MO MO - Christina Whittaker, 21, Hannibal, 13 Nov 2009

New Posts

I track Christina's case on NamUs and it was just modified yesterday, so I am taking it her disappearance is an active investigation.
She has 6 rule outs on her profile.
UP11362 11/05/2012 Cook IL
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA
UP7573 12/26/2009 Los Angeles CA
UP7212 03/06/2010 Kendall TX
UP6718 02/10/2010 San Bernardino CA
UP6850 03/17/2010 Cleveland OK
 
chaddylex said:
I track Christina's case on NamUs and it was just modified yesterday, so I am taking it her disappearance is an active investigation.
She has 6 rule outs on her profile.
UP11362 11/05/2012 Cook IL
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA
UP7573 12/26/2009 Los Angeles CA
UP7212 03/06/2010 Kendall TX
UP6718 02/10/2010 San Bernardino CA
UP6850 03/17/2010 Cleveland OK
Click to expand...

I’m new to using NamUs. I’ve been following Christina’s case, bc I’m from that general area. Idk how to submit a case for them to review it. I think this one is worth looking into, bc it’s a little further down river from Hannibal and they didn’t immediately search the river for Christina when she went missing. The bar and downtown area are pretty much the river front. Hannibal is a small town so there’s a couple blocks of bars and shops downtown for tourists bc of all the Mark Twain stuff, but it’s a short walk right to the river, and there’s no barricade or anything, it’s the main channel, not the bay. Very swift moving water, impossible to swim.


“Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP10580
Female, Uncertain
Location Found: Grand Tower, Illinois
Circumstances of Recovery:
On August 7, 2012 the Jackson County Sheriff's Office recovered partial skeletal remains along a remote stretch of the Mississippi River north of Grand Tower, IL. The bones consist of a partial mandible, the right tibia, and the right clavicle. No other evidence was located. An anthropologist from Southern Illinois University believes the remains are that of a female of unknown ancestry, between 18 and 23 years old, 5'3" to 5'8" tall. She believes the post mortem period to be between 5 and 25 years with at least part of that time spent in burial.”
 
hkhkhk said:
I’m new to using NamUs. I’ve been following Christina’s case, bc I’m from that general area. Idk how to submit a case for them to review it. I think this one is worth looking into, bc it’s a little further down river from Hannibal and they didn’t immediately search the river for Christina when she went missing. The bar and downtown area are pretty much the river front. Hannibal is a small town so there’s a couple blocks of bars and shops downtown for tourists bc of all the Mark Twain stuff, but it’s a short walk right to the river, and there’s no barricade or anything, it’s the main channel, not the bay. Very swift moving water, impossible to swim.


“Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP10580
Female, Uncertain
Location Found: Grand Tower, Illinois
Circumstances of Recovery:
On August 7, 2012 the Jackson County Sheriff's Office recovered partial skeletal remains along a remote stretch of the Mississippi River north of Grand Tower, IL. The bones consist of a partial mandible, the right tibia, and the right clavicle. No other evidence was located. An anthropologist from Southern Illinois University believes the remains are that of a female of unknown ancestry, between 18 and 23 years old, 5'3" to 5'8" tall. She believes the post mortem period to be between 5 and 25 years with at least part of that time spent in burial.”
Click to expand...


You should submit it! It can't hurt, especially since this UID isn't listed as a rule out on Christina's NamUs page.
 
chaddylex said:
You should submit it! It can't hurt, especially since this UID isn't listed as a rule out on Christina's NamUs page.
Click to expand...

I figured out how to submit it and sent it off. I’ve never found a possible match before so I’m really excited. Hoping they do compare the two, but even if they don’t, or if it’s not a match, my hope is that it will renew interest in Christina’s case. Ithink it has been since 2013 or 2014 since they last did a comparison (I’d have to check notes, not sure), so even if it’s not the answer we’re hoping for maybe more will be done for her. Or give her family renewed hope they’re still work ion it. And the unidentified decendent has one previous match that was ruled out, so I’m hoping that means they do have enough information for the dna to do a comparison and possibly identify her. I’m still a beginner so this is all simultaneously both really complicated and exciting
 
hkhkhk said:
I figured out how to submit it and sent it off. I’ve never found a possible match before so I’m really excited. Hoping they do compare the two, but even if they don’t, or if it’s not a match, my hope is that it will renew interest in Christina’s case. Ithink it has been since 2013 or 2014 since they last did a comparison (I’d have to check notes, not sure), so even if it’s not the answer we’re hoping for maybe more will be done for her. Or give her family renewed hope they’re still work ion it. And the unidentified decendent has one previous match that was ruled out, so I’m hoping that means they do have enough information for the dna to do a comparison and possibly identify her. I’m still a beginner so this is all simultaneously both really complicated and exciting
Click to expand...

