Father recalls final goodbye

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MACHIASPORT – Two days before Krystal Higgins’ fateful disappearance on Saturday, Aug. 7, she said a memorable goodbye to her father.

“The last thing she said to me was “Love you, Dad, see you next week!,” Tom Higgins said Monday, his eyes looking toward the door.

But for all of last week, all Higgins saw of his 17-year-old daughter was her photo in television newscasts.

Nothing was clear, though, because the cable reception at the Downeast Correctional Facility went bad last week. The screen was constantly snow-filled, and Higgins had to listen hard over the noise.

Higgins has been jailed at the minimum- and medium-security state prison since Jan. 2003. Held because of motor vehicle violations and his status as an habitual offender, he has about 50 days to go before his release.

While Washington County residents drove roads together and brought hot food to law enforcement officers who spent days last week searching for Krystal, all Tom Higgins could do was wait and pray on his own.

He ached to help, but he could do nothing from behind bars.

“This is hell,” he said in his first interview since the resilient teenager captivated the hearts of area communities with her sudden disappearance, then apparent drowning. “I don’t wish this on anybody.”

Krystal’s body was found Saturday morning in the West Branch of the Pleasant River near the boat landing in Addison.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office, which conducted an autopsy in Augusta Monday, said that both the manner and cause of death are “pending further study.”

Higgins, 38, had stayed informed through the Maine State Police, which placed calls to the prison when there was sensitive news. He also kept close via phone to his parents, Dolores and Robert Higgins of Cherryfield, and to Debra Skeate, the Columbia woman who had taken in Krystal last April.

“My firstborn is gone,” he said. “I never imagined her going before I did.”

Arrangements for Krystal’s funeral are being handled by Skeate. The service will be 3 p.m. Saturday at Narraguagus High School in Harrington.

Higgins will be there, escorted by some of the facility staff that has understood his pain.

“I am thankful to all the agencies and volunteers who looked for her, especially to [Sheriff] Joey Tibbetts,” Higgins said. “All the fire crews, all the friends.

“And I am thankful for all those who gave her a place to rest her head until I come home. I am going to start again and get my other kids home, too.”

Jessica, 16, and T.J., (for Thomas Junior), 8, have been placed in foster care. The Department of Human Services has indicated it intends to terminate parental rights for Tom and Madeline Higgins.

The two are in the process of a divorce, Higgins said.

That Krystal Higgins was rising above the turmoil at home was remarkable.

Known for her inner strength, she was working two jobs since her father’s absence. When she realized that her stepmother wasn’t making the house payments, Krystal put up about $900 of her own money to keep the mortgage in order.

Her father’s trailer in Columbia Falls has escaped foreclosure three times. Krystal was doing all she could to make a place where the family, minus her stepmother, could be reunited in October.

Madeline Higgins, whose phone number has been disconnected, could not be reached Monday.

After Tom Higgins was sent to the state prison in January 2003, Krystal went to live with Marla Alley and her daughter, who is the same age as Krystal, in Addison.

That April, Krystal became legally emancipated from her stepmother, whom she didn’t care for, and her father, whom she adored.

From the start of his incarceration, she visited him weekly on Thursdays, the one night she wasn’t working.

A year ago May, the other children ended up in foster care.

“My baby is gone, but there are two other that need me,” Higgins said.

Krystal had been putting some household items on layaway to prepare for her father’s homecoming, he said.

Just the day before she disappeared, Krystal had the chance to visit both her sister and stepbrother in their foster homes. Jessica is living in Machiasport and T.J. is living in Princeton.

Higgins said he wants to ask Peter Doak, the principal at Narraguagus High School, if Jessica can stand in at next spring’s graduation to receive Krystal’s diploma.

Her service is being held at the high school to have room enough for all who knew her.

Any student, even those younger than high-school age, is welcome to stop by the school this week, where Doak has arranged to have counselors on hand.

Outside the Pleasant River Take Out, the drive-up restaurant where Krystal worked, owner Leni Weaver had posted a message on a board. Last week Weaver posted the flyer showing the missing Higgins, asking for prayers and any information.

On Monday, the new message read: “We are still mentally processing the events and pain of the last few days. We appreciate your kindness, caring and love, but we are just not ready to discuss it. We loved and are aching. Please respect our feelings and don’t ask us any questions. Thank you.”

Anyone who would like to donate to a fund to cover Krystal Higgins’ funeral expenses can make checks payable to Kimberly Bailey Look [her employer at Elmer’s County Store] in the name of the Krystal Higgins Memorial Fund. They can be sent to Look at P.O. Box 129, Columbia Falls 04632.