Cayle Bywater-Athen, GA-Missing 12-29-07

[SeriouslySearching]

Cayle Bywater is described as a white female, 5’3” tall, 113 pounds, with curly brown hair and blue eyes.
http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=g...ter-010108.jpg

Cayle Bywater, 29, Athens GA (http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58041)

Photo of Cayle Bywater: http://www.11alive.com/news/article_...storyid=109184 (http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=109184)

Bywater, 29, was last seen Dec. 29 as she chased her dog near the park, which is off South Milledge Avenue not far from Bywater's home.

A photograph taken in the park about 4 p.m. Dec. 29 shows Bywater in the background, wearing glasses, Vans slip-on sneakers, jeans and a blue jacket with red stripes on its sleeves and chest. Her brown Vizsla hunting dog, Ollie, is with her in the photograph.

~snip~

Police found the back door open at her South Milledge Avenue house after she missed work at a Five Points wine bar Dec. 29 and 30. Her keys, wallet, cell phone and car were at the house.
Police, helped by dozens of volunteers, searched the park and dragged the park's small lake last week.

Ollie was found running unattended in the park the afternoon of Dec. 30. When searchers brought the dog back to help search, the dog led them to a place near Bywater's South Milledge Avenue home, which made relatives think Bywater disappeared from that spot.

While police haven't ruled out foul play, they also say Bywater might have gone off on her own. Bywater was bipolar, raising the possibility that she could have gone off her medication and gotten lost.

Relatives believe she may have been abducted, however.

http://onlineathens.com/stories/011108/news_20080111049.shtml

[SeriouslySearching]

Angelwngs posted:
Eyeglasses DO MATCH Cayle Bywater
~snip~Glasses belong to missing woman Found at Memorial Park

Cayle Bywater, missing for nearly two weeks, was last seen chasing her dog near Memorial Park in Athens.By Lee Shearer | lee.shearer@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 11:22 PM on Thursday, January 10, 2008


Eyeglasses found in Athens' Memorial Park belong to a local woman who disappeared nearly two weeks ago, Athens-Clarke police said Thursday.
The frames matched photos of Cayle Bywater wearing the eyeglasses, and police also checked the lens prescription against Bywater's prescription, said police department spokeswoman Hilda Sorrow.~snip~

much more in link:

http://onlineathens.com/stories/0111...80111049.shtml (http://onlineathens.com/stories/011108/news_20080111049.shtml)

[SeriouslySearching]

I don't know why they would be surprised to find her eyeglass in the park where she went missing. :waitasec: However, it tells me what an inadequate department they have investigating her disappearance since it took 2 weeks for some kid to find the glasses FOR them!!

If her glasses were tossed under a bush when they have proof they were on her face at 4:00 pm the day she was in the park and went missing...Isn't is a reasonable assumption she met with foul play of some sort?!

This woman isn't the whack job they first portrayed her to be, imo. She is intelligent and quite accomplished, in fact. This makes me very angry they only focused on the bipolar issue.
~
Bywater was a University of Georgia graduate student, enrolled in a master's of Internet technology program at UGA's Gwinnett College campus. She also had worked as a data management employee in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UGA spokesman Tom Jackson said.

~snip~

Still, Athens-Clarke police now have enlisted the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which assigned investigators to the case beginning Thursday, Sorrow said

http://onlineathens.com/stories/0111...80111049.shtml

Thank Goodness! In the same article, I see the GBI is joining the investigation. Would they be calling in the GBI if they didn't suspect a link to Hilton or think there was foul play? Something is cooking in Athens right now. I think there is a good possibility it has everything to do with GMH.

[Pharlap]

I never in my life have heard of so MANY ppl with bipolar....:eek:

[SeriouslySearching]

I think it is only coming to light more with certain behaviors (such as Brit S.) and people being more open to disclosing the condition. Bipolar does carry with it a stigma of irrational behavior etc.

[SuziQ]

That is great news about GBI.

[SeriouslySearching]

I agree as it appears they botched this case from the beginning. Crucial evidence probably is gone and my hope is they can still find something to tie her to her abductor.

[angelmom]

Just heard an update that they are pretty sure GMH was not involved in this one. The GBI has evidence he was somewhere else when Cayle disappeared. I wonder where and how firm this is.

No link b/c it was a radio report. Sorry.

[angelwngs]

http://findcayle.blogspot.com/

Shows photograph of her taken at the dog park in what she was last seen wearing the day she went missing...

[SuziQ]

http://www.cbs46.com/news/15026931/detail.html

(snip)
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has joined the search for a University of Georgia graduate student missing for nearly two weeks.

[DeltaDawn]

Just heard an update that they are pretty sure GMH was not involved in this one. The GBI has evidence he was somewhere else when Cayle disappeared. I wonder where and how firm this is.

No link b/c it was a radio report. Sorry.

I wonder how firm it is too..he would have had time to committ this murder, Dunlop's and Meredith's without any trouble. These areas are all very close. Dunlap was only a 5 hour drive away. I hope because they now suspect him in Dunlaps that they are not saying due to this he couldn't be involved in Cayle's..because that is not right time wise.

