CNN iReport

Most gardens grow into beautiful things when they are nurtured and well-maintained. Within Second Life (an online virtual reality world, where people can freely create objects and express themselves), a special garden exists where as one visitor recently remarked to the owner, "No offense Ronnie, but I hope your garden stops growing." Ronnie Rhode manages “The Garden for the Missing,” an area which documents 200 current missing persons.

When I first entered the garden, I noticed Ronnie Rhode at work moving a large “Missing Persons” picture that included relevant information on the individual. “She was found “not safe” today,” remarked Ronnie. “Not safe?” Not hearing the term before, I was confused and taken back. She responded, “Deceased.” The word hit like a ton of bricks, heavy and hard to take.

Ronnie started her time in Second Life (SL) like many residents, “I started this in September 2007. I was new to SL and had bought land because I liked the sunsets. One day I had an idea to put a few missing persons posters up and people who happened by loved it and were very encouraging so I decided to dedicate my land to the cause, one that I cared about.” Over time, Ronnie’s posters grew to the amount it is today. She researched and later partnered with the founder of “Project Jason,” Kelly Jolkowski. This helped establish Project Jason within Second Life, and lead to Ronnie becoming their public relations lead outside of Second Life. Kelly’s son, Jason, has been missing since 2001. The Project Jason website has information about missing persons, spanning both children and adults. Their belief is everyone, no matter of age, race, or gender, deserves attention.

Each of the posters in garden includes case specifics, accounts which are both informative and heartbreaking. “There were just a few cases that I had heard about and my heart just broke for the families. Then when I started this garden, obviously I became more involved, emotionally, and felt this was my calling. My heart really is in this work. It's such an honor to be able to help the families gain more exposure for their missing loved ones.” She described the pain of the loved ones with missing family members “as living in the not knowing."

While in the garden, resident Yvette Olivier commented aloud, “This is terribly sad, a parent's worst nightmare.” She did express all of our hopes, “I think this is a brilliant idea. With all the visitors to SL every day, who knows, perhaps some of these individuals will be found.” We can only wish that Ronnie’s work within SL yields the returns. For the time being though, Ronnie’s work continues. For the deceased who were in the garden, Ronnie moves their posters to another section that houses roughly twenty-five boards. “I just hate when I have to move the posters there. I see their posters daily while they are still missing so I think of them and their families often. When I have to move them, it's just terribly hard. Harder for the families, of course, and that is where my heart goes. The Garden for the Missing isn't about me, it's about them.”

Within Second Life, my character (often referred to as an avatar) spends his time supporting the community through the Justice League Unlimited (JLU) of SL; a group that focuses their energy to provide peacekeeping services, to help to new residents, and to support numerous charities. Our members often adopt personas of superheroes, though we are not a roleplaying group. While in my travels looking to improve guides to for Second Life residents, I met Ronnie, a true hero. Her work within “The Garden of the Missing” and “Project Jason” shows how informative and useful the virtual world can be, as well as highly emotional. We can only hope that through spreading the word, we can make a difference. I know that I will try to do my best and I encourage you to do the same.

To learn more about Project Jason visit: http://projectjason.org

The Garden for the Missing in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Remora/204/149/21

Project Jason in Second Life: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloft%20Nonprofit%20Commons/237/24/26

The Daily Planet SL: http://kryptonradio.com