in recent years to have Holbert committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Holbert was charged in 2002 with felony assault in Dallas County, Texas, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor under a plea agreement, court records show.
At the time of his arrest on murder complaints, he faced a domestic abuse charge in Seminole County.
Brigadoon owner Rita Leffler said the 9 mm Kel-Tec rifle is a favorite among gun collectors and is used mostly for target practice.
Leffler said she doesn’t remember Holbert, but she is confident he passed the FBI’s background check or they wouldn’t have sold him the gun.
Everyone who buys a firearm must complete an application from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said Jeff Cochran, resident agent in charge at the ATF’s Tulsa office.
The form has more than a dozen questions and many cover criminal and mental health history. The application is forwarded by the gun dealer to the FBI for a computer generated background check before a potential buyer is allowed to take possession of a gun, Cochran said.
from the oklahoman
Suspect brings lite to Oklahoma City Killing
Kathy Sue Engle’s family had almost given up.
For more than two decades, they’d waited for police to locate the men who kidnapped Engle from Shepherd Mall and killed her. They’d seen good suspects come and go. They’d seen other cases solved.
But for them? No justice.
On Tuesday, the hope they’d fostered for so long — that her killers would be identified, that someone would pay for taking her away from them — finally had reason to blossom.
At an emotional news conference, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater announced that a DNA match had identified a suspect. Kyle Richard Eckardt, 44, was charged with first-degree murder in Engle’s death.
A case that had long been as cold as the grave is now red hot.
Abducted, abandoned
About dusk April 23, 1986, Engle — a 41-year-old married mother of two — parked her Dodge Colt outside the mall. Before she could go inside, two men approached. One struck her on the back of the neck before both pushed her into the back seat and drove off, a witness said.
Twenty-eight hours later, the car was found at a Shell truck stop about 390 miles away in Tucumcari, N.M. Police found Engle’s ripped clothes in the blood-smeared car, along with cigarette butts and a soda bottle.
On April 30, oil-field workers discovered her bound, nude body in a rural Beckham County field. The remains were badly decomposed, obscuring the cause of death, but the manner was ruled a homicide.
About a year later, detectives identified two suspects. An Oklahoma City man and his half-brother were implicated in the 1987 death of a New Mexico woman who’d been abducted from a shopping mall under similar circumstances. The men remained the top suspects in Engle’s death until 1999, when they were exonerated through DNA evidence.
The case languished for nine years. No good leads. No suspects.
Then detectives caught a break.
Tulsa case helped
On Jan. 22, 2007, Eckardt accompanied Terry Welch, 40, to her Tulsa apartment.
The next day, Welch’s young son asked neighbors if he could use their bathroom because his mother wouldn’t get out of the bathtub, Oklahoma City cold case Inspector Kyle Eastridge said. The neighbors found Welch dead in the bath.
Witnesses told police they’d seen Eckardt beating Welch, the Tulsa World reported. He admitted to being at her apartment until about 11 p.m. Jan. 22, but he denied hitting her. Nevertheless, the body bore signs of sexual abuse and "obvious blunt force trauma,” and some of Welch’s teeth had been knocked out, Eastridge said.
Eckardt was arrested on a murder complaint but was charged with rape by instrumentation and aggravated assault and battery. A pathologist could not determine what killed Welch — the beating, the high level of alcohol in her blood, asphyxiation or even drowning. Under the circumstances, her death could not be ruled a homicide.
Eckardt entered into a plea agreement with the state. The rape charge vanished, replaced by a second aggravated assault count. Eckardt pleaded no contest and received two five-year sentences.
When he entered the prison system, Eckardt had to submit a DNA sample. On July 26, 2008, his DNA profile was matched to DNA taken from the cigarette butts and bottle in Engle’s car, Eastridge said.
Later, court records show, Eckardt’s fingerprints were compared with unidentified prints from the Dodge Colt. They matched.
‘Completely shocked’
Engle’s family was told about Eckardt last summer. Detectives notified her husband, Dawson A. Engle, who still lives in the same Yukon home he shared with her 23 years ago. He called their son and daughter.
"I was just completely shocked,” said Dawson R. Engle, who was 13 when his mother died. "My mindset at that time was that we weren’t ever going to know who did it.”
A special judge in Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties, Dawson R. Engle gathered information about Eckardt from the Internet and shared it with his father and sister, Kristine Ervin, who was 8 when the abduction occurred. Weeks later, he talked to police, who were in no rush to seek charges since Eckardt already was incarcerated at Mack Alford Correctional Center in Stringtown.
"At that point, they had been to interview him (Eckardt),” he said. "They talked about where he had lived and that he kind of lived up and down the I-40 corridor, that he hitchhiked and got rides from truckers a lot. But as soon as they got to anything specific about Mom’s case, he asked for a lawyer.”
Eckardt was born in Pasadena, Texas, Eastridge said. He grew up around Tulsa and Cleveland, OK, but hitchhiked between Las Vegas and Chattanooga, Tenn., for years.
Until Welch died, he had only a minor arrest record, Eastridge said.
Offering support
At Tuesday’s news conference, the victim’s husband struggled to retain his composure as he read a prepared statement.
Beside him, his son fought back tears.
