The District Chronicles

Issue date: 7/19/09 Section: Cover

Media Credit: Robert Eubanks/Staff Photographer

There wasn't a large crowd. The entire community didn't come to the vigil, but there was a room full of family members and friends all bent on finding their missing loved one, Peggy Nichols, who has been missing for over a month.

There were purple ribbons, Peggy's favorite color. There was praying, singing, crying, but most of all hope.

It was raining. The vigil was held inside the small community center at the Green Terrace housing complex in Northwest on June 7. Peggy's family prayed that she wasn't out in the rain.

Peggy, 35, has not been seen since May 19. The day she disappeared, Peggy left a note with all the things she wanted from McDonalds, but what is most disturbing is what she concluded the note with: 'How can I end myself.'

Peggy's mother Lillian Taylor talked about her fears. She knows now, more than ever, her daughter needs her. Over the course of 15 years, Peggy has lived with schizophrenia, bipolar and multiple personality disorder, Taylor said.

The vigil was the first time that her sister Katina Barham has cried because it is hard for her to believe that her sister is gone.

Most people didn't know what the family was dealing with, but after Peggy disappeared, their only choice was to share their grief and burden with others, hoping that it would help find her.

"Peggy wanted to go to college; she wanted to have a family, but she couldn't," Taylor said. "She didn't even have a friend."

Taylor often wasn't sure how she could help Peggy. Her daughter didn't like to leave the house. As a result, getting her to the hospital was a challenge. Before she disappeared, Peggy threw away all of her medicine because it made her gain weight.

When it was time to make missing person flyers, there was only one outdated photo of Peggy to choose from, because she had cut up all her photos.

Taylor said that her family has a history of mental illness. Her father committed suicide.

"We never knew what was wrong with him but one day he came in the house and went into the bathroom and killed himself," Taylor said.

Living with a mentally ill father and daughter has allowed Taylor few moments of happiness. When she is with her grandchildren, Taylor said, Peggy and her sickness sometimes slips from her thoughts into moments of pure happiness. Then her mind drifts back to the empty bedroom upstairs - the room where Peggy spent most of her time, drawing the things that she wanted in life.

Continued...

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