TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #5

[KathyJ]

If you cannot link to a site from WS, then you shouldnt mention it at all. It is considered to be "baiting" which is against our TOS.

Thanks! I will try not to do that anymore.

 

[Pearl*]

I think the Ace (assuming Ace hardware?) store stop is odd. Was she made to procure something that could be used against her if she didn't comply?

That's what I've been thinking ever since I read that detail.

As for the witness giving a more complete description... I think the female could have been anybody. And I'm not thinking a sister or a friend. The whole thing is sounding more sinister by the day.

And the way things are going, I'm afraid all possible witnesses are going to clam up, and honestly I can't blame them. I don't think the tip about the witness was given to the media by LE, and back to what believe09 said a few days ago...the well-meaning bystanders may be doing more damage than helping. At the very least, I think any and all future tips to the media should come from law enforcement!

Bluntly, I think people are being put in danger by tipsters. And the tipsters, while having the best of intentions, are compromising the investigation.

Why is Carol doing media interviews I guess I would ask? Here's hoping LE approved.

I think if that had been the case, all the stations would have had the story. And then there's the curious lead on the WDEF newscast tonight.

My impression is that the WDEF report may be a backpedaling attempt. The information was much less complete than in the Chattanoogan article, and the details were very much minimized in comparison.

It's obvious to me that this woman has been scared between yesterday's publication and today's newscast.

 

[believe09]

I wonder if C called law enforcement about the vehicle? Because unless MP has set his PI upon her, it could be LE themselves perhaps. I am sure she was told to write down make, model and lic plate.

*shrug* I was involved in another case where we believed a PI for the adversarial side followed a material witness around until he found something he believed to be incriminating regarding her. I am assuming this was an attempt to discredit her.

 

[Emeralgem]

I am with you on that one. Now to analyze it. If that was me sure I would come forward with what I saw, maybe thinking should I do this or not get involved. But I still think I would do it but right off the bat would have kept myself in the dark of my name and all that. Of course we don't always think that right away when we are making a statement. Now her name is out there and she is scared--which will now make it difficult for anyone else to come forward.

The one thing I have to say is I am seeing alot of this on other sites where names are being named and all that. NOT GOOD! Not good for the investigation and not good for the witness. Even going as far to try and find a picture of TH to put up so everyone knows her.

Don't get me wrong here, I have no idea what her involvement is in this except the fact that she had an affair, that is all we know. Yes that is wrong we all know that but it happens everyday and that is not a crime.
To put her pic out there for all to see? If the only thing she has done wrong here is have an affair with a married man well outing her like that is not right.
It's like a witch hunt. When we should all be focusing on the hunt for Gail.

These are times when the internet is such a downfall for situations like this.
What is it they say...sometimes too much information is NOT a good thing.:twocents:

For the record I've never suggested her picture should be put out there for the world to see, however I do hope LE knows what she looks like and does have a picture of her.. IMO LE needs to find out IF she is the woman who was with Gail on the 30th of April..JMHO..

 

[Pearl*]

I completely read over this paragraph, toward the end of yesterday's Chattanoogan article:

"On a recent visit there they were stopped by an individual she said was acting very nervous and was questioning them on whether they had seen the police. She said she was especially apprehensive when the passenger in the vehicle also got out and came up toward them."

http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_203258.asp

Okay, now my reading of the article is that this happened after Gail's disappearance, after the recent jeep ramming incident at Big Fork that resulted in the death of three people and criminal charges against another, and after a separate truck-burning incident reported by somebody who went 4-wheeling and returned to find his truck destroyed (possibly the stolen truck recently in the news as being burned by Meeks). http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/09/james-t-meeks-iii-face-charges-theft-vehicle-burni/

So what's with the TWO individuals who apparently stopped Coppinger on this trip to Big Fork? They even got out of the vehicle, or at least the passenger got out? And this wasn't Gail and wasn't the dark-haired woman. Right? Coppinger would have to have gotten a good look at these two.

 

[almino]

I completely read over this paragraph, toward the end of yesterday's Chattanoogan article:

"On a recent visit there they were stopped by an individual she said was acting very nervous and was questioning them on whether they had seen the police. She said she was especially apprehensive when the passenger in the vehicle also got out and came up toward them."

http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_203258.asp

Okay, now my reading of the article is that this happened after Gail's disappearance, after the recent jeep ramming incident at Big Fork that resulted in the death of three people and criminal charges against another, and after a separate truck-burning incident reported by somebody who went 4-wheeling and returned to find his truck destroyed (possibly the stolen truck recently in the news as being burned by Meeks). http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/09/james-t-meeks-iii-face-charges-theft-vehicle-burni/

So what's with the TWO individuals who apparently stopped Coppinger on this trip to Big Fork? They even got out of the vehicle, or at least the passenger got out? And this wasn't Gail and wasn't the dark-haired woman. Right? Coppinger would have to have gotten a good look at these two.

