AR AR - Joseph Cripps, Little Rock, 19 Oct 2016

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I'm so sorry, heather.scissorhands. My heart breaks for his family and huge network of friends. He sounds like an extraordinary person and is obviously keenly missed. Thank you for coming here to update. I've been checking often....
 
heather.scissorhands said:
Still no news. I think they are just waiting to find him, at this point. Sigh...
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry heather. I have this thread in my feed but I hadn't checked it for awhile. I will keep Joe and his family and loved ones in my prayers. I pray he is found safe and brought home to those who care about him.


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I could not find a central source of facts on this case, so I have compiled what I could obtain from online/social media sources. I have also made a few observations/hypothesis which are nothing more than speculation. Hopefully more details will soon come to light and Joe will be found safe.

Joe's last known location was at White Water Tavern in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 19th. He lived near the historic Little Rock Central High School, which was about a mile (20 minutes walking) from the tavern. The area Joe lived was not immune to crime. In fact, Joe had posted that he had heard three gunshots while on his back porch, and in another post indicated he had heard a shotgun blast. In another post, Joe talked about the "Crips 23rd" graffiti on a nearby store.

On the night he disappeared, it has been said he was refused service by the tavern employees, possibly due to inebriation. He is reported to have asked someone to call him a cab. However, he has used Uber quite extensively in the past, so it's possible he was picked up by their service.He lived only a mile away, so it's also possible he simply decided to walk home, which given his condition is worrisome. Joe had just been paid and had his wallet with him, so it's also possible he had a significant amount of cash on him at the time of the disappearance.

Joe was a member of Brave Combo which won a Grammy in the 90's and 2000's as a percussionist. He was well-known in the music community in Arkansas and Texas and had literally traveled the world including very successful tours in Japan and a government-sponsored trip to Cuba. He missed a gig on October 21st - 2 days after disappearing - which was very unlike him. Upon searching his home, family found his high blood pressure medication, his drumsticks and his drums. It is unlikely he would have left without these items; further, his car was being repaired so he would have had to find alternative transportation to leave the state.

Area hospitals, rehab centers and even the morgues have been checked, but without any trace of him. A nationwide search of unidentified individuals on NAMUS has likewise not produced any likely hits. Searches between the tavern and his home have been unfruitful thus far. All known and available commercial security cameras have been reviewed. A railroad is located near the tavern and it is known that railroad investigators are involved in the search. A lake is 1.2 miles away (20 minute walk); however, it is not clear if a search has been made of it. His family posted that ping data had been obtained from the cell phone company and that it was near the location of his disappearance in Little Rock. Another poster indicated that since going missing is not a crime, the police cannot get a search warrant for his last phone calls. However, most cell phone companies will provide the last phone calls of a missing person if the family or police provide a statement that person may be in danger. Also, it is strange the cell phone company would release ping data but withhold the last phone calls. The last known calls to and from his phone would be incredibly important information to have.

On the morning that Joe disappeared, he posted that "I'm going to crawl up under the house and look at our sewer lines." He had been working part-time as a plumber and he was aware the the City of Little Rock was offering a $2,500 rebate for the installation of new pipes, so he felt he could get the pipes replaced for free or at a low price. According to a Facebook post, underneath the house has been searched.

One of Joe's former Brave Combo bandmates told the Dallas Morning News that "Cripps used to take off every October and go camping along the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas." There is no information available as to whether this area has been searched. Interestingly, on the night of his disappearance, Joe posted on his nephew's Facebook timeline: "You up for a camping trip with dad and myself?" His nephew responded that he wanted to go but had to wait for a break from work. Joe responded positively to this news, and his brother responded the next morning: "Joe and I will camp. You work. That is all..."

Several friends have indicated that there is the possibility of suicide. However, his last post before his disappearance on October 19th at 8:50 pm was: " Hey listen brother we have the Cripps brothers are up and running" which he made shortly after learning his nephew was going to join Joe and his brother in a camping trip and he sounded very upbeat about it.

