With the length of time she has been missing, this is not going to end well.
I fear it
With the length of time she has been missing, this is not going to end well.
I hope this doesn't seem insensitive...
But the movie Single White Female keeps flashing through my mind.
Photos of J from a while back show a mousy headed woman with frumpy clothes and glasses. Flash forward to recent photos, and you see a platinum blonde with a lot of make-up on, revealing clothes, and glasses gone. She looks wasted in a lot of the more recent photos.
I'm not going to post any more of my suspicions right now...but something is up with J. Lawyering up immediately after Beth went missing--she has to know that the train story comes across as bogus.
I think police need to get a warrant, search the house and the property in Mt. Vernon, and I think that J and boyfriend should be brought in for some serious questioning. The train story does NOT hold water.
There is no way that Beth got on a train, or even decided to get on a train, without first making arrangements with her husband.
Something is up in this story, and I don't think that the conclusion is going to be very good.
I fear it
I agree she was never taking a train. Something happened before and more than likely at the house she was visiting.
Does anybody know, does LE scan through these posts? I don't know where their investigation might be taking them. Publicly, they keep talking about the train, which I think is just a diversion personally, and also that it's a "tough case." How can someone point them in a possible direction? I have no experience with any of this.
I wasn't familiar with Centralia either... though a google map search shows it is a 'far east'? or a suburb direct east of St. Louis.
I agree Chili. I think something happened to Beth before 6 PM and probably not in Centralia. Just thought a picture of the station and confirmation about the train station and schedule might help make things clearer for some.
If Beth had over an hour to wait for the train I think she would have found someplace to have something to eat and sit down inside. At any rate it would have been broad daylight between 4:30 and 6:00 PM. And nobody saw her in that 90 minute period?
Bob
My first impulsive reaction to the situation was that maybe she was asked to participate in something sexual at the house in Mt. Vernon, and she refused.
J seems to be obsessed with her. Seems like everything that Beth "likes" on FB, J "likes" too. Almost every post that isn't farmville related is somehow about Beth. I wonder if J is jealous of Beth's marriage, Beth's other friends, and such.
JMO, MOO, ETC.
Yes, the article that metions St. Louis is incorrect. There is a Union Station in St. Louis I believe, and the writer being from down in that area assumed that was the Union Station rather than the correct one in Chicago.
It is my pleasure to help clarify some of this info. It's a bit of a mess at the moment. The early info was sketchy on certain things, but in an effort to get the word out that Beth is missing, we had to go with what we had and unfortunately now it is propagated all over in different versions.
The 3 best pieces of information in the media right now are the Northwest Herald article dated June 2, the ABC 7 video/story from June 3 (which aired as the top story on the 5 PM news that day also), and the CNN AC360° blog article all have the best factual information at this point. A few small things are wrong, such as her son's last name, her son being called a step-son, a couple details like that. The most pertinent details are correct in those and I am happy to post links at your request (the links are on bethismissing.com also). I am happy to answer any questions I am able to. I love Beth, I miss her and I feel an enormous sense of sorrow right now that I am trying to channel into helping find her in any way I can.
Welcome to WS, radiant, and I too am sorry for your present worries.
The Union Station in St Louis is no longer a train station, it is a mall and hotel complex. The Amtrak in St. Louis kind of looks like a mobil home, LOL.
St Louis is the major city and the the newspaper does cover the region. Getting the word out through the St. Louis media is good, many people get the St. Louis paper and television.
I am so sorry about your friend being missing. Beth sounds like someone it would be great to know and I have you all in my prayers.
I fear it
FACTSHEET
Beth was born 12 Feb. 1969
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5252408&postcount=212
Last seen May 23 at the Centralia Amtrak station to catch the 6:08 p.m train to Chicago.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20006419-504083.html
Scott Bentley said the last time he spoke to her was about 4 p.m. May 2
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/04/r_idiycdcasr6nuwv_ej2qw/index.xml
Beth and a female friend traveled to the Centralia area May 20 in a rented car
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/04/r_idiycdcasr6nuwv_ej2qw/index.xml
The friend places her at the station, Woodstock Police Chief Robert Lowen said.
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2010/06/04/r_idiycdcasr6nuwv_ej2qw/index.xml
The friend says she was driven to the station around 4:30 p.m. in a 2009 White Nissan Altima.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/DB9C7A6D449BC98C86257738006B7632?OpenDocument
missing persons report- filed by husband on Monday, May 24
http://register-news.com/local/x1174317299/Search-continues-for-missing-woman
Scott Bentley says Beth never mentioned taking a train back. (on ABC video)
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7477571
According to family friend Angela Montgomery....The 41-year-old mother of three was expected to be back at her home Sunday, May 23, called her husband to report her friend wanted to stay an extra day, and the couple made arrangements for Bentley to get on a late afternoon train in Centralia
http://register-news.com/local/x1174317299/Search-continues-for-missing-woman
Beth has been married to Scott for five years.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5251940&postcount=183
Good compilation. All looks correct except your second to last link. That article is supposedly wrong according to Angela. When I read it I was really confused because if conflicts with Scott's info. Angela told me her words were "sculpted" into that from something she told them that may have been not exactly clear. To reiterate, Both Scott and Angela say that there was no plan for Beth to be taking a train home. Scott was never told by Beth that she would be taking a train.
Thank you so much, radiant! This was making my head spin around. I've removed the link from my posting above here and feel the case is much more straightforward, now that is cleared up.Good compilation. All looks correct except your second to last link. That article is supposedly wrong according to Angela. When I read it I was really confused because if conflicts with Scott's info. Angela told me her words were "sculpted" into that from something she told them that may have been not exactly clear. To reiterate, Both Scott and Angela say that there was no plan for Beth to be taking a train home. Scott was never told by Beth that she would be taking a train.
That, to me, is the clincher.
From everything I've read, Beth was very close to her husband and her friends, and always texting or on the phone with them.
I cannot imagine her sitting at a train platform for an hour or more, waiting for a train to arrive, and not texting ANYONE to tell them where she was. Just doesn't fit with her normal behavior.
I think that any search for Beth needs to begin at the Mt. Vernon house and radiate outward. I do not believe that she ever went to Centralia.
Radiant, if you don't mind me asking...
Where did Beth and J rent the Altima? Did J contact the rental place and let them know that she would be returning it a day late? Was it returned on the 24th? Has LE looked at the car?
I am so glad that you joined WS. I really hope that Beth is found and all ends well. If so, then she needs to cut J right out of her life. What kind of a friend would treat her "best friend" the way that J has treated Beth?
The Union Station in St Louis is no longer a train station, it is a mall and hotel complex. The Amtrak in St. Louis kind of looks like a mobil home, LOL.
St Louis is the major city and the the newspaper does cover the region. Getting the word out through the St. Louis media is good, many people get the St. Louis paper and television.
I am so sorry about your friend being missing. Beth sounds like someone it would be great to know and I have you all in my prayers.