Statement from the family of Sharon Myers

Jason Dean Hubbell has been convicted by a jury of the charges of Criminal Confinement and Murder and sentenced by the judge for a term of 75 years. We the family perceive this verdict only as a confirmation of some of the facts of what happened to our beloved family member Sharon Myers. All of the facts will probably never be known. The verdict and sentence are but two more steps in an arduous and difficult journey that began in the early morning hours of May 13, 1997, a day that has changed the lives of countless persons. This journey will continue with many other stops, sidetracks, intersections, reversals. The journey and the effects of that fateful day will continue on even when many who hear or read this statement have left this experience and moved on to another experience. 

The Butterfly has become the symbol (of hope) for the family and many of the friends of Sharon Myers. The life cycle of the butterfly is an example of the power and process of transformation, the total remaking of what exists into something better, more beautiful. Beginning shortly after her disappearance, the family of Sharon Myers has sought some higher purpose and good to come from her death. That search will continue to the last breath of all the family and friends who have had their lives touched and enriched by Sharon. 

The list of names to which the family of Sharon Myers expresses our profound and heartfelt thanks is very long, and the mention of a few here is certainly not the overlooking or ignoring of others. The family is even uncertain if we could compile a list of every name. First and foremost we thank every individual that has offered words of encouragement, words of comfort, and prayers on behalf of the family of Sharon Myers. We want to thank our families for their physical presence and encouragement in this long and difficult ordeal. We thank the jurors who have just concluded deliberations after hearing the long, sometimes confusing, sometimes technical, testimony of the witnesses that Prosecutor Kathleen Burns brought as she masterfully and professionally presented the events of the confinement and murder of Sharon Myers. We thank Ms. Burns for her determined efforts to present Sharon as a real person to the Jury. We thank the dedicated staff of the office of Joe Koenig who continually worked in the background in supporting Ms. Burns in the prosecution of this case. We thank Judge Stephen Heiman for his careful consideration during all of the motions and hearing before and during the trial and his conduct of the trial and the sentence of 75 years which he passed on the defendant. We thank Kenneth Hardwick of the Columbus Police Department, and Mark Gorbett of the Bartholomew County Sheriffs Department for all of their efforts in this case. We thank all of the law enforcement personnel of many different law enforcement agencies for their efforts in the investigation of the case and their efforts to bring evidence of the crime and its perpetrator to fruition. We thank the families of those mentioned and all who worked on this case for the support and understanding you provided as your spouse dedicated his/her efforts in this case. We know that you are the unknown names and faces whose contribution to this process and this case have been great though you are not publicly seen or Known. We thank Arvin Industries for the reward which was offered for information in the case. We also thank Arvin Industries for the other ways that the family of Sharon Myers has been supported by the company and for the very generous gift of the reward money to the scholarship fund that was established as a memorial and remembrance of Sharon. We thank The Republic for putting the full text of articles on the web site so that friends and family could follow the trial from afar. We recognize that many we will never see or know have contributed greatly in the efforts to bring this event in our lives to this point. 

A memorial webpage to the memory of Sharon is located at http://www.sharon26.us. The family may be contacted by e-mail through this website. Sharon will in the words of radio commentator Paul Harvey be FOREVER 26, and in our hearts just forever. 

We encourage all who want to honor and remember Sharon to make a contribution to the scholarship fund established as an honor and remembrance to Sharon.  If you cannot find the information on this site or the links on it, send an e-mail and the information will be sent to you.

Life will go on, and we with it, though we are changed forever by the events that we have experienced since May 13, 1997. Godspeed, God bless you, and thank you. 

The Family of Sharon Ruth Melton Myers
 
 

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