Found Deceased CA - Erin Valenti, 33, from Utah, en-route from Palo Alto to San Jose, 7 Oct 2019

[PommyMommy]

I hope so- I hope phone records confirm they spoke daily. Something not right. Why not take somebody to mentor? Or why not Hubby? Hard to buy, sorry.

Because he works too??? I traveled frequently for my job all over the U.S. and didn't need to drag my husband along. Why would that be necessary? MOO

 

[Andreee]

Was it mentioned if she had been drinking? Did they find any empty bottles with her? She obviously was out of it from either drugs or drinking. They should contact the hotel and ask about her behavior and definitely contact her friends.

I don't think it is obv

Nor is it feasible. Companies usually don't pay for a spouse's expenses on a business trip.

I'm female, and I've traveled alone many times.

Exactly and of course a travelling business person should be careful and take safety precautions, but things happen regardless in any situation in life that can't be prevented.

 

[MsBetsy]

People travel alone (men and women) all the time, for business or otherwise. It isn't always practical for spouses or others to tag along.

Her husband may also have had patients scheduled and was unable to get away.
She apparently was visiting old friends or colleagues as well. Maybe she just wanted to be able to spend all her time with them. He may not have even known them very well and was giving her a chance to catch up with old friends on her own. Imo

 

[PixieStix]

I am not even sure why it's a question of why she was traveling alone. It's 2019! It's not like she was putting herself in a dangerous situation and we could potentially discuss how women can help protect themselves. To suggest she should have had her husband or someone else escort her seems a bit of an antiquated mentality IMO.

 

[otto]

It’s so sad to me that the next exit she would have encountered was the 87 junction that would have taken her directly to the airport. I think she made the wrong turn getting on 85 it it was easily rectified if she got into her right mind by going up 87. Tragic

She definitely got turned around very soon after leaving the colleague. Since she was too confused and disoriented to follow GPS, I'm surprised that she wasn't pulled over for erratic driving.

 

[cvaldez1975]

Any possible chance that this is possibly connected to last weeks kidnap and murder of another tech millionaire in the area, Tushar Atre? Another point I wanted to make is, while viewing her public social media accounts, I noticed she put way too much personal information online, for anyone to see. It's never wise for anyone to keep posting publicly about where you are, your hotel name, where you are visiting next. Especially a young woman traveling alone.

I mentioned that upthread but I don’t think it was related. I believe his woes were related to his dabbling in the cannabis industry

 

[crhedBngr]

Any possible chance that this is possibly connected to last weeks kidnap and murder of another tech millionaire in the area, Tushar Atre? Another point I wanted to make is, while viewing her public social media accounts, I noticed she put way too much personal information online, for anyone to see. It's never wise for anyone to keep posting publicly about where you are, your hotel name, where you are visiting next. Especially a young woman traveling alone.

RBBM

Or a man traveling alone.

 

[PixieStix]

She definitely got turned around very soon after leaving the colleague. Since she was too confused and disoriented to follow GPS, I'm surprised that she wasn't pulled over for erratic driving.

View attachment 208867

As per usual thanks for the great map of locations @otto
It helps to visualize all the locations.

The family has been quite forthcoming with information have they said whether the hotel staff reported on any strange behavior and whether the friend(s) she met up with said anything was off with her. It would be weird to check out of the hotel and be fine, meet up with her friend and be fine and leave the visit to all of a sudden, become disoriented and manic. It seems there would be a little "off" behavior leading up to it becoming more severe in the hours ahead of time.

 

[otto]

As per usual thanks for the great map of locations @otto
It helps to visualize all the locations.

The family has been quite forthcoming with information have they said whether the hotel staff reported on any strange behavior and whether the friend(s) she met up with said anything was off with her. It would be weird to check out of the hotel and be fine, meet up with her friend and be fine and leave the visit to all of a sudden, become disoriented and manic. It seems there would be a little "off" behavior leading up to it becoming more severe in the hours ahead of time.

That's what I'm wondering as well. By the time she contacted her mom - when she could not find her car, something was very wrong. That suggests that she was deteriorating during the visit with the colleague and maybe as early as checking out of the hotel.

I'm curious what happened the night before - maybe she bumped her head and didn't think anything of it at the time.

 

[happyday]

That's what I'm wondering as well. By the time she contacted her mom - when she could not find her car, something was very wrong. That suggests that she was deteriorating during the visit with the colleague and maybe as early as checking out of the hotel.

I'm curious what happened the night before - maybe she bumped her head and didn't think anything of it at the time.

I hadn’t thought of that—if she may have had a head injury and thought she was fine.
Well this is something that would be found during an autopsy.

 

[Andreee]

Because he works too??? MOO

Her husband may also have had patients scheduled and was unable to get away.
She apparently was visiting old friends or colleagues as well. Maybe she just wanted to be able to spend all her time with them. He may not have even known them very well and was giving her a chance to catch up with old friends on her own. Imo

Either way, we live in a modern world where women can and do t

That's what I'm wondering as well. By the time she contacted her mom - when she could not find her car, something was very wrong. That suggests that she was deteriorating during the visit with the colleague and maybe as early as checking out of the hotel.

I'm curious what happened the night before - maybe she bumped her head and didn't think anything of it at the time.

That was my latest thought too! Perhaps she had some kind of fall.

 

[afitzy]

I am not even sure why it's a question of why she was traveling alone. It's 2019! It's not like she was putting herself in a dangerous situation and we could potentially discuss how women can help protect themselves. To suggest she should have had her husband or someone else escort her seems a bit of an antiquated mentality IMO.

Absolutely agree!

EV had friends and business contacts in the area as she worked in PA for over 4 years and this is where she met her husband (believe he was in school locally at the time per one of the earlier articles).

The area was not unknown to her IMO which makes everything that seems to have happened all the more disturbing.

EV had no doubt driven to the airport many times previously so a tricky turnoff in typical times for her would have been no big deal.

IMO this sounded like some type of very serious medical event that for whatever reason didn't allow her to seek help via 911 or a passing pedestrian, ask Police to come get her when she was reached on the wellness call or even stop to address the situation with low gas. She also it seems didn't feel comfortable leaving her car, which might have been a blessing in disguise given the circumstances.

I do find the lack of situational awareness of the residents in the neighbours surprising given the ongoing crime issues in the area. I also wonder if security footage from area houses will be pulled to see when EV arrived at the location where she was eventually found by a family member.

MOO

 

[CSIDreamer]

I did not say unusal- as it is not unusal for this to happen as per all the cases here. I just said I don't like the idea and question why ? Is it safer or less safe to travel alone these days?

I'm very careful when I travel alone. For instance if pulling into the motel I park as close to a door as possible but under a light. My room key is in my hand before I ever exit my car. The room is immediately locked and deadbolt engaged. Etc. Ironically, my first solo business trip was to Long Island 30 days after 9/11. Either my cautious nature has paid off or I'm just lucky. I've never felt threatened.

 

[MsBetsy]

As per usual thanks for the great map of locations @otto
It helps to visualize all the locations.

The family has been quite forthcoming with information have they said whether the hotel staff reported on any strange behavior and whether the friend(s) she met up with said anything was off with her. It would be weird to check out of the hotel and be fine, meet up with her friend and be fine and leave the visit to all of a sudden, become disoriented and manic. It seems there would be a little "off" behavior leading up to it becoming more severe in the hours ahead of time.

I asked the same thing. I don't think we know yet. I would think anyone she had seen while there would have been in contact with the family during the time she was missing. Imo

 

[10ofRods]

Nor is it feasible. Companies usually don't pay for a spouse's expenses on a business trip.

I'm female, and I've traveled alone many times.

Very true - although in this case, Erin owned the company and could have paid for someone else's travel if she decided to. However, it was a fast-paced trip to vend her business's services and from her FB I think that she, like me, liked to travel alone. She was also an accomplished artist, and in a form that I was admiring on her page yesterday:



I do believe she indicates it's her work and part of what her start-up did was provide graphical assistance to app developers.

 

[MissNightshade]

Have all of her meetings, ceremonies etc checked out? Going to Laguna beach, Monterey etc sounds like a bucket list to me.
What if her business was failing and she was lying about the business trip and just left Utah to see a few places she always wanted to visit before committing suicide?

 

[curtfoo]

Was she found in the backseat (the second row) or in the luggage compartment?

See attached image from: https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/crossovers-suvs/murano/features.html

 

[PixieStix]

I'm very careful when I travel alone. For instance if pulling into the motel I park as close to a door as possible but under a light. My room key is in my hand before I ever exit my car. The room is immediately locked and deadbolt engaged. Etc. Ironically, my first solo business trip was to Long Island 30 days after 9/11. Either my cautious nature has paid off or I'm just lucky. I've never felt threatened.

I have to laugh at this because it's so true. I can be grocery shopping just a regular woman grabbing eggs and bread, but as soon as I have to leave a store and it's after dark, I turn into a highly trained navy seal op!

 

[MJPeony]

It was very sweet of you to do this!

I know I’m late and she’s been found. The only way I can imagine her ending up here is if she took 280 to 85, exited Almaden and went south by accident. There is really no reason for her to have ended up where she did. Maybe she noticed it looked like she was leaving the city (it meanders on down that way but more sparse) and was attempting to turn back around and went into the neighborhood? If she was headed to SJC she should ha w got back on 85 and then went north on 87. 101 is out of the way. It will be interesting to find out what happened. Her poor family.

Well I just felt like maybe I could help in some small way and even if not I could at least try.

That’s exactly the path I took- 280 to 85 and then south on Almaden to her last ping. It is SO easy to get turned around at the Almaden intersection there at 85. I got in the wrong lane myself yesterday and had to swerve over at the last minute.

I’m glad she was found, for the sake of her poor family and friends who were searching essentially on their own. But it’s such a sad outcome.

 

[MsBetsy]

Have all of her meetings, ceremonies etc checked out? Going to Laguna beach, Monterey etc sounds like a bucket list to me.
What if her business was failing and she was lying about the business trip and just left Utah to see a few places she always wanted to visit before committing suicide?

I don't think there is any evidence to indicate something like that.
We don't know the cause of death.

But by all accounts, she sounded extremely driven, successful, adventurous, a bit eccentric, and had a very good sense of humor. She seemed to be well liked and wasn't showing any signs of mental illness, at least not until she got lost on Monday night while trying to get to the airport. Imo