[SeriouslySearching]

I think they need to wait until they find evidence which rules out Hilton completely before they take him off the table on this one.

[cricket]

Body Of Missing UGA Student Found

POSTED: 6:23 pm EST January 11, 2008
UPDATED: 6:29 pm EST January 11, 2008


ATHENS, Ga. -- The body of missing UGA student Cayle Bywater has been found, police said.


Late Friday, divers found Bywater's body in a lake at Memorial Park off Milledge Avenue in Athens, police said.


The park is the last place Bywater had been seen.


Bywater disappeared on Dec. 29. Earlier this week, someone found her glasses near a garbage at the park, investigators said.

Link:
http://www.cbs46.com/news/15032979/detail.html

[close_enough]

i don't think Hilton had anything to do with this either....nothing was stolen..(wallet was at her home)...haven't heard anything about an ATM card being used either.....

[angelwngs]

http://onlineathens.com/stories/011108/news_bodyfound.shtml

snip~The white female found in the lake did not appear at first glance to have been the victim of violence, Clarke County Coroner Bobby Tribble said.
"There weren't any signs of obvious trauma," Tribble said.
GBI will conduct the autopsy Saturday, and should have results in "a day or two," Tribble said.
Athens-Clarke police called in the Hall County Sheriff's Department's 10-person dive team today to search the lake. Investigators already had dredged the lake last week, but wanted to check it again, although they had no specific reason to believe Bywater might be found there, Athens-Clarke police Maj. Mark Sizemore said.
"We were looking at expanding the search, and in order to do that, we had to eliminate everything in the park, including the lake," he said.
The dive team was "extremely helpful," Sizemore said.
GBI agents and a Georgia State Patrol helicopter also helped look for Bywater.
Authorities do not believe there was a link between the Bywater case and Gary Michael Hilton, a 61-year-old drifter who police say kidnapped and killed University of Georgia graduate Meredith Emerson earlier this month while she hiked in the North Georgia woods. They have not completely ruled out such a link, though.~~snip

More at link above for Athens Banner Herald.

[KR2tonenow]

http://onlineathens.com/stories/011108/news_bodyfound.shtml

snip~The white female found in the lake did not appear at first glance to have been the victim of violence, Clarke County Coroner Bobby Tribble said.
"There weren't any signs of obvious trauma," Tribble said.
GBI will conduct the autopsy Saturday, and should have results in "a day or two," Tribble said.
Athens-Clarke police called in the Hall County Sheriff's Department's 10-person dive team today to search the lake. Investigators already had dredged the lake last week, but wanted to check it again, although they had no specific reason to believe Bywater might be found there, Athens-Clarke police Maj. Mark Sizemore said.
"We were looking at expanding the search, and in order to do that, we had to eliminate everything in the park, including the lake," he said.
The dive team was "extremely helpful," Sizemore said.
GBI agents and a Georgia State Patrol helicopter also helped look for Bywater.
Authorities do not believe there was a link between the Bywater case and Gary Michael Hilton, a 61-year-old drifter who police say kidnapped and killed University of Georgia graduate Meredith Emerson earlier this month while she hiked in the North Georgia woods. They have not completely ruled out such a link, though.~~snip

More at link above for Athens Banner Herald.

Thanks for keeping us up to date
on Cayle, I guess she just walked in the lake after she threw her glasses out by the trashcan!!

[fran]

What a sad ending. I'm glad they at least found her.

Prayers for Cayle and her family and friends.

:(
fran

[SeriouslySearching]

Yes, I am glad they found her and sad it was such an ending. Now hopefully they will take some initiative to work her case and find out what happened to her.

According to that report, my guess is that the FBI or GBI came in and decided they need to redo the work of that PD. Good thing they second guessed em.

[SuziQ]

(snip)
Officials with Athens-Clarke Police said the state crime lab determined Bywater drowned.

Investigators are still awaiting results of a toxicology test. They say foul play is not suspected.

http://www.wxia.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=109455

[DeltaDawn]

Well, she was found in the water in a pond..but if she could swim, then I think someone helped her drown. Her glasses were found in the bushes which tome suggests a struggle took place. Who knows Hilton could have tried to take her for money or a bank card..finding neither he drowned her in the pond. Far fetched, yes..but stranger things have happened.

It appears to me her dog got loose while she was involved with the computer. She realized this and went to go get the dog. First thinking she would take the car, that's why her ID and wallet were there, then instead deciding to check the park on foot. Someone intercepted her and murdered her...people just don't drown in a pond on their own in the middle of January anywhere. I hope LE doesn't just write this off like it was a summer day, she went swimming and drowned. In my opinion that's not the case here.

[Angie4b1g]

people just don't drown in a pond on their own in the middle of January anywhere. I hope LE doesn't just write this off like it was a summer day, she went swimming and drowned. In my opinion that's not the case here.

