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Minnesota Family Desperate for Answers in Case of Missing Student
Bob Guimond knows the odds are long, but he's not letting go of the hope that he could see his missing grandson again.
"You've got to hold on to something," the CWA Local 7204 president says. "I tell you, you don't know how tough this is until you go through it. You take it for granted that the people you love will always be there."
Joshua Guimond, 20, vanished Nov. 9 on the tranquil campus of St. John's University in St. Cloud, Minn., 75 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The blonde young man, 6 feet tall and 176 pounds, had taken a break from a late-night card game in a student apartment. He stepped out into the hall and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
What makes the case that much more mysterious is that in the 10 days before Joshua went missing, three other young people in Minnesota and Wisconsin disappeared without a trace.
Each of the others, a 21-year-old woman and two men, ages 21 and 22, had been drinking in bars with friends and police have speculated that one or more of them may have fallen into icy waters and drowned. But dive teams have turned up no bodies.
Joshua's friends told authorities that he wasn't intoxicated and was walking, talking and behaving normally at the time he stepped out of the apartment, wearing only a lightweight gray sweatshirt and jeans. His coat and other belongings were back in his own living quarters, about four blocks away.
Bob Guimond said his family, and the family of one of the other missing young men, have paid for a tracking dog to try to pick up their scent. The dog's tracking ability indicated that Joshua was walking normally down the hall and into the outdoors, but some distance away fell down three times.
Guimond believes it's possible that his grandson and the others encountered trouble and were drugged. Family and friends have been following leads, but are unhappy with what they see as law enforcement's lackluster response.
The sheriff handling Joshua's case told the New York Times the four disappearances are puzzling and unusual. "We have four young people missing within a relatively small area," Sheriff Jim Kostreba of Stearns County said. "They're all about the same age and they all disappeared at night."
A Qwest technician, Bob Guimond recalled hunting and fishing with his grandson, a good-humored honor student he lovingly called "a pretty smart little kid." Asked about Joshua's ambitions, he laughed and said, "His e-mail address says it all: SenatorJosh."
The only child of Brian Guimond and Lisa Cheney, Joshua told his family he wanted to go to law school at Northwestern University. Now his friends and family have spent weeks passing out yellow ribbons and flyers, talking to the media, putting pressure on law enforcement and maintaining a Find Joshua website.
"It was especially hard at Christmas," Bob Guimond said. "We were all waiting for him to walk in, but he never did."
A fund has been set up to help the Guimond family defray the costs of their vigil and investigation, including printing, telephone calls and private detectives. To contribute, send a check to: Find Joshua Fund, Security State Bank, Attention: Cheryl Pullins, P.O. Box 445, Maple Lake, MN 55358.
To read more about Joshua Guimond or leave a message of hope for his family, go to www.findjoshua.org. Anyone with any information about his disappearance is urged to call the Stearns County Sheriff's Department at (320) 255-1301.
"You've got to hold on to something," the CWA Local 7204 president says. "I tell you, you don't know how tough this is until you go through it. You take it for granted that the people you love will always be there."
Joshua Guimond, 20, vanished Nov. 9 on the tranquil campus of St. John's University in St. Cloud, Minn., 75 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The blonde young man, 6 feet tall and 176 pounds, had taken a break from a late-night card game in a student apartment. He stepped out into the hall and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
What makes the case that much more mysterious is that in the 10 days before Joshua went missing, three other young people in Minnesota and Wisconsin disappeared without a trace.
Each of the others, a 21-year-old woman and two men, ages 21 and 22, had been drinking in bars with friends and police have speculated that one or more of them may have fallen into icy waters and drowned. But dive teams have turned up no bodies.
Joshua's friends told authorities that he wasn't intoxicated and was walking, talking and behaving normally at the time he stepped out of the apartment, wearing only a lightweight gray sweatshirt and jeans. His coat and other belongings were back in his own living quarters, about four blocks away.
Bob Guimond said his family, and the family of one of the other missing young men, have paid for a tracking dog to try to pick up their scent. The dog's tracking ability indicated that Joshua was walking normally down the hall and into the outdoors, but some distance away fell down three times.
Guimond believes it's possible that his grandson and the others encountered trouble and were drugged. Family and friends have been following leads, but are unhappy with what they see as law enforcement's lackluster response.
The sheriff handling Joshua's case told the New York Times the four disappearances are puzzling and unusual. "We have four young people missing within a relatively small area," Sheriff Jim Kostreba of Stearns County said. "They're all about the same age and they all disappeared at night."
A Qwest technician, Bob Guimond recalled hunting and fishing with his grandson, a good-humored honor student he lovingly called "a pretty smart little kid." Asked about Joshua's ambitions, he laughed and said, "His e-mail address says it all: SenatorJosh."
The only child of Brian Guimond and Lisa Cheney, Joshua told his family he wanted to go to law school at Northwestern University. Now his friends and family have spent weeks passing out yellow ribbons and flyers, talking to the media, putting pressure on law enforcement and maintaining a Find Joshua website.
"It was especially hard at Christmas," Bob Guimond said. "We were all waiting for him to walk in, but he never did."
A fund has been set up to help the Guimond family defray the costs of their vigil and investigation, including printing, telephone calls and private detectives. To contribute, send a check to: Find Joshua Fund, Security State Bank, Attention: Cheryl Pullins, P.O. Box 445, Maple Lake, MN 55358.
To read more about Joshua Guimond or leave a message of hope for his family, go to www.findjoshua.org. Anyone with any information about his disappearance is urged to call the Stearns County Sheriff's Department at (320) 255-1301.