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Ronnie Polaneczky
FRANCHESCA Alvarado, where, oh, where are you?
Back on March 13, you went to Atlantic City for the evening with an older male friend named Tracy Williams, who drove you there. You were going to have some fun before registering for classes the following week at Community College of Philadelphia. You were thrilled, at age 22, to be starting college life as a criminal-justice major.
You were last seen around Resorts and the Borgata, but you never came home that night, as you’d planned to.
Your brother and six sisters have not heard from you, which is alarming. You’re a tight family, having survived a tough childhood together — you’re never out of touch with each other for more than a day or so. And you would never have left your 3-year-old daughter, Janiah, the light of your life, whom you’d placed with a sitter for the night. Your credit cards, phone and Facebook page have gone dormant, too.
Your siblings are sick with worry. They are running out of ways to explain your absence to Janiah, who is staying with your sister Frances, and your friend Yari. They tell her you are working, but she’s a bright kid and can sense that something is wrong. Another sister, Christine, says that Janiah has taken to praying at bedtime for your protection."She’s very spiritual; Cheka taught her to pray," says Christine, using your childhood nickname — Cheka. "She prays all the time."
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