FL FL - Thomas Stump, 41, Summerland Key, 24 July 1995

I have searched to see if there is a thread about these two and can't find one but that doesn't mean there isn't. If there is, show me the way and I will delete this one.
I am not sure if these two people are connected or not but certainly many of the same people are involved in both their disappearences. It is a pretty complex mystery with a lot of different people involved and what looks to be a pretty extensive cover-up. The Real Crimes board has tons of posts from Tom's mother, Diana daughter, Tom's ex-wife who is heavily thought of to have been involved in his disappearence and various friends, etc. Pretty interesting stuff.

Tom and Diana's MySpace Page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=70566698

The message board at Realcrime.com
http://www.realcrimes.com/case2/comments.php?order=ASC

Local KeyLargo Website:
http://www.keylargokey.com/beckerplacemark.htm

Diana Harris/Tom Stump Website
http://www.geocities.com/HelpFindDiana/

Diana Harris website
http://christine.pnn.com/1032-diana-harris-disappeared-florida-1981

If there is interest (and this isn't all posted elsewhere) I will email Rose Stump(Tom's mother) and see if she would like to join us to talk about her son's disappearence. Judging from how active she is at other forums she seems like she would be interested.

Here are the CharleyProject links for both:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/stump_thomas.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/harris_diana.html

I've exchanged some messages with Diana's daughter on the myspace account...she seems like a really nice person and very dedicated to her search for answers. Maybe she would like to join us here as well.

Gina_M said:

I've exchanged some messages with Diana's daughter on the myspace account...she seems like a really nice person and very dedicated to her search for answers. Maybe she would like to join us here as well.

Click to expand...

I'd welcome her to join.

Thank you for posting this, I found it very interesting. It angers me that Bernie and Bill have gotten away with it.

A question were the woods ever searched , I am wondering if Tom hid anything in the woods because he feared for his life. Is it possible he hid a gun with some evidence he had that he thought would protect him? I also wonder that day Tom left if someone was with him and he left so his daughters wouldn't witness it.

I would like to see both daughter's take a polygraph to see who is telling the truth.

The phone records bother me too, obviously someone is hiding something. Why couldn't they subpoena and show those records for that time.

Why doesn't Tom's mother do a wrongful death suit against Bernie and Becker? Would this not entitle her lawyer to subpoena those records.

Just thinking out loud.

From everything I have read about this I am pretty sure they searched the woods extensively looking for his body. One daughter said she saw him go into the woods, another said he left in a car.....obviously someone is not telling the truth. I can't understand if the daughters were knowingly lying at the time or if they were just doing what mommy told them too and neither of them saw where their dad went. I find it hard to believe they would both know more about their father's disappearence and never come forward.
I think as far as phone records, subpoena's etc, wrongful death suits it is a road to nowhere because of Becker's standing in the community. Apparently he has some influential friends, lawyers, etc and has some sway. Also, the LE basically decided Tom committed suicide and hasn't really pursued it very thoroughly. Bernie is really defensive and aggressive and I have a feeling the LE would prefer to just not deal with her.

Remember that Becker, Bernie and his lawyer friend all knew Diana Harris and the lawyer has insinuated to investigator's he knew what happened to Diana.
According to one of those websites Becker is going to be on that new TV show, The Moment of Truth. I am going to look into this and see if it is really true and if it is and the show hasn't taped I am going to email the producers and let them know about Becker. Maybe they can through in some questions about certain people's disappearences. Wouldn't that make interesting television viewing?

I will email Christine and Rose and tell them there is a thread about Tom and Diana and hopefully they will come join us.

Thanks!

Hello,

I am the daughter of missing person, Diana Lynn Harris.
I'd love to hear more about how a polygraph works. Bernie's test lasted under 5 minutes, as well as Mark Ripin's. Bill Becker's lasted just over 5 minutes. These test were done many years after Tom disappeared, I think it was 8 years later. Seems if being questioned about a man's disappearance/murder the test would have been much longer than 5 minutes. Does it make a difference in accuracy when waiting this long? 8 Years is a long time to prepare for something that I'm sure was expected to happen at some point. It should have happened right away!! There were plenty of suspicions surrounding Tom's case right from the start.

