Looking for answers; Search for missing Newton teen's body comes up empty

By Rebecca Correa
Staff writer

May 07, 2008 10:06 am

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NEWTON — Massachusetts and New Hampshire police searched most of Country Pond this week after new information surfaced in a cold case that is almost 30 years old.

Police said they were searching for the body or clues to the whereabouts of Rachael Garden, who was 15 when she disappeared from the center of Newton in 1980. While her case is classified as a non-family abduction, officials have since said they believe she was murdered.

Kingston police Detective Joel Johnson said a Massachusetts dive team helped his department look for new evidence regarding the case in the pond on Sunday and Monday. He would not reveal details about the tip he received, but said the search was unsuccessful.

"I got information through a source that there was a possibility of Rachael Garden being in (Country) Pond," he said. "So with that information, I contacted (Atkinson Lt. William) Baldwin, who has Coast Guard contacts, to see if anyone was looking for training opportunities."

Johnson said local police worked with Quincy, Mass., police because that department had new equipment it wanted to test. Together, the 16-man team spent two days scouring three quarters of the pond for clues about Garden's disappearance.

The search team used 41 Country Pond Road as a staging area because that home has a boat ramp which leads to the pond. Divers had their equipment spread out on blankets behind the home near parked vehicles from the Quincy Police Department and its South Shore Dive Team.

Country Pond is a 255-acre body of water in Kingston and Newton. The area where police searched this week is about three miles from the center of town, where Garden was last seen.

Police said Garden disappeared on March 21, 1980, after she bought a pack of cigarettes and gum at Rowe's Corner Market. She was supposed to meet up with friends that night, but officials said she walked down the street and was never seen again. At the time, Garden was described as a brunette who was about 5 feet 1 inch tall and 100 pounds. She was a high school student when she disappeared, but would be 43 if she were alive today.

Johnson said this is the first time in more than a year that police have actively searched for Garden's body or clues to her whereabouts, but the search is constant.

Yesterday, state police confirmed the search for Garden or her body is still active.

State police Capt. Russell Conte said local police received new information about the case, and state officials knew they were pursuing it.

"We were aware things are happening, and they were actively working on the case after they received a new tip," he said.

The case is being handled by local police, but state police have been an active part of the investigation for more than two decades.

Conte said Kingston likely used Quincy, Mass., resources because the New Hampshire State Police does not have its own dive team. The agency depends primarily on Fish and Game, and Massachusetts will often help local New Hampshire police departments.

"Any local police department has the opportunity to request help from whoever they'd like," he said. "Not everyone has a trained dive team, and it's not uncommon between states and special units to assist other agencies that are searching for something."

When Garden first disappeared in 1980, Newton residents and police launched a foot search and scoured the town. A decade later, the state police major crime unit helped officials excavate a 60-square-foot section of woods in Newton. Around the same time, Garden's parents, who have since moved to an unknown location, contacted psychics in the hope of finding their daughter.

The most recent search, like all other efforts, was unsuccessful. But Johnson, who has worked on the case for more than five years, said the search also isn't ending.

"The case will never be closed," he said. "We will constantly make every effort possible to resolve the matter."

State police said they haven't given up hope either, and are ready to assist local officials whenever they can.

"As there's something that comes up, we will continue to help," Conte said.

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