It’s a trying time in Rancho Bernardo and Poway. We mourn Chelsea. We pray for her and for her family in their time of bereavement. So many questions and concerns circle through our minds and we long to turn back the clock to before Chelseas last fateful jog in Rancho Bernardo Park. And yes we long for justice for her and her family.
We want to know why there isn’t notification around the park to walk or run in pairs or groups that it isn’t safe and that there has been suspicious activity there. We want to be safe we want to enjoy our beautiful open spaces for hiking without fear.
I walk my 90 pound German Shepherd on trails in the back country. They are beautiful at this time of the year and lead to pretty springs, stands of Oaks and areas with birds singing and celebrating nature’s beauty. I will now only do so when with other people and am also considering a legal self defense deterrant like, mace or a stun gun.
Why in the world was John Gardiner ever let back on the streets and why didn’t he serve a longer sentence from his previous conviction?
Why doesn’t Megans’ Law also include all the residences the registered sex offenders have been known to stay at?
To see if any known registered sex offenders are in your neighborhood click here go to the site and scroll down to the very bottom of the page to the locator site.
Megan’s Law Home
And we hope that a predator is off the street. We wonder is he the man also responsible for Amber Dubois who went missing a year ago?
We hope and pray she will be found alive and safe.
And yes we wish John Gardner swift and and sure judgment. We hope he rots in prison hope he receives what he deserves. We want to see him punished. We feel there is enough evidence that he is the perpetrator, not “just a suspect.”
Yet want I want to remind all of us. We simply can’t take justice into our own hands. We can lobby and group together to amend laws to create changes to protect us as a society more. We can find ways to make it safer for our children and ourselves.
But no matter how angry and fed up we are we can’t commit crimes and justify that we are angry or we’re doing it for the victims.
We need to instill pride and dignity into the system and let the world know that we’re a good and worthwhile neighborhood and city.
If we vandalize the accuser’s parent’s home or act out our rage and frustration we simply make it harder on the victim’s families and the neighborhood that is already wounded. It is very painful to the neighborhood and our community when someone lashes out against Gardner’s families’ home. Think about how the entire community is affected. This is the same neighborhood that suffered horrible losses a few years back from the Witch Creek wild fires.
It is natural and normal to feel frustrated and want to strike out. But it just thwarts the system if we do. We must take the harder more laborious and difficult steps to overturn bad laws, change systems and help make our society better.
Let’s learn what we can do to make it safer.
We owe it to Chelsea and the King family to be as calm, mindful and supportive as possible now. The Kings are now facing the most difficult and trying time, we can scarcely imagine. They have so much work and planning to attend to to put their lovely child to rest. Please let’s all make an effort to help them and see what we can do to help our community and San Diego to recover and move forward to a brighter future.
I am posting a video of a confrontation today at the home of John Gardner’s family. We must try and remain calm and think and take action on behalf of Chelsea, for Amber and their families and for all vulnerable people who are at risk of predators.
