Dear Abby – The Durango Herald

Study explores memory benefit of nicotine

DEAR ABBY: My patients, like most Americans, believe memory loss is a normal part of aging. But memory loss is never normal. In fact, it can be a symptom of mild cognitive impairment, a ...

DATE: Jun. 22, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Neighbor intrudes on backyard oasis

DEAR ABBY: I am a 40-something single mother of two teens. A 24-year-old neighbor with a young daughter moved in next door a couple years ago after her divorce. She recently joined the w...

DATE: Jun. 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Young professional can’t escape dating gossip

DEAR ABBY: I’m a girl of 23 who has never had a boyfriend. Now that I finished college and am a journalist, I have met some guys, mostly from high school and places like that. One of the...

DATE: Jun. 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Spouse removes wedding ring

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I separated three months ago. She has moved out into her own apartment. We are not legally separated or divorced. She removed her wedding ring three weeks after sh...

DATE: Jun. 15, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Man finds little support from so-called partner

DEAR ABBY: I’m a gay man who has been in an on-again/off-again relationship for three years. My partner still lives at home with his mother. He has never left the home, aside from a four...

DATE: Jun. 15, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Adult daughter still has to check in with parents

DEAR ABBY: I am a 30-year-old married woman. My job requires a lot of domestic travel, which I love. My parents continue to ask that I “check in” whenever I fly, and often text or call a...

DATE: Jun. 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Friend prefers telling tall tales over the truth

DEAR ABBY: Twenty years ago, I reconnected with a childhood friend. When we were in high school together, she used to love telling stories, not all of them true. Most were harmless and c...

DATE: Jun. 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Mother can’t stand daughter’s girlfriend

DEAR ABBY: My college senior daughter, “Lisa,” insists on inviting her “significant other” to every holiday and to our home when she’s on break. This is Lisa’s first girl/girl romance, a...

DATE: Jun. 11, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Girlfriend keeps fans on Facebook

DEAR ABBY: I’ve been dating the same woman for more than two years. She is a beautiful lady who has quite a few male “fans” on Facebook, mostly from before we met. What bothers me, and I...

DATE: Jun. 4, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Victim seeks distance from perpetrator

DEAR ABBY: I was sexually assaulted by my cousin’s boyfriend a short while ago, and it was hard for me to process. When I told my cousin about it, she acknowledged that it wasn’t OK, but...

DATE: Jun. 1, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Exercise equipment’s fate sore subject

DEAR ABBY: Several years ago, while living with my sister, I bought a $900 rowing machine I could barely afford. I loved it and used it often. Two years ago, because we were moving out, ...

DATE: May. 28, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Sisters react differently in rift

DEAR ABBY: Seventeen years ago, when my sister “Elise” and I were 19 and 25, our mother kicked us both out. I have long since forgiven her, and I have a happy relationship with her. Elis...

DATE: May. 27, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Dylan Redwine’s friends testify on second day of jury trialFriends describe boy’s habit of quickly responding to texts, and alarm when he stopped communicating

Several of Dylan Redwine’s friends testified Tuesday about his habit of virtually instantaneouslyquickly returning text messages, and their puzzlement that grew to concern and eventually to alarm after he suddenly stopped communicating the night on Nov. 18, 2012.The testimony came during the second day of the trial of Dylan’s father, Mark Redwine, who is charged with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in Dylan’s death while the boy was on a court-ordered 2012 Thanksgiving holiday visit to his father in Vallecito.Ryan Nava, now 22, and one of Dylan’s best friends in the Vallecito area, said Dylan initially wanted to stay overnight at his grandmother’s house the night of the Nov. 18, the first night he arrived in Vallecito. Instead, when his father rejected the overnight stay, he planned to be at Nava’s grandmother’s house at 6:30 a.m. Nov. 19.Nava directed Dylan to come to the house through a sliding door that led to the room where he was sleeping, and Nava set his alarm to 6:30 a.m. – expecting to see Dylan when he awoke.The next morning, Nava went outside to look for Dylan, and when he didn’t find him he texted him “where are you” expecting an immediate reply. He never got a return text.Nava followed up with further futile texts. He wanted to let Dylan know he would be at the home of another of their friends, Fernando Stubbs, during the day so he could join them later to “hangout.” But again, he heard no reply.Later, after Mark Redwine stopped by the Stubbs’ house in search of Dylan, Nava said he grew increasingly concerned. “Dude, your dad’s looking for you,” he texted Dylan.When Dylan’s mother, Elaine Hall, called Nava to see if Dylan had been with him, Nava said he grew further alarmed.His last futile text to Dylan, “Dude, you need to call someone as soon as possible. We’re all worried about you.”