His wife, Bernie and her ex-husband Mark Ripin both lived with my Mom when she disappeared in 81. Bernie lived with Tom when he disappeared in 95, and then Mark helps in the search for Tom. Bernie Pays Mark big money to sit in the woods, for what, I do not know. Did Bernie also hire Manny Puig? If so for what, to look for Tom? I think that Manny turned her offer down. The details in this we do not know for sure. There are many unanswered questions in both cases. I believe that Bernie being married to Tom for so long must have mentioned my Mom's disappearance to him at some point. Tom lived there..he knew...I believe he was killed for what he knew. My Mom's case was being re-investigated in 95, the same time Tom disappeared with Mark being questioned in both. Mark says he was questioned in 81 as well after my Mom disappeared. I do not know if I believe this or not, I am leaning toward NOT. Police pretended in 95 to tell me all of the names of those interviewed, they left Mark's name out and if questioned in 81, I had never heard of him until 2003 when I read her 95 case files. I was shocked that a man who supossedly saw my Mom's blood and a hole- his name was never told to me even when I asked, police lied and told me they gave me all the names, they did not. Why leave Mark's name out?? He was an important witness, however one Detective who I have now been told is friends to Bill and Bernie Becker told me Mark was innocent because he passed a polygraph...not in my Mom's case, but in Tom's. The same detective Norman went on for an hour in telling me how a polygraph works trying to convince me of why they are innocent and then got pissed when I later couldn't contact him for a basic question, instead I called a Detective assigned to my Mom's case in 81 to ask what house they searched in 81? Norman was mad and asked why I called this other Detective, saying, Don't you trust me? I did up until that point. He was so mad he stopped looking at my Mom's case and it was given to someone else. I never spoke to Norman again. Norman had said I know Mark is innocent because when he committed armed robbery in 79 he turned his own self in. ?????Good way to get me to believe!!

A lady I know passed a polygraph when she was 17 yrs She was questioned about drinking on school grounds, she told her Dad she didn't do it, he took this to court because the girl was suspended from school for 90 days and denied any drinking. She told me she was so nervous because she had drank and yet she still passed the test. If a 17 yr. old girl can pass it, they sure can with a 5 minute test done 8 years later!!

Hi Christine and welcome! I added a couple links about polygraphs at the bottom of this post.
From what I know about polygraphs then yes, they all should have been questioned for much longer than 5 minutes. Most polygraph examiners ask a few preliminary q's(what's you name? when were you born?, etc) so they can get information about that person's phisiology when they are calm so they will have that to compare to the results to the harder questions. The prelimanary q's themselves should have taken five minutes. Polygraphs measure a person's phisiological response to the q's asked - their heartrate, breathing, sweat - and it is believed when a person is being deceptive in their answers then their heartrate, breathing, etc will speed up. Personally I think after eight years it would be pretty easy for someone to pass a poly especially if they were only questioned for such a short time. It sounds like the poly. examiner asked them the preliminary q's which they did fine on and then he stopped and concluded they were not lying. It sounds like the test was administered only so they could say it had been done and everyone passed. Becker is pretty well known in the area, right? I'm guessing he has friends in the PD who could have helped him out.
I'm sorry the LE is not more helpful. Unfortunately, from all the horror stories I have heard from victims families it is far from uncommon.
I don't see how they can not recognize the connections between the two cases. It seems very obvious.
Can you tell me what you mean by what you said here? Who is Manny Puig? And what do you mean Bernie paid Mark to sit in the woods...when?

"Bernie Pays Mark big money to sit in the woods, for what, I do not know. Did Bernie also hire Manny Puig? If so for what, to look for Tom? I think that Manny turned her offer down."

