Found Deceased VA - Nicole Clardy Mittendorff, 31, Woodbridge, 13 April 2016 - #1

[winterrose]

where is the trail in the area that was being searched for Nicole in relation to these three that have been closed due to the fire?

Any locals following who would know so I can save myself the embarrassment of attempting to map?

It's a little over an hour going south from Old Rag Mtn. If she last texted her Dad Weds morning around Warrenton, and her car was found in the parking lot near Old Rag, that's probably where she was headed at that time. Old Rag is said to be the most difficult in Virginia. There's crevices and cliffs, you get exhausted, and if she was there alone it's just dangerous. I hope she didn't go off trail, they're searching for her by plane and on the ground, with all the rock it would be hard to pick up heat signatures. There's all the foliage now since it's spring, being April there's also bear out and there's mountain lions.

We have great search and rescue teams in the whole area and many do training in the mountains, so they'll have good teams looking from surrounding counties. There's probably no cellphone activity with no reception so no pinging. Everyone has alot of questions like if she was last heard from Weds why wasn't she reported missing before Friday when not showing up for work, but there could be good valid reasons. They're just not sharing that, and they'll only tell us what we need to know to find her, and that's fine, but I sure hope they tell us something soon.

 

[zapped]

I mapquested the route from both Manassas and Woodbridge Va.

It's 53 miles from Manassas to Shenandoah National Park and 1 hour and 12 minutes from Woodbridge Va.

Seems a little out of the way for someone to drive to just for a training run, but I hope I am wrong about that.

Ive hiked Old Rag before and there are dangers in the park such as copperheads, timber rattlers and bears.

 

[zapped]

Wikipedia has some disturbing information about an unsolved murder in the same area in 1996. Two women were abducted, bound and murdered near the trail in Shenandoah National Park. The primary suspect was later discovered harassing a female bicycler in the vicinity, but charges against him were dropped, and the case remains unsolved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19...appalachian-trail-trail-that-runs-trail-heads

 

[Eileen730]

I wonder when someone last saw her or actually spoke to her. A text can be sent by anyone?

 

[Jamaica Me Crazy]

I'd like to know what her text message to her father said. Evidently we aren't privy to it and it could lead to some insight as to what may have happened to her - her thoughts, feelings, emotions at the time.

 

[astridxx]

Wikipedia has some disturbing information about an unsolved murder in the same area in 1996. Two women were abducted, bound and murdered near the trail in Shenandoah National Park. The primary suspect was later discovered harassing a female bicycler in the vicinity, but charges against him were dropped, and the case remains unsolved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/19...appalachian-trail-trail-that-runs-trail-heads

Kind of OT and admittedly unhelpful, but this is exactly *exactly* why I do NOT go into the woods. Ever.

 

[winterrose]

I wonder when someone last saw her or actually spoke to her. A text can be sent by anyone?

If someone did the text instead of her, it would probably be someone who knew her. Leaving the car at a place like Old Rag would give the impression, as it is now, that she went hiking there maybe got lost or something happened to her hiking. There's also the scenario of leaving it there herself and leaving from there in another car, it would give plenty of time to get far away. She doesn't seem like a person to do that, but we all know anything's possible.

It takes around 8 hours to get to the top of Old Rag, she made the text around 11am, so wouldn't get there till after noon. You wouldn't be hiking on the mountain when it gets dark so maybe she was just going for a ride, do some hiking. Actually the mountains is where many people go for a drive to get away for a day, we just did that a couple of weekends ago. I wanted to point out, either she's deleted her facebook or they temporarily took it off for now. If she did before she left, that speaks alot.

 

[trixandhoney]

If someone did the text instead of her, it would probably be someone who knew her. Leaving the car at a place like Old Rag would give the impression, as it is now, that she went hiking there maybe got lost or something happened to her hiking. There's also the scenario of leaving it there herself and leaving from there in another car, it would give plenty of time to get far away. She doesn't seem like a person to do that, but we all know anything's possible.

It takes around 8 hours to get to the top of Old Rag, she made the text around 11am, so wouldn't get there till after noon. You wouldn't be hiking on the mountain when it gets dark so maybe she was just going for a ride, do some hiking. Actually the mountains is where many people go for a drive to get away for a day, we just did that a couple of weekends ago. I wanted to point out, either she's deleted her facebook or they temporarily took it off for now. If she did before she left, that speaks alot.

According to her sister, NM deleted her FB last year because of the nasty posts referenced upthread.

 

[winterrose]

I'd like to know what her text message to her father said. Evidently we aren't privy to it and it could lead to some insight as to what may have happened to her - her thoughts, feelings, emotions at the time.

I would like to know that also, it's just interesting you'd be driving so far from home and not tell where you're going. It's obvious from the father's comment she didn't tell where she was, and he said the texts were 10:50, she went missing at 11am. He never said who the texts were sent to, or give any indication what they were about. I'm assuming cellphone records gave the location around Warrenton.

"My daughter Nicole went missing on Weds, 13 April 2016 about 1100 in the morning in Northern Virginia. The last contact was text messages about 1050. The last known probable location was Warrenton, Virginia, which is northwest of her home."

 

[winterrose]

According to her sister, NM deleted her FB last year because of the nasty posts referenced upthread.

Did she say what the nasty posts were about? Unless you open it to the public only people on your friends list can comment on your page. You can set it to private.

 

[trixandhoney]

I've posted about this before and it was deleted. So I will just say that the posts were not on Facebook, her family knows about them, and so does LE.

 

[JanetElaine]

I mapquested the route from both Manassas and Woodbridge Va.

