Good News: Possible Sighting!

Hello all,

Quick Summary:  We may have a new sighting near Navy Yard; and the flyer/search party tomorrow will begin at 5 pm at the exit of the Capitol South metro stop.

I have some really exciting news! On our search today, we found someone who may have seen beloved Olivia! A hot-dog vendor near the Eastern Market metro stop said that he saw her yesterday while he was riding his bike in the neighborhood. He said that she was headed toward Navy Yard, so I have a new focus for tomorrow's search. I am particularly encouraged because, when told there was a reward, he said that that wasn't what mattered to him, that he had lost his own dog once! (Maybe I am being too optimistic, and I admit I am incredibly eager for some good news, but I am not sure why someone would lie about having lost his dog, and I don't think that anyone who has been in that situation would lie about having seen a dog if he didn't want the reward. And I would think he, of all people, would know the harm false information can do.)

I have to remain cautious because, even if he truly thinks he saw her, it may still not have been she. Still, I am really, really excited because this is the first sighting since the day she went missing. I am not sure how to balance the caution and the hope, but I'll just let the hope energize my search. So tomorrow we will be out again but this time with renewed vigor. That extra energy will not be wasted: we still have lots and lots of places that need fliers, and the more we talk to people in the neighborhoods, the more likely people will watch out, the more likely someone will find her!

Tomorrow I, of course, plan to search the area between Eastern Market and Navy Yard. Still, there is a large part of Capitol South and the whole area from the hill itself back to our house that has no fliers at all yet. I figure we should meet at a place between the sightings and our home, then some people can go in one direction (away from home) and some in the other (back toward home). I will have looked and asked around Navy Yard earlier in the day, but we can still put up fliers and hand out business cards there. Let's meet at the exit of the Capitol South metro station, on the corner opposite Tortilla Coast. I will be there with Leah and lots of supplies. Please come, even if you come late or leave early or only have a little time to spare. I will have my phone with me, so you should be able to reach me any time.

I do have a request for a task before tomorrow's search: can someone help out by printing new fliers and business cards that include the web address of this blog? I still have fliers left without it and have been printing labels with the site on them and sticking them on the fliers and the back of the business cards, but as long as I will need more fliers anyway, it would be great if the blog site was already on there. Also, I want to put up some of the fliers that have the description as well. The ones with just the photo and number are better for places where people just pass by, but if businesses (like starbucks) let us post in there, people can get close enough (and stand still long enough) to see words as well. So can someone print both kinds of flyers (with and without the description as well as with and without tabs) with the blog site included? Ok - I'm off to put more labels on fliers and put them in sheet protectors so I will have plenty ready for tomorrow.

Thank you and have a good night.
p.s. If you have asked me a question or asked me for something and I haven't gotten back to you, would you mind sending me a quick reminder email? I think I have gotten to everyone, but I want to make sure.

Let's Look for Livvie! - Flyer Party

Thank you to all of you who responded and offered to help. We have been able to contact lots and lots of people, which gives me hope! But unfortunately we still haven't gotten any word of new sightings. Especially in light of that, I want to look for her as much (as widely and as long) as possible today. I know many people still have work, but some have the day off for Veterans Day, so I am organizing our first real search party:

When - flexible - it's all-livvie-all-the-time for me! you are welcome to join whenever you can. I will be out, I hope, by about noon and probably won't come home until after dark. (Also, I will have more search parties in the days to come, but I really want to start today - obviously, the sooner we find her, the better.)

Where - everywhere from our house (Chinatown/Mt. Vernon Square) to Eastern Market and even a bit beyond. Whenever you can come, call me on my cell phone and I'll meet you somewhere to give you fliers and business cards and tell you where we need you to go. I will print maps based on the tracker's suggestions and divide up the search area.

What to bring -
-your dog (if you have one and can bring him/her)
-strong clear tape. someone suggested a staple gun, and that's fine, but every place I found to put up a poster was a lamppost or something else metal, so tape is probably best.
-a slip lead (if you have one; otherwise, a normal leash is fine)
-tasty dog treats with a strong smell and maybe some dog food. She's not very food-motivated, but it certainly can't hurt and she may be really hungry.
-a map. The map from tracker is available HERE If you can, please print this or some other reasonably detailed map of the area. I will bring maps, but I'd rather have too many (or leftovers for future searches) than not enough.
-your phone. This is the only means of communication I will have while we're out - I don't have a smart phone so email isn't an option for me. As you doubtless know by now, my number is (617) 947-5627. I have some of your phone numbers, but if you want to send me yours, I can put your name and number in my phone ahead of time.
-I am going to bring water or some other drink. Bring whatever you'll want.
-flyers and business cards. I spent much of last night getting fliers and business cards ready for posting/distribution. That said, I would love to have more, so please do email me if you can make some. I will send you updated fliers and business cards that include the blog address. Also, you all probably know this better than I do, but we also want to put them in sheet protectors to make them last longer and protect them from the rain. Several people have suggested putting them on a bright background so they will draw more attention. I don't want them to be too big because I think they will be torn down (and get no other attention), so I think I will opt for a second letter-sized sheet of paper, behind the actual flyer and outside the sheet protector, that's landscape-oriented (horizontal). This can serve as a bright background and can be taped up with the flyer itself. Again, I haven't done this before, so we'll see how it goes. I am also open to other suggestions.

I welcome the help of anyone who can come, so feel free to show up even if you only have a little bit of time. If you know ahead of time that you can come, I would appreciate an email so that I know about how many people we'll have (to divide up the area and bring enough posters). If you don't have time, though, don't worry - I'll bring as many posters as I can and there are plenty of places to search!

That's it for now. If you have other ideas, please post them, rather than emailing them to me, so other searchers will also see them as well. Thank you again for your help and I hope to see you soon!