Search for Jacque Waller resumes this weekend

Monica Caison doesn't like to talk about it, but there's a reason she's made a life of searching for the lost.

The Wilmington, N.C., resident and founder of CUE Center for Missing Persons, has had three people in her life go missing: a best friend, a neighbor and someone closer to her than both.

Only one of them made it back alive.

"I have a story, but I usually don't tell my story," she said Thursday. "But I know how deeply these things affect people."

She spoke as she was driving back to Southeast Missouri for the second time in as many weeks to look for Jacque Sue Waller.

This weekend, Caison will be one of hundreds who again search for the woman who has been missing since June 1. But Caison never comes alone. As part of her database of volunteers, she is bringing about 100 people that she calls "ground pounders," an all-terrain vehicle, horse teams and 15 cadaver dogs.

"We have over 10,000 people in our database," Caison said. "We've spent all these years networking special teams from Florida, Maine, Texas, California. So we activate professional teams in and around the areas we search."

On Saturday and Sunday, her team and other local volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. at the Sale Barn/Livestock Auction Barn at 7505 U.S. 61 in Jackson. That will be the staging area. Then the people and the dogs will begin long days in torturous temperatures combing different areas for Jacque Waller.

The organization picks up the tab, whether it's paying for lodging, food or travel reimbursements. All of the money comes in from donations, and Caison doesn't collect a salary.

She doesn't track her success rate, but she considers every search a success.

"Because we eliminate that space and that area so law enforcement can know the missing person is not there," she said. "And if you're in the right place, you'll find them."

Waller's mother, Ruby Rawson, said she has been inspired by all the people who have been looking for her daughter.

"We're just overwhelmed," she said. "We will get justice for Jacque when all this is said and done."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

7505 U.S. 61, Jackson, MO