TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden, believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #16

[Eileen730]

Good Morning All,

I was hoping there would be some news about her being found this morning, so sad another day passes and nothing....

I was looking at the map and wondered if they considered looking SE of where the vigil was at the church? If the items found are to throw them off into the wrong direction, maybe it would be worth a try to search down there, not far from the roads off 412.

Hey I think all this stuff was tossed the day he took her. I dont think hes out there tossing things out of his car window..

As I see they should have had SAR dogs out on day one! If not day one then Day 2! Not K-9 dogs!

 

[Eileen730]

You haven't missed much. The story hasn't changed in a week...

The only item found that is confirmed is the lunch bag. Any other finds have not been officially confirmed. As for a phone... every time someone found anything it was rumored to be her phone, so IDK... this is like the 349th time her phone has been rumored to have been found.

For some reason i dont think its a phone. JMO

:seeya:
Morning Carla!!!!! Hope yer feeling better today!!!!

 

[concentric]

Sorry, I haven't had a chance to read the thread yet. But, this 20-yr.-old man emerged from the Smoky Mountains National Park, saying he had been drugged and kidnapped by 3 men. LE is now saying that his story is not true and there is a charge of filing a false report. He was on his way to bible school. Oddly enough he was reported "missing" on April 14, the day after Holly was missing and I have to wonder if he is involved:

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/166941/2/Man-who-said-he-escaped-kidnappers-in-Smokies-now-charged

 

[Eileen730]

Ok this may be a really really stupid question on my part but what info could they get from her phone that they wouldnt already have...AFAIK they dont need a phone to get a list of calls and texts that came to and were sent from her number. As for pictures maybe but i dotn think the perp would toss out a phone with his pic on it.what more can they get from it?

 

[Carla Lashelle]

For some reason i dont think its a phone. JMO

:seeya:
Morning Carla!!!!! Hope yer feeling better today!!!!

Yup. Im good! Thank you! And I slept good. I had been having bad nitemares about Holly for the last week.

Good morning everyone!

 

[Capri]

Question - suppose a person wanted to go help with the search. Where is the needed information published, as in the time and location to show up for the search? I'm just curious. I've looked on the TBI website and local news sources, but I can't find anything. I'm not in TN, and I imagine locals are getting their information in a number of ways, but it has to be published somewhere. Do people need to sign up or do they just show up? I'm in TX, so I'm not necessarily asking for myself, but I know a few people who may be in the area and would like to know. Thank you!

ETA: I guess I'm just not very resourceful, because we had someone go missing in my area recently, and for the life of me I could not find out how to help with that search either.

They've said no searchers for today and tomorrow, but if they call for thjem again, I think the Fairgrounds is the main sign-up location. Check Will Nunley's twitter. He usually states what LE is asking for on what day, and he's a local reporter covering it live on the scene. Just search "will nunley twitter" and you should find it.

 

[NCSleuth]

Hey I think all this stuff was tossed the day he took her. I dont think hes out there tossing things out of his car window..

As I see they should have had SAR dogs out on day one! If not day one then Day 2! Not K-9 dogs!

Unfortunately I agree completely. Anything they find was tossed out the window as he escaped in his vehicle, probably a pickup. If they did find the cell phone, it probably rang in the car, he freaked, and tossed it.

Everyone is asking how they would know its hers. Well, first off, how many cell phones have you found out beside the road? If they found one, I would say its almost a 100% chance its hers. Secondly, they would have gotten the ESN (basically the serial number) of her phone from the cell phone provider and would have been able to compare numbers in just a couple of minutes. They could decide 100% if it was hers or not.

I really think everyone is overthinking everything. I am a firm believer, if it doesn't make sense, its not true. I realize there are exceptions, but I think you have to go with the odds in life.

I think he had a vehicle waiting close by, probably in a little path. By the time LE got there, he was out of the area. I suspect he doesn't live too far away, probably within a 1-2 hour drive. maybe even a little closer.

I think it was one person. someone completely infatuated with her. probably 'met' her at school. I bet she knew him or would at least have recognized him. Her family probably would not.

I think its time for LE to open up to the public, come clean, and ask for help! I am afraid they don't know anything and don't have anything to give us. I hope I am wrong, but its been 13 days, their method is not working.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

Ok this may be a really really stupid question on my part but what info could they get from her phone that they wouldnt already have...AFAIK they dont need a phone to get a list of calls and texts that came to and were sent from her number. As for pictures maybe but i dotn think the perp would toss out a phone with his pic on it.what more can they get from it?

