Published: March 05, 2008 09:32 am      

Search continues for Roseland

CLINTON — Hoping against the odds, friends and family of Ben Roseland gathered again Tuesday to search for any signs of the missing teen, who hasn’t been seen in nearly four weeks.

The group met for the second time this week in the parking lot of Hy-Vee, which is where friends say 19-year-old Roseland was headed when he disappeared Feb. 9, to form a search party and spread the word that their loved one still has not returned.

“If we keep everybody aware that he’s still missing, it’s not just going to get shoved under the rug,” said Roseland’s aunt Marge Nance. “Maybe if nothing else, if people will just let us show them the picture and talk to them... if we go to the houses in this area and say, ‘have you seen this person?’”

The group set out to distribute missing person flyers to homes and businesses in the area, desperate for any information about their son, nephew and co-worker. With no activity on Roseland’s cell phone or bank accounts, his family was beginning to fear the worst.

“It’s terrifying,” said Roseland’s aunt, Bonnie Kalina, who says Ben is a good, dependable teen she treats like her own son.

Roseland’s mom, Theresa, and his younger sister, Helen, joined the search, covering new ground in hopes of finding a glimmer of hope that would reunite them with Ben.

“I’m afraid for him,” Theresa said. “I don’t let myself think about the negative parts. I’m hoping to find him safe, and not find nothing else otherwise.”

With Saturday’s search bringing an ominous sign — a pair of shoes Roseland’s mother confirmed to be his, discovered several blocks apart — the group set out to the homes in the area where Roseland was seen last, going door to door hoping for any new information.

“There’s been so many people in the community that have been active in helping us,” Kalina said, expressing gratitude to the Clinton Police Department and Hy-Vee, and ADM security, which allowed the group to search their property. “Right now, any kind of help is really important.”

Nance added the family is especially grateful to the employees at Clinton Printing, who donated the 150 flyers the group was handing out, printed from the original she made for her 9- and 10-year-old granddaughters to take to school to show their classmates.

Although Tuesday’s search did not turn up any new leads, Roseland’s family remains hopeful, and another search is being planned for this weekend.

Anyone with any information can contact police at 243-1458.