VA VA - Appomattox River - Body in submerged car, June 2010

[milkymama]

Details at link:

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-body-i...,5921334.story

[Mensch]

"Police can't even determine the age or gender of the person, as the body has severely decomposed."
"They have been there all day"...."intense investigation".....
I haven;t figured out if it is the media presentation that makes LE appear so inept or if that is really the way they are. Maybe if they run a vin number they can make some connection?
ETA I understand the body not being identifiable as to gender, but not some of their 'investigation. I am just a but put off by the media. They are like starving sharks after fresh meat.
I hope the family does not have to wait long in this case.

[PoppyH]

Who is missing from that area??

[CarlK90245]

Originally Posted by PoppyH

Who is missing from that area??

Joan Renee Cook
http://www.nampn.org/cases/cook_joan_r.html
Salem is approx 8 miles from Chesterfield.

Letisha (Tish) Faust
http://www.nampn.org/cases/faust_letisha.html
Floyd VA is approx 36 miles from Chesterfield, and she was apparently on the road when she disappeared.

ETA:
Two more from Roanoke (About 5 miles from Chesterfield):

Renita Thompson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...on_renita.html

Suzanne Marie Ryan Patsel
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...l_suzanne.html
She was last seen in Roanoke carrying a water bottle, and was apparently supposed to meet someone at the Valley View Mall in Roanoke. Nothing to indicate that she would be in a vehicle outside of Roanoke.

[mysticrose]

Body Found In Submerged Car In Appomattox River

Chesterfield Police are investigating after a decomposed body is found inside a car at the bottom of the Appomattox River.

Police are trying to figure out how that car, containing an unidentified body, came to be at the bottom of the river. Investigators were on scene most of Saturday. They initially thought it was just an abandoned car, but when a dive team broke open a window they discovered human remains.

Body Found in Submerged Vehicle in Appomattox River

[Cymro]

Originally Posted by Mensch

"Police can't even determine the age or gender of the person, as the body has severely decomposed."

"They have been there all day"...."intense investigation".....

I haven't figured out if it is the media presentation that makes LE appear so inept or if that is really the way they are. Maybe if they run a vin number they can make some connection?

ETA I understand the body not being identifiable as to gender, but not some of their 'investigation. I am just a but put off by the media. They are like starving sharks after fresh meat.

I hope the family does not have to wait long in this case.

In fairness, the cops at the scene probably can't identify much and possibly no ME has taken a look at it yet. That may or may not be too smart though. Investigation probably just means recording rather than actually figuring stuff out, I would hope.

They've also not said what make/model/year of car it is - which would be a very good way of getting an older body identified, if someone were known to have vanished with that vehicle. If someone recently vanished driving, say, a red 2008 Mazda CX7, it would be akin to identifying that person before family could be notified. It makes me think that the body may be fairly recent or we might have heard more.

Saying that it could take weeks to make an ID may also be a way of getting the media away from the story until it can be wrapped up.

Basically what I'm saying is that media could solve this for the police if they want that - and if they don't, they're either missing a trick or they want to preserve a family's privacy (and already have a good idea as to which family).

[mysticrose]

I was trying to get a good location of where on the river it was found, anyone know ?
This article says near I 95:
.................................................. ..............................................

Police Lt. Eric Hartman says the vehicle was discovered by a fisherman Saturday near Interstate 95.

http://www.newsplex.com/news/headlines/97265869.html

[mysticrose]

SNIPPED........................................... .......

The man who spotted the car tells us the vehicle appeared to be a red, newer model 2-door Hatchback and did not look as if it had been under water for long

http://www.cbs6everywhere.com/wap/ne...tle=Local+News

[mysticrose]

SNIPPED........................................... ........

Police tell CBS 6 that a decomposing body was found in the red vehicle at the bottom of the river near Interstate 95 and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge. Police can't even determine the age or gender of the person, as the body has severely decomposed

http://www.cbs6everywhere.com/wap/ne...tle=Local+News

[quiqui]

Originally Posted by CarlK90245

Joan Renee Cook
http://www.nampn.org/cases/cook_joan_r.html
Salem is approx 8 miles from Chesterfield.

Letisha (Tish) Faust
http://www.nampn.org/cases/faust_letisha.html
Floyd VA is approx 36 miles from Chesterfield, and she was apparently on the road when she disappeared.