Joe made a final, yet mysterious, post on the morning of October 20th: “MOm yoaxx_m”. Joe was very reliant on voice-to-text to post to Facebook, and was often remarking how it would make a mess of his posts. Obviously, the last post was not voice-to-text, which was uncharacteristic for him. While there's a possibility this was a "butt post" - a post of gibberish made to Facebook while the phone is in a pocket - that seems unlikely. The post was not made of letters and characters that are nearby one another on the keyboard and would have required constant switching between alpha and numeric/symbols keyboards.

On October 17th - just 2 days before his disappearance - Joe had posted that he would be spending the week with an old friend from school. Interestingly, this friend's birthday was the day Joe disappeared. It is not clear whether they ever met up or whether this friend has been contacted by the police.

Joe had been working at a halfway house for people finishing up a term at Arkansas Department of Corrections for drug sentences. Some friends had joked with him about what type of gun he carried, but he replied that no gun was needed, that he was on friendly terms with all of those in the program. Still, the job had its challenges. On October 15th - 4 days before his disappearance - he posted: "If you only have 5 days left on your program [try] not to go out [and] smoke some K2 and get sent back and causing extra work for me." He pointed out that the "extra work" entailed paperwork for the Arkansas Department of Corrections that was required when someone failed a urine test and had to be sent back to prison. In another post he stated that "Turns out these boys like to smoke K2 right before they get released from the program. I just knocked their heads together and send them back. I don't get paid enough to be a screw." K2 is a synthetic form of marijuana. This may not have been the first time Joe had seen someone back to prison from the program. On September 24th, he noted that "We lost a couple of fellows today back to prison. ADC is on their way here. I hate this part. Gotta stay on my toes." Given his status as missing, it certainly makes one wonder what he meant by "Gotta stay on my toes." Interestingly, Urban Dictionary's top definition says "stay on my toes" means: "To be on the look out for anyone trying to do you harm. to watch your back. or even to be looking for someone to harm."

The day before he disappeared, Joe made a strange post that was uncharacteristic for him: "I am a compassionate man. Having said that, don't come at me sideways. A few minutes later he reflected on some old advice he thought was applicable: "I will cut you and I will cut you where you was." The post continues with several posts that do not make much sense, but could be due to bad voice-to-text conversions. At some points, it seems Joe was engaged in a conversation with another person but the other person's posts may have been deleted. Another user also noted this: "Looks as if someone deleted their part of the conversation."

Joe seemed to post in "code" in several of his entries. For example, numerous posts talk about "wizards." In September, a friend had tagged Joe on a Craigslist job posting in Austin for "one talented witch or wizard" that was needed to assist "in a special project in the next few weeks." Family has said he was expected to be in Austin for a gig the first part of November, so this could be the referenced job. On October 15th, he posted to a friend: "I don't mean to bother you, we have very serious wizard activity near Downtown Little Rock. We need the squid over here posthaste. I'm coming down to your neighborhood in early November. Wizards!" Interestingly, "wizard" is sometimes used as code for marijuana. Due to its "magic-inducing powers," Urban Dictionary states that those who partake in it turns into witches and warlocks. Is it possible Joe and his friend were speaking in code? Maybe, or perhaps it was just a joke post.

It is a convoluted and mysterious case. A Grammy Award winning artist who was known literally world-wide and who was working with the McClellan school band to get its drum line in shape, who played drums for a local church in their services, who was instrumental in helping a blues legend have a career rebirth, and who was working at creating his own non-profit organization that would help children through music would never be expected to come up missing the way Joe has. But then you look at the other facts - he was possibly intoxicated according to some reports, in a neighborhood with an apparent history of crime, and is believed to have had a large amount of cash in his wallet. His job involved working at a Halfway house with people with troubled pasts. He had made a post that seemed to indicate he may have been threatened by someone and let them know that he would not back down.

