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before it blew up into an all-outfrenzy. Besides, he assumed, she probably just took off for an early weekend and decided not to call her mother. The mom is probably just overprotective and panicky.
    The dispatcher put a call out to beat patrol officer Jon Paulding, who whisked over to the small brown duplex, less than a half mile from the Jennifer Street Bridge. Officer Paulding pulled up in front of the apartment and noticed a white Ford Mustang in the driveway. He jotted down the plate numbers and made a mental note to check them out later. OfficerPaulding walked up to the front door on the right-hand side of the duplex and knocked. No one answered the door. The officer, not too concerned, wrote a note to Aundria and informed her that she should call her mother. He left it on her Mustang.
    Meanwhile, back in Clovis, Gail Eberhart began to get scared. She continued calling for several more hours and still could not get a hold of Aundria. Finally, at 5:15 A.M. , she called the San Luis Obispo Police Department again. The dispatcherdirected her call directly to Officer Paulding.
    The police officer returned to Aundria’s duplex. This time he attempted to gain entry into Aundria’s home. Once he realizedhe could not enter through any of the doors, he asked for Eberhart’s permission to break in. She agreed without hesitation.He did not need to, however, as the dispatcher had already contacted the landlord, who would arrive soon with the keys.
    Officer Paulding checked Aundria’s car again. He clasped the door handle, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. He looked in and noticed a brown leather purse, which belonged to Aundria, lying on the floorboard. He searched the purse for a set of house keys but found nothing. At the same time the landlord arrived.
    Officer Paulding called for assistance and a second officer arrived at the Branch Street residence. The landlord unlocked the front door and both officers began to search the duplex. Officer Paulding checked upstairs in Aundria’s loft. He looked up at a countertop and spotted her pager.
    Nothing looked unusual to the officers.
    Officer Paulding contacted Gail Eberhart to inform her that nothing looked suspicious. She asked him if they should go ahead and file a missing-person report. The officer agreed and took the pertinent information.

NINE
    Aundria Crawford did not know Rachel Newhouse. They did not go to the same college, even though they lived in the same town. They did not hang out with the same crowd, even though they were the same age. They did not live similar childhoods, even though they would both end up in the centralcoastal town of San Luis Obispo.
    Many people knew Aundria Crawford as Aundria Eberhart. She was born on July 10, 1978, in Pasco, Washington, to Jim and Gail Eberhart. Her parents were hardworking middle-classAmericans. Her mom worked in retail for the local Sears department store and her dad worked as an electrician. Despitea love for their only daughter, Mom and Dad did not share a love for one another. They divorced when Aundria was only six months old. After the divorce Gail packed up the car and relocated with Aundria to her grandparents’ home in Fresno, California. Don and Jody Crawford gladly took them in and nurtured their precocious granddaughter.
    Aundria enjoyed growing up with her grandparents. They were warm and loving and did everything possible to assure that she had a normal childhood. She loved to play outside and inspect the creatures that wandered the yards in their neighborhood. Her grandfather recalled her deep love for animals:“When she was a child, she would get mad at me for crushing snails.”
    Aundria also developed a fondness for ballet. She danced in The Nutcracker and Alice in Wonderland and impressed everyone with her ability.
    After Aundria’s foot problem forced her out of ballet, she turned her attention to horses. Her father owned some horses and she always loved to ride them when she visited him. Even