last night when i was flipping around tv i stopped on "without a trace" right when kaelin's poster came up during the commercial. kaelin's disappearance has bothered me since i first learned about it and i have read everything i could find since then. what strikes me as so sad is the lack of hope that she is alive. i hope they are proven wrong!
here is a pretty good sumamry of the case:
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/99/jan99/11999n1.htm
Teen was last to see Ruch girl
By JIM DAVIS
RUCH -- Police named a "person of interest" for the first time Monday in the case of a teenage girl who disappeared more than two years ago.
Billy Frank Simmons, 18, of Ruch, was the last known person to see Kaelin Glazier before she disappeared, and he has become the focus for the investigation, said Jackson County Sheriff's Lt. Dewey Patten.
"We think that there is more he could tell us that he hasn't told us," Patten said.
By naming Simmons, Patten said, investigators hope to jar loose some information on the case, which he said had become "stagnant."
Simmons, however, said he has answered investigators' questions over and over, and he said the investigation has become unfair.
"They've been hounding me on this for two years now," Simmons said. "I had nothing to do with it."
Kaelin Rose Glazier vanished on Nov. 6, 1996, after visiting Simmons at his grandparents' home at 100 Johnson Road in Ruch. Kaelin was 15 at the time and a sophomore at South Medford High School.
At first, Jackson County sheriff's deputies thought she might be a runaway.
But over time, deputies took the case more seriously, handing it over to sheriff's detectives and calling in the Jackson County Major Assault and Death Investigation unit.
During the past two years, police have made more than 460 contacts and interviews trying to find Kaelin, without success. Several fruitless searches were conducted in the area where she disappeared.
"The feeling is that she is the victim of foul play," Patten said. "Everybody has accepted that she is probably not alive."
In November, FBI Special Agent Shauna Carroll joined the investigation.
Patten said that Simmons has always been a "person of interest" because he was the last known person to see Kaelin.
Police issued a news release Monday asking for any information about Simmons or his mother, Barbara Simmons.
They're also looking for a car formerly owned by Barbara Simmons -- a gold 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Oregon license QEC 803. Patten said the car may hold evidence in the case, but it has been sold and police are trying to track it down.
On Monday afternoon, Simmons talked about the case at the home he shares with his mother in Ruch.
Simmons said he expected the sheriff's office to identify him because detectives have been subpoenaing all of his friends for a grand jury hearing in early February.
He said he had known Kaelin for about two years when she disappeared. She lived near his grandparents' home -- where he lived at the time -- and came over often.
"She came up every Wednesday night, just to hang out and smoke cigarettes," Simmons said. "She talked about school and her boyfriend."
On the night she disappeared, Simmons said he and Kaelin watched the movie "Heat."
He said another friend came over, visited and left. Kaelin left about 10 minutes after he did.
Simmons, who was a classmate of Kaelin's at South Medford High School before he dropped out, said Kaelin was a "goody-goody" person who wouldn't have run away from home.
"I think somebody abducted her," Simmons said. "She wasn't the type of person to run away."
He said police have targeted him because they don't have anywhere else to turn.
"They're just not smart enough to go anywhere else and find other leads," Simmons said.
Simmons said police are keeping tabs on him -- and he speculated they could be following him or tapping his phone.
He said detectives knew when he and some friends drank beer along a river recently.
"They know my whole life, they know my mom's whole life," Simmons said. "They know my friends' whole lives."
Simmons said he thinks police believe his mom's an accomplice.
"They've never told me that they would charge me," Simmons said. "The FBI lady -- she said that the federal penalty was 50 years and I would get that if I didn't admit it.
"Myself, I think they're a bunch of a-------."
He said police have spoken with him "probably over the past two years 100 times." He said he never asked that a lawyer be present because he said he didn't think he needed one.
"They keep asking me the same questions over and over," Simmons said. "Did I kill? Do I know where her body is?"
Patten said that was an exaggeration -- that police have spoken with Simmons about a dozen times.
He said investigators will use any avenue available to find Kaelin -- including naming Simmons.
Kimberly Cruz, Kaelin's mom, said she didn't want to talk about Monday's announcement.
"I don't want to mess up whatever their (the police) efforts are," Cruz said.
She said that handling her daughter's disappearance is not getting easier -- although she understands her daughter may be a victim of foul play.
"I have to assume that there is always a good chance that something happened to her," Cruz said. "I have always assumed that."
