Hometown: 'You never forgot her'
RIDDLE, Ore. - While the identification of Stephanie Condon's remains weighs heavily on the family, it's also affected people in her hometown. Residents of Riddle say the news is a mixed blessing.
"Every time you passed those big billboards, every time you saw her picture on the wall, you never forgot her," said Carol Linton, co-owner of the hardware store downtown.
That image of Stephanie, frozen in time, won't be forgotten for quite a while in this town of 1,100.
"It's heartbreaking," Linton said, "but I'm glad that they can finally have some closure."
Across town, Mike Roy and Chad Hanson said they are both close friends of the Condon family.
"You always have that hope that she could be found, but at least now that she's found, the family can have some kind of closure and give her a proper burial," said Roy.
"They're great people to be around," Hanson said. "It's too bad that something like this has to happen to such a good family."
For this close-knit community and for all the people who know the Condons, the latest news on the case provides some answers and some closure.
"How on earth did this happen?" LInton said. "How the crime was committed. How he managed to get in and then get her without anybody noticing."
"There's a realization that Stephanie has moved on," said Riddle Schools Superintendent Dave Gianotti, "and I think that's a mixed blessing."
Gianotti says he can't say when the community will be able to move on. Perhaps, he said, when justice is fulfilled.
"They worked hard to bring her home," Linton said. "I'm glad it's over."
