Ten days ago, we posted a diary entitled "CA-42: Our sincere best hopes for Rep. Miller's family" that noted the abduction of the grandchildren of our opponent, Rep. Gary Miller, and prayed for the quick and safe resolution of that situation. (An update may be found below the fold.)
Today, we're sorry that we must post a diary that is even worse. Rep. Miller's 33-year-old daughter Elizabeth died unexpectedly last Saturday morning in Atlanta. The cause of death is as yet unknown. Funeral services will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar.
Nothing can prepare one for a tragedy like this, but the statement released by Rep. Miller's office was particularly eloquent: "Elizabeth was full of life – a vibrant and beautiful young woman who embraced everyone she knew. She was the love of my life and will always be missed. She is in a better place and at peace in God's arms."
We send our condolences to her family and will of course respect their privacy in this time of grief. We ask our friends here to do the same.
We should note for the record the status of the abduction of Rep. Miller's grandchildren as well. (We would prefer not to do so, but we have to expect that people who saw the earlier diary will ask about it.) To recap from the earlier diary:
The children were reported missing at about 1:30 p.m Monday from their Diamond Bar residence east of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
Investigators were looking into whether the children were taken by their "non-custodial mother," said sheriff's spokeswoman Deputy Aura Sierra, referring to a parent without custody rights.
Our devout hope is that Rep. Miller's grandchildren's safety and well-being will be promptly secured. If this does turn out to be an intra-family matter, we pray that all involved will act wisely and keep the best interests of the children paramount.
Our hopes for the safe and quick resolution of the crisis have only been met in part, in that the children are apparently safe but the situation remains unresolved. The suspicions that the children were with their mother have apparently been borne out. Rep. Miller subpoenaed the financial records of Jude and Alicia Lopez, parents of the children's mother, Diamond Bar resident Jennifer DeJongh (né Lopez.) Rep. Miller accused Mr. Lopez of conspiring with his daughter to remove the children from the country, a charge that Mr. Lopez denied. Various other details regarding the conflict may be found in the article referenced above; we won't review them here. We will simply reiterate our hope that all involved will act wisely and keep the best interests of the children paramount.
We don't expect to have much to say in comments here, but invite others to share their condolences. The welfare of our children is something about which all of us should be able to bond.