Thank you for commenting here. I really hope you find the answers you are seeking. There are some really great investigators on this forum.

http://www.polygraphplace.com/docs/information.shtml
http://www.howstuffworks.com/lie-detector.htm

Thank you for sending me the links. I have looked at several links that talk about polygraph procedures. It seems everywhere I look I read the same thing and cannot understand why this continues to be allowed. It saddens me that soon another of the Becker's friends has a chance of becoming the new Sheriff in Monroe County. It is not right!! These people get away with lies because they care more about being re-elected than telling the truth..even if it involves ruining peoples lives.
It's all about politics and money and I'm so sick of hearing the way things happen in the Keys...I wish someone like Sandra Downs would take over as Sheriff and make some well needed changes. Seems certain parts of the Keys are still as they were in 1981.
Manny Puig is the well known shark hunter from Florida. I was told that Bernie tried to hire him to look for Tom after he disappeared. I don't know much about this....this is what I was told. She did hire Ripin to sit in the woods and there are many stories about this too...some say Tom had hidden coins buried in the woods on his property and maybe Ripin was trying to find them? I thought I heard that Ripin was in the woods for about two weeks, waiting for, or exactly what he was doing is unknown for sure. These are things we want true answers to. Bernie has changed her story so many times..we are never sure of what or who now to believe.

I do have some good info. that may lead me to other important evidence and I may have more than I realize. I have a lot of factual information and seems after finding most of it in 2003 that the rest has to be out there. I do believe the answers to both disappearances lie within this group of people.

Thank you for your nice comments..they are encouraging!!

Christine

Thomas S. Stump
Missing since July 24, 1995 from Summerland Key, Monroe County, Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: September 28, 1953
Age at Time of Disappearance: 41 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'10"; 175 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; brown eyes. Partially bald; trim beard & mustache.

Circumstances of Disappearance


The day before he went missing, Stump spoke with his mother on the telephone. He had just rented a van to take his wife and their two daughters on a vacation trip. He said he would call her as soon as they got back from their trip.

That evening, the couple took the girls and two of their friends out to dinner to celebrate their daughters eight birthday. The next morning, Stump put gas in the van and went to the bank and to the post office in preparation for the trip.

About 4:30 that afternoon, one of the daughters phoned her grandmother to tell her that they thought her dad had committed suicide.

At 7:30 p.m., the wife contacted the Hertz car rental office and told them she needed a new set of keys, because her husband had lost the first set while swimming in a canal. She was told to call back the next day. In her second call, she said the keys were lost when her husband went out in a boat and committed suicide. At 7:53 p.m., she told another individual at the rental agency that she thought her husband had drowned himself in the ocean.

Stump has not been seen again.

The families of Thomas Stump and Diana Lynn Harris believe the cases are connected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Monroe County Sheriff's Office
305-296-2424

Agency Case Number: 95110253
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Real crimes
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Doe Network: Case File 1299DMFL

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1299dmfl.html

Diana Lynn Harris
Missing since August of 1981 from Monroe County, Florida.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: October 6, 1953
Age at Time of Disappearance: 27 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'4" - 5'6"; 125 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Reddish-brown/blonde hair; blue eyes. Harris is fair-skinned.
Dentals: Dentals are not available. She wore full or partial dentures at the time of her disappearance.
Other: Sometimes wears wigs.
DNA: Her child has DNA on file with the FBI.

Circumstances of Disappearance


Harris disappeared from the Florida Keys in 1981. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Harris is originally from Owosso, Michigan.

The families of Diana Lynn Harris and Thomas Stump believe the cases are connected.

Several photos of Diana can be seen at the link below.

Investigators

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Monroe County Sheriff's Office
Detective Mark Coleman
Special Investigations Division
305-289-2410

Agency Case Number: K81 6103 or 95-104235
NCIC Number:M-103871516

Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Doe Network: Case File 1127DFFL

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1127dffl.html

Just thought I'd bump this one up a bit. I am trying to familiarize myself with all of the details of this case. I have a lot of reading to do.

