Here’s someone that should have carried the torch

From February 2002

If you were like me, you were a little surprised how much hub-bub the Olympic torch run caused. The following of the Olympic flame -- surprising to me -- was not just a "Utah thing," but spawned positive interest and results wherever it went. As it drew closer and closer to the opening ceremonies, I found myself picking up on all the stories about those chosen to carry the flame. Even if it was only one sentence in passing by commentators -- "In Tucson, the flame was carried by this person who has overcome this great thing or accomplished this marvelous thing" -- the honor of being a torch bearer become heightened.

Today I grit my teeth and exhale an "Oh darn" kind of sigh for not nominating someone to be a carrier of the flame. You may be like me and have slapped your forehead and said, "Boy, why didn't I nominate someone? Why didn’t I think fast enough?" Who would you have nominated?

Here's my too-late nomination: Joann Autry.

If the name sounds vaguely familiar, you will likely recall her daughter’s name first. Trisha Autry is Joann's daughter. Trisha was a popular Mountain Crest High School student who, at 16, was reported missing by her parents in June of 2000. A Hyrum man is currently in jail, after being found competent to stand trial on charges related to her death.

2001 was not a good year for Joann. After enduring months of agony and efforts to find her missing teen, Joann put her husband to rest in April 2001, after a lingering illness. Just a couple of weeks later, law enforcement officials would ask Joann to identify two pieces of clothing found in the foothills near Hyrum. A facial bone was also found and it soon became apparent that her daughter was not coming home. She admits that her family has, at times, been angry and nearly overcome with grief, “but we never became bitter. We have been strengthened.” It only takes a sentence of dialogue with Joann for her to emphasize that the pain she has experienced can has only been overcome by faith in a redeeming hereafter.

“People don’t have a clue of the horror of this thing,” she said just last week in her south Cache County home, “and we know only some it. But there are times when it comes back and the only thing that drives those thoughts from our minds is to picture Trisha in our Savior’s arms. You get to the point where you are almost inconsolable, but you know what the promise is.”

Joann says her emotions, and those of her four remaining family members, are best described as “roller coaster.” She says she tries to “stay in the middle, because we have to keep moving,” but some days are tougher than others. The most poignant days recently? When she shoveled two feet of snow off Trisha’s memorial headstone after a snowstorm. Or when she sees Trisha’s friends drive by in a car, “and I think that she never got that chance.”

“It’s like a song cut short and it seems so unfair,” she said. “Without faith, we can’t understand that this is only part of the song, that there are more verses, other stanzas that will be played out.”

Joann’s whole life has been reaching out to others. She is currently the Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Education director at the Student Wellness Center of Utah State University. She wants to take Trisha's memory and continue to reach out to others. She said she is forming a foundation in her daughter’s name to increase her efforts of warning parents about dangers that can reach their families.

“Parents need to be aware that the world is not always a safe place for children,” she said. “That’s what we are doing with our foundation. We want to educate and be an advocate for parents of missing kids.” She said her family will be part of support efforts to help parents in this situation work through their frustrations and explain ways to better work with law enforcement officials. She said a similar group, Team Hope, gave her ideas and a listening ear when she needed it most.

I'm sure there wasn't a bad person in the thousands chosen to touch, walk, wheel or jog with the flame along the entire route that brought "the fire within" to Utah. But there are few more deserving than Joann and you can bet your favorite Olympic pin on that.

Meanwhile, I get the gold medal in a new Olympic sport: Kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.