I totally agree!!!

[KR2tonenow]

I totally agree!!!

Like I said, she just walked into the water and drowned...sounds pretty weak.

I wish they would look for more evidence.

[SuziQ]

Her mother issued a statement yesterday that she was confused, paraphraising, "why were her glasses over here, but she was in a pond over there?"

That's the question I have.

[SuziQ]

Also I saw some video of the search and the pond is shallow for at least a short distance in. No ice that I could see. We have people here drown all the time going after their dogs on iced over water. But it hasn't been that cold in Georgia has it?

[angelmom]

Also I saw some video of the search and the pond is shallow for at least a short distance in. No ice that I could see. We have people here drown all the time going after their dogs on iced over water. But it hasn't been that cold in Georgia has it?

Since Cayle disappeared we have had one cold spell where it was getting down into the teens, but mostly we have been having absolutely gorgeous, perfect weather. We were out in short sleeves all this week enjoying the sunny skies and temps in the mid 60s.

[SuziQ]

Since Cayle disappeared we have had one cold spell where it was getting down into the teens, but mostly we have been having absolutely gorgeous, perfect weather. We were out in short sleeves all this week enjoying the sunny skies and temps in the mid 60s.

Just what I thought. There was no way the pond froze over to allow Cayle to get into the deep part. Which brings me to my next questions. How deep is that pond? How far away were her glasses found?

[angelwngs]

Just what I thought. There was no way the pond froze over to allow Cayle to get into the deep part. Which brings me to my next questions. How deep is that pond? How far away were her glasses found?


Earlier today, I talked with my cousin and with my son and his girlfriend, all of whom have been to Memorial Park in Athens and have seen the bathroom area near where her glasses were found as well as the lake area. I asked if it would be easy or if they thought it probable that Cayle could have just slipped into the lake and drowned. All three said, "No". My cousin went as far as to suggest that the "lake" which she would refer to as really more of a large pond, probably was not even deep enough to be over waist deep at its deepest point. (her opinion)

If I remember correctly it was from reports from Cayle's website and online in the Athen's Banner Herald which suggested that relatives felt that, due to her Bipolar, maybe she could have become disoriented.

Look at the photograph of Cayle at the park with her dog, on her website, (link in an earlier post above) taken the day she went missing. There is an 'out of kilter look' or unusual body position as if she was startled or being pulled forward suddenly by her dog on the leash. It could have been simply a bad candid photo showing her in the background, or she was having issues with disorientation or possibly an unruly, un trained dog was leading her around the park, not the other way around.

At best, all of the above is based on only on opinion, which as we all know, everyone has one, so I'm not sure how valid it is.

[SuziQ]

Great info Angelwings. The photos of the divers indicate that they were able to stand up in the pond. The photo of Cayle is interesting for a couple of reasons. It shows the weather isn't bad. Cayle does look to be alarmed or in motion. She was in a playground. I highly doubt that playground is by the pond. Not sure yet where I'm going with that thought.

If Cayle was lucid enough to find her dog and put it on a leash. Then she was probably lucid enough not to wander into a pond, IMO. Very cute dog, BTW.

Another thought about the GMH connection. We know a misbehaving dog, especially one running loose, would be enough to cause GMH to react violently.

[fran]

I think at this point, we shouldn't necessarily rule him out on this case. Until it's proven he was in a 'different' county at the time, IMHO, he's still suspect for this case.

Look how many counties he traveled with Meredith!:(

JMHO
fran

[angelmom]

I don't think they should rule him out too soon either, but I understand why it looks unlikely that GMH killed Cayle. There are witnesses coming out of the woodwork who have seen GMH on the trails and near other crime locations, but not one yet who saw him near Athens.

Also, I would find it hard to believe that he could do a "soft kill" with Cayle when he was mentally in a place where he had just finished murdering and dismembering Cheryl Dunlap and only two days before he did the same to Meredith.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/13/athens0113.html?cxntlid=inform

"Investigators don't see any connection because there's no evidence that Hilton has been in Athens and there's no evidence of violence to her body," Clarke County coroner Bobby Tribble said. "There are no obvious signs of trauma."

[reportertype]

I don't think they should rule him out too soon either, but I understand why it looks unlikely that GMH killed Cayle. There are witnesses coming out of the woodwork who have seen GMH on the trails and near other crime locations, but not one yet who saw him near Athens.

Also, I would find it hard to believe that he could do a "soft kill" with Cayle when he was mentally in a place where he had just finished murdering and dismembering Cheryl Dunlap and only two days before he did the same to Meredith.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/13/athens0113.html?cxntlid=inform

"Investigators don't see any connection because there's no evidence that Hilton has been in Athens and there's no evidence of violence to her body," Clarke County coroner Bobby Tribble said. "There are no obvious signs of trauma."

I agree with you angelmom. I don't think this is GMH.

[SuziQ]

Something tells me this is foul play, but I'm not sure about it being GMH because of the proximity to the dates. However, it is obvious that GMH turned into a spree killer.