So what are the possibilities of what may have happened? Could he have left North Texas for a reason unbeknownst to us? Would someone from that area have followed him to Little Rock to exact revenge or other reasons? Was someone - perhaps from the Halfway House that felt they were treated unfairly - after him? It was not a secret that Joe frequented White Water Tavern, so he would be easy to find late at night. And could he have found someone was after him and simply decided to get away while he still could? In fact there are posts stating Joe had come to Little Rock to "lay low," so perhaps he decided to "lay low" elsewhere without letting anyone know? Could he have uncovered a Cartel-related drug ring from his work with those in the Halfway House and is in protective custody or in the witness protection program? A person with the drum skills of Joe would have no problem getting work and being paid in cash in any part of the country or even the world. The primary thing everyone has been told to look for is his large mustache - which would be easy to shave by someone who does not want to be found. In fact, just a day before his disappearance, Joe posted the picture of a wax therapist from Dallas who specializes in removing hair. Is it possible that was a clue that Joe was ready to start a new life with a new face?

Pure speculation on all accounts, of course, but in a case when a popular and well-liked guy - and a guy who was truly wanting to make a difference in this world - we should not take anything off the table in trying to locate him. It is extremely disconcerting that no one has taken the lead to leverage the availability of literally thousands of his friends to conduct searches raise money for rewards and private investigators, or even a candlelight vigil to raise awareness. Is it possible police and family may know of a reason why such things are not needed?
 
PatTheRat said:
I could not find a central source of facts on this case, so I have compiled what I could obtain from online/social media sources. I have also made a few observations/hypothesis which are nothing more than speculation. Hopefully more details will soon come to light and Joe will be found safe.

Joe's last known location was at White Water Tavern in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 19th. He lived near the historic Little Rock Central High School, which was about a mile (20 minutes walking) from the tavern. The area Joe lived was not immune to crime. In fact, Joe had posted that he had heard three gunshots while on his back porch, and in another post indicated he had heard a shotgun blast. In another post, Joe talked about the "Crips 23rd" graffiti on a nearby store.

On the night he disappeared, it has been said he was refused service by the tavern employees, possibly due to inebriation. He is reported to have asked someone to call him a cab. However, he has used Uber quite extensively in the past, so it's possible he was picked up by their service.He lived only a mile away, so it's also possible he simply decided to walk home, which given his condition is worrisome. Joe had just been paid and had his wallet with him, so it's also possible he had a significant amount of cash on him at the time of the disappearance.

Joe was a member of Brave Combo which won a Grammy in the 90's and 2000's as a percussionist. He was well-known in the music community in Arkansas and Texas and had literally traveled the world including very successful tours in Japan and a government-sponsored trip to Cuba. He missed a gig on October 21st - 2 days after disappearing - which was very unlike him. Upon searching his home, family found his high blood pressure medication, his drumsticks and his drums. It is unlikely he would have left without these items; further, his car was being repaired so he would have had to find alternative transportation to leave the state.

Area hospitals, rehab centers and even the morgues have been checked, but without any trace of him. A nationwide search of unidentified individuals on NAMUS has likewise not produced any likely hits. Searches between the tavern and his home have been unfruitful thus far. All known and available commercial security cameras have been reviewed. A railroad is located near the tavern and it is known that railroad investigators are involved in the search. A lake is 1.2 miles away (20 minute walk); however, it is not clear if a search has been made of it. His family posted that ping data had been obtained from the cell phone company and that it was near the location of his disappearance in Little Rock. Another poster indicated that since going missing is not a crime, the police cannot get a search warrant for his last phone calls. However, most cell phone companies will provide the last phone calls of a missing person if the family or police provide a statement that person may be in danger. Also, it is strange the cell phone company would release ping data but withhold the last phone calls. The last known calls to and from his phone would be incredibly important information to have.

