On Psychic's Advice, Park Searched for Missing D.C. Woman

In the 52 days since Pamela J. Butler's disappearance, her mother has cried, lost sleep, worried endlessly and prayed.

Yesterday, on the advice of a psychic, she and a group of volunteers searched for answers in Fort Slocum Park, a patch of woods about two blocks from the missing woman's home in Northwest Washington.

"I just want some closure," said Selma Butler. "It's hard, but I'm just hoping that something is going to give this time."

Although investigators have found no specific indication of foul play, police say Pamela Butler's disappearance is especially troubling because she was known to keep a routine. A 47-year-old program analyst with the Environmental Protection Agency, Butler supplemented her income with real estate investments. The week after she disappeared, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier appealed to the public for help, saying Butler "is not a person who should just go missing."

More than a dozen friends and family members gathered yesterday at Butler's house in the 5800 block of Fourth Street. Wearing gloves and masks, they entered the park, and the urban landscape quickly disappeared. As they tramped through damp earth and pushed through tangled branches, the searchers walked past empty beer cans, a shoe, tires and other detritus.

After about 15 minutes, a discovery: bones.

"Everybody out of the woods!" someone yelled.

Police cordoned an area with crime tape and collected evidence. Investigators, however, soon determined that the remains were not human, said Cmdr. Rodney Parks, who supervises the criminal investigations branch.

The case has been categorized as a "critical" missing persons case, Parks said. "There is cause for concern -- her being missing is highly unusual for her pattern of behavior," Parks said.

According to Butler's family, a security camera at her home shows her entering the house with her boyfriend shortly after 9:30 p.m. Feb. 12 and the boyfriend leaving about an hour later. No one has reported seeing her since.

Investigators have interviewed the boyfriend, a 46-year-old Alexandria man. Police have not released his name.

The suggestion that the family consult a psychic came from Keith Jarrell, a neighborhood activist who also lives in Ward 4. Jarrell said he doesn't know Butler but could empathize with her family. Decades ago, he said, his father went missing and was found robbed and so badly beaten that he suffered permanent brain damage.