Kristine Ervin tried to comfort both.
After so much time — after so much pain — it would seem the family has every right to be bitter. They’re not. For 23 years, they have leaned upon each other and upon friends, relatives, teachers and neighbors. Tuesday, they offered thanks and talked of gratitude.
If Eckardt is convicted, Dawson A. Engle said, the family may find peace of mind in knowing that he "will not have the opportunity to kill another woman.”
But nothing, he said, will end their grief.
from the oklahoman
For more than two decades, they’d waited for police to locate the men who kidnapped Engle from Shepherd Mall and killed her. They’d seen good suspects come and go. They’d seen other cases solved.
But for them? No justice.
On Tuesday, the hope they’d fostered for so long — that her killers would be identified, that someone would pay for taking her away from them — finally had reason to blossom.
At an emotional news conference, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater announced that a DNA match had identified a suspect. Kyle Richard Eckardt, 44, was charged with first-degree murder in Engle’s death.
A case that had long been as cold as the grave is now red hot.
Abducted, abandoned
About dusk April 23, 1986, Engle — a 41-year-old married mother of two — parked her Dodge Colt outside the mall. Before she could go inside, two men approached. One struck her on the back of the neck before both pushed her into the back seat and drove off, a witness said.
Twenty-eight hours later, the car was found at a Shell truck stop about 390 miles away in Tucumcari, N.M. Police found Engle’s ripped clothes in the blood-smeared car, along with cigarette butts and a soda bottle.
On April 30, oil-field workers discovered her bound, nude body in a rural Beckham County field. The remains were badly decomposed, obscuring the cause of death, but the manner was ruled a homicide.
About a year later, detectives identified two suspects. An Oklahoma City man and his half-brother were implicated in the 1987 death of a New Mexico woman who’d been abducted from a shopping mall under similar circumstances. The men remained the top suspects in Engle’s death until 1999, when they were exonerated through DNA evidence.
The case languished for nine years. No good leads. No suspects.
Then detectives caught a break.
Tulsa case helped
On Jan. 22, 2007, Eckardt accompanied Terry Welch, 40, to her Tulsa apartment.
The next day, Welch’s young son asked neighbors if he could use their bathroom because his mother wouldn’t get out of the bathtub, Oklahoma City cold case Inspector Kyle Eastridge said. The neighbors found Welch dead in the bath.
Witnesses told police they’d seen Eckardt beating Welch, the Tulsa World reported. He admitted to being at her apartment until about 11 p.m. Jan. 22, but he denied hitting her. Nevertheless, the body bore signs of sexual abuse and "obvious blunt force trauma,” and some of Welch’s teeth had been knocked out, Eastridge said.
Eckardt was arrested on a murder complaint but was charged with rape by instrumentation and aggravated assault and battery. A pathologist could not determine what killed Welch — the beating, the high level of alcohol in her blood, asphyxiation or even drowning. Under the circumstances, her death could not be ruled a homicide.
Eckardt entered into a plea agreement with the state. The rape charge vanished, replaced by a second aggravated assault count. Eckardt pleaded no contest and received two five-year sentences.
When he entered the prison system, Eckardt had to submit a DNA sample. On July 26, 2008, his DNA profile was matched to DNA taken from the cigarette butts and bottle in Engle’s car, Eastridge said.
Later, court records show, Eckardt’s fingerprints were compared with unidentified prints from the Dodge Colt. They matched.
‘Completely shocked’
Engle’s family was told about Eckardt last summer. Detectives notified her husband, Dawson A. Engle, who still lives in the same Yukon home he shared with her 23 years ago. He called their son and daughter.
"I was just completely shocked,” said Dawson R. Engle, who was 13 when his mother died. "My mindset at that time was that we weren’t ever going to know who did it.”
A special judge in Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties, Dawson R. Engle gathered information about Eckardt from the Internet and shared it with his father and sister, Kristine Ervin, who was 8 when the abduction occurred. Weeks later, he talked to police, who were in no rush to seek charges since Eckardt already was incarcerated at Mack Alford Correctional Center in Stringtown.
"At that point, they had been to interview him (Eckardt),” he said. "They talked about where he had lived and that he kind of lived up and down the I-40 corridor, that he hitchhiked and got rides from truckers a lot. But as soon as they got to anything specific about Mom’s case, he asked for a lawyer.”
Eckardt was born in Pasadena, Texas, Eastridge said. He grew up around Tulsa and Cleveland, OK, but hitchhiked between Las Vegas and Chattanooga, Tenn., for years.
Until Welch died, he had only a minor arrest record, Eastridge said.
Offering support
At Tuesday’s news conference, the victim’s husband struggled to retain his composure as he read a prepared statement.
Beside him, his son fought back tears.
Kristine Ervin tried to comfort both.
After so much time — after so much pain — it would seem the family has every right to be bitter. They’re not. For 23 years, they have leaned upon each other and upon friends, relatives, teachers and neighbors. Tuesday, they offered thanks and talked of gratitude.
If Eckardt is convicted, Dawson A. Engle said, the family may find peace of mind in knowing that he "will not have the opportunity to kill another woman.”
But nothing, he said, will end their grief.
from the oklahoman
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