Anna Christian Waters (Missing 1/16/1973 from Half Moon Bay, CA)

[meggilyweggily]

One quick note about Anna's mole: all the pictures from the NCMEC depict the mole as much more prominent AND on the wrong cheek. At some point, artists at the Center added the mole to their photos based on a verbal description, but misplaced it. If you view the other photos that are linked above, you will not notice a mole.

I don't understand why they did not correct this. It would be easy to do.

 

[pugsley]

Anna's hair appears to naturally curly. It is consistent with all of her pictures. Sharon's hair in her picture with Floyd, it is bone straight and flat to her head. (it if were blown dry it would puff out slightly)

Please don't suggest that Floyd took the time to blow it dry straight either.

Also, anytime a mole is removed, there is usually a scar, isn't there? Any cosmetic surgeons out there?

Just wanted to toss in my two cents. Although I think they should do DNA to rule it out 100 %

 

[shadowangel]

Please don't suggest that Floyd took the time to blow it dry straight either.

Though I highly doubt that Anna is Sharon, don't put anything past Floyd. Underestimating his capabilities and the lengths he has, and will, go to has proven fatal.

 

[Mr. E]

My own experience with eye color:

Both my daughters were born with blue eyes. Older daughter now has gray eyes; younger daughter has green eyes. I have very dark brown eyes and my husband has hazel eyes. The girls' eye color did change until they were probably four or so, but they weren't drastic changes. Brown to blue sounds pretty drastic, but that is just my opinion.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

It should be stated that both LE and a very respected private investigator who examined Waters and Brody concluded that they could find no direct evidence that they had anything to do with Anna's disappearance. However, absence of evidence is not the same as innocence. And both LE and the PI agreed that the two Georges were extremely odd and capable of doing crazy things.

Brody developed throat cancer and was treated by Waters (who was a physician). Brody died Christmas Eve 1981. His death certificate may have been the only official piece of paperwork that ever existed on Brody - it showed no known birth date, no known relatives and no social security number.

After the death of Brody, Waters went into a frenzy of activity. He started destroying any paperwork or personal information pertaining to himself, Brody or Anna. The few items that he did not destroy were items that were not readily accessible such as safe deposit boxes.

Approximately two weeks after the death of Brody, Waters killed himself by drinking posion while in his hotel room. His death certificate shows a date of January 7, 1982, but this is speculation by the SF Coroner because Waters' body was not discovered until approximately a week after his suicide.

 

[shadowangel]

Just to play devil's advocate....Reports for the bay area on the day Anna disappeared state that the entire area was in the grip of a storm of almost hurricane-like proportions. Nearly 6 inches of rain had fallen in the 24 hours prior to 8:00 am on the day Anna disappeared. Roads were flooded, levees overflowing, bridges in danger...Winds in excess of 70mph were recorded near Oakland.

The rain continued on throughout that day.

Was Anna's home even accessible by car (or van) at the time? And why, of all days, pick this day to see if she was "grabbable" (for lack of a better word).
I think the assumption would be that she was inside...

 

[Marilynilpa]

It should be stated that both LE and a very respected private investigator who examined Waters and Brody concluded that they could find no direct evidence that they had anything to do with Anna's disappearance. However, absence of evidence is not the same as innocence. And both LE and the PI agreed that the two Georges were extremely odd and capable of doing crazy things.

Brody developed throat cancer and was treated by Waters (who was a physician). Brody died Christmas Eve 1981. His death certificate may have been the only official piece of paperwork that ever existed on Brody - it showed no known birth date, no known relatives and no social security number.

After the death of Brody, Waters went into a frenzy of activity. He started destroying any paperwork or personal information pertaining to himself, Brody or Anna. The few items that he did not destroy were items that were not readily accessible such as safe deposit boxes.

Approximately two weeks after the death of Brody, Waters killed himself by drinking posion while in his hotel room. His death certificate shows a date of January 7, 1982, but this is speculation by the SF Coroner because Waters' body was not discovered until approximately a week after his suicide.

This is a very disturbing case. I wonder if Waters killed himself out of grief caused by Brody's death, or by guilt.

You are so right when you say absence of evidence is not the same as innocence.

It sounds as though these two men would be capable of doing anything, including kidnapping Anna. I am sure the police looked into the activities of these two pretty closely. Did the police ever indicate they suspected Waters and Brody?

I posted this question earlier, but I'll post it here as well - did Anna know her father well enough that she would have gone with him without putting up a fuss?

