JAY — Karen Dalot and her older sister, Diane Levesque, say it has been pure hell not having answers to what happened to their younger sister, Kimberly Moreau, 30 years ago.
They are frustrated that no one has stepped forward to let them know and to tell them where to find her remains.
Dalot and her husband, Bob, who was her boyfriend then, were the last two family members to see 17-year-old Kim when she left her parents’ home on Jewell Street in Jay at about 11 p.m. on May 10, 1986.
Kim told them she was going for a ride and would be back in an hour, Karen Dalot, who was 19 at the time, said Thursday.
Kim did not specify who she was leaving with, but Dalot’s boyfriend saw a a white sports car in the driveway, she said.
Kimberly left her purse and her car behind.
Both Dalot of Jay and Levesque of Davenport, Fla., saw their sister earlier in the day, and she was in good spirits, they said.
Kim had had a fight with her boyfriend and canceled their prom date for the night of May 10, and hung out with friends that day.
“I had no reason to think that was the last time I would speak to Kim,” Dalot said.
Kim wanted to be a model and cared about her appearance, her sister said.
“She would never have left without her clothes, her purse and her own car,” Dalot said.
At times, Dalot said she becomes angry with herself that she didn’t stop Kim from going out that night.
When their parents went to report Kim missing, they were told they had to wait 48 hours to do so, she said.
Community members came together and conducted a search in places Kim may have gone but did not find her.
Police have conducted numerous searches since then in several towns, including last summer in Canton. Maine State Police detectives and evidence technicians collected test samples last summer on a property owned by one of the last people known to have seen Kim.
The family is grateful for all of the tips and community support they have received, Dalot said.
This case remains open and active, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Friday.
McCausland credits Kim’s father, Richard “Dick” Moreau of Jay for working hard throughout the years to make sure the case remains in the public eye.
It is a great tribute to a father who wants to bring closure to this case, McCausland said.
Moreau has taped hundreds of posters to poles around the region featuring Kim’s photo and pertinent information. He has gone out with metal detectors and searched areas and done ground probing many times looking for clues to where her remains might be found, Dalot said.
He has done what he can to find her, she said.
Members of the family are doing what they can to keep Kim’s memory alive, she said.
Richard Moreau has said all along that he just wants to bring his daughter home and get closure.
Every time a story appears about the case, it brings in new information, he said last week.
Both Dalot and Levesque wish the investigation into Kim’s disappearance had started earlier, had been initially taken more seriously and had had more resources involved.
Each member of the family has handled going about seeking answers and closure differently.
“We all want answers,” Dalot said. “We all want closure. We all have our ways about doing it.”
Levesque said it has hurt her to watch everybody go through not getting answers to Kim’s disappearance. Their mother, Patricia, died two years after Kim went missing, and their grandparents have died not knowing what happened.
Over the years, law enforcement personnel working on the investigation has changed along with technology. DNA was collected several times from family members.
Dalot has ridden her four-wheeler through areas, including Meadow View in Canton and Livermore, looking for clues to Kim’s disappearance and remains.
Bob Dalot said for the longest time he and Karen would ride their four-wheelers and see clothing, and it would make them wonder if they should check it out.
His wife still looks for bones.
People call in with tips every year. Dalot said he and a guy he worked with looked in wells, dug them out and filled them back in.
“I consider Kim a lost soul,” Karen Dalot said. “I hope and pray she is with my mother and all of our family in heaven.”
Bob Dalot said the only story he would like written is that Kim has been found.
“Someone knows what happened and for once in their life they should stand up and make the phone call and let us know where she is,” he said.
They don’t want another family member to pass away without knowing, Levesque said.
“We don’t want another family member to go through this. We want answers,” Karen Dalot said. “I want justice.”
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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