Found Deceased TX - Leanne Bearden, 33, Garden Ridge, 17 Jan 2014 #11

[Elainera]

Reading even further into the Police Chief's tone (I know it's foolish, but just because I keep thinking about it...) it sounded to me like she was saddened and shaken, but not "shocked".

Yes I agree.

 

[mck16]

less than a mile.

Sorry that question was not clear. I meant from the house on the property where she was found. tia

 

[2Hope4]

What kind of trees does that area of Texas have? Are they mostly evergreens? Or trees that lose their leaves?

 

[Magdalyn]

Has it been reported that she hanged herself? I agree that the wording indicates probable suicide, but where are we getting that she was found hanging?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-body-of-missing-woman-leanne-bearden-found-in-texas/

Garden Ridge police confirmed the body was the 33-year-old Bearden at 3:45 p.m. Thursday after investigators said a man found her body in a wooded area behind his home at 12:18 p.m. KENS reports that her body was found hanging in a tree and is currently in the possession of Central Texas Autopsy in Lockhart, Texas.

 

[Denvergirl]

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but this CNN article says that the autopsy is expected to be completed Friday - today!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/us/texas-missing-woman/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

 

[mck16]

What kind of trees does that area of Texas have? Are they mostly evergreens? Or trees that lose their leaves?

Mostly scrub oak and mesquite. Maybe some cedars. Some trees just don't lose their leaves because it doesn't get cold enough. jmo

 

[cluciano63]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/us/texas-missing-woman/

Fairly early on, family was quoted as saying she was "extremely vulnerable" and that her "physical and mental state were uncertain".

IMO there must have been a reason for her to be spoken of as "extremely vulnerable" as that is not a usual thing to be said of someone who does not return from a walk, unless it is already known something was quite wrong, and that her mental state could be a factor.

JMO

 

[TxLady2]

This is exactly what I was going to post. I live about 3 miles from GR (I made the videos for the non locals) and it is so true about the weather. Us Texans are not built for cold weather so anything below 50 is REALLY cold for us and it's been in the 30's and below at night. We have had an unusually cold winter and just yesterday and today it has really started to get nice outside again. I don't know enough about human decomp to know whether the cold weather kept the stench away.

Ok I can't type anymore about this. It's just too...I don't know but I feel disrespectful for discussing this. Even though I know we all care for her and her family. But I personally feel very close to this case because it's in my backyard. I feel somewhat guilty for not searching more or helping more. I can't imagine what the family and searchers who searched that particular area are feeling....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've had days when it didn't get over 20 here. I'm in East Texas, and not far from where I live, they had snow. We had ice Tues. and yesterday it was in the mid-60's. This is why it hurts us, it's not consistent, it's warm one day and freezing the next. Tues, it was 18. Brrr! Weds. it was in the low 30's. Today it's 72, shirt sleeve weather. This has been an unusually cold winter and around the time Leanne went missing, it stayed pretty cold for a week or so, right? So the decomposition odor would probably have already passed by the time the weather warmed up recently. Too, if the homeowners lived at one end of the 2 acres, and she was at the other end, the smell would not be as noticeable because of the distance and the cold weather. We live on 4 acres, end to end, and I have had to follow my little dogs when they went exploring on the back of the property. It's a LONG way to walk and back.

 

[hockeymom4]

Maybe but that seems odd since she walked to the house around the corner to die??

If she walked for hours, Why would she go back there? She would have just gone to the closet place she ended up at.. KWIM?

Every story of suicide that I have heard of has been close to home. This was her home for the time being. I have known people to drive near their child home. I believe the logic is that when searches are set up, they are typically done within that perimeter. It makes perfect sense that she would go back near the home. If she was hours spa way, it would have taken them long to find her. When someone commits suicide they typically want to be found.

 

[Starry Night]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/us/texas-missing-woman/

Fairly early on, family was quoted as saying she was "extremely vulnerable" and that her "physical and mental state were uncertain".

IMO there must have been a reason for her to be spoken of as "extremely vulnerable" as that is not a usual thing to be said of someone who does not return from a walk, unless it is already known something was quite wrong, and that her mental state could be a factor.

JMO

No Clue. You assume much-maybe no-one knows how much (if any) duress she may have been in.

 

[ktgirl]

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

To most, they find living unbearable and some feel that they are a burden to their family. Even though it will shock the family and cause them pain and suffering, the suicidal person feels that will pass, eventually, and their family will go on. They just want and need their own pain to go away, and if medication or counseling has not helped them, then there is only one way out. The desire to end their suffering is so much greater than the knowledge that it will hurt so many people. It is very hard for most of us to understand suicidal people. In most cases, there is little or no warning, no signs that are so obvious they can't be overlooked. I have a suicidal family member. I watch for signs, but you cannot prevent it if they are determined. They will find a way. And some of them make several attempts which are caught in time, yet eventually they get it right. All I can do is pray and keep watching.

Hard truth to hear for most of us, I am sure, but it is what it is. It's pointless to say, "Oh, she was such a happy person, loved everybody, enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest... she would NEVER do such a thing!" We do not know the demons in other peoples' heads, and we are not meant to know, because if we did, we would hogtie our family member and never let them out of our sight. We cannot do that... we just have to be on guard. Sometimes the ones we think we know best... we do not know at all.

Sometimes depression/suicidal thoughts are not temporary problems. For some, depression & other mental illnesses are chronic, persistent, and terminal. Mental illness is like any other chronic illness.

People who kill themselves are generally not just going through a bout of depression. People who kill themselves usually have suffered long-term, chronic depression. Sometimes it is in "remission" so to speak. Or sometimes they just act happy. Sometimes they think acting happy will make them happy. It is not a character flaw or an inability to see that things will get better, but a real medical problem within their brains, like having a problem with your kidneys, lungs, or any other organ. And if you suffer from chronic depression, things may never get better and you know that, because you've been suffering through it for years.

For some, mental illness is a terminal disease. A suicide because of mental illness is no different from dying from cancer or another disease. People with mental illness have brains that are sick. Sometimes that sickness kills them. If Leanne was severely depressed/suffering from mental illness, it was not reallY Leanne that ended her life. Mental illness ended her life.

I am sorry about your relative. You are right that families cannot do anything/everything to stop someone who is so mentally ill, just like I could not cure a family member's lymphoma that killed him this year. But please know....for many of us that suffer from chronic long-term depression, there is nothing "temporary" about it. There may be years of happiness then years of deep suffering. You live in fear that the suffering will return. Even if we go in remission (so to speak) or manage it, it's always there, lurking in the background - an illness threatening to return to make your brain sick. There's nothing truly "temporary" about this suffering.

 

[Thespyma]

There was very cold weather right after she went missing. (Like highs hovering around freezing. Perhaps, that slowed the process.) People don't go out much when it's that cold in Texas, and there was precipitation. My theory, is that they are just now going back there, because it just getting warm again. I know I just went in my yard today, and it was the first time in over a month.

The cold spells in Texas were simply not cold enough to arrest decomp. It had been warm enough and the scent would have been detectable even to humans. The dogs should have been able to smell for sure.
Here is all the actual temps in San Antonio for January-
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-antonio-tx/78205/january-weather/351198

It was just not cold enough even if it seemed to be.

 

[mck16]

We've had days when it didn't get over 20 here. I'm in East Texas, and not far from where I live, they had snow. We had ice Tues. and yesterday it was in the mid-60's. This is why it hurts us, it's not consistent, it's warm one day and freezing the next. Tues, it was 18. Brrr! Weds. it was in the low 30's. Today it's 72, shirt sleeve weather. This has been an unusually cold winter and around the time Leanne went missing, it stayed pretty cold for a week or so, right? So the decomposition odor would probably have already passed by the time the weather warmed up recently. Too, if the homeowners lived at one end of the 2 acres, and she was at the other end, the smell would not be as noticeable because of the distance and the cold weather. We live on 4 acres, end to end, and I have had to follow my little dogs when they went exploring on the back of the property. It's a LONG way to walk and back.

Also I read the homeowners were in their 70's. I also live in E. Texas and do not even go in the area behind me. It is all woods and that is okay, but I am afraid of snakes especially with the recent warm weather. In SA they have rattlesnakes along with all the other kind I just worry about copperheads. jmo

 

[blue22]

Sometimes depression/suicidal thoughts are not temporary problems. For some, depression & other mental illnesses are chronic, persistent, and terminal. Mental illness is like any other chronic illness.

People who kill themselves are generally not just doing through a bout of depression. People who kill themselves usually have suffered long-term, chronic depression. Sometimes it is in "remission" so to speak. Or sometimes they just act happy. Sometimes they think acting happy will make them happy. It is not a character flaw or an inability to see that things will get better, but a real medical problem within their brains, like having a problem with your kidneys, lungs, or any other organ. And if you suffer from chronic depression, things may never get better and you know that, because you've been suffering through it for years.