When I read this article, I took the latter story about a nervous person asking about police to be a completely separate incident. I understood it to mean she was simply emphasizing how remote this area is, especially when you encounter strange situations.

 

[Pearl*]

When I read this article, I took the latter story about a nervous person asking about police to be a completely separate incident. I understood it to mean she was simply emphasizing how remote this area is, especially when you encounter strange situations.

I'm reading it as a separate incident as well, but I'm wondering if it relates to any of the earlier incidents, especially if it was after the others.

 

[JBean]

I am trying to put myself in her shoes with the information that we have. First thought is, yes give the paperwork to someone so you know it will be safe and not found, and that could be the only reason she did it. I can't help but wonder if she knew something was up or possibly something was going to happen to her. A gut feeling anything like that so she MADE SURE those papers were safe and at someone else's house.

Now no two people are alike, I would have kept copies with me and with someone else. I don't know if she did that or not. I just have this gut feeling she feared for something and I don't know what that fear was and that is why she gave the paperwork to someone to hold. I thought I also read awhile back that she had given other items or paperwork to other friends as well. Why? Why not just keep all the items and paperwork with that one person you trust.

If your holding onto the paperwork yourself, yes you run the risk of being called out. If someone else holds the paperwork for you, it can't be destroyed upon your disappearance by someone--therefore no one would ever know the secrets that you kept..........

well there was a picture of the dispatch screen early on that showed that when one of her friends called in they said they were given items "in case something happened to her"
I have no doubt in my mind that she thought something was going to happen to her. Maybe she is the woman that knew too much or maybe she overheard someone plotting against her or perhaps she was out and out threatened.
Of course I have no idea by whom or why.

 

[redfish]

Gail was taking some smart steps. I have been hoping that some of this information is in the hands of an attorney. Didn't I hear that she had hired her own PI? If this is true then the LE agency has the information that he has/had. Either one of those contacts would have come forward right away. This is one of the reasons I have had complete confidence LE was on top of things. Until this last tip exposure I was holding out on her being safe somewhere. My hopes are fading.
moo

 

[Columbo]

When I read this article, I took the latter story about a nervous person asking about police to be a completely separate incident. I understood it to mean she was simply emphasizing how remote this area is, especially when you encounter strange situations.

Does anyone know what type of activities go on down in this area? Are there homeless people, drug deals, drug use, prostitution or ??? Is it possible that LE has been down there looking around for Gail, and these shady types who hang out there saw the police and now are nervous about a police presence there? Thus--the person asking C if she saw LE around?

 

[Pearl*]

Does anyone know what type of activities go on down in this area? Are there homeless people, drug deals, drug use, prostitution or ??? Is it possible that LE has been down there looking around for Gail, and these shady types who hang out there saw the police and now are nervous about a police presence there? Thus--the person asking C if she saw LE around?

Drugs and violence. Yes, I'm thinking what you're thinking.

 

[Emeralgem]

Does anyone know what type of activities go on down in this area? Are there homeless people, drug deals, drug use, prostitution or ??? Is it possible that LE has been down there looking around for Gail, and these shady types who hang out there saw the police and now are nervous about a police presence there? Thus--the person asking C if she saw LE around?

Who knows?
Here is some information about Prentice Cooper..

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/forestry/stateforest07.html

 

[Columbo]

Who knows?
Here is some information about Prentice Cooper..

http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/forestry/stateforest07.html

bolded by me.

I thought possibly there was a local who might have some information.

The picture is so lovely and the description of course, gives no hint that anything goes wrong in the park (state forest).

 

[Emeralgem]

bolded by me.

I thought possibly there was a local who might have some information.

The picture is so lovely and the description of course, gives no hint that anything goes wrong in the park (state forest).

I know people, camp, bike, fish and hunt there and there are hiking trails.. I would imagine it's also pitch black up there at night time unless someone has a flashlight or a lantern or someone has a campfire going..I would think there would be rangers on the premises too, but what do I know?

