NATIONAL BROADSHEET (Editorial)
Between Absence and Conclusion
By John Levin
The case of Cleo Wilder has inspired rumors thick as fog over Montauk Point.We urge restraint.Let facts, not whispers, govern the public’s attention.
EAST END CHRONICLE
Items Recovered Off Bluff Spur.Authorities Decline to Specify
By Gabby Ruiz
MONTAUK — Hikers discovered personal effects off a spur near Shadmoor cliffs Sunday afternoon.Police collected the items and notified family representatives.“We will not identify what was found,” SCPD said.“Please avoid the area while we process.”
NEW YORK REGISTER
Family Asks for Privacy as Search Nears One Week
By Lydia Maren
NEW YORK — Cleo Wilder's relatives issued a brief statement Sunday: “We are grateful to responders on Long Island and the Coast Guard.Please allow them to work.”
SEABOARD NEWS SERVICE
Active Search Suspended Off Long Island.Case Remains Open
By Arturo Nuñez
MONTAUK — After nine days of coordinated sweeps, the U.S.Coast Guard said Monday it would suspend continuous search operations for Cleo Wilder.“We continue to investigate leads with Suffolk County Police,” a spokesman said.Flowers appeared by a rope line near the bluffs by late afternoon.
BUSINESS DAILY
Inquiries Swirl Around Dorian Thoreau Circle; Counsel Urges ‘No Rush to Judgment’
By Martin Lee
NEW YORK — As attention lingers on Cleo Wilder's disappearance, sources said regulators have increased routine requests for records at several small financial firms with East End ties.No wrongdoing is alleged; attorneys for Dorian Thoreau said their client “welcomes any appropriate review” and remains focused on “finding Cleo.”
AP WIRE
By Noah Jensen
Authorities Seek Photos, Home Video from Montauk Cliffs Area
MONTAUK, N.Y.(AP) — Investigators asked tourists and locals to share any photographs or videos taken near Ditch Plains and Montauk Point last weekend as part of the continuing effort to locate Cleo Wilder.“Even incidental backgrounds may help,” police said.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Barret
The house feels too calm for a place where so many minds are trying to stitch together a plan.We thought things would move slower, but the Bradleys have been pulling strings with the authorities and the press.Every new report that arrives—faxed pages curling at the corners, the toner smudging our fingers—spreads across the kitchen island like fresh cuts.Each one makes my skin go tight.
It’s been two weeks since we agreed to the plan.Two weeks since I thought Cleo would break down more, knowing what was going to happen.Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.She’s been talking to her therapists and swimming daily.Yesterday she began helping the chef—learning new skills, as she put it.
Today, though ...today is another day.
Fog hangs low over the cove.The water moans as if it woke from a bad dream.Eddie’s down the hall speaking in that low, executive murmur that means ‘I’m on a call, but I’ll be with you soon.’Cleo is in the pool room, feet on the first step, counting tiles like numbers could buy us safety.
