Found Deceased TN - David Riemens, 60, Watertown, 8 Aug 2012

[shefner]

From David Is Missing FB page:
~David met the "old man" @ LuLu's in Watertown on either, Sunday 7/29 or Saturday night 8/4.
~He went to the mans property twice, to pick up old brick with the old man.
~There were 2 older men laying block while David was there. These 2 men are VERY important to find also. They would know the property owner and the contractor.
~ David was able to drive from Donny and Laura's farm in Shop Springs to the mans property, pick up the brick, and then drive back in about an hour. This is an important clue in regard to the geography.

 

[shefner]

Also important: David DID NOT have a cell phone.

 

[ohhieliz]

If David was in fact, bidding that job with the man his family said he'd seen twice before, I feel that David was either a) robbed or b) saw something he wasn't supposed to see and was hurt.

the other option, of course, is that he got into a truck to work with a different man to bid a different job entirely.

 

[cutter99]

I read the entire Facebook page and all the comments last night. There are a few things that stick out.

1) David did not have a cell phone. He used a land line and phone records were checked but nothing came from them.

2) David did not own a computer or use the internet so it was most likely not a job bid coming from a internet ad.

3) David has visited the job site before and got some antique bricks from the "elderly gentleman".

4) The job site must have been within a short driving distance from Shop Springs, TN. He left to pick up the antique bricks and returned within an hour, so the driving distance could not have been bery far.

5) The Facebook page has not been very active since May of last year, except for people other than the administrators commenting.

6) In one comment, someone questioned whether the "elderly gentleman" actually existed. What does it mean if the "elderly gentleman" did not exist? Why would David create an "elderly gentleman"? What would the purpose of that be?

7) I noticed that in a description of David that he was described as "sober". I was wondering if this referred to a previous issues with either drugs or alcohol. PLEASE NOTE- I am not judging by putting this hereor trying to suggest he had issues, but if sobriety was a previous issue, it could be a factor in his disappearance. And I am saying this coming from the position of a spouse of a recovering alcoholic.

8) There is no discussion of his mental state- had he ever suffered from depression, was he excited about his trip home to MI, had he just ended a relationship, etc.

 

[cutter99]

Just a few more points.

9) David was known to be a "give the shirt of his back" sort of man and kind as well.

10) He had no known enemies or grudges with anyone.

11) No other person, including an "elderly gentleman" was reported missing at or around this time. If the "elderly gentleman" was not reported missing or did not disappear, where is he and why has he not come forward? He was reported to be building a home for his child and their spouse so would they not be aware of his whereabouts?

12) His stone masonry look to be of exceptional quality and David also was a beautiful artist.

13) David has siblings as well as other family memebers, who appear to be very interested in his safe return, so I would take that to mean they are somewhat close.

14) David first met the "elderly gentleman" at Lulu's Cafe' and Coffeehouse in Watertown at an evening of music sometime between 7-9 days before he disappeared.

15) Others attending Lulu's that night have offered video and pictures from the evening and no unidentified people stuck out.

16) Dogs were used in the parking lot at the Dollar General parking lot where David's truck was found and the dogs indicated that David got into another vehicle.

 

[OldSteve]

Thanks Cutter99 for the excellent list of points 1 -16!

Seems there have a few cases in he past year I've been following of men just disappearing without a trace, or without cause...
What kind of vehicle did he drive, and since that appears missing, I'm wondering if the could have gone off the road someplace by accident, or illness?

 

[ohhieliz]

Thanks Cutter99 for the excellent list of points 1 -16!

Seems there have a few cases in he past year I've been following of men just disappearing without a trace, or without cause...
What kind of vehicle did he drive, and since that appears missing, I'm wondering if the could have gone off the road someplace by accident, or illness?

Dave's car is not missing, it was found in the Dollar General parking lot, where the family and LE searched it for clues. I am not sure/it is unclear what type of car Dave left in.

 

[shefner]

Thanks Cutter99 for the excellent list of points 1 -16!

Seems there have a few cases in he past year I've been following of men just disappearing without a trace, or without cause...
What kind of vehicle did he drive, and since that appears missing, I'm wondering if the could have gone off the road someplace by accident, or illness?

It is believed David got into a vehicle with someone, probably the "older man," and left with him. His own vehicle was found in the DG parking lot....and dogs traced his scent to an area not far from the parking lot.

 

[cutter99]

One VERY strange thing I noted from the Facebook page about David's truck... it was left in the parking lot at Dollar General for at least a month after he disappeared. It sounds like it was never impounded and search forensically. It was moved from the Dollar General parking lot to the parking lot of Sun Graphics or nearby a little more than a month after David disappeared. David's friends want to keep the truck in the public eye, hoping it would cause someone to remember something and speak up. Eventually, it was taken back to the farm he lived on with friends.

I'm not sure what would justify not doing a forensic investigation on David's truck. Did LE not take his disappearance seriously and just assume he was a walk away?

Old Steve- I totally agree with you about men disappearing and not being found. I just do not understand it!

 

[OldSteve]

Thanks all ^^ for info about his truck. I should have seen that mentioned #16 in the list! Thanks for your patience...

 

[Iluminada]

Just a few more points.

9) David was known to be a "give the shirt of his back" sort of man and kind as well.

10) He had no known enemies or grudges with anyone.

11) No other person, including an "elderly gentleman" was reported missing at or around this time. If the "elderly gentleman" was not reported missing or did not disappear, where is he and why has he not come forward? He was reported to be building a home for his child and their spouse so would they not be aware of his whereabouts?

12) His stone masonry look to be of exceptional quality and David also was a beautiful artist.

13) David has siblings as well as other family memebers, who appear to be very interested in his safe return, so I would take that to mean they are somewhat close.

