Last Updated on February 6, 2022
I was reading the story about a young family missing for several days from their quiet town in Mississippi. Michael and Rebecca Hargon, both in their late 20’s and their 4-year-old son, James Patrick, vanished on Valentine’s Day from their home in Vaughan.
Officially, it’s a missing persons case. But police discovered a very disturbing clue: dried blood, shell casings and bullet holes inside their home. Oddly, their home was converted from a convenience store in which Michael’s father was killed during a robbery there. Three men are in prison for that crime.
The most compelling part of the story came in a quote from a neighbor who said, “We don’t worry about locking our doors.” It’s hard for many of us to imagine living in a place where people don’t worry about securing their belongings, although I suspect most of us grew up in such a place.
I feel sad for this family, because the evidence inside the home would seem to suggest that something bad has happened to them. I feel sad for the community, finding itself in the middle of a tragedy that will no doubt traumatize their neighbors for a long time to come. And I feel sorry for America…because we’ve lost one more innocent community in which residents never have to think about locking their doors.