On the morning that Joe disappeared, he posted that "I'm going to crawl up under the house and look at our sewer lines." He had been working part-time as a plumber and he was aware the the City of Little Rock was offering a $2,500 rebate for the installation of new pipes, so he felt he could get the pipes replaced for free or at a low price. According to a Facebook post, underneath the house has been searched.

One of Joe's former Brave Combo bandmates told the Dallas Morning News that "Cripps used to take off every October and go camping along the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas." There is no information available as to whether this area has been searched. Interestingly, on the night of his disappearance, Joe posted on his nephew's Facebook timeline: "You up for a camping trip with dad and myself?" His nephew responded that he wanted to go but had to wait for a break from work. Joe responded positively to this news, and his brother responded the next morning: "Joe and I will camp. You work. That is all..."

Several friends have indicated that there is the possibility of suicide. However, his last post before his disappearance on October 19th at 8:50 pm was: " Hey listen brother we have the Cripps brothers are up and running" which he made shortly after learning his nephew was going to join Joe and his brother in a camping trip and he sounded very upbeat about it.

Joe made a final, yet mysterious, post on the morning of October 20th: “MOm yoaxx_m”. Joe was very reliant on voice-to-text to post to Facebook, and was often remarking how it would make a mess of his posts. Obviously, the last post was not voice-to-text, which was uncharacteristic for him. While there's a possibility this was a "butt post" - a post of gibberish made to Facebook while the phone is in a pocket - that seems unlikely. The post was not made of letters and characters that are nearby one another on the keyboard and would have required constant switching between alpha and numeric/symbols keyboards.

On October 17th - just 2 days before his disappearance - Joe had posted that he would be spending the week with an old friend from school. Interestingly, this friend's birthday was the day Joe disappeared. It is not clear whether they ever met up or whether this friend has been contacted by the police.

Joe had been working at a halfway house for people finishing up a term at Arkansas Department of Corrections for drug sentences. Some friends had joked with him about what type of gun he carried, but he replied that no gun was needed, that he was on friendly terms with all of those in the program. Still, the job had its challenges. On October 15th - 4 days before his disappearance - he posted: "If you only have 5 days left on your program [try] not to go out [and] smoke some K2 and get sent back and causing extra work for me." He pointed out that the "extra work" entailed paperwork for the Arkansas Department of Corrections that was required when someone failed a urine test and had to be sent back to prison. In another post he stated that "Turns out these boys like to smoke K2 right before they get released from the program. I just knocked their heads together and send them back. I don't get paid enough to be a screw." K2 is a synthetic form of marijuana. This may not have been the first time Joe had seen someone back to prison from the program. On September 24th, he noted that "We lost a couple of fellows today back to prison. ADC is on their way here. I hate this part. Gotta stay on my toes." Given his status as missing, it certainly makes one wonder what he meant by "Gotta stay on my toes." Interestingly, Urban Dictionary's top definition says "stay on my toes" means: "To be on the look out for anyone trying to do you harm. to watch your back. or even to be looking for someone to harm."

The day before he disappeared, Joe made a strange post that was uncharacteristic for him: "I am a compassionate man. Having said that, don't come at me sideways. A few minutes later he reflected on some old advice he thought was applicable: "I will cut you and I will cut you where you was." The post continues with several posts that do not make much sense, but could be due to bad voice-to-text conversions. At some points, it seems Joe was engaged in a conversation with another person but the other person's posts may have been deleted. Another user also noted this: "Looks as if someone deleted their part of the conversation."

Joe seemed to post in "code" in several of his entries. For example, numerous posts talk about "wizards." In September, a friend had tagged Joe on a Craigslist job posting in Austin for "one talented witch or wizard" that was needed to assist "in a special project in the next few weeks." Family has said he was expected to be in Austin for a gig the first part of November, so this could be the referenced job. On October 15th, he posted to a friend: "I don't mean to bother you, we have very serious wizard activity near Downtown Little Rock. We need the squid over here posthaste. I'm coming down to your neighborhood in early November. Wizards!" Interestingly, "wizard" is sometimes used as code for marijuana. Due to its "magic-inducing powers," Urban Dictionary states that those who partake in it turns into witches and warlocks. Is it possible Joe and his friend were speaking in code? Maybe, or perhaps it was just a joke post.