For some, mental illness is a terminal disease. A suicide because of mental illness is no different from dying from cancer or another disease. People with mental illness have brains that are sick. Sometimes that sickness kills them. If Leanne was severely depressed/suffering from mental illness, it was not reall Leanne that ended her life. Mental illness ended her life.

I am sorry about your relative. You are right that families cannot do anything/everything to stop someone who is so mentally ill, just like I could not cure a family member's lymphoma that killed him this year. But please know....for many of us that suffer from chronic long-term depression, there is nothing "temporary" about it. There may be years of happiness then years of deep suffering. You live in fear that the suffering will return. Even if we go in remission (so to speak) or manage it, it's always there, lurking in the background - an illness threatening to return to make your brain sick. There's nothing truly "temporary" about this suffering.

I agree. I think it's also to note, that one doesn't have to be "sad" to be depressed. Mental health issues are deep in my mother's side of the family. My mother and sister both have struggled their whole life. My sister will tell you she can actually be in a happy period in her life and still deal with dark thoughts. Sometimes she will tell me, "I am depressed, but I'm not sad." It's very complicated, because it can be hard to articulate a feeling or internal darkness.

 

[BeanieBod]

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is be kind with your words. They can come across as unintentionally harsh via the written word, since inflection is not present.
JMO

~snip~

Words can be so misunderstood as ?Mark says. As a group we must be mindful of others. We may be right OR we may be wrong but we have to move on from pettiness. Words can harm.

 

[ahintexas]

Sorry that question was not clear. I meant from the house on the property where she was found. tia

gotcha.

 

[poppyfrock]

My best friend died by suicide four years ago. Almost 5 years now. She hanged herself. Everyone was aware that she had some psychiatric issues and suffered from depression, but none of us knew she was suicidal or saw it coming. We were shocked when we found out. Also, I didn't believe she killed herself at first. I even went so far as to go to the police station and insist to them that she didn't do it to herself, but that someone else did it to her. I think it's a common reaction. You do not want to be angry at or blame the person you are grieving for so you look for someone else to blame.

I finally had to face the truth she did it herself when a note was found. The police also did a very thorough investigation to make sure it was suicide. I hope the police there in Leanne's town do the same. I am still sad and miss my friend so much. I am so sad that some of the most beautiful people on earth hurt so much they feel they can only get relief from death. I don't know if Leanne did this herself or not. I hope a very thorough investigation is done. I am sorry for everyone here who lost a loved one to suicide. I think suicide is the hardest type of death to deal with besides murder. I have lost family members to disease and old age and it hurt excruciatingly, but the suicide was the hardest on me. It wasn't that I didn't grieve my other loved ones deaths. I did. But the suicide death really does a number on the survivors.

Love and hugs to everyone here and for Leanne's family.

 

[blue22]

The cold spells in Texas were simply not cold enough to arrest decomp. It had been warm enough and the scent would have been detectable even to humans. The dogs should have been able to smell for sure.
Here is all the actual temps in San Antonio for January-
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/san-antonio-tx/78205/january-weather/351198

It was just not cold enough even if it seemed to be.

Those temperatures are not accurate. I know for a fact they are wildly incorrect. It snowed on a day that says was in the 60s. We tend to keep watch of the weather when it's very cold here.

 

[Elainera]

She was found in a person's yard. The property was just over 2 acres ( not huge, but not tiny) with several stands of bamboo, a pool and three small buildings out back. If she had been there since the day she went missing, how could the decomposition not be detected? I once had a neighbor (also a friend) who no one had seen for three days and we thought he was away. The scent THROUGH HIS WALLS, across a yard and THROUGH MY WALLS was strong and distinct. His body was found in a back bedroom. I find it extremely difficult to believe an adult human being could not be detected by scent, not just by dogs but by neighbors, for this long. The scent is not the same as a deer or dog or cat. It is distinct. If she did do this herself, when did it happen and why was there no strong scent?

bbm - could it be that she was hiding out in that building or one of the sheds for a while?

How were the temps after the cold spell in the first week?

But how many would truly think to look UP in the trees?

Do we know she was UP in a tree? Maybe she hang from a lower branch barely above ground, easy to see without looking up.

 

[PLT]

I haven't had a chance to read all the posts on this thread, but some things popped in my head that Josh said early on....for instance, he was asking property owners that had a lot of acres to please check their property. There are more things too, but does anyone remember that??

I do - I believe it was on the FB page and maybe mentioned in an article. I assumed he meant if someone hid her or if had fallen hurt....