Found Deceased TX - Joseph Garcia, 42, Baylor County, 2 July 2015

[SharonH]

I recall that it was stated his phone pinged in Lubbock at some point. But this is the first time I'm hearing that he was spotted in Lubbock. There was some confusion among WSers as to why he'd drive home, then to Lubbock and then to the place where his truck was found.

We are confused about that also. It's hard to determine where to look for him. But I did get a hold of my brother and he said that putting flyers out in Lubbock would be a great idea. Any help is appreciated. Joseph's family thanks you!

 

[thesiren]

Has anyone confirmed Joseph made it to the airport aside from the friend?

Was their video footage from the airport?

This is a very bizarre case. Was his wife familiar with his circle of friends (work friends or otherwise) in Texas? Was it normal for him not to speak to his wife on the phone or via email for that many days?

Joseph speaks to his mother and mentions the three day weekend when? On the Thursday before Fourth of July weekend?

 

[Spiritecho]

I really, REALLLLLY want to know if ""The car engine was running and it was in drive. We are assuming there were bushes keeping it from moving. The troopers had it towed."""

this is a normal thing? Did anyone search for a person in the area at that time? Did they bring in dogs at that time? Was a helicopter dispatched? Was there a canvas of any homes? Are there homes in that area? Could he be injured in someone's barn/shed?

Just bizarre for someone to find a vehicle in DRIVE and RUNNING, with a wallet and phone inside and oh well, let's tow the thing...good grief!

Was it found 10 miles south or 30-40 miles south?
Anyone?


Do we know yet if Joe WAS last seen in Lubbock on the 4th? What day did John return to Seymour? Did John have separate housing from Joe?
I'm guessing no one realized he was missing until at least the 6th when he didn't go to work? This is probably already discussed....

John82 stated LE told HIM the phone last connected to a tower on the 5th just south of Abilene http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...or-County-2-July-2015&p=11942290#post11942290 ...
Joe very possibly could have been in Lubbock on the 4th and was partying it up or gave someone else a ride somewhere...but why would LE tell non family such info? And if I follow correctly...Seymour (BAYLOR) LE are working the case not Abilene(TAYLOR) LE?

 

[PLT]

I really, REALLLLLY want to know if ""The car engine was running and it was in drive. We are assuming there were bushes keeping it from moving. The troopers had it towed."""

this is a normal thing? Did anyone search for a person in the area at that time? Did they bring in dogs at that time? Was a helicopter dispatched? Was there a canvas of any homes? Are there homes in that area? Could he be injured in someone's barn/shed?

Just bizarre for someone to find a vehicle in DRIVE and RUNNING, with a wallet and phone inside and oh well, let's tow the thing...good grief!

Was it found 10 miles south or 30-40 miles south?
Anyone?


Do we know yet if Joe WAS last seen in Lubbock on the 4th? What day did John return to Seymour? Did John have separate housing from Joe?
I'm guessing no one realized he was missing until at least the 6th when he didn't go to work? This is probably already discussed....

John82 stated LE told HIM the phone last connected to a tower on the 5th just south of Abilene http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...or-County-2-July-2015&p=11942290#post11942290 ...
Joe very possibly could have been in Lubbock on the 4th and was partying it up or gave someone else a ride somewhere...but why would LE tell non family such info? And if I follow correctly...Seymour (BAYLOR) LE are working the case not Abilene(TAYLOR) LE?

Aside from the one article- we truly know nothing in this case to be fact as no one has been verified. Why can't verification be given? I am not sure how that process works.

The one friend (John) - disappeared off of this thread completely after saying he was chasing a strong lead. As for the car, from what I gathered strictly from this thread, it sounds like a rookie LE officer was the first on the scene and had the car towed without asking for fingerprints. But we don't know that for a fact. So there are more questions and confusion than answers here. In the meantime - he's still missing .

I hope his brother is working with LE and they are making more progress with the search than we know. Maybe the purpose of this thread is just to get some ideas from posters without giving too much info and that is fine as long as someone is treating the case with the priority it deserves offline. Maybe John was encouraged by LE not to comment publically any further as it may jeopardize their work . Otherwise, I find his sudden silence very odd .

