Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 29, 1990 TAG: 9005290251
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Detective Douglas Cleavert said Monday that Deborah Ferguson's white Ford Escort was found about 8 p.m. Sunday in the city's north side.
Ferguson's family distributed posters throughout the city with her picture and a description of the car.
One of the posters alerted a resident who told police where the car was parked. Police said the car apparently had been there for a week.
Cleavert said James Sherrin, a friend of Ferguson, 21, also has been missing since the weekend of May 18.
James Ferguson described Sherrin, 20, as a former boyfriend of his daughter.
"They were seen together on Friday evening (May 18). Then she called and talked with one of her girlfriends on Saturday. The friend thought she was calling from her apartment and that she was alone," Ferguson said.
He said he and his wife had tried to call their daughter several times since May 16 and had gotten the answering machine. "We left messages, but she didn't call back," he said.
Ferguson said his daughter also had not contacted the Tobacco Co. Restaurant, where she works as a waitress and hostess.
"When we got to her apartment Friday, we found her cat. She's never gone anywhere without making arrangements for the cat. Her wallet and credit cards are here. It looked as though she had left planning to be gone only a short while," he said.
Sherrin's stepfather, Bradley Coats, said Sherrin disappeared under "very suspicious circumstances. It's very, very unlike him to just leave. He took no clothes with him."
Judith Coats, Sherrin's mother, said her son dated Ferguson for about 1 1/2 years before they broke up late last year. They remained friends and her son began dating someone else, Coats said.
by CNB