I searched the site for more info on Diana Harris and Thomas Stump and only found one post in the cold case forum.

I am currently familiarizing myself with this case. Perhaps a post here will help....

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/harris_diana.html

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/stump_thomas.html

I read both Charley project links - but I don't get why they would be connected????

There is already a thread on this case:

They are believed to be connected by Diana's daughter because the wife of Thomas used to live with Diana. There are a lot of the same people involved in both crimes.

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60485&highlight=diana+harris+thomas+stump

Thank you gaia!

Bumping.

I visited the myspace page today and was glad to see that Christine has been busy!

Here is a link to her blogs.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=70566698

Read this http://www.realcrimes.com/Harris/Index.htm WHOA & WOW to the max is all MadeaBecBec has to say.......

Diana's daughter used to post on the thread in Cold Cases. You should try to reach her through WS regarding this info. Her name is Christine81.
She also operates the myspace page for Diana Harris.

I appreciate everyone here thinking of my Mom. It gives me strength to know how much you all care, Thank You.
I have looked at the JD in Georgia and have often wondered if my Mom may have headed in that direction toward her sister's wedding in Illinois, or her home town in Michigan. She was not a usual hitch hicker, however while in the Keys I remember passing my Mom while on my school bus, she was hitch hicking to work. She may have chosen to try this if she lived after Gary smashed her head into the wall. I am told (not by police) by the ones I suspect as knowing what happened to my Mom, that there were blood splatters on the wall where my Mom's head was hit, there is no proof of this though. I sometimes wonder if her head was ever smashed into any wall because police said they saw no blood or hole in the wall and they said they checked the house and the woods that surrounded the home. This story was never heard of until her boyfriend, Gary died and couldn't defend himself. No one in my family ever heard this story until 2003 when I requested her 1995 re-investigation files. In 1995 when I asked police if they had any new evidence, they told me no, saying they'd contact me if they had any new info. Well, they never did tell me until I read the 95 files. My Mom was likely killed in the Florida Keys, however if she tried to escape this group or Gary, she may have headed toward MI. or Illinois. I am told by a few that they believe she was sold into slavery, people in the Florida Keys have said this. If this is true I'd have to believe still that she has passed on by now or she'd have found her way back to us. If she was sold I am she may have been sent to anywhere in Asia, Turkey or Mexico.
I do not believe that my Mom had a metal plate in her shoe or any problems with her ankle. I do not think this JD looks like my Mom. The hair color looks the same though.
The newest info I have been told was that the boyfriend Marty that she originally went to Florida with, he didn't leave the Keys before my Mom disappeared like I had always thought. His name is Marty Delong and I have looked for him all this time. Just last year I found him here in my town and spoke to him in person. I had always assumed he had nothing to do with her disappearance because I thought he left the Keys when my Mom broke up with him, he did not. He stayed and claims to not know a thing about her disappearance, saying that he used to still go into the place where she worked at the No Name Pub and talk to her. He said he continued to work with a group of construction workers in the Keys, saying they were all from California. He said he did go back to MI. and then moved to California where he joined a group of Bikers, he left after making them angry with him. He then moved to Lansing, MI. and joined another group of Bikers and made them mad also, he lost a leg from one of the groups. Maybe my Mom went with him or maybe Marty had her killed before he left the Keys, but I really believe that Mitchell Denker, Mark Ripin and Gary Argenzio had something to do with the disappearance and murder of my Mom. I think Gary was at the bottom of the entire group and was taken advantage of or used. I believe Gary was being framed by Denker and Ripin and that Ripin did the work for Denker, Gary did his part too, but messed up along the way. This is only my opinion. I also believe that Mark Ripin's 1981 wife, Bernie knows all of what happened to my Mom, she may have passed this info to her 1984 husband, Tom Stump....she was married to him from 1984 to 1995 and then he too disappeared in the Florida Keys. Tom was there in 1981 and I am told by an unknown that he also hung out at Denker's home, but this is questionable still. I think Tom was killed for what he knew about my Mom's disappearance.