The afternoon I spent with the Bonistalls made me want to jump on a bus, go straight to Connecticut, and give my parents a big hug. And I am not a person who hugs a lot.

While we were setting up the camera, Kathleen showed me a photo album with pictures of Lindsay. There was one with her sitting on a bed in her off-campus apartment, sweetest smile in the world, strumming a guitar. “She loved playing that thing,” Kathleen said. Then she added, “That’s the bed she was raped and murdered on.”

“Um,” I said.

“That guitar was used as kindling to burn her body.”

And all I could say was, “I’m so sorry.” Which was true, but didn’t seem to be enough.

The world can be a dangerous place for a college student. And it’s not just the ladies that need to worry about their safety – male college students have been disappearing too. You can’t live in fear. But you can definitely visit Peace Outside Campus and read their advice.

And don’t forget to hug your parents.