# Family History Records Request: Send Plan (via Traveling Mailbox)

Goal: get the 1989-1994 custody/abduction paper trail from Middlesex County, VA. News coverage is ruled out (Virginia Chronicle archive exhaustively searched 2026-07-04; zero coverage despite local papers being digitized for those years).

## Before sending (blockers)

- [x] DOBs filled in (Alex: Dec 9 1984, Tristin: Apr 10 1988), dated July 4, 2026
- [x] PDFs rendered: letter-1-circuit-court.pdf, letter-2-sheriff.pdf (this folder)
- [ ] Optional: attach a copy of Alex's photo ID to the sheriff letter (speeds up "records about myself" release)

## Step 2: Send via Traveling Mailbox

Log in at travelingmailbox.com.

**Letter 1 (Circuit Court): send BOTH ways for speed**
- Fax: (804) 758-8637 (Traveling Mailbox outbound fax, PDF upload)
- Physical mail: Clerk of Circuit Court, Attn: Rachel Hartenbach, P.O. Box 158, Saluda, VA 23149

**Letter 2 (Sheriff): physical mail only** (no published fax)
- Middlesex County Sheriff's Office, Records, P.O. Box 207, Saluda, VA 23149

## Step 3: Follow-up cadence

- Day 3 after fax: call Circuit Court clerk (804) 758-5317, confirm receipt, ask if the case shows in the chancery index (they can often check while on the phone)
- Day 14: call Sheriff records (804) 758-2779 if no reply
- If Circuit Court says "case was in J&DR court": J&DR juvenile records are confidential and often destroyed after the juvenile turns 19 plus retention period; the divorce decree in Circuit Court is then the main surviving record

## Backup avenues (if county yields nothing)

1. Virginia State Police Missing Children Clearinghouse (existed since 1985): https://vsp.virginia.gov/sections-units-bureaus/bass/criminal-justice-information-services/missing-children/
2. Essex County Circuit Court, Tappahannock (family also appeared in Essex-area papers; possible alternate filing venue)
3. NY county family court where family lived pre-Virginia ([NY TOWN] unknown, ask Roy if possible): UCCJA cases often have a parallel NY filing
4. Newspapers.com trial: Richmond Times-Dispatch + Daily Press 1989-1992 (not in free archives)

## Research log

- 2026-07-04: Virginia Chronicle searched exhaustively: all 39 "Salinsky" + 8 "Salinski" hits reviewed; "Roy Salinsky", "Julie Salinsky", "Tristin Salinsky", "Alexandra/Alexandria Salinsky" = zero results. Timeline anchor: Alex in kindergarten, Urbanna VA, Nov 1990 (Southside Sentinel 1990-11-21, Halloween parade winner, dragon costume) which narrows the abduction window to roughly 1989 to mid-1990. Alex on honor rolls 1992-1994 (Southside Sentinel, Rappahannock Times, Rappahannock Record). Tristin never appears in the archive.