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Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908 w
Vol. 96, No. 186
Man’s disappearance a mystery
Wife: ‘It’s like he just vanished’
By Stephen Gurr
Staff Writer
The last time anyone saw Fabian Casas
Jr., he was eating a Krystal burger inside
the office of his auto repair shop on
Canton Road.
Since that night 10 days ago, friends,
relatives and sheriff’s investigators have
tried unsuccessfully to locate the 27-year
old co-owner of Achilles Automotive,
who was nowhere to be found the next
morning when an employee found the
shop locked up tight, Casas’ Corvette
parked outside with the windows rolled
down, the keys on the counter inside.
“It’s like he just vanished,” said Casas’
wife, Crystal Casas.
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Envisioning expansion
an
Couple hopes to help more
women with Abba House
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
Nestled amidst locally-owned
farmland in a secluded location, not
many people would notice the Abba
House hidden down a gravel and dirt
pathway. But the women who man¬
aged to find the facility have also
found hope.
Originally established by Jim
Sharp and his wife Chris in 1992,
the Abba House is a 10-month resi¬
dential ministry for women search¬
ing for help in getting their lives
back together. The program offers
help to all women in need, ranging
from those trying to overcome drug
addictions, eating disorders, or
depression to victims of physical,
emotional or sexual abuse.
The women have come from
broken homes or broken relation¬
ships and are searching for help.
Some women were lucky enough to
learn of Abba House through word
of-mouth or through their church,
but many learn about Abba House as
a last resort, after failing in other
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Copyright 0 2005 Forsyth County Nwi
THURSDAY November 24,2005
Crystal Casas, who had recently been
separated from her husband, said there are
too many things that would dispute the
theory that Casas just walked away. His
boxer mix dog was left unattended with¬
out food or water in Casas’ Alpharetta
apartment for two days. She says his cell
phone and bank account have been inac¬
tive since his disappearance. And she feels
sure he would have checked in on his two
sons that live with her, ages 2 and 11
months.
“I don’t think he left of his own free
will,” Crystal Casas said.
Forsyth County Sheriff's Capt. Mark
Hoffman said the disappearance is being
treated as a standard missing persons
case.
programs.
It was in 1999 when the Sharps
moved the ministry from Florida to
the 10-acre plot in north Forsyth
County. The house can hold a capac¬
ity of 15 residents including children
some women bring with them.
“For the children we work on
issues like forgiveness and to start
looking at their own attitudes and
seeing where they may have bitter¬
ness or grudges and we teach them
how to release those things,” said
Sharp. “In the process, we have the
moms think of ways they have hurt
their children and be able to say to
their child, ‘I realize I’ve hurt you in
this way, will you forgive me?’ This
makes it easier for the child to
release the pain and hurt they have.”
Being a ministry, Christian faith
is a strong presence in the daily
workshops and classes and activi
ties. According to Sharp, faith is
what makes Abba House more suc¬
cessful than secular programs.
See COUPLE, Page 2A
INDEX j
Abby 19B
Classifieds. 16B
Deaths— 2A
Horoscope 19B
Kids Page •■•■■•■••■■••a 12B
Opinion 27A
Sports ..8B
“We’re investigating a missing person
with suspicious circumstances, but there’s
nothing to indicate foul play,” Hoffman
said. “We’re working it the best way we
know how — by interviewing people and
following leads.”
Casas’ business partner, Mickey
Densmore, was the last person to see
Casas Monday night, according to Crystal
Casas. The two men had met to do some
paperwork for the business, which they
have owned for about a year, she said.
She said there was a point in Casas’
life when “he needed to get away and
clear his head,” but that he still main¬
tained contact with his best friend, a
friend who has not heard from him this
time.
Casas may have been under some
See MYSTERY, Page 2A
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Photo/Jennifer Sami
Jim Sharp and his wife, Chris, work in Abba’s Treasures, their
thrift store. All profits from the thrift store go toward the Abba
House, a residential ministry for women in search of help in get¬
ting their lives back together. Top, an artist’s rendering of a new
Abba House, which would move their maximum occupancy
from 15 to about 50.
Local
Georgia DOT
commissioner speaks
at Chamber event
Page 3 A
e,. >
Photo/Submitted
Fabian Casas Jr., shown in an undated family photo,
has been missing since Nov. 14.
Opinion
Local diva Ronda Rich
shares her thoughts on
Thanksgiving.
Page27A
S() cents
Local reps
against
withdrawal
measure
Deal, Linder vote
with majority to stop
Iraq troop removal
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
U.S. House of Representatives mem¬
bers voted 403-3 last week to kill a non¬
binding resolution call¬
ing for an immediate
troop withdrawal, with
Forsyth County’s two
House members voting
with the majority.
According to Rep.
Nathan Deal (R
Gainesville), feedback
he has received from
troops in Iraq indicates
the desire to stay until
civilian safety has been
secured. Deal is also
confident in the efforts,
saying troops have made
tremendous progress in
helping the Iraqi army
assume greater responsi¬
bilities.
“I think they
[Democrats] recognize
that immediate with¬
drawal would be a
tremendous mistake,”
said Deal. “It would certainly demoralize
the troops and it would send a message to
the enemy that they can simply get us to
back off by applying more pressure by
way of suicide bombers. That’s not a mes¬
sage we want to send to our troops or our
enemy.”
U.S. Rep. John Linder (R-Duluth), in a
prepared statement, said, “Last week,
Congressional Democrats vividly demon¬
strated their ‘on-again, off-again’ incon¬
sistency with respect to our ongoing
efforts to fight the War on Terrorism in
Iraq.
See REPS, Page 2A
Sunny LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Nov. 19 1069.06 ft
mMM , Nov. 20 1069.06 ft
wpr Nov. 21 1069.14 ft
Full 1071. QEtft
High in the mid-60s. Mmm
Low in the high 30s.
BUSINESS, 1B
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