It is a convoluted and mysterious case. A Grammy Award winning artist who was known literally world-wide and who was working with the McClellan school band to get its drum line in shape, who played drums for a local church in their services, who was instrumental in helping a blues legend have a career rebirth, and who was working at creating his own non-profit organization that would help children through music would never be expected to come up missing the way Joe has. But then you look at the other facts - he was possibly intoxicated according to some reports, in a neighborhood with an apparent history of crime, and is believed to have had a large amount of cash in his wallet. His job involved working at a Halfway house with people with troubled pasts. He had made a post that seemed to indicate he may have been threatened by someone and let them know that he would not back down.

So what are the possibilities of what may have happened? Could he have left North Texas for a reason unbeknownst to us? Would someone from that area have followed him to Little Rock to exact revenge or other reasons? Was someone - perhaps from the Halfway House that felt they were treated unfairly - after him? It was not a secret that Joe frequented White Water Tavern, so he would be easy to find late at night. And could he have found someone was after him and simply decided to get away while he still could? In fact there are posts stating Joe had come to Little Rock to "lay low," so perhaps he decided to "lay low" elsewhere without letting anyone know? Could he have uncovered a Cartel-related drug ring from his work with those in the Halfway House and is in protective custody or in the witness protection program? A person with the drum skills of Joe would have no problem getting work and being paid in cash in any part of the country or even the world. The primary thing everyone has been told to look for is his large mustache - which would be easy to shave by someone who does not want to be found. In fact, just a day before his disappearance, Joe posted the picture of a wax therapist from Dallas who specializes in removing hair. Is it possible that was a clue that Joe was ready to start a new life with a new face?

Pure speculation on all accounts, of course, but in a case when a popular and well-liked guy - and a guy who was truly wanting to make a difference in this world - we should not take anything off the table in trying to locate him. It is extremely disconcerting that no one has taken the lead to leverage the availability of literally thousands of his friends to conduct searches raise money for rewards and private investigators, or even a candlelight vigil to raise awareness. Is it possible police and family may know of a reason why such things are not needed?
Click to expand...

Excellent post pat, and welcome!
 
Joe's no longer in the group of pics of those still missing in Arkansas in the "Missing Persons of Arkansas" Facebook group. Am praying this means he has been found safe (such as in hospital, rehap or even jail) or that he has contacted the police or family saying he doesn't need to be found. However, there is no "UPDATE" noted on his original posting that indicates he has been found. Would seem there would be a flurry of news reports if the case has been closed.

It has been troubling that this case hasn't received more publicity if it is still active. Friends have offered to search, raise money for rewards and private investigators and hold candlelight vigils to help increase awareness, but those continue to be thwarted.

https://www.facebook.com/MissingPersonsofArkansas/
 
I live in Little Rock, graduated from Little Rock Central, and have been to Whitewater Tavern several times. I have seen this story in the local news, but there haven't been any updates lately. Reading about this case, being from Little Rock, having been a patron of Whitewater, and being extremely familiar with the Central High area I have a couple of initial thoughts.

My first initial concern is being at Whitewater late at night. This is a VERY dangerous part of Little Rock - especially late at night. For example, the area is so dangerous they have metal detectors at Central High and also have very strict rules about the students being outdoors after school hours (if they are there for practice, etc.) because of the heavy presence of gangs immediately around the school.

I am also concerned about him being too intoxicated to be served at Whitewater - a sort of dive bar where I've seen people in extremely bad shape still get served. So I wonder if he was in that bad of shape was he too intoxicated to call for a taxi or Uber and, if he did call, was he even able to communicate his address. It seems if he got a taxi it would be very easy to establish as the taxi company would have a record of someone getting a ride from Whitewater to his address. Also, it may be a little more difficult, but the same should be able to be determined with Uber.

