Jeanne! I don't have a computer at home, so I was anxious to see the latest news and was CERTAIN they'd have found Tracy by now, or that she'd casually walked in the door and said I'm back. I'm so sorry to hear there's still no good result to report.
I'm posting the Sunday & Monday newspaper reports:
Monday 5/15
About 30 people continued searching Sunday for Tracy Tribble, a 35-year-old Council Bluffs woman who has been missing since May 3, said friend Bryon Batchelder.
The search of vacant lots and parks began Saturday and was organized by Council Bluffs police and relatives and friends of Tribble. More than 100 people searched Saturday.
No leads were turned up Sunday, Batchelder said.
Sunday, May 14
COUNCIL BLUFFS - More than 100 people searched vacant lots and parks Saturday with the slight hope of finding Tracy Tribble, and a far slighter hope of discovering her alive.
From left, Francis Thompson, Lynn Duarksen and Dan Lupardus check maps while coordinating the search for Tracy Tribble in Council Bluffs.
Council Bluffs police and relatives and friends of Tribble organized the daylong search for the woman who has been missing since May 3.
Sgt. Ray Mabbitt said the search will resume at 9 a.m. today from the same parking lot near 223 Harmony St. where it began Saturday.
Jeff Hylton of Carter Lake put the goal of the mission succinctly: "I hope we don't find her," he said, "but I hope we find something that leads us to her."
Tribble's father, John Gostomski, said his greatest hope was that they would "find my daughter, preferably well. But as you know, searching like this, that's probably not the case."
Gostomski, who lives in Arizona, said he was grateful for the turnout and for the work of the Council Bluffs officers.
Folding tables were spread over part of the parking lot, and large photos of Tribble were taped to them. Those who know her say it would be out of character for her to leave without telling someone.
Her husband, Stan Tribble, cooperated with law enforcement officers for several days and hired an attorney late last week. Stan Tribble told a police investigator at that time that he did not want to speak with him anymore.
Mabbitt said Stan Tribble did not make an appearance.
Search and rescue teams from Ames, Iowa, and Kansas City, Mo., provided their services. Search dogs participated in the effort. Police furnished manpower and a mobile command center.
Mainly, though, it was Tracy Tribble's friends, and friends of those friends, who went out in teams of 10 or fewer to areas around the town.
Julie Haas, who attended Millard North High School with Tribble, said their main connection was through showing horses. They belonged to the same saddle club, boarded horses at the same place and competed against each other when they were younger.
Haas' brother, Eric Meyer, fondly recalled that if they were not going to win a competition, they would pull for Tribble, and vice versa.
Kellee Ridge of Omaha brought two large black Labrador-Newfoundland mixes named Bonnie and Clyde along for the search. Ridge is a friend of Joanne Harrell, a longtime buddy of Tribble's.
Harrell and her father, Don, walked near the train tracks and beneath the viaduct in central Council Bluffs, tromping through weeds and scouring lots.
Joanne Harrell became friends with Tribble in junior high school, more than 20 years ago.
With Tribble missing for 10 days, Harrell said, it is impossible to be optimistic. Still, she said, a tenacious effort must be made. They made such an effort Saturday.
