THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506250049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
It was to have been a holiday; longtime friends spending a week together at the beach before getting back to the real world. Instead, the real world has run them over.
``Things like this aren't ever supposed to happen to people you know,'' said Michelle McCammon, 21, whose friend Jennifer Evans has been missing for a week and whose disappearance has sparked a major police investigation.
Evans, 21, was last seen Monday by McCammon and another friend, Andria Burdette, also 21, at a nightspot near the Oceanfront.
``This was supposed to be a vacation and then back to the real world to get started on a career,'' said McCammon, a former Beach resident who now lives in Charlottesville where she graduated from the University of Virginia in May. ``It's incredibly painful to think that things like this happen in the world - that three friends can go out and not behave irresponsibly and something terrible like this happens. That's an eye-opener, to say the least.''
Police have worked the case around the clock, and the woman's friends and family have scoured the Oceanfront, passing out fliers with her picture and pleading for information.
Investigators questioned and released the man Evans was last seen with, a 20-year-old Navy SEAL, leaving unanswered the mystery of what happened to the dean's list student.
The plan had been to let off steam for a week in Virginia Beach. After that, Evans was to return to Atlanta; Burdette was going to Ohio to visit family; and McCammon was to return to Charlottesville to start a new job as a hotel desk clerk until she enters law school.
Evans flew in from Atlanta on June 17 to stay with Burdette and McCammon at a Sandbridge cottage Burdette's parents had rented for the week.
Saturday night, Evans and ``all her friends got together and watched `The Little Mermaid,' '' Burdette said. No matter that she had seen it umpteen times; she still loved it.
Sunday night, about 10:45 p.m., the three women drove to the The Bayou near the Oceanfront. While there, Evans met a man with whom she spent most of the evening.
About 1:15 a.m. Monday, Burdette and McCammon wanted to leave, but the stranger wanted Evans to stay longer. Evans' friends left to get coffee and a snack, promising to return within an hour. When they did, Evans and her companion were gone. The friends said they waited until at least 4 a.m. before driving back to Sandbridge.
``That night is kind of hazy for us,'' Burdette said Saturday. ``As the panic started to set in, we realized this was truly unlike Jennifer; that she would have contacted us. And then, after the panic, came the worry. Then we all just numbed.''
The first time the women called police Monday morning to report that Evans was missing, the response they got was that they should wait and see if she turned up.
``Because of Jennifer's age, they kind of were under the assumption she had taken off and had just forgotten to call us,'' Burdette said. But as hours passed without word, ``then they started taking it a lot more seriously. They've been working to locate her, or anyone who has seen her, ever since.''
With police on the case, Burdette had to make one more call. To Evans' parents back in Atlanta.
``It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life,'' Burdette said, her voice wavering for one of the few times in the discussion of the past week. ``They were here by Tuesday morning.''
The Sandbridge cottage was transformed into a command center as calls went out to other friends and relatives. Many came to help.
Evans' friends describe her as a classic young woman: ambitious and caring, giving and fun-loving; a serious student with career ambitions who loves animated Disney movies, especially ``The Lion King.''
Although college was out for the summer, Evans had plenty to do in Atlanta to pass the long classroom break. She was going to work two jobs, one teaching children gymnastics at a local recreation center and the other working at Egleston Hospital, a pediatric facility that is part of Emory Hospital.
The job choices reflect one of Evans' passions, Burdette said: ``She loves children. And they love her.''
Evans was pre-med at Emory, Burdette said. ``She knew that she wanted to study medicine and just last week she informed me that she was going to study sports medicine and rehabilitative therapy.''
Burdette, a senior at Emory majoring in English, graduated from Kempsville High School in 1992 and has lived in Virginia Beach most of her life.
Burdette, who has known Evans three years, said she ``is the type of person who will do anything for you. She's compassionate; a natural care-giver. And she really takes her responsibilities seriously.''
She managed to squeeze out enough time from her busy schedule to be on Emory's crewing team. Otherwise, ``Her workload kept her so busy that . . . what little extra time she did have, she spent with her friends and family.''
With them, ``She has the ability to enjoy life and have fun,'' Burdette said. ``She likes to go out with a large group of friends and she enjoys dancing a lot.
``Jennifer has an almost child-like belief in the goodness of human nature. And if we find out that anyone has taken advantage of that . . . '' Burdette said, her voice trailing off for a moment. ``Well, we are confident the police will find them.''
As this weekend neared, McCammon and Burdette covered the Oceanfront with fliers announcing a $25,000 reward offered by the Georgia utility company where Evans' mother works.
On Friday night, ``Michelle and I went back to The Bayou and we had about 600 fliers with us,'' Burdette said. ``We plastered every single car in the parking lot there and at the Radisson Hotel with the fliers.''
Their big hope was that they would run into someone who was in the club the previous weekend and saw Evans when she left. They didn't.
Burdette seemed surprised when asked how she is coping. ``Me? Well, I'm doing the best I can,'' she said. ``I'm here to support the Evans family and do as much as we can. I don't think any of us are getting much sleep.''
The missing woman's parents ``are remarkably strong people,'' Burdette said. ``Mr. Evans is taking a lot of comfort in the actual search for his daughter and the work the police are doing.''
As for Evans' mother, ``Mrs. Evans told Michelle and myself that what really sustains her during this time is a chapter from Bible that tells the reader to dwell on what is pure, righteous and just. She said that keeps her thoughts from turning negative.''
It's a battle they all are fighting.
``This has been the most difficult six days of my life,'' said McCammon. ``All we can think about is that Jennifer is not here with us. And not knowing where she is and what she is doing - has been an ongoing ache. There's no other concrete way to describe it.
``As time goes by, it's just becoming more and more difficult.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Jennifer Evans
KEYWORDS: MISSING PERSONS by CNB