Keep us posted! Don't get discouraged if you don't hear back. I have been matching missing person to the Unidentified for at least 15 years. Some agencies blow me off, others respond and take it seriously.
 
chaddylex said:
Keep us posted! Don't get discouraged if you don't hear back. I have been matching missing person to the Unidentified for at least 15 years. Some agencies blow me off, others respond and take it seriously.
Click to expand...

The contact person is located at
UNT Center for Human Identification in Texas. I’m kinda hoping that’s better than when the contact is a police department, especially one in a small town.?
But I also don’t know how it all works. Tbh the other profiles they tested for Christina were way off imo. I’m no expert tho. The descriptions for them on NamUs had some clear differences to where I wouldn’t have thought they’d be a match, and they’re from states all over the US.
Whereas this one didn’t get uploaded to NamUs until I wanna say 2016, eventho the decendent was found in 2012, and the information they do have about the decedent matches. But... the Mississippi River claims a LOT of ppl per year, and most of them are never found, so there’s a long list of people that decedent could be just based on that, from anywhere up river. Plus their estimated year of death is 5-25 years before discovery. Worth looking at, still a long shot.
 
Who Is Christina Whittaker, Missing Woman From Hannibal, Missouri? - Geeky Craze

A brand new six-part docuseries a few weird missing-persons case that takes place within the city well-known for being the birthplace of Mark Twain premieres immediately on Discovery+.

Aptly referred to as Relentless, the sequence chronicles director Christina Fontana’s 11-year investigation into the disappearance of a younger lady named Christina Whittaker.

...SBM

Hannibal police declined to debate the case with Fontana for the Discovery+ docuseries, however authorities advised KHQA that they’ve labored with the FBI, carried out digs, and interviewed prisoners incarcerated for different crimes of their efforts to search out out what occurred to Whittaker — however they’ve by no means been in a position to crack the case.
 
They have 4 episodes out and the family is angry. They and their advocates have taken to social media. It was very interesting to me how those individuals share no valid or helpful information. They all seem to just say the "knew" Christina. This case is very interesting; the families decision to mislead the public and police did nothing to help.
 
Just read about the docuseries (but can’t watch it because I don’t have a subscription) but super curious about this case & disappointed to not see much in terms of new info or comments.
 
I suck at this, but this story is very interesting. I screenshot two pic together to see what the experts think.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot (46).png
    Screenshot (46).png
    474.4 KB · Views: 41
Good summary of the docuseries for those of us who can't watch it.

Mysterious disappearance of 21-year-old Missouri mother who vanished without a trace in 2009 is laid bare by filmmaker who spent more than TEN YEARS obsessing over the case
  • In Discovery+'s six-part series Relentless, director Christina Fontana explores the theories surrounding Christina Whittaker's disappearance in Hannibal
  • Whittaker vanished on November 13, 2009, after going out with friends
  • There were eye-witness accounts of her being intoxicated and getting into an altercation with someone at the bar, which led to her being kicked out
  • Whittaker was last seen leaving another bar around 1 a.m., according to Fontana, and her cellphone was later found on the ground outside
  • Fontana started investigating the case in 2010 after meeting Whittaker's mother, Cindy Young, and stepfather, Alex Young, who were desperate to find her
  • Whittaker's mother is convinced she was taken to Peoria, Illinois, against her will and put into sex trafficking, while others believe she went on her own volition
  • There are theories that she was murdered or died in a hit and run, but there is no evidence to back up any of the claims, and the case remains unsolved

PUBLISHED: 22:15 GMT, 30 July 2021 | UPDATED: 15:08 GMT, 2 August 2021

A filmmaker's obsessive search to find a 21-year-old mother who vanished without a trace nearly 12 years ago is the subject of a new true crime docuseries.