 

[nannymo]

Verified Professional Posters

We are lucky enough to have posters from all walks of life with a broad spectrum of expertise. Some may have special inside knowledge about a case or be directly related to a player in the case. This is all extremely valuable information for the forum. However, we like to make sure that anyone posting as a professional in a specific area (doctor, lawyer, search and rescue, etc.), or as someone with inside information, truly is what/who they claim to be. Verification is 100% optional. No posters are required to become verified unless they wish to post inside or professional information. If you wish to become verified, please contact the owners at wsverify@gmail.com with your Websleuths name, your real name, the case, and your phone number and a good time to call. If you have any questions, contact a moderator.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?65798-Etiquette-amp-Information

From Cold Pizza. Verification is voluntary. I think TOS states insiders cannot post ANY info that has not been in MSM unless they have been verified. So if family and friends choose not to be verified that is their choice. They cannot give inside information unless they are verified. If this is not correct, maybe a mod will correct me. If family and friends don't get verified they are under same rules as regular posters and you can believe them or not. No animosity intended here to family. Just verifying the rules.

 

[CluelessWonder]

If people don't wish to be verified, I respect that a lot and won't question their reasoning.

 

[Spiritecho]

Nannymo your inbox is full :happydance:

 

[NatalieLouiseXx]

Where did John82 go? He was posting, then now nothing...

What's this "strong lead" that he was talking about?

 

[Bigmike17]

I really, REALLLLLY want to know if ""The car engine was running and it was in drive. We are assuming there were bushes keeping it from moving. The troopers had it towed."""

this is a normal thing? Did anyone search for a person in the area at that time? Did they bring in dogs at that time? Was a helicopter dispatched? Was there a canvas of any homes? Are there homes in that area? Could he be injured in someone's barn/shed?

Just bizarre for someone to find a vehicle in DRIVE and RUNNING, with a wallet and phone inside and oh well, let's tow the thing...good grief!

Was it found 10 miles south or 30-40 miles south?
Anyone?


Do we know yet if Joe WAS last seen in Lubbock on the 4th? What day did John return to Seymour? Did John have separate housing from Joe?
I'm guessing no one realized he was missing until at least the 6th when he didn't go to work? This is probably already discussed....

John82 stated LE told HIM the phone last connected to a tower on the 5th just south of Abilene http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...or-County-2-July-2015&p=11942290#post11942290 ...
Joe very possibly could have been in Lubbock on the 4th and was partying it up or gave someone else a ride somewhere...but why would LE tell non family such info? And if I follow correctly...Seymour (BAYLOR) LE are working the case not Abilene(TAYLOR) LE?

From the LE standpoint: there was not a missing person case at the time the vehicle was found so there was no reason to suspect any foul play involving the vehicle and conduct any searches of the area on foot or otherwise. The officer likely thought it was an abandoned stolen vehicle and had it towed, which is pretty common when it comes to vehicles found in the middle of nowhere. Vehicles typically aren't fingerprinted in the field, they are usually removed to a climate controlled area (covered area) to preserve evidence, but in this case there was no identified crime at the time.
What gets me is the money being left in the wallet, if someone else was driving the vehicle, and assuming the vehicle was stolen/carjacked one would reasonably believe the suspect/driver wouldn't leave the cash behind. This leads me to believe that Joe was in the vehicle and he himself was the target for whatever happened, Kidnapping etc.

 

[nannymo]

From the LE standpoint: there was not a missing person case at the time the vehicle was found so there was no reason to suspect any foul play involving the vehicle and conduct any searches of the area on foot or otherwise. The officer likely thought it was an abandoned stolen vehicle and had it towed, which is pretty common when it comes to vehicles found in the middle of nowhere. Vehicles typically aren't fingerprinted in the field, they are usually removed to a climate controlled area (covered area) to preserve evidence, but in this case there was no identified crime at the time.
What gets me is the money being left in the wallet, if someone else was driving the vehicle, and assuming the vehicle was stolen/carjacked one would reasonably believe the suspect/driver wouldn't leave the cash behind. This leads me to believe that Joe was in the vehicle and he himself was the target for whatever happened, Kidnapping etc.

Unless someone wanted you to think it was Joe!

 

[thesiren]

Sorry but I do not buy that most LE would think an abandoned vehicle with ID and cell inside is automatically a stolen vehicle. Finding a wallet on its own is suspicious enough in that setting much less in a running car.

 

[KJ's Mamu]

SharonH and janetlaurie....just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of Joe and his family everyday. I hope that you get the answers you deserve. Prayers for you all.

