I'm afraid that I have done all the searching I can tonight. Having now
found the address of the last sighting, which is in an interior
courtyard of duplex units, I think I'd better clear things with the
property management people, and perhaps the police, before I start
searching there again.

As long he stays in the townhouse area and doesn't try to cross the main
street again, he should be pretty safe. The woods are more natural on my
side of the road, and more likely to have raccoons and such. Coyotes
haven't been seen in the area, though, and he's a reasonably good-sized
cat.

I don't know whether there's any significance into his being closer to
my house -- the last sighting, admittedly with townhouses in between, is
almost on a straight line with my back yard.

At this point, though, I'm too tired to be safe to drive, or even speak
clearly.  For some obscure reason, I've always been able to type clearly
when I can make no spoken sense at all.

I did get a call that Rhonda is out of surgery, and woozily fine in the
hospital.

Somewhat to my surprise, both the animal shelter and the rescue group
agreed that trying to put Mr. Clark on a leash and having him help
search for his protege might be a good idea. I'm not sure what Mr.
Clark, who is about 5, will think of a leash, especially because he
firmly considers himself a house cat. He was rescued on a country road
and knows the difference.

On the other hand, he has been intensely paternal to the younger ones,
and I hope will sense what I want him to do. He's here at my side being
supportive to me.

I at least have an area to look for Ding.  Now, the trick is going to be
if I find him with Mr. Clark's assistance--requiring manipulating one
leash, one leashed cat, one unleashed and probably struggling cat, and
one carrier. There's probably some way to attach the leash firmly to me,
although I have uneasy images of the quite strong Mr. Clark managing to
pull my pants off if I tie the leash to my belt.