CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - # 2

[cloudajo]

I emailed Adam Thompson as well on 7/27/10. I have not received any answer either.
I am beginning to think he no longer works there.
I am thinking I should send an email to the editor.
Or I could call and see who might be handling a news article about/for Robert Harrod.

Yeah, I think Dolly said he doesn't cover Placentia anymore, but I was hoping he'd answer a quick email. I think the new reporter is Jessica Terrell.

 

[CA Exile]

Bob's glasses.

Here is my theory. SIL had been at the house most of the morning. When he left to run errands, Bob took a nap in his chair in the den. He was known to do that. He slept strange hours. Since he was alone, he slept and ate whenever he wanted, day or night. Anyway, after SIL left, he put his glasses on the table and sat in the chair. He heard the doorbell or a knock and just got up and answered it. He just did not pick up his glasses because he was just going to the door. He was not expecting to go out. And, no, I do not remember him without his glasses. If you forget where you left them when you just wake up, you go answer the door and look for them after.

The main problem is not his glasses. It is his keys and wallet. Where are they. If you find them, you may be closer to finding out what happened. Because, he apparently took them with him. They are missing.

 

[carterkatt]

Bob's glasses.

Here is my theory. SIL had been at the house most of the morning. When he left to run errands, Bob took a nap in his chair in the den. He was known to do that. He slept strange hours. Since he was alone, he slept and ate whenever he wanted, day or night. Anyway, after SIL left, he put his glasses on the table and sat in the chair. He heard the doorbell or a knock and just got up and answered it. He just did not pick up his glasses because he was just going to the door. He was not expecting to go out. And, no, I do not remember him without his glasses. If you forget where you left them when you just wake up, you go answer the door and look for them after.

The main problem is not his glasses. It is his keys and wallet. Where are they. If you find them, you may be closer to finding out what happened. Because, he apparently took them with him. They are missing.

Thanks for your answers. Do you think he habitually kept his keys and wallet in his pocket? Or... did he leave keys by the door and would have grabbed them on the way out? (If he was forced out of the house, he would not have thought to stop and grab keys???)

 

[cloudajo]

I am trying to remember correctly, but I think Robert had more than one pair of eye glasses.
Also, there was a picture in a news article of the eye glasses on the table and they look like they were placed there, ear pieces folded in..
at least that is what I think I remember.

Yes.

And two of his daughters posted about glasses on IS:

• Bob had some spare glasses but left the ones he wears most often sitting on the kitchen table.
• We found three pair of glasses and thought that was all he had, I doubt very seriously that he would have left without his glasses. He NEVER went without his glasses.

 

[CA Exile]

SuziQ211 may be right about some things. I may not be able to be as objective as I should be because I know the people discussed. I can not help that. You are very much entitled to your theories and opinions. That was what I understand this board is about. I am not going to stomp my feet and demand everyone trust me and agree with everything I have said. I have tried my best to be honest about what facts, feelings, and opinions I have. But, given my relation to the case and my friendship with Bob, I can offer where I feel things are on the right track or not.

Maybe R was doing damage control. I do not know. She seemed very sincere and shared a lot with me about what is going on with them. I know now why they have not spoken to me in the past year, but, I do not understand. Besides, I accept what she says until someone proves different.

Yes, they are watching. I would expect them to. He was their father. They want to know what is being said about the case and what people think. They had their own reasons for posting as they did on IS. I did not like it or agree with it, but I did not know him as a father, just a friend. And for only seven years at that. I suppose after all the flack they took on the IS board, they do not want to try to get into that on this board. I would not be surprised if Fontelle's children are not following along as well. But, I do not know about that. Anyone who cares about Bob and this case would be watching this board including police and attorneys. I believe the police need all the help they can get.

As far as the Placentia PD, I have made no secret about my feelings. I feel they have bungled this case from the start. I feel they have followed ideas that are nonsense and should have been eliminated within the first few hours of the case (dementia, cold feet). Also, living there for almost twelve years and my own discussions with them on other matters, I am not confident in their ability. No matter what the press says, NO ONE HAS BEEN CLEARED IN THIS CASE. That is as plain as I can make it. I do not believe Fontelle or Bob's family had anything to do with his disappearance. I say that, not the police or the press. This is still an open case as far as I know. If it turns out to be different from what I believe, then I will have been wrong. That is all I can say.

 

[CA Exile]

You are right about the glasses. He could have extra pairs. I need glasses for reading. I leave on pair in each car as well as one upstairs and one downstairs in the house. The keys are what still bother me. I do not remember if he kept his keys on him at all time or not.

I am sorry to sound like I do not know much about his personal habits. But, I honestly never thought about such things as if he went out with or without his keys and wallet or how many pairs of glasses he had. I am just trying to be as honest as I can.

 

[cloudajo]

Yes, but........ and think of it this way. Could they have done so because they KNEW it would keep people talking about their dads case? Reverse psychology kind of thing.

MOO

ETA: Not everyone would agree with Bob being a stingy, cross, cold old man. Lots of media stories showed differently. This COULD have been a strategy by the daughters to keep people talking about the case long after media quit printig it. The internet is a might thing..... Here we are STILL talking about it a year later. If Bobs daughters had NOT posted what they did, would Bobs case still be discussed or buried pages into this forum with few posts?

jmo

FWIW, most of the horrible things they posted were not questioned on the other board.

 

[CA Exile]

Unless you have lived with a person or known them their entire life, there is only so much you can know about them. I never disputed what Bob's daughters said. He was not like that when I knew him. But, I did not know him until 2002. Whatever happened before that, I do not know.

 

[Fairy1]

The three daughters felt the hairdresser was taking advantage of their dad. They asked CA Protectives Services for the Elderly, (sorry don't know the official CA name) to check into the situation.
Protective Services had either been out or talked with Robert Harrod once and he did not want them coming around.
But, they were due to come out on that Wed., July 28, 2009 for a home visit. That case worker arrived that afternoon.
And of course, Robert Harrod was missing.

Yes, and I can see how this whole thing may have irritated Bob and caused some friction between him and his daughters. He obviously had his mind made up about her - despite the concerns of others who cared about him.

 

[Fairy1]

SuziQ211 may be right about some things. I may not be able to be as objective as I should be because I know the people discussed. I can not help that. You are very much entitled to your theories and opinions. That was what I understand this board is about. I am not going to stomp my feet and demand everyone trust me and agree with everything I have said. I have tried my best to be honest about what facts, feelings, and opinions I have. But, given my relation to the case and my friendship with Bob, I can offer where I feel things are on the right track or not.

Maybe R was doing damage control. I do not know. She seemed very sincere and shared a lot with me about what is going on with them. I know now why they have not spoken to me in the past year, but, I do not understand. Besides, I accept what she says until someone proves different.

Yes, they are watching. I would expect them to. He was their father. They want to know what is being said about the case and what people think. They had their own reasons for posting as they did on IS. I did not like it or agree with it, but I did not know him as a father, just a friend. And for only seven years at that. I suppose after all the flack they took on the IS board, they do not want to try to get into that on this board. I would not be surprised if Fontelle's children are not following along as well. But, I do not know about that. Anyone who cares about Bob and this case would be watching this board including police and attorneys. I believe the police need all the help they can get.

As far as the Placentia PD, I have made no secret about my feelings. I feel they have bungled this case from the start. I feel they have followed ideas that are nonsense and should have been eliminated within the first few hours of the case (dementia, cold feet). Also, living there for almost twelve years and my own discussions with them on other matters, I am not confident in their ability. No matter what the press says, NO ONE HAS BEEN CLEARED IN THIS CASE. That is as plain as I can make it. I do not believe Fontelle or Bob's family had anything to do with his disappearance. I say that, not the police or the press. This is still an open case as far as I know. If it turns out to be different from what I believe, then I will have been wrong. That is all I can say.

All excellent (and diplomatic!) points.

I very much appreciate your insights. It wasn't until recently I realized that so much of what we knew came from the posts the daughters made on the other site. I wasn't really bothered by the comments they made. He was their father and they knew him. It may not have been very tactful, but I felt they were honest. And, I don't have a lot of nice things to say about my own father. But he isn't missing.

 

[Cubby]

About the shop, I honestly do not know. The day I went down there to look at her truck, she was the only one there. I do not know if she rents a seat or is the manager or the owner. I never asked.

The houses are built on concrete slabs. And, yes the attic and area around the house were searched. The lots are only about a total of 7,000 square feet. And the house is around 2,000.

I like the way Basic thinks. So I will try to answer best I can:

She knew about the money. We all knew. I just did not know how much. As far as friends today, maybe she has convinced Fontelle of her innocence. I honestly do not know. She believes the hairdresser is innocent. I told her I do not agree and to be careful. I do not trust her at all. She may be trying to get in Fontelle's good graces for a chance at more money. I do not know.

As to Bob being lured, I agree. But, there is no sign of struggle within the house. No one has reported seeing anything. That was why I believe he might have been lured with a false emergency or something.

If it was someone besides the hairdresser such as husband or associate, they would not be dumb enough to drive a commercial vehicle down a residential street. The, again, people have home improvements, plumbers, HVAC, and other services. Since SIL was working at the house, a commercial vehicle may not have looked out of place to anyone if they saw it. Also, if they did see it, they would have reported it by now.

I do know her name, but for the sake of this forum, I have been asked not to use it. Out of respect to the owners and the moderators, I do not.

Bob's glasses.

Here is my theory. SIL had been at the house most of the morning. When he left to run errands, Bob took a nap in his chair in the den. He was known to do that. He slept strange hours. Since he was alone, he slept and ate whenever he wanted, day or night. Anyway, after SIL left, he put his glasses on the table and sat in the chair. He heard the doorbell or a knock and just got up and answered it. He just did not pick up his glasses because he was just going to the door. He was not expecting to go out. And, no, I do not remember him without his glasses. If you forget where you left them when you just wake up, you go answer the door and look for them after.

The main problem is not his glasses. It is his keys and wallet. Where are they. If you find them, you may be closer to finding out what happened. Because, he apparently took them with him. They are missing.

Not caught up reading yet but I have to comment on the eye glasses being IN the home, the keys and wallet missing. What if someone drugged Bob, got him drowsy enough to walk out of the home (so he would not be heavy to carry later) put him somewhere and suffocated him? They could have taken the wallet and keys to make it appear as if Bob left of his own accord and leaving the eye glasses behind was an oversight.

That leads us back to SIL having the most opportunity based on the amount of time he was there...... unless he was shopping and running errands for a longer period of time than we know.... leaving a window of opportunity for someone else.

Just thinking outloud.

 

[Cubby]

FWIW, most of the horrible things they posted were not questioned on the other board.

but WS and IS have two very different rules......

jmo.......

 

[Cubby]

Here is the scoop folks.

Because the hairdresser and her DH were investigated for possible elder abuse, or something similiar to that they can be tied to this case reasonably. They can be sleuthed. IF they have any criminal record it can be linked. Their names can be shared via PM to anyone who requests them, but we will discuss them by using their initials only. By using initials we protect their privacy.

If any criminal history... or something that can be related to the case shows up, it is fair game. Anything non related, like traffic tickets not fair game. In other words if you find something make sure it can be tied to support theories in Bobs case.

IF the hair dresser's name has been made public in any media about the case posting her full name with a link to the article is ok.

If you are unsure if posting something is ok or not, ask myself or another mod assigned to this forum.

hth
Cubby
(moderator)

 

[DollyPardonMe]

Paul:
IMO, R called you to do damage control and to get information. I read the threat from P - people can be criminally or civilly prosecuted for threats like this. R used to work for a police department and would know this. It’s not for me to forgive but I certainly won’t forget.

I’m wondering why the 50-something year old daughters are on this board monitoring and being so worried about what‘s being said concerning them? I would think it would be more productive for them to update the Facebook and Myspace pages setup for Bob last year and turned over to them, that don‘t have a single update. Or talking to the media to get the word out. Or holding a vigil. Or offering a reward. Or organizing a search. I wish they would be as focused about those things, yet I see many filings by them on the trust proceedings and conservatorship. How much work and time went into that? One of them posted last year on the IS board that the trust was not their concern and had nothing to do with locating their dad - 1st find dad; 2nd he will handle those matters upon his return. What happened to that idea? Couldn’t both things be done at the same time?

Of course R said SIL (her sister’s husband) is a good man. He might very well be but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t responsible for a horrible act. I’m looking at all events leading up to Bob’s disappearance, each person‘s possible state of mind, motive, means, and opportunity, and the events and actions that occurred after. That leads me to a certain place for now.

PPD didn’t treat Bob’s house as a potential crime scene and bought the story “someone” told them in the first 3 days about Bob having cold feet. Loomis said in an article they didn’t ramp up a serious investigation (not that it was ever treated seriously) in hopes he would come home Wednesday, and that she talked to Fontelle at length Wed night after Fontelle returned from MO. My speculation is that this is when Fontelle told Loomis about the phone call with Bob Sunday night where he told her that his daughters became upset when he told them he planned to include Fontelle in the estate. By that time, there had been a houskeeper that cleaned, the SIL had hours in that house after his return from Home Depot, and the SIL’s wife J and other two daughters were in the house in the days following.

You are entitled to your opinion and your insight is appreciated, just like everyone else on this board. I just have a different opinion.

BBM
I'm in my 50's and if someone was insinuating that I had something to do with the disappearance of my father I would be concerned!

I understand the daughters wanted to offer a reward but were turned down for funds by the courts due to something about conservatorship or something..They also hired a private investigator..Also, I would say my Dad might have cold feet if I couldn't for the life of me figure out what happened to my father..

 

[cloudajo]

Does anyone know if the hairdresser's salon is open or closed on Mondays?

 

[cloudajo]

BBM
I'm in my 50's and if someone was insinuating that I had something to do with the disappearance of my father I would be concerned!

I understand the daughters wanted to offer a reward but were turned down for funds by the courts due to something about conservatorship or something..They also hired a private investigator..Also, I would say my Dad might have cold feet if I couldn't for the life of me figure out what happened to my father..

They kept posting about how they were Bob’s “real family,” the “life-long family,” his “daughters of up to 55 consecutive years.” Between the three of them, they haven’t been able to scrape together a $5,000 reward after 1 year?

I’m following another case of a missing woman and the police obviously wrote her off as leaving on her own and haven’t done much. The family, who is not well off, has been holding benefits where they cook and sell plates of food to raise money for a reward, which started at $5,000 and is now up to $20,000 after 4 months.

IMO, I think it’s possible the daughters may have hired the investigator and entered Bob’s info on various sites as part of the steps they are required to follow to declare him dead after 5 years (now 4).

 

[cloudajo]

The Placentia Police Department website lists two missing persons:

Robert Harrod
Lindsay Leigh Ekelund, 20 or 21 years old

http://placentia.org/index.aspx?nid=129

Is it up to the PPD to ask for help from other agencies? Are they accountable to the Orange County Sheriff does anyone know? I sent an email to the OC Sheriff about Bob's case anyway.

http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Sheriff-Coroner

 

[Fairy1]

They kept posting about how they were Bob’s “real family,” the “life-long family,” his “daughters of up to 55 consecutive years.” Between the three of them, they haven’t been able to scrape together a $5,000 reward after 1 year?

They are Bob's family - for more than a few months. And lots of folks have fallen on hard times. Not everyone has the $$$ to make things happen when LE drops the ball.

I’m following another case of a missing woman and the police obviously wrote her off as leaving on her own and haven’t done much. The family, who is not well off, has been holding benefits where they cook and sell plates of food to raise money for a reward, which started at $5,000 and is now up to $20,000 after 4 months.

Maybe the daughters and Fontelle are hoping LE will actually do their job and search for Bob.

IMO, I think it’s possible the daughters may have hired the investigator and entered Bob’s info on various sites as part of the steps they are required to follow to declare him dead after 5 years (now 4).

What has Fontelle done to find her husband? Has she hired a PI? Has she had Bob entered on the missing persons sites? After all, she and Bob re-connected via the Internet. Surely she (or her kids) recognize the power of the Internet???

 

[Angelo]

I emailed Adam Thompson as well on 7/27/10. I have not received any answer either.
I am beginning to think he no longer works there.
I am thinking I should send an email to the editor.
Or I could call and see who might be handling a news article about/for Robert Harrod.

He does work there. He responded to my email and told me the OC Reg. would be doing a story. He said in the "near future", whatever that means.

That was about a month ago.

 

[Angelo]

They are Bob's family - for more than a few months. And lots of folks have fallen on hard times. Not everyone has the $$$ to make things happen when LE drops the ball.



Maybe the daughters and Fontelle are hoping LE will actually do their job and search for Bob.



What has Fontelle done to find her husband? Has she hired a PI? Has she had Bob entered on the missing persons sites? After all, she and Bob re-connected via the Internet. Surely she (or her kids) recognize the power of the Internet???

Fontelle is 74 years-old and legally blind. I do not think she is able to use a computer.