Purpose Of This Emerald Triangle Sub-forum?

[Gardener1850]

Is there somewhere that explains what the "Emerald Triangle" is?
And what is the purpose of all these missing persons cases being down here in a "Crimes" forums instead of the "Missing But Not Forgotten" forums? I have recently noticed a large number of missing person's threads I created in the missing forums have been moved here. When I go to search for a missing person thread I search the missing forums, not the crimes section. Now that I know this is here I'll search the entire board for California cases, but I worry that duplicate threads will be created or other posters looking for MP threads will not find the threads. Some of these missing persons could be suicides or accidental deaths. So why are they in the Crimes forum?

*Sorry if this is explained somewhere but I have looked around and I am not seeing a description of this sub-forum or why it was created. TIA.

 

[Lilibet]

Is there somewhere that explains what the "Emerald Triangle" is?
And what is the purpose of all these missing persons cases being down here in a "Crimes" forums instead of the "Missing But Not Forgotten" forums? I have recently noticed a large number of missing person's threads I created in the missing forums have been moved here. When I go to search for a missing person thread I search the missing forums, not the crimes section. Now that I know this is here I'll search the entire board for California cases, but I worry that duplicate threads will be created or other posters looking for MP threads will not find the threads. Some of these missing persons could be suicides or accidental deaths. So why are they in the Crimes forum?

*Sorry if this is explained somewhere but I have looked around and I am not seeing a description of this sub-forum or why it was created. TIA.

The original purpose was to gather all these cases in one place to be easily found. It should not be in the Crime Section. I have been waiting for the new software roll-out to calm down before contacting Tricia. There was a lot of discussion with Tricia on my part and Burblestein’s before this forum was set up, but some things didn’t happen as expected, probably because other more pressing issues popped up.

 

[Gardener1850]

The original purpose was to gather all these cases in one place to be easily found. It should not be in the Crime Section. I have been waiting for the new software roll-out to calm down before contacting Tricia. There was a lot of discussion with Tricia on my part and Burblestein’s before this forum was set up, but some things didn’t happen as expected, probably because other more pressing issues popped up.

Thank you Lilibet. I'm afraid it is the opposite of easy to find them now with it being in crimes and there is no indication at the top that the threads are missing persons, not unsolved murder investigations. While I understand many missing may be murder cases as well I think it's important to be able to tell the cases of missing and those who have been found murdered apart. As it is now I can't tell these are missing persons cases without opening each thread to read it. I hope this can be fixed.

Also, maybe a little intro can be added to the top of the forum to explain what the Emerald Triangle is? I'm guessing it's an area in California? I'm an East Coast gal myself so I don't know much about it.

 

[Lilibet]

Thank you Lilibet. I'm afraid it is the opposite of easy to find them now with it being in crimes and there is no indication at the top that the threads are missing persons, not unsolved murder investigations. While I understand many missing may be murder cases as well I think it's important to be able to tell the cases of missing and those who have been found murdered apart. As it is now I can't tell these are missing persons cases without opening each thread to read it. I hope this can be fixed.

Also, maybe a little intro can be added to the top of the forum to explain what the Emerald Triangle is? I'm guessing it's an area in California? I'm an East Coast gal myself so I don't know much about it.

I agree with you about everything and tried to explain a little more privately, but it wasn’t possible. You post so faithfully on those threads I thought you knew. The Emerald Triangle is the tri-County area in Northern California where marijuana is grown and people have disappeared in large numbers (Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties). I’ll see what I can do to get this fixed.

 

[Gardener1850]

I agree with you about everything and tried to explain a little more privately, but it wasn’t possible. You post so faithfully on those threads I thought you knew. The Emerald Triangle is the tri-County area in Northern California where marijuana is grown and people have disappeared in large numbers (Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties). I’ll see what I can do to get this fixed.

Ohhhh, Oops! I knew that about the marijuana growing ops, now that you mention it. I know there have been many recent articles addressing the large number of missing in Humboldt County. I just post missing updates for everywhere.