If he walked home and got turned around, the Arkansas river (not a lake) is a shorter walk from Whitewater than his home. I have personally and through the news known of people who were intoxicated and ended up drowning in the river, which has a very strict rule of no swimming in downtown because the current is just way too fast. If he made it to the river it unfortunately would not end well.

Lastly, if he walked home and travelled in the correct direction he would have to cross a major freeway where he could have gotten a ride with the wrong person. At the same time, just walking from Whitewater to his home presents its own very real dangers considering the crime and gangs in this part of town.

This is a very mysterious case, but at the same time there have been a lot of mysterious disappearances in Little Rock suddenly in the last couple of years. Not too long ago another very popular member of the music community, who also lived in a area of town with a lot of crime, was found dead (murdered) with no answers in his case. Plus there have been a strange number of girls age 15-18 with no history of drugs, crime, or running away that have disappeared with no trace. One girl's car was found at her neighborhood pool/playground in a very upscale part of Little Rock. There probably isn't a connection with this case and the teenage girls, but it seems odd that two people in the music community have met a dark fate. I hope his family can get some answers, but unfortunately it is often a problem finding the missing in Little Rock.


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policyoftruth501 said:
I live in Little Rock, graduated from Little Rock Central, and have been to Whitewater Tavern several times. I have seen this story in the local news, but there haven't been any updates lately. Reading about this case, being from Little Rock, having been a patron of Whitewater, and being extremely familiar with the Central High area I have a couple of initial thoughts.

My first initial concern is being at Whitewater late at night. This is a VERY dangerous part of Little Rock - especially late at night. For example, the area is so dangerous they have metal detectors at Central High and also have very strict rules about the students being outdoors after school hours (if they are there for practice, etc.) because of the heavy presence of gangs immediately around the school.

I am also concerned about him being too intoxicated to be served at Whitewater - a sort of dive bar where I've seen people in extremely bad shape still get served. So I wonder if he was in that bad of shape was he too intoxicated to call for a taxi or Uber and, if he did call, was he even able to communicate his address. It seems if he got a taxi it would be very easy to establish as the taxi company would have a record of someone getting a ride from Whitewater to his address. Also, it may be a little more difficult, but the same should be able to be determined with Uber.

If he walked home and got turned around, the Arkansas river (not a lake) is a shorter walk from Whitewater than his home. I have personally and through the news known of people who were intoxicated and ended up drowning in the river, which has a very strict rule of no swimming in downtown because the current is just way too fast. If he made it to the river it unfortunately would not end well.

Lastly, if he walked home and travelled in the correct direction he would have to cross a major freeway where he could have gotten a ride with the wrong person. At the same time, just walking from Whitewater to his home presents its own very real dangers considering the crime and gangs in this part of town.

This is a very mysterious case, but at the same time there have been a lot of mysterious disappearances in Little Rock suddenly in the last couple of years. Not too long ago another very popular member of the music community, who also lived in a area of town with a lot of crime, was found dead (murdered) with no answers in his case. Plus there have been a strange number of girls age 15-18 with no history of drugs, crime, or running away that have disappeared with no trace. One girl's car was found at her neighborhood pool/playground in a very upscale part of Little Rock. There probably isn't a connection with this case and the teenage girls, but it seems odd that two people in the music community have met a dark fate. I hope his family can get some answers, but unfortunately it is often a problem finding the missing in Little Rock.


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Click to expand...

I agree with all you said, especially that he was in a very dangerous area. What puzzles me, though, is the area (according to his friends) has been searched thoroughly without a trace. It's rare a mugger would take the time to hide the body, unless there was a dumpster nearby (and even that would take a lot of time that muggers usually don't spend). Now if it happened near the water - all bets are off. It would be nice if we could get an update from the family or police as to which direction he headed when he left. They indicate they have also reviewed all commercial security footage from businesses nearby, so they should be able to tell where he drops off the radar as well.

