Carmen residents await return of missing woman

CARMEN, Okla. (AP) In this small Alfalfa County town, neighbors of a deputy warden's wife who was found Monday in Texas after disappearing nearly 11 years ago say they don't believe she ever would

Thursday, April 7th 2005, 6:41 am

By: News On 6

CARMEN, Okla. (AP) In this small Alfalfa County town, neighbors of a deputy warden's wife who was found Monday in Texas after disappearing nearly 11 years ago say they don't believe she ever would have voluntarily left her family.

Bobbi Parker, 42, said she was held captive on a chicken farm in Texas by escaped convict Randolph Dial. She told investigators she never tried to escape because she feared Dial, 60, may try to harm her family.

Bob and Margaret Goss, who have been neighbors for more than 20 years, said Parker's love for her family kept her from trying to return home.

``I am speaking as a mother and as a friend,'' Margaret said. ``Bobbi is a strong Christian woman, and I know she would never leave voluntarily. She made the ultimate sacrifice for her family.''

Residents of Carmen are anxiously awaiting Parker's return to the small town. Carmen is surrounded by wheat fields, with only a grocery store, an auto shop and coffee shop for major businesses.

The events that have unfolded in recent days since Dial's capture is a big deal for the town, said Dave and Linda Keller, owners of Keller's Market, the town's grocery store where the couple says residents come for the latest gossip.

``They have a lot of reacquanting to do,'' Dave Keller said.

Linda Keller said she remembers the initial reports of Parker's disappearance.

``It was the talk of the town for months,'' she said. ``I don't know if I could have been held captive anywhere for ten years.''

Bobbi was reunited with her husband Randy in Texas on Tuesday. The couple has two daughters who were ages 8 and 11 at the time of the kidnapping.

Bobbi's sister-in-law, Tanya Parker, said the family is crying tears of joy as they anxiously await her homecoming.

``We have kept the faith,'' said Tanya Parker. ``I knew she was innocent all along.''

Dial, a sculptor and painter, was convicted of the 1981 murder of a karate instructor. He had obtained trusty status at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, and he ran an inmate pottery program with Parker.

He had access to the Parkers' home and staff housing on prison grounds during the day. The access aided his escape in August 1994, when he took Parker at knifepoint in the family's minivan.

Dial waived extradition and arrived at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester early Wednesday and was placed in the top-security unit, corrections department spokesman Jerry Massie said.