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Community Corner

Masci Family Thanks Community for Outpouring [With Video]

East Haddam and surrounding communities volunteered time, food and love during search for missing man found dead Saturday.

This article first appeared on the East Haddam-Haddam Patch site.

Ruth Masci, daughter-in-law of missing East Haddam man Robert Masci, made an emotional announcement to the gathered swarms of volunteers at the East Haddam fire station on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Medium-tall, slender, wearing short light brown hair, a pink sweater and knee high black rubber boots, Ms. Masci works as a teacher in Haddam Elementary School.

“I personally need to say thank you. I know you heard Bob was found – and I have to tell you, this is not something that you missed. The dog was necessary, the dog was the reason he was found today. So please, don’t anyone walk out this door thinking you missed anything, because you didn’t.”

She continued, “I don’t know how to say the words for how grateful we (the family) are. I have never seen anything like this in my life. This town, and the towns around us...I don’t know how many people. This is, by far, the worst nightmare and ironically the most uplifting thing in my entire life...every person who came out was a part of that."

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“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Masci spoke with Patch to add, “When you look around, these people you never met. They show up, and they matter. Bob (Robert Masci) was a tremendous volunteer – his wife, his son. This woman, Renee Andrews, organized food for the volunteers for four days – and she’s sending thank you cards, too.” 

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Ruth shook her head, with a conflicted smile of sadness, happiness, disbelief and relief. She hugged Andrews and turned to receive more expressions of condolences from the community that came out to help neighbors in need.

And that’s what the whole search for Robert Masci was about – a community making a difference to a family in need. His daughter-in-law wanted to be sure that point came out, above all.

Thanks again, East Haddam – especially the Lions, The First Church of Christ Congregational, the Fire Department, Nathan Hale Ray High School, countless businesses and townspeople who’ve provided donations and the hundreds of kindhearted volunteers from locally and all over.

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