It's 53 miles from Manassas to Shenandoah National Park and 1 hour and 12 minutes from Woodbridge Va.

Seems a little out of the way for someone to drive to just for a training run, but I hope I am wrong about that.

Ive hiked Old Rag before and there are dangers in the park such as copperheads, timber rattlers and bears.

TIA for the info. It is quite a distance to just go for a run but I guess it's possible if she wanted a change of scenery or something like that. The amount of time she wasn't heard from bugs me too. All these little details coming out kind of steer my opinion away a bit from the 'accident while running' theory, although it still doesn't seem impossible.

Did we get any confirmation on whether she took her dogs/they are accounted for?

 

[winterrose]

http://wtop.com/virginia/2016/04/se...ndoah-natl-park-for-missing-woodbridge-woman/

The search resumed Monday at 8 a.m., Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller says the search is focusing near the trail, where Mittendorff’s car was found.

In a statement Geller says “there is still no evidence to indicate foul play in her disappearance.”

 

[otto]

TIA for the info. It is quite a distance to just go for a run but I guess it's possible if she wanted a change of scenery or something like that. The amount of time she wasn't heard from bugs me too. All these little details coming out kind of steer my opinion away a bit from the 'accident while running' theory, although it still doesn't seem impossible.

Did we get any confirmation on whether she took her dogs/they are accounted for?

I suspect that the dogs are where they should be simply because I think it would be reported if she, and her dogs, were missing.

I wonder if the Help Save the Next Missing Girl logo on the poster because the organization was contacted by family for advice in locating Nicole. Perhaps that initiated the social media activity.

 

[otto]

http://wtop.com/virginia/2016/04/se...ndoah-natl-park-for-missing-woodbridge-woman/

The search resumed Monday at 8 a.m., Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller says the search is focusing near the trail, where Mittendorff’s car was found.

In a statement Geller says “there is still no evidence to indicate foul play in her disappearance.”

I hope that people are keeping their eyes open in all rural areas as well. Even though her car is parked at the entrance to a dangerous trail that shouldn't be attempted alone, she might not be there.

 

[mayita]

I have lived in Woodbridge (for 2 years before I moved to MD) and my and my fiancé go to the SNP at least twice a year to hike and camp (we are avid hikers and love the outdoors).
What I find kind of odd is she went all the way to the SNP (which is like 11/4 hours away) when you have several trails closer to Woodbridge which might not be as majestic BUT offer training opportunities.

One of them is Prince William Forest Park (https://www.nps.gov/prwi/index.htm)
I have hiked that Park alone (during the day and with plenty people around). You have to collect the parking pass from the ranger's office. First thing I do (I do not hike alone as I am engaged now and spent most of the time I am not working with the fiancé. In fact he asked me never to do it alone again. We compromised ). First thing female hikers do or I do is inform the ranger you are alone, where your vehicle is and how long you will be gone. It is common sense.
Another park I have hiked alone closer to Woodbridge is Leesylvania State Park (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/leesylvania#general_information). Done the circuits alone, but I was aware the park was full of people.
I would not recommend a female to hike in the SNP or the Appalachian Trails alone. However, if you chose to do so, I would go into a trail that is inside a camping area and talk to a ranger and let them know which trail I am and when I am supposed to come back. There is a lot of trails in the SNP you just park and go.
There is no cellphone signal at all in the park (only in areas that are really high and that is spotty).
Also, for the people saying she might have been attacked by a black bear (there is no grizzly bears in the SNP, only black bear, deer, chipmunks etc) I doubt it. There have been not reported attacks as long as I can remember. Bears are like dogs, just do not startle them and do not feed them (you can get a nasty ticket from a Ranger, $75.00 or so for leaving human food unattended or coolers overnight in the camping areas). Bears are way more likely to be victims of humans than the other way around.

The SNP is beautiful but the mountains are not forgiving if you do not plan accordingly. Temperatures can change dramatically really quickly.

However, and this is just a hunch, I do not believe she drove her car there. JMO, of course.

 

[JanetElaine]

I suspect that the dogs are where they should be simply because I think it would be reported if she, and her dogs, were missing

Right, you would think so. But it wouldn't be the first time something like that was reported incorrectly. I'm not even sure where the part about the dogs came from, I just remembered another poster referring to it yesterday.

 

[hokeechic]

Did you start a map? I live in the shenandoah area and it seems so bizarre how many women go missing here. I know most folks don't believe in the supernatural but there is just something off about this area... I praying she simply went for a hike and got lost off the trail and will be found today.

 

[JnRyan]

I've been to Shenandoah Nat'l Park a few times, but I've never hiked the trails. We rode bicycles on the Skyline Drive. You have to pay to enter the park, but I'm wondering if she and her husband didn't have an annual pass. I would think that if she entered the park by car LE would have interviewed the rangers at the gates. But I don't know about entering the park from the outside on foot and if that is what Nicole did that is going to be difficult to find witnesses.

 

[mayita]

I've been to Shenandoah Nat'l Park a few times, but I've never hiked the trails. We rode bicycles on the Skyline Drive. You have to pay to enter the park, but I'm wondering if she and her husband didn't have an annual pass. I would think that if she entered the park by car LE would have interviewed the rangers at the gates. But I don't know about entering the park from the outside on foot and if that is what Nicole did that is going to be difficult to find witnesses.

I believe her vehicle was found inside the park in one of the parking areas at the beginning of a trail.
We have an annual pass and even with the pass, the rangers still talk to you (you have to stop, show them the pass and your ID and they will give you a map if you need one). Either way you still get to talk to the rangers, it is not like an ezpass; it is a physical card that you post on your rear view mirror.