 

[Spiritecho]

From the LE standpoint: there was not a missing person case at the time the vehicle was found so there was no reason to suspect any foul play involving the vehicle and conduct any searches of the area on foot or otherwise. The officer likely thought it was an abandoned stolen vehicle and had it towed, which is pretty common when it comes to vehicles found in the middle of nowhere. Vehicles typically aren't fingerprinted in the field, they are usually removed to a climate controlled area (covered area) to preserve evidence, but in this case there was no identified crime at the time.
What gets me is the money being left in the wallet, if someone else was driving the vehicle, and assuming the vehicle was stolen/carjacked one would reasonably believe the suspect/driver wouldn't leave the cash behind. This leads me to believe that Joe was in the vehicle and he himself was the target for whatever happened, Kidnapping etc.

It is NOT pretty common to come across a running vehicle, in drive and would have kept going had it not hit trees/rocks/whatever hung it up. Any LE would have called it in, asked for some additional help, SEARCHED the vehicle on site, find the wallet and run it, run the plates. Possibly got a search team out there then, or at least a superior or investigator....It should have been put into their database or whatever they do, so as soon as the missing person report was filed it would hit. Any LE would NOT have jumped in it, driven it where ever to have it towed off, dusted his hands off and gone back to whatever he needed to do! Total valuable time, evidence, leads, clues whatever were lost due to this!

Sorry I don't agree.

I do grant that we do not have the true and total facts of what this particular officer did or did not do..but enough of it has come out to determine this was pretty much blown off as bunk!

 

[thesiren]

Earlier in the thread a local mentioned the highway is never 100% dead with 2-3 cars most of the time.

For a person to leave the vehicle in drive, they would likely have to climb out the passenger side, correct? With so few cars on the road, I feel this would stick out like a sore thumb to a driver. Texans may love their guns, but they are also extremely friendly and even in a big city, someone will stop and help a motorist in need.

I just do not see how whomever left this car in drive made a beeline, to presumably ANOTHER vehicle without someone seeing this bizarre event occur.

It is also BS LE told Joseph's family it is the problem of the county in which he resides, that makes zero sense to me.

 

[Bigmike17]

It is NOT pretty common to come across a running vehicle, in drive and would have kept going had it not hit trees/rocks/whatever hung it up. Any LE would have called it in, asked for some additional help, SEARCHED the vehicle on site, find the wallet and run it, run the plates. Possibly got a search team out there then, or at least a superior or investigator....It should have been put into their database or whatever they do, so as soon as the missing person report was filed it would hit. Any LE would NOT have jumped in it, driven it where ever to have it towed off, dusted his hands off and gone back to whatever he needed to do! Total valuable time, evidence, leads, clues whatever were lost due to this!

Sorry I don't agree.

I do grant that we do not have the true and total facts of what this particular officer did or did not do..but enough of it has come out to determine this was pretty much blown off as bunk!

Actually it is pretty common to find stolen cars running, a few in drive, the middle of a freeway, a creek, a river, an abandoned road, abandoned houses, warehouses, truck stops, used car lots, mechanic shops...I could go on. I originally intended on staying anonymous but I have 20 + years of experience as a LE so my perspective of the officer at the scene is one of experience not just opinion. While I acknowledge that some officers would do things different than I, every agency has a Standard Operating Procedure that lays out how situations will be handled. Yes, in this situation many officers may have gone the extra mile to find out more on the vehicle and we don't know what all this one did or didn't do. Finding a wallet and cell phone in a running vehicle in drive does not warrant calling out S&R or a helicopter without evidence of a crime; like blood or bullet holes and a blood trail leading to the woods. The officer has to work with facts and in this case you had: an abandoned vehicle that had been there for an unknown amount of time,in drive, running, with a wallet and cell phone inside(although I don't believe we know where they were found in the vehicle). The were no hits on the plate or the name of the subject in the wallet. The officer probably had to wait a good 30 minutes to an hour for the wrecker, so if the driver was just in the woods to urinate there was sufficient time to return to the vehicle, in other words the officer wasn't just in and out. Once the vehicle is towed the Agency has 10 days to send a certified impoundment notice to the last registered owner/lien holder. There is no statewide database for towed vehicles, only for verified stolen, want to locate and those involved in crimes(like a Getaway car). If the missing person case had been filed before the officer came upon the vehicle he probably would have received a HIT on the plate. I just want to convey that the officer doesn't have all this evidence that we have now at his disposal, he had no way of knowing. Once a missing person case is filed it immediately goes into the Missing Person clearing house (that is maintained by DPS), TCIC and NCIC.