 

[glorias]

snipped and BBM...

Chattanooga's local CBS station, WDEF-TV led their 6:00 newscast with the story of Carol, a Marion County woman, saying she had seen Gail at 3:00 p.m. near the Big Fork/Insurance Bluff area the day she went missing. Carol, who gave only her first name, said she didn't want to further identify herself because she has seen a suspicious car near her house.

Oh my gosh, that is terrible. I know her last name is already out there because it was used a couple days ago in the first news article we saw on this. I made a comment about wondering why she didn't call the police the second she saw Gail, and now I feel bad because clearly there is something very scary going on.

However, the WDEF article today clearly states that this sighting probably means Gail just left her husband, and that makes me kind of irritated. I don't think it means any such thing, in fact it sounds like the opposite.

 

[confused]

I wonder if C called law enforcement about the vehicle? Because unless MP has set his PI upon her, it could be LE themselves perhaps. I am sure she was told to write down make, model and lic plate.

My thinking is that the LE told C to stop talking...then she started thinking about it and realized that maybe she could be endangering herself by talking-I would assume that suddenly she was getting a lot of attention. I would guess that the strange car could be anyone, the LE, a PI (his or hers), AD, a random car that passed just as she realized that her name had been released, just about anyone.

 

[glorias]

And the way things are going, I'm afraid all possible witnesses are going to clam up, and honestly I can't blame them. I don't think the tip about the witness was given to the media by LE, and back to what believe09 said a few days ago...the well-meaning bystanders may be doing more damage than helping. At the very least, I think any and all future tips to the media should come from law enforcement!

Bluntly, I think people are being put in danger by tipsters. And the tipsters, while having the best of intentions, are compromising the investigation.

C, if I recall correctly, said that when she did finally call LE about seeing someone matching Gail's description that no one returned her message. She had to call a friend in LE to contact someone for her, and when the detectives accompanied her out to the trails, they were surprised that the site was so isolated. So I can very much see why C and others were frustrated with LE, and you know how it is on TV and in movies -- people run to the media to get their story out, it's publicized, and everything works out just fine. Sadly, real life isn't like that, and now things may have really gotten out of control. It's the old saying about putting a genie back in the bottle, really. I feel badly for everyone involved, because while I'm sure some people were thinking (consciously or not) about publicity or intrigue, most seem to be all about finding Gail and wanting to help.

 

[glorias]

That's right--almino said body frame and hair color...I was thinking more of distinguishing features, especially facial features. But the hair color might not be relevant because she could have been wearing a wig.

I guess everyone is certain that the passenger with the dark hair was indeed a woman and not a man in disguise? I do think there was a second person involved and it definitely was a man, though.

C said the person was 120-140 pounds, I believe (my computer is on the fritz so I can't get to my notes) and short, which would point more to female body build than male. Could still be a young man though.

 

[redfish]

C, if I recall correctly, said that when she did finally call LE about seeing someone matching Gail's description that no one returned her message. She had to call a friend in LE to contact someone for her, and when the detectives accompanied her out to the trails, they were surprised that the site was so isolated. So I can very much see why C and others were frustrated with LE, and you know how it is on TV and in movies -- people run to the media to get their story out, it's publicized, and everything works out just fine. Sadly, real life isn't like that, and now things may have really gotten out of control. It's the old saying about putting a genie back in the bottle, really. I feel badly for everyone involved, because while I'm sure some people were thinking (consciously or not) about publicity or intrigue, most seem to be all about finding Gail and wanting to help.

The department that was called was in a different county as I recall. Yep, we tend to forget this isn't at all like the tv and movies. It is so hard when we are not given the answers quickly. I get so impatient.

 

[F. Lee]

Prentice Cooper is an absolutely gorgeous area -- almost 25,000 acres I believe. Many Signal Mountain residents live in houses with views that look down from the top of the forest, looking over toward other mountains and down toward the Tennessee River. It's a popular destination for many hikers, backpackers, off-roaders and in certain areas family picnics. Preppy and Yuppie happily mixing with the Granola Crunchy.

However, like most large areas (parks or cities) there are places locals are aware of and don't dare go. This remote area, where roads are sometimes ruts and dangerous to drive, is not a destination spot -- it's known for being a very tough area where one can drive up on a drug deal or worse. Think Deliverance.

There isn't much of a Ranger/LE presence in PCooper probably due to budget cuts and such a large area. I think that until now most people would be surprised to happen upon LE there.