| WEST RUPERT, Vt. — Jaliek Rainwalker’s adoptive parents move to Vermont, but their new neighbors say they are not welcome. Stephen Kerr and Jocelyn McDonald moved across state lines to the small town of West Rupert, Vermont.They are the adoptive parents of Jaliek, who’s been missing since November. Thursday, police searched their former home on Hill Street in Greenwich.
It’s Friday night in West Rupert Vermont at Sherman’s store in the middle of the village .
Customer traffic is heavy. Right across the street is the old farm house now owned and occupied by Stephen Kerr and his family. Not one person we spoke to says they felt good about the new resident.
“Personally I feel that if you move out of the state you were in you are hiding something,” said Dan Raymond.
Raymond owns Sherman’s store and he along with many people we spoke to have followed the case of missing Jaliek Rainwalker well before the Kerr family moved in. Jaliek’s face adorns the front door. Raymond says Kerr’s been in his store once since the family moved in.
“He wanted a pack of matches, turned around and walked out,” he said.
What these residents we spoke to say they find most disturbing is that according to police Kerr has been uncooperative at best and recently the Greenwich Police Chief has said that Kerr has not been telling the truth.
“I think he’d want to find him and it seems he’s holding back on something. Not doing everything he can with police,” said resident Donna Andersen.
What became clear Friday is that at least for now or until Jaliek is found the Kerr family will be looked on as outsiders.
“At this point they won’t be accepted for a while until this case is put to rest,” said Dan Raymond.
And there is another feeling that Raymond says he gets from residents that he’s spoken to in his store.
“I’m sure everyone will lock their doors in this vicinity, for fear,” he said.
We tried to speak to Stephen Kerr Friday night at his new home, as we were turning our news car around in front of the house, the whole family left in the family van.
Stephen Kerr has always maintained he had nothing to do with Jaliek’s disappearance.
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