Google maps shows David D. Terry Lake due north of White Water Tavern. Apparently this is a dammed portion of the Arkansas River? I suppose the only difference it would make is that a body would likely be carried away by the current if it's the river portion.

I was not aware another popular musician had disappeared recently. That is definitely something worth exploring.
 
The other musician is T.C. Edwards. He was found murdered, shot in the head, at a home no where near where he lived - actually about a 30 minute drive or more. He didn't have a car and walked to and from his home to where he worked, which is a bar about a 5 minute drive from Whitewater tavern (the same general area of Little Rock) No one knows why or how he ended up where he was found murdered at 4:00 in the morning after leaving the bar where he worked and his murder still hasn't been solved. This happened in December 2014. There may not be a connection, but there are a lot of odd coincidences.

http://katv.com/news/local/tc-edwards-still-searching-for-answers-two-years-later


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PatTheRat said:
Looks like the TC Edwards case was solved about a year and half ago. Sad someone would do that to an autistic man who was so loved by the community. Still, shows how violent that area is. The vacant house where TC was murdered was only a few blocks south of where Joe lived.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlo...e-count-charges-related-to-tc-edwards-dropped
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That article isn't about T.C.'s homicide. That is about a string of robberies committed by Smalley about 7 months before T.C. was murdered. Smalley is suspected in T.C.'s homicide, but there has never been enough evidence to bring charges. The homicide remains unsolved.


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policyoftruth501 said:
That article isn't about T.C.'s homicide. That is about a string of robberies committed by Smalley about 7 months before T.C. was murdered. Smalley is suspected in T.C.'s homicide, but there has never been enough evidence to bring charges. The homicide remains unsolved.


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Click to expand...

policyoftruth501 said:
That article isn't about T.C.'s homicide. That is about a string of robberies committed by Smalley about 7 months before T.C. was murdered. Smalley is suspected in T.C.'s homicide, but there has never been enough evidence to bring charges. The homicide remains unsolved.


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Click to expand...

The article is actually about TC's robbery case. Unfortunately, with him being murdered, they had to drop the counts related to it since he was the only eyewitness. The charge Smalley was actually convicted of was related to a different shooting, not TC's, which I had misread. The shooting was related to charges against Smalley involving another person after they got into a fight over comments about a red hat while pumping gas. Red hats, incidentally, are often tied to several gangs, particularly the Bloods.

KATV recently ran another broadcast about TC's case: http://katv.com/news/local/tc-edwards-still-searching-for-answers-two-years-later

Hopefully they find answers in both TC's case as well as Joe's.
 
A former bandmate of Cripps is in Little Rock looking for him. Much of what he's found confirms what we already knew - Joe was very drunk the night he went missing, lived in a rough neighborhood, and the railroad tracks area near the White Water Tavern is full of homeless people who "will mug you and beat the **** out of you."

"Hernandez offered to start a account to raise money for the family so they could hire a private investigator, but the family declined and said they were going to let the police handle Cripps' disappearance."

http://www.dallasobserver.com/music...g-search-for-brave-combo-s-joe-cripps-9074732
 
Joe was always the type who would go the extra mile to help others. In doing my daily checks on his case, I ran across this article that really shows this side of the person we're all hoping comes home soon:

"Sitting down with us one afternoon at Banter in Denton, Haskins recalls telling the guards that they couldn't read his mail because the inmate rights protected it, since it was a letter to the press. He had thought about writing songs while he was in jail, but it was Joe Cripps, from the Grammy Award-Wining band Brave Combo, who really pushed him to do so. Cripps is with him today at Banter. Three of the songs Haskins wrote in jail for the Unmarked Graves are part of their new five track EP Ride, Boldly Ride, which he'll celebrate tomorrow night with a release party at Banter on Saturday."

It doesn't surprise me at all that he had a job in Little Rock helping rehabilitate folks coming out of prison. That's just who he was.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/richard-haskins-turns-a-new-page-with-ride-boldly-ride-7071100
 
Today marks 3 months since Joe disappeared and it appears we are no closer to bringing him home.

Family and police are being very tight-lipped, even after an emotional trip to LR by his former bandmate to search for him. We as of yet still do not know what direction he was seen heading after he left the night club. Was he heading home? Was he heading towards the river/lake? Was he heading towards the railroad tracks? Was he heading towards downtown where more bars awaited? Was he heading towards a liquor store? Just a basic direction would help tremendously, but this information is still being withheld from the public.

In my opinion, had he went anywhere but the river/lake and met with foul play, his body would have been recovered by now. A mugger or someone committing a random act of violence is unlikely to spend much time hiding a body. Even lifting a body up into a dumpster takes a lot of effort and time that few bother with. The one area, however, that concerns me is if he went near the river/lake. It would be very easy for a mugger to simply push him into the water, or given his mental state to fall into it. But the lake portion was the closest to him, meaning the current would be lower and less likely that a body would be pushed downstream. It would make sense that his body would have surfaced by now had this been the case.

What scenarios exist that do not involve foul play?

Some friends have said he might be in rehab. Joe had went to rehab in the past for alcoholism and it seems Joe had begun drinking again the night he went missing. Could he have decided to take his last paycheck and admit himself and cut ties with everyone until he was released? It's a possibility. Family has stated they have contacted some rehabs looking for him, but we have no information on which ones. It's also unclear whether a rehab facility would even tell you if a person has been admitted, especially if the person tells them they do not want anyone to know they are there. Rehab for alcoholism typically lasts 90 days, which if this is the case for Joe he might be released any day. Some programs, however, can last as long as 18 months. Inpatient rehabs are extremely expensive; 90 days could cost as much as $60,000. An outpatient program is much cheaper - costing only $5,000 for a 90 day program - but that would seem unlikely.

Some have pondered that Joe may have uncovered a drug ring in Little Rock related to the men he worked with at the Rehab facility. Could there have been drug Cartel connections and Joe was put into a witness protection type program? Or did Joe make one of these men in Rehab angry - possibly by sending them back to prison? Was Joe worried enough about it that he had family help him go somewhere that he could lay low? Interestingly, someone had mentioned that Joe came to Little Rock to lay low - is it possible someone from Denton had been angered at him that caused him to need to lay low and they were threatening to come after him in Little Rock? Recent posts on Facebook seem to indicate Joe was possibly being threatened by someone. The post to his nephew may have been a code to let family know that he was going to be leaving. Is it possible the inebriation at the bar he was last seen was just an act?

The day he went missing, Joe had contacted his nephew about camping. Many have indicated Joe would go into the Pacific Northwest to camp; others still have said he would go near Buffalo River in Arkansas to camp. Did he just decide to go camping without family? It's also possible this was a signal to family he simply was leaving and would be laying low for awhile. No information has been forthcoming from family or police that any camping areas that Joe frequented have been checked.

Joe had a gig in Austin in November that was related to "wizards and witches." The Craigslist ad has since been removed, but the introduction made little sense. It did indicate the possibility that it could turn into more work down the road. Is it possible Joe left early for the gig and is still working it in the Austin area? The same friend who told Joe about the "wizard" gig was sent several posts from Joe that included pictures of "wizards" in various locations throughout Little Rock. Wizards can indicate someone who is smoking marijuana, so it's difficult to tell with any certainty what the posts meant.

Another possibility is that Joe is in a hospital due to a mental or physical condition that is not allowing him to remember who he is. Family has indicated they have contacted all local hospitals without success.

Police seem to be content to work the case without any help from Joe's many friends. Many have contacted family asking about search parties and raising funds for external help, but they have all been thwarted.

I definitely hope Joe is okay and simply laying low for some reason. Hopefully whatever has caused him to do so will soon pass and he can again come home to friends and family in the very near future. He has lots of folks all over the world worried and praying for his safe return.
 
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