[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DISAPPEARANCE OF CHERYL ANN BARNES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Thurman] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity 
today to talk about something that happened earlier this month in 
Sumter County, FL, which is in my district.
  On January 3, Cheryl Ann Barnes, a 17-year-old high school senior, 
disappeared. Cheryl is a white female, 5-foot-4-inches tall, and has 
brown hair and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, Cheryl was 
driving to school in her 1988, metallic grey Mazda 626. The license 
plate number is RQP74X.
  Mr. Speaker, I took this time today to talk about Cheryl's 
disappearance for a number of reasons. First, despite the continuing 
efforts of law enforcement and the Sumter County community, 21 days 
have passed since Cheryl was last seen driving to school. I am hoping 
that someone watching on C-SPAN today may have seen Cheryl's car 
somewhere recently and will contact me or the Sumter County Sheriff's 
Department.
  Second, the problem of missing children is a national issue. Just 
recently, President Clinton issued an Executive order making it easier 
for pictures of missing children to be posted in Federal buildings.

                              {time}  1630

  Getting information out regarding Cheryl's disappearance has not been 
a problem. In fact, the Barnes family and the Sumter County sheriff's 
department say they have been very gratified by the level of 
cooperation that they have received from all missing children's 
organizations. And yet 21 days have come and gone without any word 
about Cheryl's whereabouts.
  I cannot imagine the agony Cheryl's grandparents, William and Shirley 
Barnes, are continuing to experience daily or her older sister Sheila 
Burgess or many of her friends. Cheryl is one of those students who is 
a friend to everyone. She is a devoutly religious young woman who is 
very active in school and community activities. They think it would be 
totally out of character, according to those who know Cheryl, for her 
to have run away or left voluntarily. That is just not a possibility. 
In fact, the last time Cheryl was seen, she had made one stop about 
four blocks away from her high school; then she disappeared.
  Again, I am asking that if anyone has seen someone resembling Cheryl, 
5 feet, 4 inches tall and about 120 pounds with brown hair and brown 
eyes, to please call me or the Sumter County sheriff's department at 
904-793-0222. I know that the Barnes family has still a lot of hope 
that Cheryl will one day return. I hope someone listening today can 
help make that happen.
  I also know that the Barnes family would like me to let people know 
within the Sumter County area how much they have appreciated the 
support that they have received, the countless hours that they have 
spent in their searches, and certainly all of law enforcement's help in 
trying to get this done.
  If anybody might have or is asking or needs any kind of information 
or a picture or anything, please do not hesitate to either call me or, 
as I said, the Sumter County sheriff's department at 904-793-0222 and 
we will be glad to get this information. Any businesses that would like 
to have these pictures, remembering this is a nationwide search, this 
is not just in the State of Florida, any help that any of you can give 
us, we would appreciate it.
  I thank the Speaker for letting me have this opportunity to get out 
this information that is extremely important to this Nation.

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