Family Friend

A 10-year-old girl who had been reported missing after leaving home Christmas Day returned unharmed to her East Baltimore home yesterday, and police said no foul play was involved.Eugenia Ransom showed up at her home in the 200 block of S. Chapel St. about 5:15 p.m. after a family friend -- a 50-year-old man who is the son of her baby sitter -- dropped her off near her home, police said.The child wasn't injured and had not been abducted, police said.Her mother told police last night that the ordeal amounted to a misunderstanding between the man and the family, investigators said.

In the hours, then days, after her teenage sister went missing during a Christmas visit, Deena Barnes remembers the gripping panic that took over — staying up for two days straight, on the edge of the couch, waiting to catch a glimpse of 16-year-old Phylicia returning to the Northwest Baltimore apartment from which she vanished without a trace. Six months later, the family is without answers. Though Phylicia's body was recovered in April from a river 45 miles northeast of Baltimore, the case remains open, and family members fear the trail is growing cold.

Rosalea Della, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric worker who was recognized by President George H.W. Bush for her many hours of volunteer service, died of a pulmonary embolism Tuesday at St. Agnes Hospital. She was 93 and had lived in Pasadena. She was born Rosalea Muriel Streckfus in Baltimore and lived her early years in Canton. Several years ago she wrote a memoir of her life in which she recalled her family's basement kitchen: "The black iron range was always kept burning hot in the winter.

Finding family-friendly DIY projects What are some winter home improvement projects that are family-friendly? What are the projects that are safer for children to participate? Painting is the most family-friendly project out there. And interior painting in the winter is always a great way to spruce things up. Take time to cover and mask areas that you do not want covered in paint, as children will be learning and may spill a bit. I recommend using water-born paints with Low VOCs such as Clark+Kensington.

If you're still looking for more events for toddlers, kids and young adults at this year's Artscape, here are a few other options: Forty-five minute art workshops at Target Make It at Artscape will teach children to create beaded art and button jewelry. There will also be musical instrument lessons. Sessions will take place at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Children must pre-register for these workshops, and space is limited. An '80s fashion show at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Charles Street bridge will cater to the family fashionista.

Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale was among West Baltimore's better known and more violent heroin dealers in the 1980s and has the criminal record to prove it. When he was arrested last year, charged as a felon in possession of a gun, that notorious history presented Barksdale with a current-day problem: If he were convicted on the gun violation in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Barksdale, now 43, could be classified as a career offender and face a mandatory minimum...

As Van Evers squeezed beside the freshly unearthed casket for the six-hour ride, one thought consumed him: He was going to see his father.He never believed he'd have this chance. Three years old when his father, Medgar Evers, was killed, Van had only faint memories of a man leaving bubble gum cigars on his bunk bed. After the murder, he would pick up the phone and ask, "Have you seen my daddy?"Now, nearly 30 years later, the body was being brought to Albany, N.Y., from Arlington National Cemetery for an autopsy to bolster a case against the accused killer.

Sade Baderinwa came into Edie House's life when she was 4. House remembers the little girl's navy blue and red dress with white piping, her saddle shoes and Afro. Sade couldn't pronounce House's name. She called her "Edick." Soon enough, though, the child would ask, "Edick, can I call you Mom?" Today, Baderinwa, a WBAL anchor, is on the threshold of a promising television career. Proudly watching from home is House, former WBAL anchor and public affairs manager. As a child, Baderinwa spent many hours with House in the television newsroom.