GUILTY TX - Alanna Gallagher, 6, Saginaw, 1 July 2013 - #3

[FLtwinmom]

interesting, maybe it's just someone looking for "leftovers" on trash day. what time does trash run near the scene?

Well I'm not sure for Saginaw I live in a different town, our runs Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 7-8 am

 

[SapphireSteel]

I meant to post this earlier in one of my other posts BUT ... one thing that is bugging me A LOT is the fact that apparently neither of her siblings were out playing with her. I find that odd. I was one of four children all born within 2 years of each other and we were each others constant companions. Why was she the only child from this family out playing alone?? Makes no sense.

Maybe Alanna was the oldest?

If mom is busy with a baby, the older ones tend to get away with a bit more.

My brothers refused to play with me. Being the only girl can be lonely.

 

[lunchbox]

interesting, maybe it's just someone looking for "leftovers" on trash day. what time does trash run near the scene?

I can't say for that street exactly but I live less than a mile away and our trash gets picked up by 8am-ish, typically.


The park on the corner of Knowles/Park Center is at a very busy intersection. It's not where I would imagine being a "prime" place to do a crime if you want privacy. Not if you're familiar with the area anyway. Way too many witnesses.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[FLtwinmom]

In Texas, is it normal for people who don't know each other to wave? Where I live, we only wave at our neighbors (people who live on the same street) or if someone lets you go, you do the "thanks" wave.

ETA: Oops, I thought you meant you saw him while he was driving. But my question still stands about whether it's normal to wave at people you don't know.

Yes I think it's pretty normal to smile and wave at strangers here in TX, especially if you wanted to put someone at ease.
I've only lived here 4 years and people wave at me all the time when I'm out walking and I have never met them.
I wave at people I don't know too if we make eye contact.

 

[Threeplus1]

Maybe Alanna was the oldest?

If mom is busy with a baby, the older ones tend to get away with a bit more.

My brothers refused to play with me. Being the only girl can be lonely.

She was the youngest of the three children living in the home with an older sister and brother. There is also another older brother.

I'm not sure I have heard where any other children in the neighborhood were at the time of her disappearance...siblings or not. There's been no information (to my knowledge) about Alana's whereabouts prior to her murder. I would think that she was playing with someone, but there's been no indication of who.

 

[lunchbox]

Maybe Alanna was the oldest?

If mom is busy with a baby, the older ones tend to get away with a bit more.

My brothers refused to play with me. Being the only girl can be lonely.

I am 99% sure she is the youngest child of the three.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[Snoopster]

In Texas, is it normal for people who don't know each other to wave? Where I live, we only wave at our neighbors (people who live on the same street) or if someone lets you go, you do the "thanks" wave.

ETA: Oops, I thought you meant you saw him while he was driving. But my question still stands about whether it's normal to wave at people you don't know.

I'd be interested in knowing whether this would be the norm in this neighborhood too.

I live in a small town on the outskirts of a city. (I imagine it's not too different than Saginaw.) I certainly wave at people I don't know as I pass them by in my car. When we lived closer in to the city proper, I wouldn't have done that.

I guess it's the presumption of "you must belong here,so hey!".

What day was garbage pick-up in that area of Saginaw?

 

[lunchbox]

I'd be interested in knowing whether this would be the norm in this neighborhood too.

I live in a small town on the outskirts of a city. (I imagine it's not too different than Saginaw.) I certainly wave at people I don't know as I pass them by in my car. When we lived closer in to the city proper, I wouldn't have done that.

I guess it's the presumption of "you must belong here,so hey!".

What day was garbage pick-up in that area of Saginaw?

Mondays and Thursdays.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[lunchbox]

Also, there's another HUGE park on Knowles but it is also in a very well trafficked area and there are tons of people walking on the walking trail at that time of day. You could do some sheisty stuff after dark but it seems as if all of this would have been in broad daylight. In the right circumstances, it could happen , of course. There are several different play areas at the park but they are all near the road and that road gets a lot of traffic. But it could happen. Just seems like a pretty ballsy move, kwim;?

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[Yoda]

She was the youngest of the three with an older sister and brother.

I'm not sure I have heard where any other children in the neighborhood were at the time of her disappearance...siblings or not. There's been no information (to my knowledge) about Alana's whereabouts prior to her murder. I would think that she was playing with someone, but there's been no indication of who.

I'm just catching up, but I thought she had two older brothers and a sister. The oldest brother lives somewhere else? I'll look back, but did anyone else think this.

 

[FLtwinmom]

Yep! We have several trucks that come through on trash day to pick up "treasures" that people are throwing away. They take items that they might be able to repair...the neighbors all kind of expect them and set "better trash" to the side. Makes me a little nervous to think of someone going through our trash, but I don't mind them taking a beat up piece of furniture that I've replaced and goodwill won't take. You just never know though.

