This weekend will mark two months since the last time Lisa Stone was seen in Dallas, and today a billboard went up at the intersection of LBJ Freeway and Northwest Highway with Stone's photo and information on the $10,000 reward for information regarding her disappearance. The billboard was paid for with donations collected by Stone's friends from the Mesquite High School Class of '77, who have lobbied relentlessly for answers to her disappearance over the past several weeks, setting up a Facebook group with more than 1,800 members and holding vigils outside her Far East Dallas home in hopes of getting the word out about Stone and, of course, to support each other in the loss of their friend.
But while every day that passes without word on their friend is difficult, today is especially hard: It's Stone's 52nd birthday. Last night I met with the cadre of searchers and supporters who've been "Looking for Lisa," as their signature T-shirts say, since her disappearance. Gathered at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Mesquite, they painted signs to place in the front yard of the home Lisa Stone lived in off Ferguson Road. Mesquite High alumna Beverly Williams Scaling picked up multicolored signs from Party City and a packet of markers. Over Bloody Marys and the din of the Cowboys game, Stone's friends wrote messages: "We won't stop looking!"
"I have to know what happened," said Tina Wiley, one of Lisa's close friends, surrounded by her fellow MHS alums.
So far, no arrests have been made, though police told me yesterday they are pursuing several leads and awaiting forensic test results. They're hoping the $10,000 reward will get their phones ringing. Anyone with information about Stone's disappearance is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 877-373-8477.