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Just to play devil's advocate....Reports for the bay area on the day Anna disappeared state that the entire area was in the grip of a storm of almost hurricane-like proportions. Nearly 6 inches of rain had fallen in the 24 hours prior to 8:00 am on the day Anna disappeared. Roads were flooded, levees overflowing, bridges in danger...Winds in excess of 70mph were recorded near Oakland.

The rain continued on throughout that day.

Was Anna's home even accessible by car (or van) at the time? And why, of all days, pick this day to see if she was "grabbable" (for lack of a better word).
I think the assumption would be that she was inside...

Shadowangel:

You are correct about the weather that day - that is why the creek that ran through thier property was running high and why Anna's disappearance was first treated as a possible drowning. (By the way, nice research work!)

Joe Ford (who was a carpenter) would have usually been at work on that day, but bad weather had caused him to stay home. He recently mentioned to me that he had read about another (unrelated) serial child abduction case that was solved because the abductions only occured on bad weather days and that lead LE to investigate people in the construction industries.

At the time of Anna's abduction, the weather had cleared to the point that access to the property was not an issue. The property had several houses on it and others on the property had been outside working that day. Unfortunately, no one was outside when Anna disappeared.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

I posted this question earlier, but I'll post it here as well - did Anna know her father well enough that she would have gone with him without putting up a fuss?

Waters had little contact with Anna and his family after the divorce. However, Anna probably would have known who he was and all reports are that she was a very trusting child. I will pose this question to the mother and let you know her opinion on this.

By the way, one of the neighbors did report hearing someone or something walking through the woods about the time of Anna;s disappearance. The neighbor assumed that it was either a deer or someone hiking in the area.

 

[shadowangel]

Shadowangel:

You are correct about the weather that day - that is why the creek that ran through thier property was running high and why Anna's disappearance was first treated as a possible drowning. (By the way, nice research work!)

Joe Ford (who was a carpenter) would have usually been at work on that day, but bad weather had caused him to stay home. He recently mentioned to me that he had read about another (unrelated) serial child abduction case that was solved because the abductions only occured on bad weather days and that lead LE to investigate people in the construction industries.

At the time of Anna's abduction, the weather had cleared to the point that access to the property was not an issue. The property had several houses on it and others on the property had been outside working that day. Unfortunately, no one was outside when Anna disappeared.

Not knowing the area, is it possible that Waters and Brody were driven from the hovel they were staying in, and at that point decided to "check" on Anna? They most likely were not expecting the step-father to be home...And, if road closures could be checked, the direction they travelled after leaving Anna's home might be narrowed down.
(As an aside, I can't help thinking how close this area is to the Zodiac's operating area ...Its even been theorized that he may have been staying in a home in the bay area that was flooded by this storm).

 

[Marilynilpa]

Not knowing the area, is it possible that Waters and Brody were driven from the hovel they were staying in, and at that point decided to "check" on Anna? They most likely were not expecting the step-father to be home...And, if road closures could be checked, the direction they travelled after leaving Anna's home might be narrowed down.
(As an aside, I can't help thinking how close this area is to the Zodiac's operating area ...Its even been theorized that he may have been staying in a home in the bay area that was flooded by this storm).

Great minds must think alike, as I also wondered about the Zodiac. Obviously there is nothing to indicate his involvement in Anna's disappearance, but I was struck by how close this is to his "operating area".

 

[Dr. Doogie]

When I first started investigating this case, it dawned on me that if Anna was taken by her birth father, there may be a paper trail created in the seventies and eighties that no one knew would be accesible in the new century with the Internet (much as cold cases are now being solved with DNA test that were not in existence during the commission of crimes).

A google search of the name "Eifee" turned up only one person using that name as an email address. Most interestingly, the person using that address has the first name "Anna"!

It has been determined that the email address is active and a reverse search shows that it is owned by some named Annie Yu in New Zealand. I have sent an email to this address and am waiting for a response to determine if Annie Yu could be Anna Waters.

While it is possible, it seems that the set of circumstances that would lead a caucasion girl from California to be living in New Zealand with a Chinese surname are unlikely. It is possible that the reverse search was incorrect and the address is owned by someone who is a more likely candidate.

I know that several of you are quite skilled investigators and if you believe that you can do a reverse email search that may turn up new results, please contact me privately and I will provide the address to you. I do not want to post the email address here for open public viewing because I do not want the owner of that address to receive dozens of emails asking if she is Anna. If it is her, who knows what she was told about her family and multiple emails would only serve to "spook" her away.

 

[shadowangel]

Have you uncovered any evidence to indicate that Waters ever left the country? Was he in possession of a passport? Is it possible for the PI you are working with to check if a passport was ever obtained for Anna?