I think this is what he was doing, I've seen him drive by several 3-4 times this year, sometimes he will have stuff in the back like an old table or tire.

 

[danzn16]

I hope there is some breaking news soon for this sweet girl


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lunchbox]

Strangers definitely say hi around here and are pretty courteous / polite in general so that staredown situation would set off my hinky meter, too! It took a while to get used to the extroverted type culture here because where I come from, people arent quite so outgoing and chatty with strangers.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[mahmoo]

She was the youngest of the three with an older sister and brother.

I'm not sure I have heard where any other children in the neighborhood were at the time of her disappearance...siblings or not. There's been no information (to my knowledge) about Alana's whereabouts prior to her murder. I would think that she was playing with someone, but there's been no indication of who.

Yep ... which kids had she been playing with and when??? Wonder if the parents are letting LE interview their children? Hope so. No way this child was out playing for hours by herself. What little I've read/seen about her points to her being quite socialable. The neighborhood looks like one that has TONS of kids.

 

[Threeplus1]

I'm just catching up, but I thought she had two older brothers and a sister. The oldest brother lives somewhere else? I'll look back, but did anyone else think this.

That's correct. I was referring only to the other children who lived in the home.

 

[human]

Opinion/theory only: she seems to come from a very "bookish" family, and somehow I get the sense she liked being alone/outdoors a lot, hence the stories about her playing outside all the time. So I picture the rest of the family being inside/reading/on the computer while she's playing outside.

I could be projecting; I mostly liked playing alone as a kid and I spent a lot of time outdoors, up trees, etc.

Edit: I know these anecdotal stories never really convince anyone, but at 5 and 6, the neighbor kids and I were pretty much roaming the streets in packs without oversight. It was the 70s; my folks were on drugs but the neighbors were Mormons, and both sets of parents pretty much just whistled or yelled when it was time for us to come in.

Everyone used to play outside until the street lights came on.

We would Trick or Treat with friends . Never parents.

For a lot of people, I think the taking of Jacob Wetterling changed what people thought about safety. Ethan Patz was in New York. Johnny Gosch was a paperboy out in the early morning,

But Jacob was with two others out in a little tiny town in 1989.

Then there were all of the other crazy ones.

I am always surprised when I see kids out alone, ALWAYS surprised, no matter where I am

 

[Ms Suzanne]

This just really makes me so mad.No one had a right to do this to this little girl.I pray they find her killer very soon and justice for her is very quick for her.I am so mad about this.

 

[FLtwinmom]

Yep ... which kids had she been playing with and when??? Wonder if the parents are letting LE interview their children? Hope so. No way this child was out playing for hours by herself. What little I've read/seen about her points to her being quite socialable. The neighborhood looks like one that has TONS of kids.

That is what I find weird, my 7 year olds are not allowed to play in the front yard unless I'm out there with them, they can play in our fenced back yard and ill be in the house- they never stay out longer than 5 minutes and one comes back in to tattle, pee, eat etc.. I can't imagine a child that age staying out of the house for an hour even without needing something.

 

[Yoda]

Was this posted yet:
The funeral will be Thursday, July 11th, at Calvary Lutheran Church, Richland Hills, TX, at 11 am.

Burial will be after that at Greenwood Cemetery in Fort Worth.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Everyone used to play outside until the street lights came on.

We would Trick or Treat with friends . Never parents.

For a lot of people, I think the taking of Jacob Wetterling changed what people thought about safety. Ethan Patz was in New York. Johnny Gosch was a paperboy out in the early morning,

But Jacob was with two others out in a little tiny town in 1989.

Then there were all of the other crazy ones.

I am always surprised when I see kids out alone, ALWAYS surprised, no matter where I am

I was born in 1992 and I played outside with all the neighborhood kids until the streetlights came on. There were two families on my block whose kids couldn't play outside or leave their front yard though. I think the whole "playing outside without a parent" started ending around the 2000's. I also think a big reason why children are not outside has to do with technology. A lot of elementary school kids would rather be on the computer or watch TV. So IMO, I don't know if I would say it changed with the cases you mentioned because they all happened in the 80s, but I think most children who grew up in the 90s have a childhood where they did play outside all day. If you compared someone born in '80 and '90, I think their childhoods would not be that much different, but if you compared '90 child with '00 child, there would be a huge difference, in terms of playing outside.

ETA: Also, this is just a guess, but I think nowadays, a lot of children go to camp or some program during the day while their parents work. But maybe in past decades, there was a parent who was home with the children so during the summer the children could all play outside together?