At the mayor’s request, the below letter will be included in the Oct. 14 Haines Borough Assembly packet under “New Business.”
Writer Midge (Paddock) McClellan Clark was a Haines School classmate of Eileen Wafer, a 14-year-old girl raped and strangled to death downtown in 1982. No one was ever charged with the crimes.
By all accounts, Eileen was a kind and dutiful young person who was babysitting younger siblings at Fort Seward’s Mountain View Motel on the night she disappeared.
Her body was found several days later on a Portage Cove beach that had been previously searched, leading investigators to suspect her body had been moved. Further, testimony from family and friends maintain that Wafer wouldn’t have abandoned her young charges unless she had been directed to by an authority or by a person she knew.
Eileen’s family was new to town and was staying at the motel then owned by her aunt and uncle, who lived across the street.
Eileen’s murder traumatized her family. It left a deep stain on our town and it forever darkened the lives of Eileen’s friends and classmates, making Haines a place haunted by doubts, questions and suspicions. How was this able to happen? Why wasn’t anyone brought to justice? How did the authorities fail? Is the killer still alive, or even here?
Those questions are now 44 years old. They’re not going away.
As mayor, I support a memorial near the site where Wafer’s body was found. A bench and a sign, including narrative of how Wafer died and the unsolved status of her case, would be a small way to honor an innocent child our town failed to protect.
It might also lead to some kind of resolution of this horror, which is not going away.
“Dear Haines Mayor Tom Morphet,
My name is Midge McClellan Clark. I’m writing you in regards to Eileen Wafer, a classmate of mine at Haines School who was raped and murdered at age 14 in Haines in 1982. Her murder is still unsolved.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s I approached the city and borough of Haines, asking if we could have a memorial sign put up in the area on Portage Cove where Eileen’s body was found, but the request was rejected both times. I was told by officials that such a sign was not what they wanted visitors to take away from Haines and remember it for.
A group of Eileen’s friends, including former and current residents of Haines, have created a group “Friends of Eileen” and once again are asking to have a memorial sign placed on the road and a small spot at the south end of the parking lot at the cruise ship dock, close to where Eileen’s body was discovered.
We have not worked out all the details for her memorial spot, but we’re thinking of a bench along with a small marker and a shepherd’s hook to hang a flower basket each year.
This past June marked the 43rd anniversary of Eileen’s murder. Me and many others who lived in Haines in the 80’s feel Eileen’s murder was hushed away and swept under the carpet. Her death haunts us to this day.
Eileen was a sweet and kind 14-year-old girl who deserves this small memorial area. The memorial is to honor her memory and keep alive hopes that one day justice will be done in this tragic matter.
Your consideration of this request is greatly appreciated. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Midge McClellan Clark”