I hate to write about something so negative and disturbing, but it's been on my mind the past few days and I just have to write down my thoughts. I just can't believe the area of town we live in has become so cruel and violent. I've grown up in Orlando and lived in east Orlando since I was 11 years old. The tragic story of the young UCF grad student named, Nicole Ganguzza, just makes my stomach turn in knots. I had called the Blanchard Park YMCA on Wednesday afternoon this week to inquire about signing up the kids for some more swimming lessons. They went there last summer and it was a success, so I figured that another year of refreshing swim lessons wouldn't hurt. As I was talking to the man on the phone at the YMCA, he briefly mentioned that Blanchard Park was closed down by the police due to an incident. I figured it might be something like a robbery or some other fairly minor occurrence. I didn't question him further about it and continued with my inquiry about the swim lessons. Well, while at work on Wednesday night, I went to the WFTV Channel 9 News website just to see what's been happening in town lately. The top story was that they had just found this 26-year-old's body that evening. She had gone missing from Blanchard Park just the night before. No wonder the YMCA had been shut down! The police were still in the process of searching for her in the park when I had first contacted the YMCA. Now, they had found her and the few details being released just make me sick to my stomach. She was working on her master's degree at UCF as a marriage and family therapist and was already working as a counselor. She was also married. The attack occurred some time between 6pm and 7pm on Tuesday night, which is in broad daylight because it does not get dark these days until after 8:30pm. She had been in touch with her family around 5:30pm just before going on her routine jog. After 7pm, they became concerned since she was not answering her cell phone. Their worst fears were confirmed when her body was found about 2 miles from Blanchard Park where her vehicle was parked. It was along a nature trail that runs adjacent to the Econ River. I am so sickened to think this happened in broad daylight in an area of town that I live in! There is no reason why this had to occur and it could have just as easily happened to myself or anyone I know and love. The investigators are beginning to suspect that there is a potential serial rapist living in the area. There have been two previous attempts at abduction and rape in the past two years which happened around the Dean Rd. area near Blanchard Park. Those incidents involved young women who were running in or near that trail. Those women were both fortunate enough to have escaped! Sadly, Nicole Ganguzza was not so lucky.
The latest update from the news website is stating that investigators are canvassing the area and questioning several nearby dwellings where homeless people are known to frequent. There is not much else I can say about this awful story, except to remind all women that if you must take a walk or go for some exercise by yourself outside, whether it's in your own neighborhood or at a local park, be sure to carry along a cell phone with you at ALL TIMES and perhaps some sort of weapon like a Swiss Army knife or something of that sort. These days, it doesn't even matter what time of day it is, whether it's daylight outside or not...be safe and be prepared to protect yourself!
Have you seen this man?
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