ETA:
Two more from Roanoke (About 5 miles from Chesterfield):

Renita Thompson
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...on_renita.html

Suzanne Marie Ryan Patsel
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...l_suzanne.html
She was last seen in Roanoke carrying a water bottle, and was apparently supposed to meet someone at the Valley View Mall in Roanoke. Nothing to indicate that she would be in a vehicle outside of Roanoke.

I was curious and googled Chesterfield, VA and there is in fact a little town very close to Roanoke by that name!

But in this case I think they mean Chesterfield County (outside of Richmond) which is about 160 miles from Roanoke/Salem and 200 miles from Floyd.

[mysticrose]

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge carries Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301) across the Appomattox River at the fall line. It joins Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_...emorial_Bridge

[CarlK90245]

Originally Posted by mysticrose

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge carries Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301) across the Appomattox River at the fall line. It joins Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_...emorial_Bridge

After I posted, I was a bit concerned that this might be the case.

I came up with 25 MP's from VA in the last two years.

[Cymro]

I can't actually find a place where the Appomattox flows through Chesterfield.

I agree though that it has to be the Chesterfield near Richmond, not Roanoke. Google will only find the other one for me, possibly because I've been to Roanoke and done a few searches for nearby locations there before.

There is a British student, Jonny Dorey, missing from Richmond since March, but I think he's an unlikely match because:

1. Why waste a perfectly good hatchback to dispose of his body;
2. His last cell phone ping was 50 miles in a different direction from his home in Richmond.

There is also a woman called Jill Edmonds, missing from Richmond since January 25. Her vehicle has been recovered, though she has not, making this an unlikely match.

[CarlK90245]

Here are all listed MP's from within 100 miles of Petersburg and missing within the last two years.

Sean McCracken (Hampton - About 90 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...cken_sean.html

Carla Rodriguez (Stafford - About 90 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...uez_carla.html

Elisha Bell (Newport News - About 90 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bell_elesha.html

Latonya Smith (Portsmouth - About 80 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...h_latonia.html

Mark Michaux (Cartersville - About 60 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/michaux_mark.html

Aaron Stevens (Chesapeake - About 80 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/...ens_aaron.html

Octavian Holcomb (Chesapeake - About 80 miles from Petersburg)
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/..._octavian.html

[Mensch]

Originally Posted by Cymro

In fairness, the cops at the scene probably can't identify much and possibly no ME has taken a look at it yet. That may or may not be too smart though. Investigation probably just means recording rather than actually figuring stuff out, I would hope.

They've also not said what make/model/year of car it is - which would be a very good way of getting an older body identified, if someone were known to have vanished with that vehicle. If someone recently vanished driving, say, a red 2008 Mazda CX7, it would be akin to identifying that person before family could be notified. It makes me think that the body may be fairly recent or we might have heard more.

Saying that it could take weeks to make an ID may also be a way of getting the media away from the story until it can be wrapped up.

Basically what I'm saying is that media could solve this for the police if they want that - and if they don't, they're either missing a trick or they want to preserve a family's privacy (and already have a good idea as to which family).

Thanks Cymro. I understand the ID aspect. Just venting on the other and now have a clearer perspective after reading your post. How ever they come to their conclusion, I just hope it is soon. I was just imagining someone in the area wondering if it was a family member. The wait must be terrible.

Thanks Carl for posting the possibles.

[tatertot]

I agree. If they trace the VIN and the car's owner hasn't been heard from in a while, they may be able to I.D. this person quickly if they can obtain that person's dental records. Or if the owner is missing and matches the general height/weight of the UID but there are no dental records, this might be a "tentative identification" until it can be proven by a DNA match.

Maybe there were no reporters present when the car was actually pulled from the water late at night, because you'd think it would be an operation with big overhead lights and there would have been an opportunity to get a photo of the car and/or figure out what model it was, and yet this information isn't in any of the articles published so far. Hatchbacks can run the gamut from SUV crossovers to subcompacts, although if it was a two-door vehicle I'd guess it's closer to the latter than the former.

[tatertot]

Police have not disclosed the model of vehicle but say it's "been there a while":

http://progress-index.com/news/probe...inues-1.869496

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by Cymro

I can't actually find a place where the Appomattox flows through Chesterfield.