 

[meggilyweggily]

Posted pics and info on Anna here: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/waters_anna.html Not the bits about her father and his friend, but about the general circumstances of her disappearance, and the sighting of the two men in a panel truck.

With regards eye color: it's possible to chemically change eye color after death, but I'm not sure if you could do it to a live person without ruining their sight. I know about this because I read about a blue-eyed girl who was killed and her body dumped in a very polluted river in Washington state. She wasn't identified for the longest time because the chemicals in the river turned her eyes brown, so no one thought the Jane Doe could be the missing girl. Finally they compared dentals more or less out of desperation, and lo, it was she.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Great minds must think alike, as I also wondered about the Zodiac. Obviously there is nothing to indicate his involvement in Anna's disappearance, but I was struck by how close this is to his "operating area".

Marilynilpa & Shadowangel:



During my countless hours thinking about the case, the Zodiac killings came to my mind also, but a few small points:



1. The Zodiac seemed to operate in a area between San Francisco, Vallejo and Santa Rosa (if you believe Greysmith that he was involved in the I-5 co-ed murders) - all areas north of San Francisco. Anna was taken from an area thirty miles south of San Francisco.



2. The known Zodiac killings included only adults who were killed where they were found, not kidnapped and taken elsewhere (Kathleen Johns the possible exception). The Zodiac did threaten to shoot children getting off of a school bus, but no evidence exists that he ever killed any children.



3. Leigh Allen, the suspect that several LE types believed to be the Zodiac, was in fact a convicted child molester, but he appeared to abuse those he knew, either through his activities or family and friends. I do not believe that he ever was accused of kidnapping any victim.



I have briefly considered several of the famous cases that happened in the 1970's Bay Area for any possible link (kidnapped by the People's Temple and died in Guyana - that's why no body was ever found?). I quickly realized that none of them made much sense. I always came back to Anna's father and his mentor.

 

[Marilynilpa]

Marilynilpa & Shadowangel:



During my countless hours thinking about the case, the Zodiac killings came to my mind also, but a few small points:



1. The Zodiac seemed to operate in a area between San Francisco, Vallejo and Santa Rosa (if you believe Greysmith that he was involved in the I-5 co-ed murders) - all areas north of San Francisco. Anna was taken from an area thirty miles south of San Francisco.



2. The known Zodiac killings included only adults who were killed where they were found, not kidnapped and taken elsewhere (Kathleen Johns the possible exception). The Zodiac did threaten to shoot children getting off of a school bus, but no evidence exists that he ever killed any children.



3. Leigh Allen, the suspect that several LE types believed to be the Zodiac, was in fact a convicted child molester, but he appeared to abuse those he knew, either through his activities or family and friends. I do not believe that he ever was accused of kidnapping any victim.



I have briefly considered several of the famous cases that happened in the 1970's Bay Area for any possible link (kidnapped by the People's Temple and died in Guyana - that's why no body was ever found?). I quickly realized that none of them made much sense. I always came back to Anna's father and his mentor.

I agree that this doesn't appear to be the work of the Zodiac, it doesn't actually fit with his "m.o."

It makes sense to look at Waters and Brody, because of their strange relationship and bizarre actions.

 

[Dr. Doogie]

Posted pics and info on Anna here: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/waters_anna.html Not the bits about her father and his friend, but about the general circumstances of her disappearance, and the sighting of the two men in a panel truck.

Meggilyweggily:

Thank you for the Charley Project post. A couple of corrections though: the report about the men in the van was discovered a few days after Anna's disappearance and she was born in San Francisco. If you have the ability to edit your post, that would be appreciated.

 

[shadowangel]

I agree that this doesn't appear to be the work of the Zodiac, it doesn't actually fit with his "m.o."

It makes sense to look at Waters and Brody, because of their strange relationship and bizarre actions.

I quite agree, I was just struck by the juxtaposition of the occurences.

 

[meggilyweggily]

Meggilyweggily:

Thank you for the Charley Project post. A couple of corrections though: the report about the men in the van was discovered a few days after Anna's disappearance and she was born in San Francisco. If you have the ability to edit your post, that would be appreciated.

I thought you said she was born in New York? Shrug. Will correct next time I update. Let me know if you want me to add/change/remove anything. I am the owner/administrator of the Charley Project and so I have free rein.

 

[HeartofTexas]

I have to say, Meggily, that I'm pretty impressed you're the owner of the Charley Project! I've gone there many times. The amount of time and effort some of you give to the plight of missing children is so commendable, not to mention the technological expertise some of you have that allows you to run these websites. My hat is off to you and others like you who offer a real service for the many abducted and missing children in our world.