In theory you could see if the phone was used after her abduction, or any messages sent or received, etc. If they did not have info about her phone usage already from her provider company. And then forensic info like finger prints, touch dna etc. And just the location where it was found would have some meaning. It didnt get there on its own. Thats true for any clue. It had to get there somehow.

 

[Eileen730]

sorry, i haven't had a chance to read the thread yet. But, this 20-yr.-old man emerged from the smoky mountains national park, saying he had been drugged and kidnapped by 3 men. Le is now saying that his story is not true and there is a charge of filing a false report. He was on his way to bible school. Oddly enough he was reported "missing" on april 14, the day after holly was missing and i have to wonder if he is involved:

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/166941/2/man-who-said-he-escaped-kidnappers-in-smokies-now-charged

wow!!!!

 

[NCSleuth]

Ok this may be a really really stupid question on my part but what info could they get from her phone that they wouldnt already have...AFAIK they dont need a phone to get a list of calls and texts that came to and were sent from her number. As for pictures maybe but i dotn think the perp would toss out a phone with his pic on it.what more can they get from it?

I think the only info they could get
1. fingerprints.
2. direction of travel.

Now, if the phone was not tossed out the window, It could have been found at a 'switch over' location. Maybe he stopped to put her in the trunk or take her out of the trunk and dropped the phone. maybe he stopped to get ride of her belongings. I suspect he just threw it out the window.

 

[Eileen730]

Unfortunately I agree completely. Anything they find was tossed out the window as he escaped in his vehicle, probably a pickup. If they did find the cell phone, it probably rang in the car, he freaked, and tossed it.

Everyone is asking how they would know its hers. Well, first off, how many cell phones have you found out beside the road? If they found one, I would say its almost a 100% chance its hers. Secondly, they would have gotten the ESN (basically the serial number) of her phone from the cell phone provider and would have been able to compare numbers in just a couple of minutes. They could decide 100% if it was hers or not.

I really think everyone is overthinking everything. I am a firm believer, if it doesn't make sense, its not true. I realize there are exceptions, but I think you have to go with the odds in life.

I think he had a vehicle waiting close by, probably in a little path. By the time LE got there, he was out of the area. I suspect he doesn't live too far away, probably within a 1-2 hour drive. maybe even a little closer.

I think it was one person. someone completely infatuated with her. probably 'met' her at school. I bet she knew him or would at least have recognized him. Her family probably would not.

I think its time for LE to open up to the public, come clean, and ask for help! I am afraid they don't know anything and don't have anything to give us. I hope I am wrong, but its been 13 days, their method is not working.

I totally agree and i think they will find her near her home. I dont think he took her ANYWHERE! JMO

 

[Capri]

My understanding is that they were LE K9's and I'm afraid they just aren't generally the best for a SAR job like this. A couple of things are going on here. First, they were working an area (around her house) that is highly contaminated by her own scent. It's where she lives, there are cross trails of hers all over the place from days-weeks earlier. This requires training for that scenario, which LE doesn't always do because they're looking for the suspect that just robbed a bank or broke into a house (not likely his own). Second, it seems very likely that she got in a car and once again this requires training. Most LE train for foot searches, they just don't have the time to add these things into there trainings. Add to that, not all dogs are good at getting out of that contamination zone, it's tough, and not all dogs can car trail (scent does weird things and is greatly reduced). Put all those factors together and there you go. Are there dogs that could do it? Absolutely. Does everyone train for these things? Nope....

Thanks, that explains a lot. Is it too late at this point to bring in trained k-9 teams with the right expertise, or has too much time passed? I don't want to think the worst, but my feeling is that she was never taken far, but whatever deed was done, was done fairly quickly, and she is still within miles of her house. Let's assume just for the sake of argument that if she was deceased, and within say 3-5 miles of home, would the appropriately trained dogs be able to track her still?

 

[SDT]

I am trying to play catch up this morning, but I think it could possibly be her driver's license. It would definitely be identifiable and would survive the weather. Just a thought that popped in my head while here at my work computer.

 

[Trino]

SNIPPED...

I think he had a vehicle waiting close by, probably in a little path. By the time LE got there, he was out of the area. I suspect he doesn't live too far away, probably within a 1-2 hour drive. maybe even a little closer.

I think it was one person. someone completely infatuated with her. probably 'met' her at school. I bet she knew him or would at least have recognized him. Her family probably would not.