14) David first met the "elderly gentleman" at Lulu's Cafe' and Coffeehouse in Watertown at an evening of music sometime between 7-9 days before he disappeared.

15) Others attending Lulu's that night have offered video and pictures from the evening and no unidentified people stuck out.

16) Dogs were used in the parking lot at the Dollar General parking lot where David's truck was found and the dogs indicated that David got into another vehicle.

Hi, #15, Others attending LuLu's that night... Did they see David in the video and pictures?

How many people are we looking at with houses say within 30 minutes of the Dollar Store? Anyone know the population? Can you do a house by house canvas carrying flyers?

 

[cutter99]

I think I recall that he was seen in either the pictures or the videos, but am not 100% sure.

I am not sure what the population of the immediate area is, but small plane searches were utilized more than once and flyers were distributed more than once. At one point, it was brought up that flyers were being removed. Sun Graphics, the business that David's truck sat at for a while, helped by printing flyers. David's friends also made it a point to talk to utility workers, postal workers, etc. who would get to places the average person would not or might see something through their daily travels.

Geographically, it is an interesting area. The hills are rolling and can hide a lot. Across from the property we purchased, sits a HUGE log cabin that you reach by driving back a long driveway that crosses a creek and goes in between two rolling hills. The only way you would know it is back there is by going back the driveway, which I would not attempt in a car- only a 4 wheel drive- or by looking at a satellite view online. When my husband and I have explored the area, the people have been very friendly, but I could imagine that could change very quickly if they felt you were looking for something.

We had also looked at a property that adjoined Cedars of Lebanon State Forest and I have to say that area itself gave me a VERY eery feeling. I have horses and I trail ride in areas that are remote regularly, but this was different. The forest is somewhat dense and felt very isolated. There were not many homes out that way and I don't think we passed any traffic while we were on the road where we were looking. Searches were conducted in the state forest and yielded nothing. The psychic that was used did seem to feel a connection to to David and this area and that prompted the search there. One searcher did comment that they encountered someone on a trail who really did not belong there and they were glad they were carrying concealed. That comment alone said something!

Another important point to note is you may be not be greeted warmly by just rolling onto a rural property out there. I work in the agriculture industry and have been told by my employer to be very careful in certain rural areas due to meth labs being put in places that are considered to be a little out of the way. Meth manufacturers tend to also find farm areas to make meth as they can steal fertilizer from farmers that can be used in meth production. Could David have stumbled into something he should have, quite by accident while out bidding this job?

 

[OldSteve]

Thanks Cutter99 - you paint a very good picture of the area, etc., for those of us who have no idea about it.

 

[Karenlisam]

This is a curious one

I can't work out from the two articles if anyone actually saw David with the older man or David just talked about him . Could the antique bricks have come from somewhere they shouldn't and a story was made up ? That seems quite far fetched .

 

[TravelingBug]

This is a curious one

I can't work out from the two articles if anyone actually saw David with the older man or David just talked about him . Could the antique bricks have come from somewhere they shouldn't and a story was made up ? That seems quite far fetched .

You aren't kidding...a very curious one!

Jumping off your post, how many sources for antique brick could there be in the area?

Even if it was somewhere they shouldn't have come from (being taken from a jobsite or something) how might they have gotten to the place they were taken from, or where would that place have gotten them?

Or maybe I just don't "get" the antique brick thing and am building it up in my head as more interesting/full of character or whatever than they really are (meaning it's something far more commonplace than my visual image of what antique brick would mean)?

Surely someone would be like THAT'S where my brick disappeared to (if it was taken from somewhere) or if it were purchased outright, surely LE contacted any relevant sources in the area, no? And then you'd think they could shed some light on things.

And if there were really two other guys potentially related to also laying stuff at the site, and they're important to find, how do THEY manage to have not come forward either?

Strange, strange, strange...

Plus, it's not like it was two DAYS they - or he, if the older man doesn't exist - we're talking someone(s) missing YEARS.

If anyone else is really involved, how the heck has no one else realized someone they know is MIA for years?

 

[tnhybrid]

It's nice to see some interest in this case and a big promo out front for it! There hasn't been any 'action' on it locally, in the papers, at all. So sad for David's friends and family.

 

[Zippy's Girl]

Does any one know for sure if this " elderly gentleman" that Mr. Riemens is thought to have been with, was even elderly? Or could it have been some one much younger just made up to look elderly? With a gray beard, hair, ect.

 

[ohhieliz]

Does any one know for sure if this " elderly gentleman" that Mr. Riemens is thought to have been with, was even elderly? Or could it have been some one much younger just made up to look elderly? With a gray beard, hair, ect.

It is my understanding that that's how he was described by Dave to his family members.

I think that's completely possible. They met three times, with the day he went missing being the last. That would be a heckuva ruse to pull on Dave....for what purpose??

 

[Zippy's Girl]

It is my understanding that that's how he was described by Dave to his family members.

I think that's completely possible. They met three times, with the day he went missing being the last. That would be a heckuva ruse to pull on Dave....for what purpose??

I'm not sure what purpose they would do it and I completely agree with you that it would be a weird thing to do. It was just something that I thought of, something that just stood out to me as I was reading this thread.

Maybe instead of looking for an elderly man who went missing at the same time, maybe we should be looking for a younger man.

Still, I don't know why (if they did) they would try and deceive Mr. Riemens like that.

 

[cutter99]

Zippy's Girl- I believe I read that one of the psychics, for what it worth, told David's friends and family that the "old man" was not as old as he appeared. It could just be a situation where this person did not age well for one reason or another and David just assumed he was older than he actually was. I'm not sure there had to be an out and out deception involved. I know that both smoking and excessive drinking will make you appear much older!