Meridian woman still missing after campsite disappearance
sstrauss@idahopress.com
Friday, August 29th, 2008
ELMORE COUNTY -- The search is still on for 48-year-old Rachael Walsh, a Meridian mother and U.S. Postal Service employee who never missed a day of work in 27 years, said her sister.
Karen Fitch, of Boise, said she and other relatives are holding out hope that their loved one is found soon and found safe. Walsh was last seen two weeks ago at her campsite in Falls Creek, about 20 miles from Mountain Home.
Walsh left everything -- her identification, credit cards, asthma medication -- in her 5th wheel at her campsite, located across the lodge where she was last seen at 7 p.m. Saturday Aug. 16.
A neighboring camper heard a car door shut and a car leave the area around midnight. Walsh has not been seen since.
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Family members went to the campsite looking for her when she didn't return home on Sunday. They found her door unlocked, the awning down, her chair outside as always and all her belongings inside the camper.
Walsh has lived in Meridian for 35 years and enjoyed bringing family members to the campsite all summer long, but this time she was camping alone, Fitch said.
Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher said his investigators have scoured all areas of the county. "We're sort of stumped right now. We get a few leads from time to time so we'll teletype another agency but we just haven't found anything yet," he said.
Officials have searched by land and air for signs of Walsh's car -- a 2005 red Dodge Neon with license plates 1AUK314 -- but no vehicle was found.
Fitch said she has even consulted a Boise psychic, who indicated her sister may be lost in the Dillon, Mont., area, her car broken down on a dirt road.
"The psychic seems to think she might find people," like campers or hunters, that will help her, Fitch said.
Fitch and Walsh were born in Alberta, Canada, and Fitch wonders if her sister was trying to return there via Montana.
Layher said he's put information out to other law enforcement agencies along the route to Canada in case that is where Walsh was headed. He urged campers and hunters who may be out in rural areas of northern Idaho to be on the lookout for Walsh or her car.
Meanwhile, search and rescue teams in Elmore County are continuing their efforts. "We're not giving up the fact that somehow she got missed. This is a big weekend with a lot of people out. Hunting season is coming. If we missed her on a side road we're hoping someone will come across her here," the sheriff said.
Fitch said her sister, who is quiet and keeps to herself, was going through a hard time. She may have been drinking and drove off, Fitch said, ending up hopelessly lost.
Walsh was recently widowed in October. "She missed him and was probably depressed since her husband died," Fitch said. Walsh was also dealing with family problems as well as a recent DUI charge.
Walsh missed court and now has a probation violation and a failure to appear. "I'm hoping if we find her alive, we can get her some help. I know it's not normal for her to run," Fitch said.
Walsh has four children, the youngest a 17-year-old daughter.
"We have gone up to Falls Creek several days, put out fliers, asked questions. People are aware up there but we need more people going to that area to look for the car and Rachael," Fitch said.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Rachael Walsh should call Elmore County sheriff's dispatch at (208) 587-2100.







<p>Rachael Walsh</p>

