Reitler anniversary

how? And where are they buried?

Jay Kay, Mark Stefanatos , Darrell Himelick, Jason Ewer, Josh Zigler, Stephen Dorsey , Kyle Beal . . . the list of police officers grows longer. And most have suspects in mind, especially in the case of Tricia Reitler, of people they believe responsible. But suspicion and evidence are two different things. The files include 7,000 pages of notes, tips, interviews, speculations and conclusions.

The only thing most all agree on is that Larry Hall, who was from Wabash and is now serving a life term in federal prison for another killing, had nothing to do with the disappearance and deaths of either Reiter or Felton.

Hall gained much attention about 20 years ago when he offered confessions to lots of kidnappings and killings.

He is jailed in North Carolina for having abducted and killed another teenager, Illinois resident Jessica Roach, in western Indiana.

For the Reitler family, everything changed on the night of March 29, 1993.

“The phone call came a little bit after midnight,” Garry Reitler recalled. “I wasn’t feeling well that night, just kind of lying on the couch,” he said several years later.

“Do you know where your daughter is?” It was a Marion police officer calling. Tricia may have been headstrong, but she was responsible. Her parents knew instantly something was very wrong.

“Tricia was a fighter; she was strong. She was a small girl, but she was very determined. We knew that she was not gone by her own doing,” her father said.

The Reitlers drove to Marion in early morning, the first of many such drives over those years. Their daugh-

Visit Wabash County to host mixology class

Visit Wabash County officials announce the return of the favorite experience, Cocktail Mixology Class, that will go on sale to the public in person and online on March 28 at noon. Ticket holders must be at least 21 years of age to attend.

Cocktail Mixology Class will be offered on April 26 and May 3 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. People can choose to attend one or both classes. Each night offers a curated list of cocktails and different mixologists in an effort to shake things up. The cost of the ticket is $25 and includes 3 full cocktails and a charcuterie board to enjoy throughout the night. The event will take place at The Sanctuary of Wabash.

Mixologists

Jennifer LongDillon and Stephanie Rogers will be shaking it up on April 26 with a Pimm’s Cup Cocktail which is a British Classic

Cocktail, a Rosemary Maple Bourbon Sour, and a Blackberry Fence Hopper featuring some locally grown blackberries. Mixologist Emmett McIlvenny will be shaking things up on May 3 with some of the classics, a Lemon Drop Martini, a Chocolate Martini, and a Classic Margarita.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and can be done at the Welcome Center, 221 S Miami St, Wabash or online at VisitWabashCount y.com. ter’s clothing, bloody but folded, had been found near the campus.

“I think at that point I knew. I knew that she was no longer alive,” her father has since said. But, of course, he did not –and does not –know. Not with certainty.

The wounds have become scars, but the pain persists.

“Something peo- ple don’t realize is that, until we get answers, this is still our everyday reality – or nightmare,” Donna Reitler said.

“Nightmare” is the same word June Felton uses when remembering those early weeks after her daughter vanished.

So we will conclude this story just as we have so many others over

30 years: Anyone with information on the disappearance of Wendy Felton or Tricia Reitler is asked to contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Department at 765668-8168, the Marion Police Department 765662-9981 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 317-2628477.

Publisher

Editor Joe Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com

Accounting Toni Bulington accounting@thepaperofwabash.com

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