 

[Betty P]

I agree with you about everything and tried to explain a little more privately, but it wasn’t possible. You post so faithfully on those threads I thought you knew. The Emerald Triangle is the tri-County area in Northern California where marijuana is grown and people have disappeared in large numbers (Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties). I’ll see what I can do to get this fixed.

Yes, burblestein has done some excellent research and reporting on a collection of unsolved murders and suspicious missing persons cases in that area. Perhaps the number of cases and similarity of victims and MO have gone unnoticed by many. With burblestein compiling them, the number is rather alarming. I hope they can figure out a permanent place to keep this collection of cases. They're worth reading and analyzing.

 

[Lilibet]

I think it's important to be able to tell the cases of missing and those who have been found murdered apart. As it is now I can't tell these are missing persons cases without opening each thread to read it. I hope this can be fixed.

Snipped for focus

I wanted to make sure that this part of your comment stands out. The Emerald Triangle Forum is unique and is a work in progress and I think you are right that it’s important to separate the “found murdered” and “arrest” cases from the “missing” in their titles, at least.

I have brought this thread and the issues to Tricia’s attention.

There is also the problem that people start threads for the missing from this area without putting them in this forum...because they don’t know about it. I think that will always be a problem and involve moving stray threads to this forum as they are opened. Janet Egan’s thread is a case in point.
CA - CA - Janet Egan, 48, Humboldt County, 14 May 2018

 

[Lilibet]

Yes, burblestein has done some excellent research and reporting on a collection of unsolved murders and suspicious missing persons cases in that area. Perhaps the number of cases and similarity of victims and MO have gone unnoticed by many. With burblestein compiling them, the number is rather alarming. I hope they can figure out a permanent place to keep this collection of cases. They're worth reading and analyzing.

Yes, compiling these cases into a separate forum was a brilliant idea of Burblestein’s. As with anything new and different, there are difficulties that become clear as it’s being used, just like the new software. I think this thread is a valuable place to put these issues and suggestions so that admin can address them.

Even when this forum is moved from “Crimes” to “Missing” we still have the fact that threads won’t be listed in “Missing but not forgotten” by decade as other cases are. That will be confusing to anyone looking for them. Perhaps thread links can be placed in the appropriate decade and redirected to this forum. It will be labor intensive to make this forum work for everyone, but I think it’s definitely worthwhile because the number of cases in this area is so unusually large.

 

[Gardener1850]

<snipped for focus>
There is also the problem that people start threads for the missing from this area without putting them in this forum...because they don’t know about it. I think that will always be a problem and involve moving stray threads to this forum as they are opened. Janet Egan’s thread is a case in point.
CA - CA - Janet Egan, 48, Humboldt County, 14 May 2018

I agree that this will continue to be a problem and the threads will have to be alerted on and moved by the mods as they pop up. For those of us starting threads who are not familiar with the area of the Emerald Triangle, we won't know right away when we see a California case in the MSM if it belongs here. I see there are 3 countries listed here, but they don't always give the county name in a news article. Heck, sometimes they don't even give the state name in a news article. I'm always googling to try to figure out which state a city is located in so I can make a new thread. I can create new threads here if I see the county listed is one of those 3 (and if I remember to), but to take the extra step to figure out which county a city is in and if it might be an Emerald Triangle county, all before starting a new case thread is, quite frankly, an extra step I don't see most posters taking.

I guess I should also ask, is there some criteria for how you determine if a missing thread belongs here or is it only based on geography? The vast majority of people who go missing across the country are found soon after. Perhaps threads should only be moved here after a certain amount of time has passed or if they are a certain case type? Foul play suspected? Possible drugs involved? Or do you want all cases in the Emerald Triangle here regardless of how much time has passed and regardless of circumstances?

