Jim Escalle and Bette Bennett at Delano High School

Note: Jim was a senior and Bette was a freshman when they dated. They saw each other on occasion after Jim graduated from high school, but it wasn't until Jim was attending U.C. Berkeley that he and Bette, who worked in Berkeley at the time, spoke about getting back together again. Their plans were put on hold while Jim was in pilot training and both agreed to wait until he got back from Korea. Bette was devastated when she received word of Jim's disappearance.