Wire Worries

Last night, while I was writing my last couple of scripts before the newscast, I spotted an unusual word on the AP Wire Bulletin: Kirksville.

As city names go, Kirksville isn't nearly as common as, say, Springfield. While I'm sure there are other Kirksvilles somewhere, the only one I know of is the one in Missouri. The one where I lived for seven years. The one where Cory was born and lived the majority of his first 25 years. So of course, I clicked on the story:

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) - Seven people were found dead Sunday in a duplex in northeast Missouri, police said. Police Chief Jim Hughes confirmed the deaths but would not discuss a suspected cause or release details about the victims. Police were trying to make positive identifications and notify relatives. Emergency officials went to the home after receiving a 911 call around 2:30 p.m. saying there were a number of unresponsive people and an unusual odor in the duplex. Foul play had not been ruled out, Hughes said. About two dozen people, many saying they were related to the victims, gathered in the street near the taped-off investigation scene seeking answers about the deaths. Police obtained a search warrant and removed a Dodge minivan from an enclosed garage beneath the duplex. Kirksville, home to Truman State University, is about 165 miles northwest of St. Louis.

I know most of my readers live in big cities or big suburbs. And I know that when you hear "Seven people were found dead in Atlanta today," you probably don't overanalyze it, even if you live in Atlanta.

When I lived in the 'Ville, it had a population of about 14,000. And when you live there for seven years, working first for the county's largest employer and second for a television station, you get to know a vast majority of those 14,000 residents. Seven people dead in a duplex in a town that size is pretty scary.

I looked online until I found out the name of the street where the bodies were found. It's one block away from the first home Cory remembers. Like I said, Kirksville's pretty small.

The odds are against me knowing any of the people who died, I realize this. But I've become a little obsessed with the story. My personal suspicion? Somebody was cooking up a batch of meth and it went wrong. Northeast Missouri has a pretty bad meth problem, and meth labs "Blow up" fairly frequently in that part of the country. That "unusual odor" might have come from a meth lab gone horrible wrong.

Regardless of how it happened, it really hit home for me.