Mighty Ogbo Ponders

As I sit on my ever increasing arse pondering the 'Verse, one can only wonder how much of this life truly makes sense?

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Richard Leape Come Home

All too often you see in the news the sad sad story of someone who has been missing for many years. A terrible tragedy you think - and you reflect that you're so lucky that this happens to "other people" and never to someone you actually know.

But you know how life is - just as you've become complacent and comfy - life slaps you with great gusto in the back of the head. It makes you sit up and shiver - literally.

One of my High School teachers is missing ... has been missing for the last 12 fucking years!

I found out via the recent Cornelia Rau story - the poor schizophrenic woman who was stuck in Baxter detention centre. She had been involved in some dodgy cult in Sydney called the Kenja group - the type that is alleged to convince people that all they need to do is follow "The Master" (whoever the flying fuck that is) and they will no longer need their medication!

Cornelia started her disappearing act not long after.

And so was the case with my old High School teacher Richard Leape. Over 12 years ago he also attended the same cult group, went off his medication, and ended up wandering the streets of Surry Hills in his own psychotic world. His sister from the Gold Coast found him.

Despite her best efforts, Richard lept from the taxi in which she was taking him to the airport. They were going to head back to the family on the Gold Coast. He was never seen again.

Now you might think - "he was just some old teacher of yours - why give a toss?" However - there are some teachers in this world worth giving a toss about. Mr Leape was one of them.

He was my science and chemistry teacher in middle to late high school - round 1980/81. He was young, not cynical or jaded (the fate of too many once brilliant teachers), enthuiastic - and very inspiring. I remember him as one of the few teachers in High School that I truly respected.

And then to read this news article about this cult and Miss Rau - and to find my old teacher had suffered a similar, yet worse, fate. He was never found. After I read this - I was chilled to the bone for the next half an hour.

This happens to other people - not someone that you know!

But it does happen ...

So Richard is now a "Missing Person".

Here is a picture of him:



Details about him can be found here and at the bottom of the page here.

So the next time you're wandering through Surry Hills or the City or Newtown - keep an eye out for the street folks and homeless people ... you could solve a 12 year old mystery ... and put many minds at ease.

Of course, I'm not naive enough to have ignored the possibility that Richard is dead. We can but hope for better news.

4 Comments:

At 8:18 am, Blogger Bec said...

I am Richard Leape's daughter and really appreciate your efforts to get the word out about him.

He is greatly missed

 
At 11:20 pm, Blogger Unknown said...

Leapy was a great friend of mine and I miss him too. I met him at uni and we were groomsman at each other's weddings.
I think of him often.

 
At 9:56 pm, Blogger Roger said...

This is bizarre. The picture on the police files is definately Mr Leape, but he couldn't have been born in 1966 as it shows as he was my Maths and Science teacher at St. Paul's college Bellambi from 1980 until 1982. I was aged 12-15 at the time. I was born in 1967. His date of birth would be more like 1956. He was a very cool teacher and a very decent man. He liked Steely Dan. When he tutored me in Maths after I had left St. Pauls (he was living in Woonona then), we listened to Steely Dan more than studying Maths!! I sincerely hope he shows up soon.

 
At 8:48 pm, Blogger WoodyandVick said...

I grew up in murwillumbah with richard and lived next door to him. We were best friends. He wrote a strange letter to me not long before he disappeared. I hadnt heard from him in 20 years prior to that. I miss him and hope he will be found one day.

Ian

 

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