[GA] Sister of slain cop's wife Theresa Parker after arrest

02/04/08

After months of investigation, the Walker County Sheriff's department has finally made an arrest in the case of a missing dispatcher. Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said Sam Parker, 52, was arrested at his residence by Walker County Sheriff's Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and FBI at 9:55 a.m. Monday.

Claire Careathers, Theresa Parker's mother, said about Monday's arrest, "It was a great day for my family, but sad for his (Sam Parker's). I hope he will tell us where she is so we can bring her home so we can have closure. I know she's out there somewhere and now it's up to us to bring her home. We have to find her, that's all there is to it."

Careathers spoke of her initial reaction to the phone call that awakened her Monday just before 10 a.m. from her daughter Hilda and son Richard detailing Parker's arrest. Careather's said she broke down when she heard the news.

Christina Hall, Theresa's sister, said, "It makes me feel relieved. It is bitter sweet. It is really bitter sweet. It is something that we thought was going to happen, but this makes it more real .... It makes you realize this is really all real. .... Very bitter sweet. I am happy. I want justice to be served now."

According to Hall, the most important step, now that an arrest has been made, is to find Theresa and bring her home.

"I hope that we can find her and bring her home and that is our first priority now," Hall said.

According to Hall, she received word of Parker's arrest Monday between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m.

"It was a shock .... We are just very glad that it (the arrest) happened. We hope that this will lead to finding her," Hall said.

According to Hall, she has spoken to her family and they all feel the same way.

"Of course we have all cried this morning ... The only word to sum it up is bittersweet," she said. "It is so good because we are hoping that this will lead to finding her, but then it is sad because it is hard to believe that it is our family going through this ... And Sam was in our family for 17 years. It is just really sad."

On behalf of all the concerned citizens who have prayed for the family, Hall said, "I want to thank everybody that's been praying and supporting us. We have had so much support it has been unbelievable. People have been wonderful and I just want to tell them thank you so much and to keep praying that someone will tell us where she is and we can find her and bring her home."

Mr. Parker was fired from his job at the LaFayette Police Department when investigators, searching his locker at work, found plastic explosives material.

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