 

[Spiritecho]

Thanks BigMike...I am sure with your 20+yrs of experience you've seen and experienced these type of scenarios...in my 2% experience you don't commonly see this type of thing..abandoned yes, running yes, not in drive..

With your knowledge and experience, without, I am assuming, knowing the particulars of THIS case, what kind of scenario comes to your mind?
If you could offer advice/help to this family, what would it be?
What would your procedures be had you been called in? I realize your training and experience it is complete different than a rookie.
I don't necessarily feel a full (S&R or heli) was needed, at that time, but perhaps a call to a supervisor or a fellow trooper for a little help and guidance......And of course, he may have done exactly that and we just don't know.
How easy or hard is it to get video from the airport there? How easy or hard is it to verify plane ticket(s) coming and going? I think it was stated he didn't have a bank card, always paid cash, so that makes it hard to track movement based on charges? How does LE track this? Good luck or tips or not at all?
How reliable do you feel cell phone pings are? How specific do you feel pings are? Do you share these type of things with non family? Or is it SOP with a person who last saw the missing person?
TIA

 

[Bigmike17]

Honestly this whole thing puzzles me and all kinds of scenarios go through my head. Did he want to disappear? Was he in debt way over his head and want a fresh start, I doubt it since he has kids and its hard to just up and leave them forever, but it has happened before. In my experience adult men just don't disappear without a serious cause. IE: severe debt, bad marriage, new girlfriend, witness to a crime, drugs etc. and many times it is several of these combined.
Had I been the one at the scene I certainly would have searched the surrounding area for any kind of evidence that might be linked, skid marks, shell casings, clothing, receipts, anything and I would go through the phone looking for calls,texts and photos to identify the owner, I have even called recent numbers on the cell phones(with work phone) to identify the owners. Since the vehicle was in drive, it is apparent to me that the driver got out or was pulled out in a hurry.
I believe 100% in cell phone records, not only they identify whom the person was familiar with but, where and when calls/texts were made. However none of this is available until after a warrant is signed by a Judge. Most of the cell phone companies are pretty strict on this. The pings are not spot on accurate, just a general vicinity.

As far as evidence gathering:
#1 There is video at all the entrances/exits to the airport and all the toll booths in and out, at the gate and in the garages. Shouldn't be difficult for law enforcement to get, otherwise the open records act is an avenue. Good place to start!
#2- Where and when was the check cashed, was there video? Was it Joe? Seymour is a pretty small town, most people know one another. I hunted out there for years and some of the people in the cafe and meat processor remembered us even though we were only there on weekends in Oct-Dec.
#3 Cell phone pings- check gas stations along the route and video. Most people use the quickest and most direct routes to their destination. MPG calculations can narrow the scope. Pings can also help determine an estimated speed of travel.
#4 Did the neighbors see his car in the drive between those days. Between the pings at Airport and Abilene
#5 Did he attend church? was he there on Sunday? Was it unusual for him not to be there?
#6 Who does he know in town, Abilene, Lubbock? San Angelo? Was he dating/seeing someone? was she married? Did he miss a date? Talk to his coworkers they will know. The guys that work on those wind turbines lives depend on each other, that usually develops a closer relationship not unlike the military.
What are the rumors in town? sometimes they are way off base, but others have some version of truth.
#7 Could there have been an accident at work they tried to cover up because they didn't want the fed's snooping around?
#8 I would run a criminal history on everyone if possible.
#9 Was Joe ever involved in drugs? Using? Selling? not indicting his character just looking for leads.

The bottom line is leaving no stone un-turned.

That's just a start!

Keep in mind the LE resources in Baylor county are pretty slim, there is only about 2600 people in Seymour and only around 3600 in the whole county. The county is over 900 square miles. There might be 20-30 police officers and sheriffs deputy's in the whole county! Add in a few DPS officers and Game Wardens and that is not much.

 

[Spiritecho]

Outstanding info!:tyou: Hopefully his sister or cousin logs on and is able to find that as helpful as I do!

 

[Bigmike17]

Many of the things I have listed are merely to establish a timeline, once it is established that he actually made it to and back from the airport work from there.

 

[SharonH]

Outstanding info!:tyou: Hopefully his sister or cousin logs on and is able to find that as helpful as I do!

This is outstanding information! Hopefully the LE are following this procedure! Still waiting to hear just what they have come up with. Thank you