I agree though that it has to be the Chesterfield near Richmond, not Roanoke. Google will only find the other one for me, possibly because I've been to Roanoke and done a few searches for nearby locations there before.

There is a British student, Jonny Dorey, missing from Richmond since March, but I think he's an unlikely match because:

1. Why waste a perfectly good hatchback to dispose of his body;
2. His last cell phone ping was 50 miles in a different direction from his home in Richmond.

There is also a woman called Jill Edmonds, missing from Richmond since January 25. Her vehicle has been recovered, though she has not, making this an unlikely match.

BBM -- because it was a stolen car or used in another crime and they wanted to get rid of it anyway? Not that there's any evidence yet, but it would be a reason.

My first guess would be someone who is missing with their car, who might have wound up in the water from a traffic accident.

[milkymama]

I have fished in the location where this was found. There is a bridge over the Appomattox River - the bridge connects Petersburg and Colonial Heights, which both border on the south end of Chesterfield. Chesterfield has jurisdiction of the river at that point.

[MBLover]

Jill Edmonds has been found - several months ago. She was found a week or two before or after Kelly Catalano.

Letitia Faust has also been found - in a ravine, in Franklin Co., VA on March 22.

Joan Renee Cook - left on foot from her Salem, Roanoke Co., VA home (which is around 3 hours away from Chesterfield). She did not have a car and as far as I know did not have access to one.

[PickieChickie]

Originally Posted by mysticrose

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge carries Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301) across the Appomattox River at the fall line. It joins Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_...emorial_Bridge

[PickieChickie]

There is a remote possibility that it could be Venus Rose Stewart whose estranged husband traveled from Newport News, Virgina (C) to Colon, Michigan (B) on April 25, 2010 where he reportedly lured her out of her home during the early morning on April 26, 2010, after stopping at an Ohio Walmart to purchase a shovel, hat, tarp and gloves, then murdered her and immediately drove back to his home in Newport News, Virginia.

(A represents where the car was found.)

Link to Venus Rose Stewart Websleuths thread:[/center]

MI MI Venus Rose Stewart Colon, 28 April 2010-#9 DS arrested suspected murder/kidnapping - Page 19 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

MI MI Venus Rose Stewart Colon, 28 April 2010-#9 DS arrested suspected murder/kidnapping - Page 19 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

[milkymama]

I am from the area where the body was found and am very familiar with the roads/etc. So, regarding Venus - if he avoided taking interstates 95 and 64 going home from Michigan and instead took 1/301 and 460, he would have passed over this bridge getting from 1/301 to 460.

[CarlK90245]

Originally Posted by PickieChickie

There is a remote possibility that it could be Venus Rose Stewart whose estranged husband traveled from Newport News, Virgina (C) to Colon, Michigan (B) on April 25, 2010 where he reportedly lured her out of her home during the early morning on April 26, 2010, after stopping at an Ohio Walmart to purchase a shovel, hat, tarp and gloves, then murdered her and immediately drove back to his home in Newport News, Virginia.

If he murdered her and than sent the car over the bridge, he would have had to have a vehicle waiting for him near the bridge, or else find some other way home. The items purchased at Walmart would either still be in the car, or else he took them with him or disposed of them somewhere along the way. The logistics just seem a little too complicated.

[PickieChickie]

Originally Posted by PickieChickie

Originally Posted by milkymama

I am from the area where the body was found and am very familiar with the roads/etc. So, regarding Venus - if he avoided taking interstates 95 and 64 going home from Michigan and instead took 1/301 and 460, he would have passed over this bridge getting from 1/301 to 460.

Would the bridge be the four lane bridge on the right or the two lane bridge on the left?

Thank you, that's what I thought. Since Doug didn't park the truck in it's assigned parking spot at the apartment complex when he returned to Newport News after abducting and murdering Venus, but instead parked it on the street, it's clear he wasn't following a normal routine to avoid detection.

He could have been worried that an APB was out for him and that truck, that law enforcement was on the look out for him to be driving a particular route and did indeed take a detour.

However, that wouldn't explain where the car came from unless he had planned in advance to have a car with perhaps the vin numbers and license plates removed on standby near the area.

I doubt it's Venus. But, considering he was elaborate enough to enlist an impostor to pose as him in Newport News while he was off in Michigan abducting and murdering Venus, no telling what else he came up with!