I think its time for LE to open up to the public, come clean, and ask for help! I am afraid they don't know anything and don't have anything to give us. I hope I am wrong, but its been 13 days, their method is not working.

I completely agree that LE's methods are not working. I have not heard they have a POI in mind or have interviewed anyone. (Surely, this would be the case if they had any idea...) The searches have not found her; neither have the dogs. I get the feeling that, while LE wants to find H, they also want the credit for finding her. I suspect if tactics do not change that LE will face criticism in the near future.

 

[Wondergirl]

I think the only info they could get
1. fingerprints.
2. direction of travel.

Now, if the phone was not tossed out the window, It could have been found at a 'switch over' location. Maybe he stopped to put her in the trunk or take her out of the trunk and dropped the phone. maybe he stopped to get ride of her belongings. I suspect he just threw it out the window.

LE would be able to obtain the Ping information for the phone from the time of abduction (which might be before 7:30 am, I might add), to the time of recovery of the phone.

That in turn could lead to new search areas, depending on the phone's location.

 

[stilettos]

Good morning. Hoping and praying this is the day they find Holly.

 

[not_my_kids]

Ok this may be a really really stupid question on my part but what info could they get from her phone that they wouldnt already have...AFAIK they dont need a phone to get a list of calls and texts that came to and were sent from her number. As for pictures maybe but i dotn think the perp would toss out a phone with his pic on it.what more can they get from it?

With so many prepaids these days, (and not just throw away phones, there are some pretty sophisticated ones that you can get with no contract on minute plans, monthly plans, just text or just data...so on) and us not knowing whether Holly was on a data plan or a prepaid, they might need the phone. For example, my phone is a decent model,not a smartphone, but has full web, slide out keyboard, video, camera, all the bells and whistles, and I'm on a prepaid plan. Why pay $100 a month, when I could pay $45 and not have to pay a deposit? If I were to go missing, because my phone is prepaid, they would need the phone to get anything, as nothing is banked, as far as incoming and outgoing info about my phone. So until we know what type of phone she had, and what kind of plan she was on, and whether the phone was actually recovered, we don't really know. It's possible they could need the phone itself to get anything.

 

[Eileen730]

When is this going to turn into a recovery mission?

I think they are beginning to look for a body. I don't think Holly is leaving clues.

I think she is most likely no longer alive.

I have to agree with you! I think she died last wed!

I think they have to go back to the beginning! I think she is where she screamed!

I wonder who called in the scream? I know they say it was a neighbor?

 

[Eileen730]

With so many prepaids these days, (and not just throw away phones, there are some pretty sophisticated ones that you can get with no contract on minute plans, monthly plans, just text or just data...so on) and us not knowing whether Holly was on a data plan or a prepaid, they might need the phone. For example, my phone is a decent model,not a smartphone, but has full web, slide out keyboard, video, camera, all the bells and whistles, and I'm on a prepaid plan. Why pay $100 a month, when I could pay $45 and not have to pay a deposit? If I were to go missing, because my phone is prepaid, they would need the phone to get anything, as nothing is banked, as far as incoming and outgoing info about my phone. So until we know what type of phone she had, and what kind of plan she was on, and whether the phone was actually recovered, we don't really know. It's possible they could need the phone itself to get anything.

wow u pay $45.00??? and have web? how long will the 45.00 last ya? sorry to be OT LOL

I dont think they found her phone i think its something else.

 

[WideOpen]

JMO
I havent closely followed many cases and missed the first few days of Holly disappearing. Seems to be lots of rumor even within the community. In my gut I have never doubted Holly was alive, I dont know why just a lack of the ominous feelings I get with so many others upon initial reports.
It also appears the towns folk support Holly being alive and I think the numbers of volunteers was supportive of this. For those of you who have followed this case very closely do you know if its possible that they have had communication with the perp or Holly. Could this have been a kidnapping for ransom plot by some youngsters gone wrong? This case seems to lack so many of the important details and lacks the fear factor and intense concern. Seems like locals and LE reports using words like "piece of the puzzle", "game", "and if you knew the rest of the story" are treading lightly on the abduction and perp. The mothers reactions, even planning a vacation for her when she comes home from this nightmare seems like we will all just look back at this as a bad dream.
They know who they are looking for. The cousin is a big star. Twenty four hour LE presence at the family home. Hollys items strewn around the area randomly sending everyone on goose chases. No bolo on vehicle or perp. The unusual reward amount from the governor. What are we missing in the big picture here?
JMO
Hope this makes sense.