Nava’s testimony was followed by three more childhood friends who gave varying descriptions of their 13-year-old friend: “happy,” “funny,” “outgoing,” “a prankster.”Hall, the boy’s mother, has sat in the courtroom gallery for both days of the trial, surrounded by a half dozen or so friends.Television coverage of the trial has been light, a vast difference compared with the reporting about Dylan’s death.The boy’s disappearance and subsequent discovery of his death was the focus of national attention.Hall and Mark Redwine appeared on an episode of “Dr. Phil,” a top daytime talk show hosted by Phil McGraw. And former prosecutor and television legal analyst Nance Grace featured the case on multiple episodes.

Nava downplayed reports that Dylan liked to hitchhike – saying the only time he knew of Dylan hitchhiking was during a cold snowy day when Dylan, Nava and another friend were caught walking wearing only light clothing.“It started almost as a joke,” he said.But the cold, wet boys managed to get a short ride to their friend’s house. “We were surprised it worked,” Nava said of their hitchhiking effort.Under questioning from Justin Bogan, one of Redwine’s defense attorneys, Nava testified that his impression was that Dylan and his father were “best friends.”Nava also said during a sleepover with Dylan at Redwine’s house in late summer or early fall 2012, he got the impression Dylan was excited to go on a cross country trip with his dad to watch Major League Baseball games.“He was a sports guy,” Nava said. “He was going to see baseball. He wanted to see some stadiums, some games, the spectacle of professional sports.”But Joseph Ceballos, 21, a friend of Dylan’s from Colorado Springs, said Dylan never mentioned his father and was leery of going to Durango.“He absolutely didn’t want to visit his father,” Ceballos said.

Amanda Saxton, 22, another of Dylan’s Durango-area friends, whom Dylan called “Sissy,” said Dylan would normally return texts instantaneously, and if not immediately, texts were almost always returned within 30 minutes.Dylan and Saxton had plans to meet the day after Thanksgiving in the Durango Community Recreation Center, another plan for Dylan’s visit that never came to fruition.

Cristen Baird, who lived across the street from Dylan when he moved with his mom to Colorado Springs, testified that Dylan and she were discussing if they should still consider each other a couple and stay together, because Dylan was planning to move again to go Monument.Like others, she said Dylan’s habit was to return text messages virtually instantly.Baird took several photos of Dylan with his Colorado Springs friends Adam Harvey and Joseph Ceballos within days of his departure for Durango.The photos were placed in evidence by Michael Dougherty, special district attorney. Baird testified that they showed Dylan did not have a sore on his lip or other cuts that might have explained the blood found in the living room of Redwine’s Vallecito home.Harvey said his impression was that Dylan was not excited to see his father during the visit, but wanted to see his old friends.Harvey under cross examination from John Moran, Redwine’s attorney, said Dylan was a gifted athlete who wouldn’t hesitate to dive for a catch in touch football games the boys played in the street.In opening statements, the defense noted the blood found in Redwine’s living room was a small amount, an amount that could be explained by skinned knees or a sore on the mouth.In other testimony Tuesday, jurors watched videos from the Durango-La Plata County Airport and the Durango Walmart that showed Dylan and Mark Redwine upon his arrival and in a subsequent trip to the store.parmijo@durangoherald.com