Cold Water Cold Hearts: A Mother's Search for Her Son Missing in Alaska

What happened to my son? This question haunted Wade Tackett's mother, Mary, for over two decades, until her death. Her anguished need to find the answer drove her forward on a relentless quest to solve the mystery of her 17-year-old son's disappearance. On the morning of June 11, 1986, Wade and another teenage boy set out on a 14-foot skiff to explore the islands near the town of Pelican, Alaska. But only one boy returned from the day's adventure. Searches by land, sea and air yielded no trace of Wade alive, no body and no clue to his whereabouts. Was his disappearance the result of some accident in the cold water of Southeast Alaska? Or was it foul play-or something even stranger? Mary Tackett and the rest of Wade's family had their suspicions, while the Alaska State Troopers and other authorities stood by their own theory. No one produced solid evidence one way or another. After years of research and investigation, including interviews with those who were part of the ongoing drama, R. W. Swartz offers the most convincing explanation to date of what really happened to Wade Tackett. But there is even more to the story. Further revealed is the role played by those who coldheartedly intensified the pain of Mary Tackett and her family: indifferent or callous officials, assorted attention seekers and others with self-serving motives. Offering an object lesson for our times, Cold Water, Cold Hearts not only elucidates a heartbreaking mystery but also exposes widespread insensitivity to the suffering of others and everyday exploitation of personal tragedy. As they mourned the loss of Wade, the Tacketts came to know all too well how the unkindness of strangers takes its toll on energy and emotions, raises false hope-and, worst of all, robs a grieving family of the peace that comes with closure.R. W. Swartz is the author of Love Me: A Look into a Life of Abuse, Sex, Drugs, and Bipolar Disorder, a work of investigative nonfiction, and Snowblind: A Play in Two Acts.