Anyone with any information on Kaelin's disappearance is asked to contact Crawford at 774-6815.
here is another link with different pictures of kaelin:
http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/glazier.html
and here is an interview with her mom:
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2000/december/122500n2.htm
here is a pretty good sumamry of the case:
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/99/jan99/11999n1.htm
Teen was last to see Ruch girl
By JIM DAVIS
RUCH -- Police named a "person of interest" for the first time Monday in the case of a teenage girl who disappeared more than two years ago.
Billy Frank Simmons, 18, of Ruch, was the last known person to see Kaelin Glazier before she disappeared, and he has become the focus for the investigation, said Jackson County Sheriff's Lt. Dewey Patten.
"We think that there is more he could tell us that he hasn't told us," Patten said.
By naming Simmons, Patten said, investigators hope to jar loose some information on the case, which he said had become "stagnant."
Simmons, however, said he has answered investigators' questions over and over, and he said the investigation has become unfair.
"They've been hounding me on this for two years now," Simmons said. "I had nothing to do with it."
Kaelin Rose Glazier vanished on Nov. 6, 1996, after visiting Simmons at his grandparents' home at 100 Johnson Road in Ruch. Kaelin was 15 at the time and a sophomore at South Medford High School.
At first, Jackson County sheriff's deputies thought she might be a runaway.
But over time, deputies took the case more seriously, handing it over to sheriff's detectives and calling in the Jackson County Major Assault and Death Investigation unit.
During the past two years, police have made more than 460 contacts and interviews trying to find Kaelin, without success. Several fruitless searches were conducted in the area where she disappeared.
"The feeling is that she is the victim of foul play," Patten said. "Everybody has accepted that she is probably not alive."
In November, FBI Special Agent Shauna Carroll joined the investigation.
Patten said that Simmons has always been a "person of interest" because he was the last known person to see Kaelin.
Police issued a news release Monday asking for any information about Simmons or his mother, Barbara Simmons.
They're also looking for a car formerly owned by Barbara Simmons -- a gold 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Oregon license QEC 803. Patten said the car may hold evidence in the case, but it has been sold and police are trying to track it down.
On Monday afternoon, Simmons talked about the case at the home he shares with his mother in Ruch.
Simmons said he expected the sheriff's office to identify him because detectives have been subpoenaing all of his friends for a grand jury hearing in early February.
He said he had known Kaelin for about two years when she disappeared. She lived near his grandparents' home -- where he lived at the time -- and came over often.
"She came up every Wednesday night, just to hang out and smoke cigarettes," Simmons said. "She talked about school and her boyfriend."
On the night she disappeared, Simmons said he and Kaelin watched the movie "Heat."
He said another friend came over, visited and left. Kaelin left about 10 minutes after he did.
Simmons, who was a classmate of Kaelin's at South Medford High School before he dropped out, said Kaelin was a "goody-goody" person who wouldn't have run away from home.
"I think somebody abducted her," Simmons said. "She wasn't the type of person to run away."
He said police have targeted him because they don't have anywhere else to turn.
"They're just not smart enough to go anywhere else and find other leads," Simmons said.
Simmons said police are keeping tabs on him -- and he speculated they could be following him or tapping his phone.
He said detectives knew when he and some friends drank beer along a river recently.
"They know my whole life, they know my mom's whole life," Simmons said. "They know my friends' whole lives."
Simmons said he thinks police believe his mom's an accomplice.
"They've never told me that they would charge me," Simmons said. "The FBI lady -- she said that the federal penalty was 50 years and I would get that if I didn't admit it.
"Myself, I think they're a bunch of a-------."
He said police have spoken with him "probably over the past two years 100 times." He said he never asked that a lawyer be present because he said he didn't think he needed one.
"They keep asking me the same questions over and over," Simmons said. "Did I kill? Do I know where her body is?"
Patten said that was an exaggeration -- that police have spoken with Simmons about a dozen times.
He said investigators will use any avenue available to find Kaelin -- including naming Simmons.
Kimberly Cruz, Kaelin's mom, said she didn't want to talk about Monday's announcement.
"I don't want to mess up whatever their (the police) efforts are," Cruz said.
She said that handling her daughter's disappearance is not getting easier -- although she understands her daughter may be a victim of foul play.
"I have to assume that there is always a good chance that something happened to her," Cruz said. "I have always assumed that."
Anyone with any information on Kaelin's disappearance is asked to contact Crawford at 774-6815.
here is another link with different pictures of kaelin:
http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/glazier.html
and here is an interview with her mom:
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2000/december/122500n2.htm