In Discovery+'s six-part series Relentless, director Christina Fontana explores the unfounded theories surrounding Christina Whittaker's mysterious disappearance in the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, where nothing is as it seems.

'What I find so intriguing about this case is that on the surface, it really did seem like there was this girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,' Fontana told Fox News. 'But once I started scratching underneath that surface and uncovering these layers to Christina’s life, there was so much more to the story.'

Relentless is docuseries about missing Christina Whittaker

Vanished: The mysterious disappearance of Christina Whittaker, a 21-year-old mother from Hannibal, Missouri, in 2009 is the subject of the new true crime series Relentless

The filmmaker was filming a separate documentary about families of missing persons when she met Whittaker's parents in 2010. They were so passionate about finding their daughter that she shifted the focus of her original project to focus solely on their case.

Fontana has over 400 hours of footage from her 11-year investigation, which remains unsolved. She said there have been allegations against 'almost everyone in Christina’s life,' including members of her family and the police.

Whittaker disappeared on November 13, 2009, after going out with friends. There were eye-witness accounts of the young mom being intoxicated and getting into an altercation with someone at the bar, which led to her being kicked out.

She was separated from her friends and went to two other nearby bars, reportedly begging people for a ride home along the way. She was last seen leaving one of the bars around 1 a.m.

Obsessed: Filmmaker Christina Fontana started investigating the case in 2010 after meeting Whittaker's parents, who were desperate to find her

Mystery: Whittaker disappeared on November 13, 2009, after going out with friends. She left behind her six-month-old daughter

'She had come alone, visibly upset and she was on the phone arguing with someone,' Fontana said. 'The bartender had asked her, "Do you need anything? Would you like a ride home?" And she said, "No, I’m OK." And ran out the back door. The next morning, her phone was found on the ground. That was the last time anyone had seen her.'

Whittaker left behind her six-month-old daughter, and her sudden disappearance has spawned hundreds of theories as to what has happened to her.

Her mother, Cindy Young, is convinced that she was taken to Peoria, Illinois, against her will and put into sex trafficking. She believes her daughter was brainwashed into thinking she can't go home.

Young shared her theory with the local ABC 7 news station KHQA on the 10th anniversary of Whittaker's disappearance in 2019.

Theory: Whittaker's mother, Cindy Young, is convinced she was taken to Peoria, Illinois, against her will and put into sex trafficking

Hard to handle: There are theories that Whittaker was murdered or died in a hit and run, but there is no evidence to back up any of the claims, and the case remains unsolved

'Christina, if you see this, honey, please contact me,' she said, hoping her daughter was watching. 'Please give just a call. No one’s going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. We all need you. We need you back home.

'You don’t have to come if you don’t want, but at least call me, and let me know you’re okay,' she added. 'I need to hear your voice. I just want you to know I love you with all my heart. You’re my little hero, little survivor. I’m so proud of you. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.'

The Hannibal Police Department told KHQA that it had interviewed more than 200 people during its investigation and worked with 45 agencies from across the country to obtain leads.

Lt. Jennifer Grote said the FBI came to Hannibal two months into the case to investigate, and the department also interviewed prisoners behind bars who were convicted of other crimes.

Missing: Whittaker was last seen leaving a bar around 1 a.m., according to Fontana, and her cellphone was later found on the ground outside

Rumors: 'This isn't just a story of a girl gone missing,' the director explained in the trailer for the series. 'This is also a story of a small town filled with dark secrets'

Fontana investigated a number of theories while filming the documentary. One popular belief is that Whittaker has been living in Peoria of her own volition this entire time.

Another suggests she was murdered and her body was disposed of at a hog farm. There was even a theory that she was killed in a hit and run, but neither Fontana nor any of the private investigators working on the case have been able to uncover evidence that proves any of these suspicions.

However, the information they do uncover doesn't match what they have been told by Cindy and her husband Alex Young, Whittaker's stepfather.

In 2012, one of the family's cousins came into possession of a cellphone with a text message about removing Whittaker's body, Decider reported.

The way in which they came about the text seems unlikely, and when Fontana showed it to the investigator the Youngs hired, she was told the message may have been faked to prevent her from uncovering the truth.

