Nikki's Glasses

When Nikki Flint disappears from the Evergreen University campus-leaving behind glasses with one cracked lens-it sets off the longest and most exhaustive police search in the history of western Oregon. Daily News reporter Scott Sorenson chronicles how the possible abduction galvanizes the town of College Park, especially the Mormon community which spearheads the initial search for their fellow church member. Sorenson identifies with the plight of the missing young woman, observing the anguish of Nikki's family while simultaneously having to confront long-buried memories of a brief college affair with a professor's wife-also Mormon. Through agonizing months of fruitless investigations Sorenson documents a string of suspects who parade their aberrations across the public stage, from a panty thief to a brutal armed robber, while exposing the seamy underside of College Park's respectable exterior. In counterpoint to his daily coverage, Sorenson and staff photographer Jo Lenz discover that love still happens. But even a trip to the island of Cozumel doesn't provide distance from the frustrating story. A surprise confession, much to the collective relief of College Park and Nikki's family, seems to put the Nikki case to rest-but does it? Sorenson follows leads gleaned from his reporting and finds his own life in danger.