Found Deceased CA - Blaze Bernstein, 19, Lake Forest, 2 Jan 2018 #2

[broadviewren]

RSBM

This point has come up several times so I'm just using your post to address it with a thought I had - Blaze might have wanted to say Goodbye to the driver friend. Probably without telling him that he planned to disappear or worse, but just to see him once again, one last time. This would explain him being upset and also the reporting that he disappeared suddenly ("ran off"), like he had to quickly pull himself away from this emotional situation or he might lose his resolve.

ETA: He might have told the friend he's gonna meet someone in the Whiting Park but never actually went there.

Very possible --

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

With all the searching going on, and people there, maybe they can also find David Boone

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/boone_david.html

that would be one blessing from the terrifying situation...

 

[Elainera]

Hello to all newcomers! :loveyou:

Just as a friendly reminder, as a general rule we don't even mention here what is said on facebook or other sm. Most of it is considered rumor so can't be discussed here anyway, so better not to mention it at all, otherwise it all gets very confusing in regards to what is confirmed information and what is not. Saves our fabulous mods time to clean up the thread. (Exceptions are posts, but not comments, on pages of LE or msm, or named suspects, which we don't have in this case.)

I hope this helps as a guideline to what can be posted here. Happy sleuthing and great you all are joining us!

Now back to Blaze! Where is he???

 

[tarabull]

At least in the case of David Boone the dogs did track his scent (actually IIRC 4 miles into the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park)...

just saying.

 

[Elainera]

Thanks for the info. I believe I have been told that before by a friend that uses it. Gah! All these new apps and social media, I am getting too old to keep up!
This isn't the first case I've read here that includes Snapchat. I guess it's time for me to 'learn' it. Like Instagram, Twitter, etc. I don't use them but have tried to learn about them in my sleuthing.
Twitter still confuses me though. LOL

I feel the same! Getting too old for all the new apps etc lol!

But twitter is really useful I have to say. In cases like this one I often simply open the twitter search page and type in the name of the missing person. Then sort the results by Latest. Twitter usually gets updated faster than other platforms if/when there's a major development. It's great to get the latest scoop.

https://twitter.com/search-home

 

[mistivon]

Not caught up yet but just wanted to mention something about search dogs. We learned in Maris case that trailing dogs can usually trace scent even if the person were in a vehicle. I am guessing that the same team who searched for her and Elaine Park is also searching for Blaze, altho I haven't asked.
Those dogs are amazing and if there was literally no scent, he was.not.there.
My opinion of course

 

['Ailina]

Not caught up yet but just wanted to mention something about search dogs. We learned in Maris case that trailing dogs can usually trace scent even if the person were in a vehicle. I am guessing that the same team who searched for her and Elaine Park is also searching for Blaze, altho I haven't asked.
Those dogs are amazing and if there was literally no scent, he was.not.there.
My opinion of course

Thanks for sharing. I find this fascinating. A thought that's stuck with me from early on is BB in a vehicle at the park, but he never got out.

I wonder if they searched for the driver's scent at the park, too. Probably too late for that now, huh.

 

[KaliChick]

Where does 241 lead to?

No unfortunately the sighting has not been elaborated on in msm. We don't know where exactly that person was seen on the 241.

Hello to all newcomers! :loveyou:

Just as a friendly reminder, as a general rule we don't even mention here what is said on facebook or other sm. Most of it is considered rumor so can't be discussed here anyway, so better not to mention it at all, otherwise it all gets very confusing in regards to what is confirmed information and what is not. Saves our fabulous mods time to clean up the thread. (Exceptions are posts, but not comments, on pages of LE or msm, or named suspects, which we don't have in this case.)

I hope this helps as guideline to what can be posted here. Happy sleuthing and great you all are joining us!

Now back to Blaze! Where is he???

Thank you ... I think my post was deleted because I referenced something from his facebook page. So I'll reintro ...

I live in this area and have for many years. If anyone has specific questions to the area, terrain, etc I will do my best to answer.

 

[iscaremyself]

RSBM

This point has come up several times so I'm just using your post to address it with a thought I had - Blaze might have wanted to say Goodbye to the driver friend. Probably without telling him that he planned to disappear or worse, but just to see him once again, one last time. This would explain him being upset and also the reporting that he disappeared suddenly ("ran off"), like he had to quickly pull himself away from this emotional situation or he might lose his resolve.

