"Little Marc has been found..." 24•March•10

NEWBURGH, NY. Candles and teddy bears at a curbside memorial for Marc Bookal on South Colden Street in the City of Newburgh, NY on Thursday, March 25, 2010. A body believed to be Marc Bookal was recovered yesterday from an empty lot on South Colden St. in the city. Bookal is the 4 year old boy who's been missing since December and was last seen with Cory Byrd. Byrd remains in custody on related charges in the boy's disappearance and is the live-in boyfriend of Christina Bookal, the missing boy's mother. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

For the past three and a half months, four year old Marc Bookal has been missing. I've written in previous posts HERE about my coverage of the case, and how it's even been an emotional ordeal for me at times. For as we know, this child could've easily been my son or daughter, your son, grandson or your neighbors son, nephew... Getting the call on Wednesday morning from the reporter and shortly after from the the newsroom about the search being resumed by State Police cadaver dogs and Newburgh police wasn't something I wanted to hear. You see I was home, still enjoying my second day off from all the weekend's HS championship basketball coverage upstate. I wasn't prepared to literally run back out on the street to cover a developing news story like this, just a few short blocks from my home. The camera gear was still literally packed from the weekend's sports coverage, but fortunately when I did jump into my clothes and run out of the house, I had the fast 300mm f/2.8AF in hand, so that became my prime lens from a discreet apartment overlooking the crime scene. Everything fell together for me with the reporter on scene, and when experience kicked in, we were fortunate again to be in a position to see and photograph the ongoing evidence recovery where the child's remains were found in a vinyl book bag. You know from similar scenes that when the crime scene investigators don their white paper fabric jumpsuits and booties, it's all serious and definitive evidence has been found and is about to be recovered.

Right now, at this time there isn't much more to write about this story. The workweek continues, and as mentioned earlier - the news doesn't wait.
Additionally there is still a major post or two swirling around in my head on the previous two week's worth HS championship basketball coverage at West Point and the five games in two days up in Glens Falls. Please do stay tuned. ~cg.