Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Saturday, August 1, 1992
The Health Department was asked to investigate after local officials questioned the authenticity of Dona K. Spence's claims.
One of the department's investigators, Dr. Charles Bell, said none of the people Spence said were infected with the AIDS virus could be located.
"If the names in the files are real names, then none of these individuals were born in Texas, are licensed to drive an automobile in Texas, have died in Texas or were listed on area school enrollment rosters," Bell said.
Spence, who worked as an AIDS counselor for the Texarkana-based Ark-Tex Council of Governments, said she had compiled records of interviews with 20 young people from nine northeast Texas counties who told her they were infected with HIV. All 20 were under the age of 20, and 13 were students, she said.
Her report gained widespread attention when word spread that six of the 13 students attended Rivercrest High School near Bogata, which has an enrollment of only 197 students.
Spence resigned her position with Ark-Tex in February amid mounting skepticism from local officials and residents, but stood by her reports. She did not return calls to her home yesterday.
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