 

[Gardener1850]

Another issue that has come up is that there are multiple duplicate threads now because the threads that were moved here are not found in a search and not where someone would expect them to be (in the Missing But not Forgotten Forums). Take the case of Linda Lovell and Stephen Packard-- they went missing together but have joint AND single threads both here AND in the missing but not forgotten forums:

CA - CA - Linda Lovell, 25, & Stephen Packard, 18, Stinson Beach, June 1974
CA - Linda Lovell, 25, & Stephen Packard, 18, Westport, 10 June 1974
CA - CA - Linda Lovell, 25, Westport, June 1974
CA - Linda Lovell, 25, Westport, June 1974
CA - CA - Stephen Packard, 18, Westport, June 1974
CA - Stephen Packard, 18, Westport, June 1974

JMO, 6 threads seems like way too much duplication for one case. I don't know where to post if a new MSM article about Linda and Stephen comes up. I doubt most posters would realize there is more than one thread and take the time to find them all to post an update on each one. JMO.

 

[burblestein]

In this case, it was unclear whether Linda and Stephen were actually together when they disappeared. I foresaw difficulties in maintaining a joint thread if she had actually vanished in Stinson Beach and he in Westport, so I set up two individual threads to cover that eventuality. With these three threads moved into the Emerald Triangle Forum, the original three threads serve to redirect searchers to the new location.

 

[Lilibet]

I agree that this will continue to be a problem and the threads will have to be alerted on and moved by the mods as they pop up. For those of us starting threads who are not familiar with the area of the Emerald Triangle, we won't know right away when we see a California case in the MSM if it belongs here. I see there are 3 countries listed here, but they don't always give the county name in a news article. Heck, sometimes they don't even give the state name in a news article. I'm always googling to try to figure out which state a city is located in so I can make a new thread. I can create new threads here if I see the county listed is one of those 3 (and if I remember to), but to take the extra step to figure out which county a city is in and if it might be an Emerald Triangle county, all before starting a new case thread is, quite frankly, an extra step I don't see most posters taking.

I guess I should also ask, is there some criteria for how you determine if a missing thread belongs here or is it only based on geography? The vast majority of people who go missing across the country are found soon after. Perhaps threads should only be moved here after a certain amount of time has passed or if they are a certain case type? Foul play suspected? Possible drugs involved? Or do you want all cases in the Emerald Triangle here regardless of how much time has passed and regardless of circumstances?

Thanks for helping figure out logistics, Gardener. Based on your points, it seems best IMO that new cases stay in the general Missing section. It’s too much to ask for members to figure out the geography of the Emerald Triangle. Perhaps they can be moved here after a year or more, leaving a link in the original location. Again, lots of work.

Also, I think it’s a good idea to limit this forum to cases where foul play is strongly suspected and there is a possible drug connection and/or serial killer possibility. There are many young women missing, for example, and many men working on “farms.” That’s a judgement call, of course. Some are obvious, and some aren’t. The case of Janet Egan that I mentioned would not be in this forum using these parameters.

Burblestein mention on another thread somewhere that someone presumed drowned at sea shouldn’t be here or have a thread. I think they should have a thread as a support for family, but not necessarily in this forum.

The original purpose of this forum was to highlight the large number of missing in this area. It’s no accident that there is connection between marijuana growing and missing/murdered people, even though growing is now “legal” with a permit (plenty of illegal grows still.) That’s why it’s called “The Emerald Triangle.”

 

[Gardener1850]

In this case, it was unclear whether Linda and Stephen were actually together when they disappeared. I foresaw difficulties in maintaining a joint thread if she had actually vanished in Stinson Beach and he in Westport, so I set up two individual threads to cover that eventuality. With these three threads moved into the Emerald Triangle Forum, the original three threads serve to redirect searchers to the new location.

I saw that you put a link at the end of each thread. Thanks for trying to direct traffic to this forum (and for all your efforts to get the Emerald Triangle cases recognition). Really, I am not meaning to be critical. It is just that it is causing confusion right now (and has potential to cause more confusion in the future). The problem is, all 6 threads are still open for posting. People don't always read the last post of a thread and they may not see your links to the thread here when they post. Perhaps those other threads need to be closed or merged and moved here? Perhaps a simple "heading only" Closed thread with nothing but a redirect link could be placed in the "Missing but not forgotten" forums for every case here in order to direct people to come here to read and post on the case? That way all the posts about a case will be in the same location but they will also be found no matter where a search is made.

 

[burblestein]

And you are correct, this is a geographically based forum. I scan the new posts daily to see if there are any posts that need transfer to the ET Forum. I selected cold case homicides and cold case missing person cases that seem capable of resolution. I am also creating new threads in an attempt to cover all the cold cases in the Triangle.

Humboldt County has the highest per capita missing persons rate of any county in California--and possibly in the nation. Mendocino County is not much better. LE is stretched thin. Large segments of the populace won't cooperate with LE. And the "outsiders" keep flooding in to cash in on the Marijuana Green Rush, and they keep disappearing, and turning up dead....

 

[Lilibet]

In this case, it was unclear whether Linda and Stephen were actually together when they disappeared. I foresaw difficulties in maintaining a joint thread if she had actually vanished in Stinson Beach and he in Westport, so I set up two individual threads to cover that eventuality. With these three threads moved into the Emerald Triangle Forum, the original three threads serve to redirect searchers to the new location.

Thanks for clarifying, Burblestein. I see that you have posted links on the original threads. I would suggest that the original three threads need to be locked so no one can comment, and can move over here.

ETA: I see that Gardener said this already.

 

[burblestein]

I am working on the redirects from the original posts. There is some lag time, because I don't do the actual transfer/merge/whatever of threads.

 

[burblestein]

And, boy, I hope gardener1850 is on board for this new forum. Gardener looks to be invaluable for Humboldt County.

 

[Lilibet]

And you are correct, this is a geographically based forum. I scan the new posts daily to see if there are any posts that need transfer to the ET Forum. I selected cold case homicides and cold case missing person cases that seem capable of resolution. I am also creating new threads in an attempt to cover all the cold cases in the Triangle.

Humboldt County has the highest per capita missing persons rate of any county in California--and possibly in the nation. Mendocino County is not much better. LE is stretched thin. Large segments of the populace won't cooperate with LE. And the "outsiders" keep flooding in to cash in on the Marijuana Green Rush, and they keep disappearing, and turning up dead....

Thank you for scanning new threads. That’s a big help.

I guess the real decision to make is about what category of missing belong here and when. At this point, for example, Janet Egan is a 48 year old missing wife with no connection to the green rush that is known. Her husband is cooperating with LE. IMO, her thread doesn’t belong here...yet.

 

[Gardener1850]

Thanks for helping figure out logistics, Gardener. Based on your points, it seems best IMO that new cases stay in the general Missing section. It’s too much to ask for members to figure out the geography of the Emerald Triangle. Perhaps they can be moved here after a year or more, leaving a link in the original location. Again, lots of work.

Also, I think it’s a good idea to limit this forum to cases where foul play is strongly suspected and there is a possible drug connection and/or serial killer possibility. There are many young women missing, for example, and many men working on “farms.” That’s a judgement call, of course. Some are obvious, and some aren’t. The case of Janet Egan that I mentioned would not be in this forum using these parameters.

Burblestein mention on another thread somewhere that someone presumed drowned at sea shouldn’t be here or have a thread. I think they should have a thread as a support for family, but not necessarily in this forum.

The original purpose of this forum was to highlight the large number of missing in this area. It’s no accident that there is connection between marijuana growing and missing/murdered people, even though growing is now “legal” with a permit (plenty of illegal grows still.) That’s why it’s called “The Emerald Triangle.”

Thank you, Lilibet! Your last paragraph (BBM) is what I have been trying to get at and understand when asking about the purpose of the Emerald Triangle forum. IMO, that needs to be written in a header somewhere on this forum. If the goal is to bring awareness to that specific problem, then the cases here need to have those parameters. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm complaining or criticizing. I want to help you make this forum work. And I also want to know when I should post a case here versus on the main missing forums.

 

[Lilibet]

I am working on the redirects from the original posts. There is some lag time, because I don't do the actual transfer/merge/whatever of threads.

Perhaps it would be good if you are given the ability to handle these threads...when we (including Tricia) agree about what threads should be here and when.