Where are they now?

Published: April 17, 2005

Aren Almon-Kok
THEN: Aren Almon's daughter, Miss Baylee Almon, 1, died in America's Kids Day-Care on the second floor. Photos of a firefighter carrying Baylee's body out of the ruins were published worldwide.

NOW: Married to Stan Kok, Aren Almon-Kok lives in Choctaw, and has a daughter, Bella, and son, Broox. She speaks for the Protecting People First Foundation. The foundation has helped improve day care centers, including installing a safety film on windows to make them less dangerous if they are shattered.

Fire Capt. Chris Fields
THEN: Oklahoma City fire Capt. Chris Field's image cradling 1-year-old Baylee Almon's broken body was captured by photographers.

NOW: Fields works with Aren Almon-Kok for the Protecting People First Foundation. Fields, 40, has been promoted to a major at the fire department where he hopes to work for 10 more years. He would retire with a 30-year career with the fire department.

John Avera
THEN: Oklahoma City Police Officer John Avera was one of the first emergency workers on the bombing scene, pulling Baylee Almon from the wreckage and placing her in firefighter Chris Field's arms.

NOW: Avera is retired from the police force and works as a communications systems administrator for Edmond's police, fire and communications departments. "I am moving on," Avera said.

Charles Porter IV
THEN: The loan specialist and amateur photographer thought a demolition was under way and went outside on his break thinking he'd snap a few shots. Once outside, everything changed. "I just put my camera to my face and instinct took over," Porter said. Two of Porter's pictures won him a Pulitzer Prize.

NOW: Porter's prize-winning photos are not displayed in his Fort Worth, Texas, home. Porter sought counseling in the aftermath, struggling to deal with the tragedy. Porter recently earned his doctorate in physical therapy. He still takes pictures -- mostly weddings. Most clients don't know Porter is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and that's the way he likes it.

Ray Blakeney
THEN: Ray Blakeney, director of operations for the state medical examiner's office in 1995, spent weeks informing families and the public during the slow and difficult identification of the 168 victims.

NOW: In October 2004, Blakeney retired from the Medical Examiner's office after 24 years. He works part time for LifeShare of Oklahoma, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recovering organs for transplantation.

Rod Hill THEN: Oklahoma City police Sgt. Rod Hill saw Rhonda Griffin and Glenda Riley trapped on the seventh floor of the Murrah Building during the threat of a second bomb. He and two other officers put together a makeshift bridge and pulled the women to safety.

NOW: Seven months after the bombing, Hill was injured when he tried to stop a drunken driver. The driver slammed his door on the officer's right arm, dragging Hill 200 feet. He broke his arm and severely injured his back. Hill now is in the police department's planning and research division.

Sgt. Mike McPherson
THEN: Police Sgt. Mike McPherson was a detective with the auto theft division and a part-time Oklahoma City police bomb squad technician. He retrieved a vehicle identification number from the rear axle of the bomb truck -- the first clue linking the it to Timothy McVeigh.

NOW: McPherson is the police department's only full-time bomb technician.

Fire Maj. Craig Rolke
THEN: Fire Maj. Craig Rolke spent days retrieving the dead from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Rolke and other firefighters carried the bodies out themselves. "We've built a camaraderie that will never go away," Rolke said.

NOW: Rolke, 44, still serves as a firefighter. "The bombing changed me in ways I can't exactly put my finger on," Rolke said.

Bob Ricks
THEN: As FBI special agent in charge in Oklahoma, Bob Ricks put in 18- to 20-hour days in the weeks after the bombing. Ricks coordinated the investigation.

NOW: Ricks, now Edmond's police chief, said the bombing was "the most difficult and horrible time for Oklahoma City." Ricks said he misses the FBI, but loves being part of his local community. Ricks said he still attends quarterly meetings of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Gary Marrs
THEN: Fire Chief Gary Marrs had just left the Metro Prayer Breakfast when the blast occurred. Marrs said the fire department's response led to the coining of the phrase, "the Oklahoma Standard," to represent excellence. "In the darkest of times, the department showed how really good it is."

