I know I have said this before - maybe you missed it... This STINKs to high hell in my book. It further adds to Janelle's inconsistent behavior around the time of the disappearance. I know not a single person, that would just walk right into someone's house that they had never been to. As Janelle implied they were hardly friends, that makes her actions that much more unreasonable. Not only did she walk right in, she ended up cleaning up and hanging out there. I just can't buy it.
Referring to Suzie, as "the other girl" are you kidding me? I'll always wonder if the SPD did enough diligence in clearing her, or if they were too busy looking for a 1960's van to do so. Was she the one person that failed the lie detector?
It's a shame a new set of eyes can't be placed onto this case. I think there was some tunnel vision from the start and perhaps the answer was right in front of them the whole time.
Bystander...you are pretty much were I am, but it would appear you got there far sooner than me. I've always been uneasy about the First Responders and I'm now critical, and everything I read and hear, pushes me further in that direction.
I had initially thought these girls were 'casual friends' by even h/s standards. That would explain the carefree thought of, '...guess they weren't to Branson...(oh, well, off I go).' That's defensible, but it wouldn't explain the care Jannelle gave to calling all morning, visiting the house, going inside and so forth. So, ok, they were 'close friends.' That would explain calling that morning, going over (even though she'd never been there), going in the house and so on, I'll accept that. But, why leave ? What's the hurry ?
Let's all step back a moment in time. Personally, I'm a little older than these girls, I remember h/s graduation, I remember 1992 and I remember life before cell phones. If I was to meet up with a close friend after a given party, I call them early in the morning (9 AM is early in my memory of youth), nobody answers. I go over, see the cars parked outside, house unlocked, TV on (not unheard of in today's world, some folks do it more than others though), purses lined up, beds unmade. Creepy calls to the house I answer, hang up, calls accidently erased in the process (it's possible). Then, I leave ? What's the rush ? Again, let's go back in time, these kids just graduated h/s, a WHOLE Summer to visit waterparks. Somebody catching a flight to Europe tomorrow ? Someone starts a new corporate job Monday ? How about calling back home, 'Hey Ma (sis, whoever), the girls aren't here, did they call there ?' Call the McCall household, so Mrs. McCall was out, what about Stacy's siblings, father, or just leave a message ? I'm sure Jennelle had other names and phone numbers of mutual friends to them she could have also consulted via a simple phone call. Strike out ? Stay and wait, what's the hurry ? I would argue, that's what 'close friends' do. A casual friend would have left, yes, but a casual friend would have never go over to the house to begin with. You can't have it both ways.
The other theme about these girls that continues to be repeated is about how they were going to 'move apart' after graduation (some going to college and some not). Stacy was to attend SMS in the Fall and I believe it was offered she was going to be in the dorms with Jannelle. OK, not exactly the other side of the country, they would stay in Greene County Missouri. Suzie was to attend trade school in cosmetology in the Fall (in her mother's footsteps). I don't know if that school was local, but it is at least inferred as, at the most, a car drive away. In geography terms, these three girls would EASILY be able to reconvene on the weekends, during breaks and Holidays. So, I'm left with thinking this 'breaking appart' was hardly geographic, but rather emotional.
I'm not accusing Jannelle of a crime and she was not the only First Responder. She may only be guilty of bad judgment, and/or have a very innocent better explanation for that morning's events. Many on this board and others through the years accept these actions as 'reasonable.' Reasonable people can agree to disagree and I do. In my view, applying the unemotional, dispassionate 'Reasonable Person Standard,' this story, as told, does not pass.