On Monday afternoon, I talked to Audrey LaShomb, whose husband was participating in the search; I could tell by her voice that it didn't look good.  I spent some quiet moments with myself, and then I knew that I had to call my parents.  I believe the very next day my parents took a flight from St. Louis to Syracuse and probably rented a car to drive to Clayton. They were here for me! They were most likely  the ones to contact Preston's family,  other relatives, and friends.  My mother and I pulled out a large white candle that was a wedding gift, and we began to burn it for a vigil.



The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards continued to search for the next several days.  They would send helicopters over our home to let us know that they were out there searching.  To this day, I think of the search whenever I hear the sound of a helicopter.

I remember that some people who knew Preston took me up in their private plane so that I could get an idea of what could be seen from the air.  It also gave me an idea of enormity of Lake Ontario. I felt like we were flying over an ocean.



Soon after my parents arrived, other family members began to arrive. I was surrounded by a loving supportive family.  My oldest brother,Tom, drove a car from Illinois so that my parents would have a car to use.  Preston's oldest brother David and his wife Twyla, arrived from Brazil. Preston's mother and father  came from Joliet. Illinois.It made a difference having family there with me and the children. I remember watching the Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs Battle of the Sexes tennis match with all of them.

After over a week, the official Coast Guard search was called off.  There was a memorial Mass at St. Mary's, in Clayton, on Saturday evening, September 22 1973.  Soon afterward, family members began to return to their homes.  My parents stayed.  My brother left the car for them and flew back home.



Then, the investigation began. The sheriff's office and the Social Security
Administration had to do a thorough investigation as to whether Preston would have wanted to purposely disappear.  Neighbors, townspeople, business associates, etc. were questioned about Preston's integrity, our finances and the stability of our marriage.  This was probably the most difficult part of the ordeal, as, on top of all of that I was dealing with the loss of the love of my life and the father of my three precious children who adored him.



My parents were so helpful.  Mom helped out so much with the boys. She kept a log of all of the telephone calls and of the dishes that would come in from friends.  She helped with the laundry and cooking.  She made me eat so that I could keep up my health. Dad helped me with all of the visits to the Social Security office in Watertown and other legal issues.

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They stayed for two months in case there were any further developments in the case.  Scott, our youngest, and Greg celebrated their third and fourth birthdays.  The six of us took a trip to Vermont to visit good friends who had moved from Clayton two months previously because of a tragedy in their family.  Then, a few days before Thanksgiving, a neighbor drove the three boys and me to Syracuse to board a flight to St. Louis via Chicago.  Mom and Dad drove back.  There was a storm over Chicago and we flew around in circles and encountered  very turbulent conditions.  One of the boys threw up.  We were delayed getting into O'Hare and missed our connection.  I had to scramble around the airport with my three little boys to find another flight to St. Louis.  Finally, we arrived in St. Louis about 3:00 am, whereas we were supposed to arrive around 9:00 pm.



In about five months we began receiving Social Security benefits, and Preston's life insurance representative arranged for the life insurance benefits to be put into an irrevocable trust account so that we would be able to receive interest on the principal.

We then started a new chapter of our lives with much love and support from family and friends.