By Glenn Chapman
Staff Writer HAYWARD -- Sunset High School
alumni who gathered for the 25th reunion got to reminisce
about more than just favorite teachers and gym class
antics.
They sifted their memories for clues to the fate of
classmate Christine Eastin, who vanished shortly after
graduating with the class of 1970.
"I am investigating this case as a homicide because
all circumstances point in that direction," said
Hayward police Detective Frank Daley, who arranged for
fliers with Eastin's picture on them to be handed out at
the reunion. "I'm just trying to do what I can to
rekindle things."
On Monday night, Jan. 18, 1971, Eastin borrowed her
ex-boyfriend's blue Ford Maverick and went shopping with
a friend, Sandy McBride. Eastin bought boots, went home,
then set out to fulfill her promise to wash the Maverick
before returning it.
About 11 that night, Eastin drove to a self-service car
wash at 25400 Mission Blvd. She was never seen again by
her friends or family. Eastin's purse and scarf were on
the front seat of the locked car when it was found at the
car wash the next day.
Friends and family members scoured the city, showing
people photographs of the missing girl. Because it was an
era when young people across the nation were
"turning on and tuning out," police initially
reacted as if the 19-year-old woman had embarked on an
adventure of her own design.
Those who knew Eastin well were convinced otherwise.
Eastin had just landed her first job and attended Chabot
College in Hayward. Friends said she wasn't interested in
drugs or the hippie culture.
"She was one of those sweet people everyone seemed
to like," said Charlene Cox, who had the job of the
school mascot -- Fred the Falcon. "There was never
any gossip about her. She didn't cut school, didn't do
drugs .... she was very much into being rah-rah for class
spirit."
Eastin performed in plays put on by the high school drama
department. She was class queen the year she graduated
and had been a song girl, the former high school's
version of a cheerleader.
The weekend before her disappearance, Eastin stayed with
a group of girlfriends at Cox's home on Alice Street. The
girls bantered, cavorted and worked on a 1,200 - piece
puzzle.
The unfinished puzzle was put away and never worked on
again after Eastin vanished. Cox and the other girls
drove the Hayward hills searching for their missing
friend.
Like the puzzle, the pieces depicting Eastin's fate have
yet to be put together. Judy Ruiz Verhoek,
one of Eastin's childhood friends, has made it a priority
in her life to solve the mystery.
 Verhoek has
chased reports of unidentified bodies, hunted for clues
on local streets, and heeded the advice of
self-proclaimed psychics who told her where they thought
Eastin's body might be buried.
Verhoek once dug
up bones that later were determined not to be
human.
the hunt for Eastin took on a more reminiscent depth when
Tannis Krist-Janson arrived at the Sunset High School
reunion at a Concord hotel August 23th with a packet of
fliers Daley had prepared.
The fliers bore Eastin's picture and a summary of the
case. Krist-Janson was a freshman at the former Sunset
High when she and Eastin sang together in the chorus of a
school play, "Oliver."
About 90 people attended the reunion, which encompassed
graduating classes from 1969 through 1972.
"A lot of people remembered her and thought it was
really sad." said Krist-Janson, a Castro Valley real
estate agent. "There were clusters of conversations
all around and you could tell they were talking about
her."
One graduate offered to post the information about Eastin
on the Sunset High Alumni web site on the internet.
"An old friend or someone from the class might know
something and decide it is time the police know about
it." Daley said.
Anyone with information about Eastin is asked to contact Detective
Frank Daley at (510) 293 - 7066.
|
