This is a letter to my friend Charles Voge, a former OU communications student who was found dead in the summer of 1996 near his parents' Dayton home after being missing since November 1995:

Charlie,

I remember when you were here. I still think about the times when you were a disc jockey and I was a newscaster, and we did the 60 Second Update. Do you remember Twister Jam '95? We played from midnight until 7 a.m. And the parties - who could forget those parties? You know, you made me feel like I was a part of something. I was a freshman, only 18 years old and a long way from home. You made everyone feel like they had a place here at OU.

It's been almost two and a half years since you disappeared. I remember how scared we all were. For some of us, our friend was missing; for others, our mentor. I remember thinking about your family that Thanksgiving and Christmas and how they must have felt looking at that empty place at the table where you usually sat. I remember listening to the radio and expecting to hear your voice, but it was not there.

I remember when another OU student disappeared that year. I lived in Sargent Hall, and his best friend had been a resident assistant on the first floor. I was scared then, too. I think the entire campus was scared. I remember when they found him. He had gone to California to start a new life. And I remember thinking you would be found next - that maybe you had needed to leave without telling us and that everything would be all right.

I waited for the news that you had been found, too. And then the summer came and still no word. Until Anne called. She had been reading the Associated Press wire and saw the story: "Missing OU student found." She told me what the police thought had happened and that you had been found near your parents' home. I was relieved and heartbroken all in the same moment - that instant, knowing and yet not wanting to know.

And now, as I see on the television that Keith Noble Jr. has been found, I find it harder not to think about you. I am thinking about all of the friends he made here and how they must be feeling that same feeling I felt when Anne called me and told me about you. I want to reach out to them and tell them the hurt does get better. I want to tell them how important it is that they remember him. I want them to carry Keith's memory with them as I carry your memory with me every day.

I still tell new people at the radio station about you. I was inspired by how hard you worked to get where you were, and I want other people to know how hard you worked.

I miss you, Charlie. Everyone who knew you, we all do. And there is not a day that goes by that I do not think about you. Each day as I walk into ACRN, I see the plaque. Did you know we remodeled the studios? Did you know we dedicated them to you? Did you know how many lives you affected?

It is amazing how much each of us can touch the lives of the people around us. We do not even realize we have done so. You touched our lives, Charlie. And even though I did not know Keith, he has touched my life. Both of you have made me realize just how short life really is.

Charlie and Keith, this is for you. Today, I pledge to live the rest of my life to its fullest. I promise to try and make an impact on people's lives the way you have touched the lives of the OU and Athens communities. I am going to do the things I have always said I would do. But most of all, I going to remember you. I am going to tell people about you. I am going to make sure no one forgets you.

Charlie - I miss you.

McCaslin, a senior public relations major, can be e-mailed at km800694.