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Missing woman's memorial coming Shackelford disappeared last December when she took a personal retreat By AMBER FOSSEN Ashland Daily Tidings The search for an Ashland woman missing since December ended in loss. JoAnn E. Shackelford, 50, disappeared after leaving for a personal retreat Dec. 2, raising concerns among family and friends. "I had felt that she was gone for months," said husband Jim Shackelford. "Especially for our 30th anniversary (June 3), when she didn't call. But even then, you hold out hope." Shackelford's body was discovered by hikers near Orleans by Bluff Creek, which is east of Eureka, Calif. Despite an extensive search by area Humbolt County's Search and Rescue Team - with the aid of dogs and helicopters - she was later located approximately 400 meters from where her 1991 Mazda truck was found abandoned Dec. 5, according to Shackelford. "It was amazing that we missed her," Shackelford said. Shackelford said he received a phone call Aug. 30 with the news his wife had been found. Since then, family, friends and the community have reached out in support, and a memorial service has been arranged for Sunday. "We all go through struggles and it brings us together," Shackelford said. For Larken Safady, former director of Kid's House Preschool, where JoAnn worked on and off as a teacher up until her disappearance, JoAnn was one of a kind. "She was really an amazing person," Safady said. "One of the most loving and giving human beings I've ever met." Safady said she attended high school in the Hunnington Beach, Calif., area as a teen with JoAnn and didn't realize the connection until 20 years later when, on the way to a conference, the pair began discussing their pasts - realizing that not only did they grow up in the same area, they graduated from the same high school the same year. "That was always a kind of funny connection we had," Safady said. Safady, and her daughter Shae Metz, current director of Kid's House, remember JoAnn's ability to connect with children. "She was just an intuitive wizard with kids," Safady said. "She was fabulous with the kids," Metz said. "Always into dance and movement and activities outside. She was really present with the children. She gave them so much." Safady said despite her gift with children, JoAnn had no children of her own. "We always asked her why she hadn't had kids of her own," she said. "She was always worried she wouldn't do it right." In addition to being a preschool teacher and director for almost 30 years, JoAnn was an aerobic instructor for 25 years and an avid biker and runner. She once finished a close second in the Ashland Mountain Run (13 miles uphill) to a woman nearly half her age. Her absence has created a void felt by many, according to friends. "It was really shocking for all of us when she disappeared," Safady said. "She was so involved in her community." Few details regarding JoAnn's disappearance are known. However, Roy Horton, deputy coroner of Humbolt County, said the area's remoteness could have left her susceptible to a number of conditions including hypothermia. No cause of death can be determined but foul play has been ruled out, Horton said. There will be a memorial gathering in honor of JoAnn at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Ashland Family YMCA soccer fields. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -