MO MO - Ashley Martinez, 15, St. Joseph, 6 July 2004

[CastlesBurning]

Eight years of Dateline's Missing in America: 169 still missing

Ashley Martinez was only 15 years old when she disappeared from Krug Park in St. Joseph, Missouri on July 6, 2004. She had been spending the day at the pool with her younger brother, but when their mother came to pick them up, Ashley was gone. Her brother and other witnesses said she had gotten into a car with a man later identified as Christopher Hart. Ashley’s friends and witnesses from the pool were questioned and told police that Ashley had talked about running away. In the months following Ashley’s disappearance, Hart was arrested multiple times on unrelated charges. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Missouri for assault and tampering with a motor vehicle. The current investigator on the case, Sgt. Jason Strong, told Dateline that Hart is a person of interest in Ashley's disappearance. He added that authorities have followed up on all recent tips in the case and used Ashley’s DNA to compare with unidentified bodies found in the area, but nothing has led to Ashley. At the time of her disappearance, Ashley was 5’3” tall and weighed about 110 lbs. She has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, and has a scar on her left wrist. Her tongue, naval and ears are pierced. In July 2014, Ashley’s family and the St. Joseph Parks, Recreation & Civic Faculties Department, planted a sugar maple tree at Krug pool. Tammy told Dateline that the specific tree was chosen because in the fall its leaves turn red - Ashley’s favorite color. The idea of the tree was Ashley’s grandmother’s. In early 2021, Ashley’s grandmother died and the family has since planted another tree, this time in her honor, right next to Ashley’s tree. Anyone with information about Ashley’s case is asked to contact the St. Joseph Police Department at either 816-271-4777 or 816-271-4747. Tips can also be called into the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-800-877-3452

 

[kimmo]

Bumping for Ashley

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Anniversary of disappearance today.

 

[dotr]

July 20 2022

No answers 18 years after Ashley Martinez disappeared

It’s been 18 years since Ashley Martinez disappeared after a trip to Krug Pool, and her case has left more questions than answers.

www.newspressnow.com

''New information about the case was discovered more than a year ago, but those leads have since gone cold. News-Press NOW obtained an unseen affidavit provided by the Hart family that says another witness saw Martinez with a different man months after she went missing.
“I saw Ashley Martinez standing on the northeast corner of Frederick Street and Leonard Road with a tall African American man,” Denise Campbell, the witness, wrote in the affidavit. “(They) turned north on Leonard Road (and) Ashley waved to me.”
Kerns said the police department hasn’t found any relevant information regarding the affidavit. He also said a missing person case spanning nearly two decades becomes more difficult with each passing year.''

''If you know any information about Ashley Martinez’s disappearance, contact the St. Joseph Police Department at 816-238-TIPS.''

 

[ekardh]

It read like an open and shut case, runaway teenager manipulated by an older man, ending in foul play. That was until the principal threw a curve ball with her sighting. However, I have my doubts about this witness. There was no recording of this sighting until 2009, and it doesn't seem to have come to light until the witness met Christopher Hart's mother. And if this was the case, wouldn't Christopher Hart have mentioned this to exonerate himself? Instead he's kept schtum about Ashley's disappearance. Unless of course he's not compos mentis to discuss the case, even if he wanted to?

Someone else also raised a good point: the witness claimed that she partly recognised Ashley because she was wearing clothes she'd worn before, but Ashley wasn't wearing those clothes when she went to the pool, and she never returned home to change, so how was she wearing the same clothes she wore to school?

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 5, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/nine-years-dateline-s-missing-america-188-still-missing-n1301708

Ashley Martinez was only 15 years old when she disappeared from Krug Park in St. Joseph, Missouri on July 6, 2004. She had been spending the day at the pool with her younger brother, but when their mother, Tammy Mack, came to pick them up, Ashley was gone. Her brother and other witnesses said she had gotten into a car with a man later identified as Christopher Hart. Ashley’s friends and witnesses from the pool were questioned and told police that Ashley had talked about running away. In 2021, the investigator on the case, Sergeant Jason Strong, told Dateline that Hart is a person of interest in Ashley's disappearance, though he has not officially been named a suspect. Hart told St. Joseph’s News-Press NOW he had nothing to do with Ashley’s disappearance. In November 2022, Missouri State Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Sergeant Bill Lowe told Dateline Ashley's case is still open and active. At the time of her disappearance, Ashley was 5’3” and weighed about 110 lbs., with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a scar on her left wrist. Her tongue, naval and ears are pierced. Anyone with information about Ashley’s case is asked to contact the St. Joseph Police Department at either 816-271-4777 or 816-271-4747. Tips can also be called into the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-800-877-3452.

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Bumping. Anniversary of disappearance.

 

[kimmo]

I was a teenager living in Missouri, like Ashley, in the early 2000's. Her case haunts me. I think of it often. I hope she is found soon. It's been too long.