Still Missing CA - Orson & Orrin West (3&4), California City, 21 Dec 2020 #2

[AmandaReckonwith]

Not caught up yet, but I have to call it a night. Week 1 is in there. More tomorrow, but I have a lot of good stuff in there.

Case Archive:
Orrin and Orson West -CA-

 

[MoeInVA]

What motive would adoptive parents or anyone have to harm these 2 boys?
My hinky meter is way up there.

There is no motive to harm two children. No way. Whoever did this is broken. There is no rationale. There is no making sense of it. They are simply broken humans. Who can no longer be trusted.
Jmo.

 

[Ontario Mom]

That's it.
I have no speculation on entrance
Again, emphasizing I am NOT suggesting anyone at that place of business is involved.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I'm confused about the location.
I'm not sure why it seems to keep coming up here.
Has there been something mentioned about it in a statement by LE or MSM that I've missed?
TIA

 

[ReallyStar]

Outdoor/open pile burning is definitely not allowed, where did you get that picture?

Trust me, Bakersfield has some of the worst air quality in California. APCD (County) and the ARB (State) would be all over that and they would lose their permit to operate. If that was a fire in one of their static compost piles or wood piles, it was accidental. Greenwaste and compost piles can become too hot and produce steam that looks like smoke, but that looks a little excessive. IMO, if the boys ended up at this site they would have been discovered, 100%.

Here's their operating permit details- SWIS Facility/Site Summary

It looks like there was a large fire at that recycling facility in January. Perhaps the photo depicting smoke just happened to be taken when that or another accidental fire was burning at the facility.

 

[Sivysaysmimi]

Honestly, I think saying your kids haven't played outside much (paraphrasing) because of COVID is total B.S. They have a fenced-in yard with empty lots on two sides, and plenty of siblings to play with on their own property, away from anyone else who might have COVID. You don't get COVID by being outside. If the kids were not outside playing it's because they either weren't THERE or the parents were too picky about them getting dirty or tracking dirt inside the house.

MOOOOOOO

 

[rosesfromangels]

I'm confused about the location.
I'm not sure why it seems to keep coming up here.
Has there been something mentioned about it in a statement by LE or MSM that I've missed?
TIA

No. It’s just so close to their previous home, and landfills and dumping sites are usually of keen interest. (Similar to Alan White case). Very hard to recover remains in this type of environment, and Perps know it.
That’s the rationale. It’s so close to that previous residence.

amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Jo in Calif]

No. It’s just so close to their previous home, and landfills and dumping sites are usually of keen interest. (Similar to Alan White case). Very hard to recover remains in this type of environment, and Perps know it.
That’s the rationale. It’s so close to that previous residence.

amateur opinion and speculation

But isn't that a recycling facility? people usually don't dump things there they bring recyclables in for cash.
What in the heck would they burn?

 

[fcavanaugh]

That's some rough luck. Keeping your kids inside because of the pandemic, and then THE ONE TIME you put them outside, and they pole vault themselves off the patio and clear out the gate.

This does not lend itself to a well thought out story.

JMO

I love this post because when I was on here yesterday I meant to post something similar, but got distracted and never did. And you stated it much better than I could.

But yeah, my thoughts were, wait a minute, parents said the boys were kept inside during the pandemic, and the one time they’re allowed to go outside, they both end up vanishing into thin air??? Gee, I wonder what the odds are of that happening?

I’d say 0:0.

IMHO

 

[Nancy19XX]

I'm hoping answers come soon for the family and the community. Either way, these boys need to be found! JMHO

 

[Bbybluz]

Do we know approximate ages? Are any teenagers?

Please excuse me if it was already answered. I read they were all 10 & under.

 

[cb73]

I was reading the news stories linked on page 1 of this thread. One said that the boys had been reported missing at 5 p.m., another said that the father started looking for them at 5:45 p.m. "because it was getting dark and cold." I'm not seeing anything super definitive, so the times could be wrong.

It would have been dark at 5 p.m. that day. (Weather history for that day said the sun set at 4:58. History for California City is actually listed under Bakersfield. Bakersfield, CA Weather History | Weather Underground

I've seen a lot of comments about sending your small kids to play in the backyard--the dirt, did they go out the gate, etc.--but sending them to play in dark/near dark? Seems odd to me.

 

[MsBetsy]

I was reading the news stories linked on page 1 of this thread. One said that the boys had been reported missing at 5 p.m., another said that the father started looking for them at 5:45 p.m. "because it was getting dark and cold." I'm not seeing anything super definitive, so the times could be wrong.

It would have been dark at 5 p.m. that day. (Weather history for that day said the sun set at 4:58. History for California City is actually listed under Bakersfield. Bakersfield, CA Weather History | Weather Underground

I've seen a lot of comments about sending your small kids to play in the backyard--the dirt, did they go out the gate, etc.--but sending them to play in dark/near dark? Seems odd to me.

Many articles seem to have conflicting information about the timeline. The dad said the kids went missing around 4:30 or 5:00, just before it got dark. He said he looked inside, then went back outside and looked "everywhere" for them, driving around in the van.
He said he called police "right away." I assume he means when he got back to the house with the van.

They were asked twice what time they made the call but neither parent gave a direct answer.

Imo

 

[Sillybilly]

Posts linking and discussing the video in question have been removed.

Please don't discuss further and we will post the decision on the thread as soon as we have had time to review.

 

[BeckyF]

To hide abuse or neglect. Even an accident can be due to neglect. And, neglect is abuse. Then, fear of losing other children and possibly the income that comes with them. And then there’s the stuff no one wants to touch, child trafficking. JMO

Yeah I’m thinking along those lines also. Maybe discipline gone too far or as you said, covering up an accident.

 

[BeckyF]

There is no motive to harm two children. No way. Whoever did this is broken. There is no rationale. There is no making sense of it. They are simply broken humans. Who can no longer be trusted.
Jmo.

Motive was probably the wrong word. I’m just brainstorming the why’s if in fact a person is actually responsible. If so, they are way more than broken. Jmo

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Re the grainy surveillance video ...

It has been removed and is not approved for discussion at this time. While I could not watch/listen to the full 2 hours, IMO it was too blurry to really make out what was going on and I didn't hear any indication that the video has been turned over to LE as part of their investigation.

There could be other possible explanations for what is in the video, but the host is trying awfully hard to make his preconceived theory fit what he sees.

I will speak with Tricia tomorrow to get her input, but for now, it's off limits.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"We are trying to eliminate people and you always start with the people closest to them and the people who saw them last,” Chief Jon Walker, California City Police, said. “Have we questioned them? Absolutely. Have we searched the house? Absolutely. The backyard, absolutely. All the other rumors are just that., rumors. And they are entitled to their privacy and people staying off of their private property."
Community searches for missing toddlers in California desert

 

[floridamomma]

Motive?
Pure speculation from a random momma...
One child is "punished" and the other saw it and is verbal and will "tell" what happened to brother?

 

[Hexe]

Please excuse me if it was already answered. I read they were all 10 & under.

Four children under ten, probably with a slew of behavioral problems (because their mum did lose her parental rights for a reason, we can assume their previous family life wasn't all cream and peaches) is A LOT to handle. Add to it two bio kids and it gets really hard. I can easily imagine some misguided attempt to discipline Orrin and Orson, two rambunctious (according to the AP) boys, ending up very very badly.

 

[TTF14]

Motive was probably the wrong word. I’m just brainstorming the why’s if in fact a person is actually responsible. If so, they are way more than broken. Jmo

Motive is a fine word. The word "motive" is not the same as "an acceptable rationalization of why this happened."