As someone with a little experience in this area, I can tell you there is nothing quite as agonizing for a parent as lying in bed at night waiting for one of your offspring to return home.
And there is nothing that sounds as good as the squeak that door makes when it opens, ushering your child safely back into the family cocoon.
Which is why I cannot begin to imagine the pain being endured by the family of Shane Montgomery.
The 21-year-old West Chester University student was out with friends on one of the big party nights of the year, the night before Thanksgiving. He was in a packed Manayunk bar. Toward closing time, he was asked to leave. He did not appear to be inebriated. He left the bar without incident, albeit separated from his friends.
And he has not been seen since.
How is that possible?
Not a trace, despite a massive effort from family and friends who have scoured the Manaynk area. Police even donned wetsuits and went step by step through the canal that runs alongside Main Street. They found nothing.
Video cameras from businesses in the area do not seem to have any images of Montgomery after he left the bar.
Last night, his family joined friends and classmates for a vigil at West Chester University, where he was a senior.
For now, the whereabouts of Shane Montgomery remain a mystery.
And an unimaginable nightmare for his family that every parent who was ever waited for that front door to open can identify with. They are in my prayers.
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