ETA: He might have told the friend he's gonna meet someone in the Whiting Park but never actually went there.

and the last text to the lady friend..what was that about.
That text sparked concern iirc

 

[Bopking]

I don't think he's willingly missing. I did, until I read that he was shopping online that very day, not long before he left.
Now, I guess that would change if I found out he was ordering gifts for people, that would be delivered after he disappeared as a kind of 'goodbye' gift or something.
I can't imagine someone ordering things to be delivered when they know they won't be there to get them.

See now I am the opposite. Based on what the parents have shared I thought there was no way he would run away or take his life. Then think about it from another angle, if he wanted to disappear or take his life do you think he would have started telling people?

I'm a somewhat overprotective mom of a college kid. I could totally see myself telling my child to log onto the Amazon account and make sure to order bath towels, laundry detergent, random things needed for a new apartment. I would think if my kid was planning something she would not say, Actually mom, I don't need those things because I am planning to run away tonight and not return to school. He would probably order them and continue the plans so not to raise any suspicion. Especially considering I imagine he was being financially supported by his parents. Money might not be much value to him if he has not worked. Not saying that is a bad thing but without being there and seeing if he was excited about the shopping or just doing it to pacify his parents.

I hope I am wrong. I hope there is a better ending. I just know that when you hear about famous people (with money, accomplishments and plans for the future) taking their life you end up hearing that they lived a double life. The life where they secretly struggled and the life that everyone saw where it appeared that they had everything that anyone could possibly want.

 

['Ailina]

Thank you ... I think my post was deleted because I referenced something from his facebook page. So I'll reintro ...

I live in this area and have for many years. If anyone has specific questions to the area, terrain, etc I will do my best to answer.

Welcome, KaliChick -- Thanks for your great post on the 241 route.

 

[whitelilac]

I have forgotten if it was reported whether the parents personally knew or knew of the driver friend.

Do we know only from the driver that he was an old HS friend? Is it a fact he was a real friend, or could he and Blaze have met only recently, or only online for that matter? The guy didn't know where Blaze lived.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Oh man I hope so.

No... The parks are not closed...

I explored on Sunday...

and it was business as usual...
At both parks...

Much hiking and cycling traffic...

Except for a KTLA.com channel 5 van with cameras in the Borrego Parking parking lot...
and a reporter giving a "live segment" at about 9:30 a.m....

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

How would he be able to do that without ID and money?

perhaps this was set up long before he even came home for the holidays?

I can always hope...lease:

 

[msphilosopher]

I’d like to know more about his personality. Not hobbies / interests but his personality.

Is he goofy like a class clown? Is he witty? Happy go lucky? Carefree? Intense about things and calm about others? Opinionated? Timid? Adventurous? Outgoing? Rule follower or pushing the boundaries? Confrontational? Sensitive?

I️t’s been said that he was very bright/ smart. Is that book smart, street smart, or both?

His SM posts and other things give me an impression that he’s naive ... I️ could be wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Midge Montana]

See now I am the opposite. Based on what the parents have shared I thought there was no way he would run away or take his life. Then think about it from another angle, if he wanted to disappear or take his life do you think he would have started telling people?

I'm a somewhat overprotective mom of a college kid. I could totally see myself telling my child to log onto the Amazon account and make sure to order bath towels, laundry detergent, random things needed for a new apartment. I would think if my kid was planning something she would not say, Actually mom, I don't need those things because I am planning to run away tonight and not return to school. He would probably order them and continue the plans so not to raise any suspicion. Especially considering I imagine he was being financially supported by his parents. Money might not be much value to him if he has not worked. Not saying that is a bad thing but without being there and seeing if he was excited about the shopping or just doing it to pacify his parents.

I hope I am wrong. I hope there is a better ending. I just know that when you hear about famous people (with money, accomplishments and plans for the future) taking their life you end up hearing that they lived a double life. The life where they secretly struggled and the life that everyone saw where it appeared that they had everything that anyone could possibly want.

Very good point! Would be telling if we knew what he was shopping for. I've also thought that maybe he was buying something online from a FB buy/sell page or LetGo or CL or similar, and he arranged to meet in the park to complete the deal. I'd hope that they were somehow able to get into his history and see if anything like that occurred. Maybe something heavier that he didn't feel like walking that far home carrying, so that is why he asked for a ride to a place that would normally be within walking distance. IF they even went to the park...I have a side of me that is in doubt.

