The joy of the last day of school in Colorado City was tinged with sadness Friday as teachers and students noted the absence of Hailey Dunn, who was reported missing Dec. 28.
Hailey, an eighth-grader at Colorado Middle School, likely would have been among the students newly inducted into the Honor Society who traveled to Abilene for a class outing last week, one of her teachers said.
"It just hit me while we were there (in Abilene) that she would have been with us," said Kristy Frizzell, Hailey's science teacher. "She was always eager and so smart and would do anything for you. It is just breaking my heart."
The halls of Colorado Middle School still were adorned with posters covered with poems, cards and photographs of the 13-year-old student.
A poster full of cards from students in Abilene and surrounding cities offered hope. "We are praying for your safe return," a card from Clack Middle School in Abilene reads.
"The cards went up not long after she went missing," said Kristy Lloyd, administrative assistant to the campus counselor.
Lloyd, who also is heading up the search for Hailey, said that over the past few months, students have pitched in by baby-sitting, holding car washes and selling T-shirts and bracelets — with proceeds going to help pay for the search effort and to start a scholarship in the girl's honor.
Upstairs on the third floor, a recently hung collage is covered with photos of Hailey, smiling with friends. Nearby is a poem written by a student titled "Trying to Find You."
The stars in the night sky
Look down, trying to find you.
Everyone is searching
Even those who never knew you ...
Your empty chair in the classroom
Is a cold reminder of the past couple of weeks
Thinking hopefully we'll find her ...
As everyone speculates
What is and isn't true
The stars in the night sky
Look down trying to find you ...
Posters beckoning for help in finding Hailey still hang on storefronts throughout Colorado City.
Billboards remind motorists to keep an eye out for her, but so far, no one has seen or heard from Hailey since she was reported missing by her mother, Billie Jean Dunn, three days after Christmas.
For the most part, residents say the pain felt since Hailey's disappearance is still there, though perhaps not as visible. Authorities have hinted that she could be deceased.
"The case has gone cold," said Jim Baum, former Colorado City mayor and owner of the KVMC/KAUM radio. "I don't hear anything on it — it is all mute."
But still there is hope that Hailey will be sitting in her first-period class on the first day of school in the fall. Although, of course, it would have been better if she had been found safe before school let out, her teacher said.
"It would have been good if we had ended on a good note," Frizzell said.