Confusing: Fontana was told that Whittaker had a drug problem and her disappearance may be related to a drug-related debt, but her family denied that she used narcotics

Conflicted: During her 11-year investigation, Fontana was confronted with possibility that the Youngs weren't being forthcoming with her about Whittaker's case

The investigator also said Whittaker had a drug problem and her family knows her disappearance had to do with a drug-related debt, despite their denials that she abused narcotics.

'This isn't just a story of a girl gone missing,' the director explained in the trailer for the series. 'This is also a story of a small town filled with dark secrets.'

Fontana told Fox News that there are 'a lot of what-ifs flying around' that add to the mystery of the case.

'Maybe she wanted to leave home because of certain things. Maybe people wanted to harm her because of certain activities that were going on in her life that we uncover in the show,' she said.

'This is a very small town of about 17,000 people. When you engage with the locals, they all have one thing in common to say — there are a lot of rumors in Hannibal. And nothing is what it seems.'

Fascinating docuseries lays bare disappearance of Missouri mother | Daily Mail Online
 
What the last lead of Christina Whittaker’s case tells us
July 20, 2021

Discovery + has released the sixth and final episode of a crime nonfiction documentary Relentless On Monday, it leaves us one last lead in the case of Christina Whittaker’s missing.

The series records an 11-year survey of the disappearance of a young mother at the age of 21 on November 13, 2009, directed by Christina Fontana.

“In the end, I think I have one lead I see in episode 6 and I need to check in right away. I tried it, but it stopped,” Fontana said. Movie maker Before the episode airs. “I think it needs to happen first, just to clear it. Similarly, it needs to happen soon.”

The lead in question came from members of the Romanical community in the Hannibal region of Missouri, where Whittaker grew up. Romanical people, also known as Romnachil or Romani, are a group of Indo-Aryan nomads who settled around the world, including Europe and the United States.

At the beginning of the series, Fontana said he had heard rumors about criminal activity within Hannibal’s local Romanical community and whispers that certain individuals within the group may have been involved in the disappearance of Whittaker. However, there is no concrete evidence to support these concepts. The source Fontana spoke of in the last episode is currently imprisoned and was interviewed on condition of anonymity.

“Christina wanted a good life, but she came across the wrong people to live a good life. They lied to her and cursed her, and once they put her in , It was too late and she couldn’t get out, “Source said. “Romanical-there are some very dangerous things. If they think you’re going to put them in jail, you won’t find them.”

He explained that he believed that Whitaker’s body was buried in a well in a land once owned by a man named Glen Redbetter.He refused to be interviewed Relentless And, again, there is no evidence that has proven to link him to crime.

“When you were on the premises and in the stream, you were nearby — you were very close. It used to be Glen Redbetter’s whereabouts. Was there blood on the premises? Yes.” Sources said. “The well is straight. Seen from the road, the well is about 200 feet, probably 250 feet, where her body is.”

At the end of the documentary, Relentless The producer said: “Glen Ledbetter no longer owns the property in question. The current owner refused to allow producers access to the well without substantial compensation. Fontana, authorities refused to allow Christina Whittaker’s authorities. We continue to look for additional witnesses who can support her sources’ claims so that we can obtain a warrant to search for the body. “

Whittaker is still missing.

What the last lead of Christina Whittaker’s case tells us - Jioforme
 
nerosleuth said:
Could it be possible that perhaps someone picked her up by car, truck, or van, and took her across the river to Illinois?

Are there any bridges where she could have walked across the river and went into Illinois?
Click to expand...

It would be about an hour's drive from Hannibal to the Illinois River. If she was drunk she would have hunkered to much too last that long on such a bumpy ride. Hence, she couldn't have walked. Whatever the case is, bottom line, Christina doesn't want to be found. That's for sure. Question is why. What does Christina know that made her, basically fall off the face of the Earth? Whittaker lived in a small town, small towns have the biggest secrets. (Trust me, I know) However, given the number of sightings that people in Hannibal have had of the person, it's almost impossible for her to be dead now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 95 more.
Total: 3,739 (members: 96, guests: 3,643)

Online statistics

Members online
96
Guests online
3,643
Total visitors
3,739
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,394
Messages
17,968,303
Members
228,766
Latest member
Mona Lisa
Back
Top