NOW: He retired from the fire department in 2001 and was elected Ward 1 councilman in May 2004. Marrs says of the Oklahoma City National Memorial. "I'm not sure that another community could have done what we've done with such care and compassion."

Ron Norick
THEN: Mayor Ron Norick described Oklahoma City as a community stunned by the bombing. Key decisions Norick made led to the development of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and his lobbying led to a decision to rebuild a federal building in Oklahoma City.

NOW: Norick manages his family business, Norick Investments. He retired as mayor in 1998.

Barry Fogerty
THEN: A news photo distributed worldwide showed Oklahoma Water Resources Board worker Barry Fogerty, then 49, being carried by firefighters. His shirt was blood-drenched, his face showing his pain.

NOW: Fogerty, 59, still works at the Oklahoma Water Resources Board as public information officer. "I'm thinking about making a career out of it," he said. Fogerty doesn't think much about the incident except "When I see an idling Ryder truck without someone in the driver's seat, I tend to go the other way."

Jon Hansen
THEN: Jon Hansen was an assistant fire chief and spent most of his time dealing with the local and national media that daily covered every aspect of the domestic terrorist act. He wrote a book about his personal experiences with the bombing.

NOW: Hansen retired in 1999 from the fire department after 26 years. He still lives in Oklahoma City, but consults for Autodesk, a company that has designed computerized mapping software that helps emergency workers locate victims and see the inside layout of buildings. The system was used during the bombing.

Bill Citty
THEN: Bill Citty was an Oklahoma City police public information officer when the truck bomb exploded downtown. Citty started on the police force in 1976. City Manager Jim Couch described Citty's role during that time as "PIO (public information officer) to the world."

NOW: Citty has been the chief of police since November 2003.

Jack and Phyllis Poe
THEN: The Poes were the police chaplains on duty immediately after the bombing, offering emotional and spiritual support for police officers and their families. Jack Poe had been chaplain for the police department since April 1984 and his wife since 1991. He also was state chaplain for the National Guard at the time of the bombing. "I was given the responsibility to mobilize all the National Guard chaplains," Poe said. There were 26 military chaplains to supervise in addition to the local volunteer chaplains. Phyllis Poe managed the clergy command post, providing identification credentials and assignments.

NOW: The Poes remain the police department chaplains. After 9/11 in New York, Jack Poe was there to help, too. "The lessons we have learned, we have tried to take to New York City," Poe said.

Paul Shipley
THEN: Paul Shipley was a field paramedic for EMSA. He recalls too clearly the image of small silhouettes lying on the playground covered in white sheets. "They were covered, but you knew they were kids," Shipley said. "That's the most burning memory."

NOW: Shipley serves as EMSA's Quality Improvement Manager. He has taken relatives from Arizona to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial, but he has no plans to return. "It brings back a lot of feelings and memories I don't care to remember," he said.

Downtown YMCA
THEN: A popular workout site and day care center with about 1,200 members. The bomb "tore the whole inside of the YMCA to shreds," injuring 77, spokeswoman Cara Langer said.

NOW: The E.L. Gaylord Downtown YMCA, which opened in spring 1999, has a new campus at NW 4 and Broadway. The campus serves 4,739 members, and includes a separate child care center.

Regency Tower
THEN: The blast rocked the high rise apartment complex at 333 NW 5, blowing out the 24-story building's windows. Structural engineers were amazed at the building's sturdiness. Residents were put out of their homes for five months.

NOW: Regency Tower is nearly full. About 15 apartments were vacant during early April in a complex that counts judges, lawmakers, students and retirees among its residents. The building was sold in November 2004 to Virtu Regent Tower Associates for $11.35 milllion. It's now undergoing renovation, said Marcia Garner, the property's assistant manager.

Joseph Mills Photography
THEN: The building housing Joseph Mills' commercial photography studio, 715 N Hudson, was extensively damaged. Mills' wife had just left to take film to be processed. Mills was off getting a haircut. Eventually the structure was condemned.

NOW: Mills is preparing to build a studio at a home he's just purchased and said his business is great. "All we lost was a place to do business. ... We think about how the bombing really caused people and the entire city to pull together."