 

[stlrfninca]

Hi all, this is my first post here, so apologies in advance if I say or do anything wrong

I found out about this site because I became fascinated with this story of Blaze due to the fact that I live just 10 minutes away from Foothill Ranch and visit the area frequently, as well as because of the mysterious nature of his disappearance. I swear when I think about it, all this reminds me of an episode of "Without a Trace". As a result I have become quite fascinated with it.

In any case, I've been reading this and the other, closed, thread for the past 90 minutes, and while I'm not sure how much it will add to the discussion, I thought I'd try to summarize the theories and facts as I understand and analyze them. I'm curious as to what others think at this point.

First, it seems these are the possible/likely scenarios:

1) He was abducted as a result of an ill-fated meeting and is either being held for some reason or was killed

2) He disappeared of his own volition for reasons only known to him (and perhaps a close friend)

3) He committed suicide

4) He fell into a ravine or something of this nature in the wilderness

I discount #4 right off the bat as highly unlikely due to the extensive searching that has already taken place both by OCSD as well as the drones within the past few days. The fact that OCSD has called off the search lends credence to the contention that he is not in that wilderness area, either alive or dead

#3 - suicide - I think is definitely possible for reasons already stated, but not very likely, primarily because if he had committed suicide, in my opinion his body would have been found during the extensive search

So I tend to think it's #1 or #2 and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to support both at this time.

As for abduction or foul play of some kind, it seems from the anecdotes of friends and his Grindr(sp?) account that he was likely gay, which would support the theory that perhaps he was trying to meet someone in the park for an encounter and something went wrong. This could have ended with an abduction and/or a murder. If a murder it would likely have taken place at another location as once again it seems nothing has been found in the wilderness search

I think it's equally likely that he may have disappeared of his own volition. Many of the comments I've read suggest that he may have had some trouble with school. It's clear he had a passion for writing and cooking and other artistic talents. Perhaps he was under a lot of pressure at school and/or his scientific major was more to please his parents than himself, and he finally decided he needed to chart his own path. The movie "Dead Poets Society" comes to mind with, of course, a different outcome. Of course, this is the explanation I assume most of us are hoping for.

This all being said, there are still more questions than answers. As others have mentioned, the behavior of the driver is highly suspect for several reasons. a) The whole 11:30 and 4:00 AM thing. b) Not warning the parents first thing in the morning that something was wrong. c) Seemingly contradictory statements to media outlets (although IMHO the media are generally incompetent and so I take everything they write with a large grain of salt. In that regard, finding this website has been quite a breath of fresh air!)

From my perspective, the driver's behavior could easily support either #1 or #2 - he could be covering up and or involved in foul play, or just as easily be covering for Blaze in his desire to make a clean break from his family.

Then there's the case of his other friend, the female, who he was texting. Perhaps she's the key to this. If so, I'd conclude this supports theory #2.

I also agree that LE probably knows a lot more that what we're reading, which is precisely as it should be IMHO.

Anyway, that's my condensed version. I hope we clear up the remaining questions in the coming days and it is a positive outcome, not the negative one most are probably assuming at this point.

 

[SoCalRes]

The thing that I keep coming back to is why the friend came back to the park at 4 am? It just doesn't make sense in any scenario. BB walks off to meet someone, runs off to get away, just isn't there when friend comes out of the bathroom. Friend texts BB a few times and leaves. Then, 5 hours later, thinks "I should go check on him." No. He knows how close BB's house is to the park. If he was meeting a friend, afterward he would have just walked home. If he ran off and was upset, he wouldn't just stay in the park all night. If he just vanished, the friend would have looked for him during the first visit to the park. The ONLY reason to go back to the park is because he needed to retrieve something left behind, clean something up or he knew BB was incapacitated in that park (or was in some way not able to leave the park). Can you all think of any other reason his friend would come back to the park at 4 am?

 

[KaliChick]

Welcome, KaliChick -- Thanks for your great post on the 241 route.

I travel that route twice a day .... I know it quite well. My initial reaction was that the initial possible sighting didn't make sense but the more I thought about it, it's possible if it's believed he walked out of the area.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Sorry, I tried to crop and edit the screenshot but accidentally included the whole screen...

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

No worries by me!

actually... I appreciate having the scope of our sleuthing extended outside the two parks...

It helps me to start thinking in other avenues!

:tyou: