MO MO - Betty Alexander, 69, Sullivan, 11 April 2019

[Betty P]

Maybe now that the leaves are falling and the brush or grasses die back, they can do another focused search.

It’s her eye glasses that bother me the most. I can’t imagine her forgetting to put them on unless she was coerced out the door.

Deer hunting season is very big there, too usually in the first half of November.

Yes, it certainly seems she left her apartment after being awakened, before she had time to put her glasses on. I also wonder about her inability to walk very far due to her damaged spine.

 

[Jbetty567]

Here is a brief podcast episode on the case! Her daughter addresses many of the questions you all have.
‎Missing Persons: Betty Alexander on Apple Podcasts

 

[PommyMommy]

OCT 22, 2020
Bring Betty Home

Happy Belated Birthday, Betty.

 

[goody2shoes1981]

My first thought upon reading about Betty's case was that she wandered away. It's the missing fentanyl patches and extra cash that made me wonder.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Me too. If she wandered off, she would have been wearing her glasses. Someone took her out of there by force and intentionally left her glasses behind. JMO!

 

[slowpoke]

Me too. If she wandered off, she would have been wearing her glasses. Someone took her out of there by force and intentionally left her glasses behind. JMO!

Maybe, but she did have dementia, which does really weird things to the brain. A person with normal cognitive function would automatically put on eyeglasses in order to see better, but someone who has dementia wouldn’t necessarily do that. If you Google "mom not wanting to wear her glasses" there’s a question on a forum on caring for the elderly where this gets asked. I keep wondering if Betty’s dementia had progressed or just was already more advanced than the daughter realizes.

It’s so sad she has not yet been found.

 

[goody2shoes1981]

The two hundred dollars sound more like a plant to me. To make it look a certain way. Very cheap price to pay to make it look more like she wondered away. Drug addicts and drug dealers would have taken the money, and all the drugs. Even the police around here will tell you, security systems don't help much with drug addicts. They don't even see the signs or stickers warning of a security system, they are too far gone. Surely the police have looked at the phone records, and if they are of any value, it must not be enough.

What rules out abduction for me is the two hundred dollars left behind and the second box of fentanyl left behind. I don't see a scenario where an abductor would take Betty and not take the cash and the second box of fentanyl.

I haven't seen anything about her phone records. Who did she speak to near the time her prescription was delivered? That might provide a clue as to who was buying fentanyl from her, or who was acting as a go between. But even that still might be completely unrelated to her disappearance.

 

[Roselvr]

The two hundred dollars sound more like a plant to me. To make it look a certain way. Very cheap price to pay to make it look more like she wondered away. Drug addicts and drug dealers would have taken the money, and all the drugs. Even the police around here will tell you, security systems don't help much with drug addicts. They don't even see the signs or stickers warning of a security system, they are too far gone. Surely the police have looked at the phone records, and if they are of any value, it must not be enough.

I'm pretty sure I said this before, some seniors and disabled people sell their meds. They can't survive on social security alone. There were younger, disabled people in her building, they probably hooked her up with someone that needs to buy them because they can't get their own script or they need more then their doctor prescribes.

She probably removed the fentanyl patch when it kicked in to make it last 2 days verses 24 hours. If I knew her dose I could look up how much it goes for on the street for the missing meds. It probably comes out to $200.

 

[Bit of hope]

Thinking about Betty.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I was thinking about her yesterday and meant to come bump up her thread. I wish there were more searches, especially with the leaves off the trees. Maybe the weather will cooperate and some hikers or walkers will see something. An article of clothing, a shoe, etc.

 

[Laughing]

I was thinking about her yesterday and meant to come bump up her thread. I wish there were more searches, especially with the leaves off the trees. Maybe the weather will cooperate and some hikers or walkers will see something. An article of clothing, a shoe, etc.

Missouri has had turkey hunting in phases, and deer hunting in phases. Many people in the woods over many days. Whoever hid Betty's body did a really effective job IMHO.

JMHO YMMV LRR

 

[Betty P]

Missouri has had turkey hunting in phases, and deer hunting in phases. Many people in the woods over many days. Whoever hid Betty's body did a really effective job IMHO.

JMHO YMMV LRR

I subscribe to the weekly newspaper (online) and there hasn't been any mention of Betty in several months. Like a lot of rural towns, everyone is struggling with the ongoing COVID 19 epidemic. They were pretty much untouched at first, but people rejected masks until it came roaring through the community. Its hurting the economy in many of these areas and suicide rates are up as people struggle. Everyone seems to just be trying to get by.

Sadly, I don't think many people are thinking of Betty or trying to find her. JMO

 

[goody2shoes1981]

I'm pretty sure I said this before, some seniors and disabled people sell their meds. They can't survive on social security alone. There were younger, disabled people in her building, they probably hooked her up with someone that needs to buy them because they can't get their own script or they need more then their doctor prescribes.

She probably removed the fentanyl patch when it kicked in to make it last 2 days verses 24 hours. If I knew her dose I could look up how much it goes for on the street for the missing meds. It probably comes out to $200.

But Betty was described as timid and withdrawn by those who lived in the apartment complex. Doesn't really sound like somone who would sell their drugs. She barely interacted with the other residents. Especially after her husband died. And Jerry the uncle of Cathy, Betty's daughter-in-law, who moved into her apartment right away, has been accused of threatening another tenant with death. Screaming and yelling that he would hunt her down, and beat her to death with a hammer, as well as the rest of her family. He just flipped out without any reason. Like a switch had been flipped. I am not sure what has come of this, but that is a pretty serious threat. Just my opinion, but I really believe that he is responsible, and the family covered it us.

 

[StarEyes]

I think of Betty often. Those with dementia are cases I become attached to. We took care of my Granny all my childhood. She had really bad dementia, and it leads to sometimes very bizarre behavior. My own Dad has been diagnosed with dementia not long ago, and it’s positively terrifying at even some of the early stage behaviors. It just rips your heart out. A nurse that works in a nursing home told me that they foubd several patients who had taken their dentures out and thrown them in the toilet. Some took them back out of the toilet and put them back in with fecal matter on then. My Granny would lose her glasses and dentures all the time when in some episodes. So, I don’t find it at all strange that her glasses were left behind. If she had a dementia episode, there’s no way to know what she did or where she is. Dementia is an evil disease. She seemed like a sweet lady. I pray she is found.
ALL JMO IMOO

 

[alexwood]

Here is a brief podcast episode on the case! Her daughter addresses many of the questions you all have.
‎Missing Persons: Betty Alexander on Apple Podcasts

Thank you, Jbetty for the recommendation. I haven't listened yet to the podcast, but will later tonight. I did, however, spend a big chunk of time reading the associated article that was cited. It is a very comprehensive article -- well written -- Here's a link:

Betty Alexander – Missing from Sullivan MO – 4/10/2019. Who Abducted Betty? Why Isn’t Her Abduction Receiving Attention? This Grandmother Deserves to Come Home.

[If this has already been posted, my apologies! It is a must read, IMO.]

 

[sammyed]

Thinking of Betty and her loved ones as she's missing two years today.

 

[Betty P]

But Betty was described as timid and withdrawn by those who lived in the apartment complex. Doesn't really sound like somone who would sell their drugs. She barely interacted with the other residents. Especially after her husband died. And Jerry the uncle of Cathy, Betty's daughter-in-law, who moved into her apartment right away, has been accused of threatening another tenant with death. Screaming and yelling that he would hunt her down, and beat her to death with a hammer, as well as the rest of her family. He just flipped out without any reason. Like a switch had been flipped. I am not sure what has come of this, but that is a pretty serious threat. Just my opinion, but I really believe that he is responsible, and the family covered it us.

Someone like that shouldn't be allowed to live there, with seniors (mostly women) who have no way to defend themselves against a violent attack. They shouldn't be forced to live with such abuse. The city and police department need to step in and take care of these people. If they haven't already, they need to establish regular patrols. They need to install security cameras. And they need to evict violent people. The law allows for that.

It sounds like Betty (and probably other residents) were being spied upon to see what kind of prescription drugs they were taking, possibly being forced to turn some of them over to people who either used or sold them.

I hope the DEA and FBI are looking into this. Far too many elderly people appear to be victimized in this manner.

 

[sammyed]

Just saw this article, reward was increased for locating Betty.

https://www.threeriverspublishing.c...n&catid=31:Crawford-County-News&Itemid=200118

 

[mlhenn]

'It is like she vanished': Family of missing Sullivan woman ups reward in hope of finding mother

April 14 2021
After 730 days, Tonya Miller, 39, would just simply like to know what happened to her mother.

Her mother, Betty Alexander, 69, was last seen in her downtown Sullivan home on April 10, 2019, when an employee from an area pharmacy made a delivery. Four days later, when Miller returned from her child’s track meet, she stopped by her mother’s apartment around 4:30 p.m., and Alexander, who was reportedly in the beginning stages of dementia, was gone.

In the apartment, Alexander’s Meals on Wheels delivery was sitting on the table with a glass of milk, which had warmed from being out of the refrigerator. Her apartment keys, nondriver’s license, debit card and cash were all left in her purse that was placed in the closet, where it was normally stored. Alexander’s glasses, which she always wore, were resting on the arm of her recliner. The medication she needed for her chronic back pain was left in the house.

Her family discovered that she took her medicine the night of the delivery around 7 p.m. but did not take her medicine the following day. Alexander’s disappearance has been narrowed down to after 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2019, and before the morning of Thursday, April 11, 2019.

This weekend, to commemorate the two-year anniversary of her mother’s disappearance, Miller announced that the family increased the monetary reward to $20,000.

 

[Betty P]

eTypes - Newspaper Services

A similar article in the local paper, too.