A 54-year-old Far North Dallas has gone missing and police say she may be in danger.

Dallas police are asking the public for help in finding Cynthia Thrialkill Ray, who was last seen at her Far North Dallas home on Sunday, along with her 2001 gray Honda SUV with Texas plate “IXIA.”

Ray is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has blue eyes and gray hair.

To contact the police, call 214-671-4248 or 214-671-3661.

A roundup of stuff that wouldn’t necessarily make it on the blog, but is worth noting:

• Charles Manson, whose gruesome 1969 seven-victim murder spree is one of the most infamous crimes in U.S. history, is 74 and still in prison — and still looks as scary as can be. California prison authorities recently released a current photo of Manson, and his eyes haven’t lost that look. And then there is the swastika on his forehead. I wonder: How many people, seeing this headline, will have no idea who Manson is?

• Ronald Johnson, the CEO who ran the Minyard’s grocery store chain after Dallas’ Minyard family sold it to private investors in 2004, owes the current owners $2.3 million. That’s after he lost a lawsuit in which the jury found that Johnson committed fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. The story is messy and sad, a footnote to what used to be a cherished local institution.

• A new iTunes-like website called LifeWayworship.com is offering church music ministers the ability to buy recordings of worship songs and hymns and create and download sheet music for church bands and choirs. Apparently, church music is still mostly in the 20th century, with few digital recordings or arrangements. Says a minister quoted by USA Today: “We’ve needed to do this for a long time."

A roundup of stuff that wouldn’t necessarily make it on the blog, but is worth noting:

• A locally-owned coffee shop in Fort Worth has closed, and its owner blames this area’s preference for national chains. This is something that comes up the blog quite a bit — that we want more independent retailers than we have. Yet we have so many national chains, including Starbucks, that it seems problematical about what we want. If a Baker Bros. or Subway was next to a local sandwich shop, how many of us would choose the local, all things being equal? Our February retail cover package will include this topic.

• The Mob loves Facebook. Really. Italian authorities have begun investigating Facebook discussion groups devoted to convicted Mafiosi, afraid they are being used for some nefarious purposes. More than 2,000 people had joined Facebook groups for ex-Mafia bosses Salvatore Riina and his successor, Bernardo Provenzano. Both are serving multiple life sentences.

• Is your cell phone to complicated to use? If so, you aren’t alone. Some three out of five respondents to a survey in Britain and the U.S. said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts. Which does seem about right, since I have had my model for a couple of years and there are still some features that I haven’t figured out. Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95 percent said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up.

In the case of suspected arson, such as the recent fires in the Winnetka Heights neighborhood, how do police and arson investigators work together, and who is responsible for what?

A former Utah state trooper with a history of substance abuse and suicide attempts is the primary suspect in the shootings in Garland and along LBJ. Said suspect, 37-year old Brian G. Smith  shot himself in the head after being surrounded by police. The only positive here is that the guy is no longer a threat.

More story and video here.

Police are still looking for a balding 40-something white male who shot and killed two people and attempted to shoot another. The first victim was a 20 year old man driving along Jupiter in Garland. Then the killer shot at a truck driver on LBJ between Royal and Skillman, missing him, moments after which he shot and killed a different trucker — reportedly on his way home for Christmas — on LBJ just east of Miller. I am still waiting to hear that they’ve caught the guy, but as of the 10 o’clock news, nothing. There are already several news stories hitting the airwaves and the web — so far this DMN report seems to be the most informative. Really? This is happening? Mind boggling.

Q: There have been recent reports of attempted child abductions in our neighborhood. What tips do you have for neighborhood parents?

Last week on this blog I told you about two attempted child abductions near Mohawk and Bowie. According to reports, the suspect is a dark-haired man who appears to be in his mid-40s, and drives a late model four-door black Ford F-250 truck with Texas plates.

According to an email sent on behalf of the Estates West HOA this week, police arrested a man off Spring Creek Road last week they thought was the suspect. It turns out they had the wrong the guy.

Police think the suspect may have moved on to a new neighborhood, but they are still asking neighbors to keep an eye out. If you spot anything suspicious, call 911 and/or the Estates West Crime Watch hotline at 972.606.3310. 

I understand that the Dallas Police Department is now responsible for our 911 emergency dispatch system, instead of the Dallas Fire Department. Can you tell us why the change happened, and what it means to our neighborhood?

Many of us have heard reports about a purse snatcher targeting neighborhood women lately. What can neighbors do to prevent purse theft while they’re out and about?

The Caruth Terrace neighborhood is receiving some unwanted media attention these days, as it appears a ring of "wheel thieves" are targeting GM-product SUVs and stealing the vehicles’ wheels, leaving them sitting on blocks in the driveway or in front of the house. The Channel 5 story talking about the problem says similar thefts occurred three times last week. The neighborhood is north of Mockingbird between Skillman and Abrams.