“You see something that looks like it and you do a double-take, or a triple take ... you have to keep looking.”
That’s been an almost a daily reality for Randy Giacobbo and his family as they continue to search for answers in the disappearance of his sister Rosanna.
The 51 year old Lac La Biche woman was last seen last October 2 when she pulled her 2003 red Ford Explorer with licence plate CBH 9814 out of a Boyle convenience store aiming towards Highway 63. Since then, her family have not heard from her. Her bank account has not been active and her phone has not sent a message.
Tips about vehicles resembling the distinctive red SUV she was driving have come in to police and the Finding Rosie facebook page the family created just days after she went missing — but like the 15 or 20 times her brother has caught glimpses of similar vehicles and turned to follow — there have been no confirmed sightings.
One area man has a larger-size red Ford Expedition with a licence plate CBH 9816 — “Just two numbers off,” said Giacobbo, adding that he knows of a local woman with a burgundy Ford Explorer with a CBH plate as well.
Your head can be on a swivel, he said, explaining that although life has to go on for family and friends, there’s aren’t many moments where thoughts don’t turn to his missing sister. He knows that the chances of finding a positive ending to the mystery have faded over time, but for the sake of his mother and other family and friends, he hopes for any conclusion.
”After six months, where do you go? Where do we go from here,” he said, explaining that hundreds of people have taken part in ground searches and police, fish and wildlife and Parks staff across Alberta are all aware of his sister’s description and the vehicle. “I’m being a realist. I hate to be a realist, but six months have gone by. I hate it, but the end result may not be that good ... I hope I’m wrong for my mom’s sake ... so we just hope to keep the awareness for her out there. It’s the only thing we have left. If we keep it out there, maybe someone will come across the vehicle or find her.”
Hope from the air
Giacobbo says he would like to try to find a way to get above the trees for another aerial search. A private citizen hired a helicopter last November to help the search, but the two-hour flight turned up no new clues on its flight path from the Hylo area where Rosanna was staying towards the Athabasca area, which is the direction family members think she may have been heading on the day she disappeared.
Giacobbo would like to try again — if someone had the means to help.
”It would be good to be able to find a way to get up in the air again, while the trees are still bare before the leaves bud out,” said Randy, expressing sadness that another season will soon begin without any new information. “We just want to get something, something to let us know.”
Rosanna Giacobbo — Rosie to her friends — is described as standing 5-foot-six inches tall and weighing 319 lbs. She has brown hair and green eyes. Rosanna was dealing with some health issues that forced her to be using prescription medication.
She was believed to be heading towards the Weslock area according to a note she’d left for her roommate, as she was looking for a new place to rent.
