VA VA - Michael, 50, Mary, 36, & Jennifer Short, 9, Bassett, 15 Aug 2002

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http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/256818

Reward in Short family slayings boosted to $100,000
The deaths of Michael, Mary and 9-year-old Jennifer Short are among the region's most notorious unsolved slayings.
By Laurence Hammack | The Roanoke Times


(More at link)
 
RubyRed said:
truck.bmp

Federal investigators are looking for a flatbed truck that reportedly was seen near the home of Michael Short and Mary Short in Henry County just hours before their bodies were found dead inside their home on Aug. 15, 2002.

The FBI has released a sketch of the truck, described as a 1998 to 2002 white, single-cab, two-ton stake body truck with wooden rails. An unidentified man was seen sitting in the truck along U.S. 220 in the vicinity of the Shorts’ Oak Level home, according to the FBI.​


However, investigators are requesting information from anyone who had contact with Michael Short regarding employment and relocation he was seeking to the coastal region of South Carolina as a mobile home mover. In addition, investigators are seeking information from general contractors, independent contractors, construction companies, mobile home dealers, mobile home parts suppliers, mobile home transporters or mobile home salvage yard owners who conducted business with Short or M.S. Mobile Home Movers between Jan. 1, 2001, and Aug. 15, 2002.​



Click to expand...


...
That looks like a Bail/Ball/Baileys truck
The original color of the cabin made had been another color at one time, such as red and painted white.

The trailer i believe, is not the original trailer that was attached to it.
Someone bought the cab, and added this trailer later to do specific type of work they had in mind for its use, without spending a lot of money on the modification.
It may-had a design on the doors but was painted over.
Like someone would have on a farm of some kind, to pickup and move piles or bundles of bail/straw etc.
It looks diesel.

Those wooden rails are one piece i believe though not certain.
There would be three sections perhaps, both sides and the one in the back. I don't believe it has a tailgate that raises up and down, it just has a section of the wood with stakes attached, to replace back when done loading. I believe to load and unload it, you simply remove the back part and put it back.

It looks older then what is posted.
But a type of truck one would kept on a farm in a barn, or a apple orchard , something like that.
you just left them up and place the stakes inside the slots on the truck.

Seems if any one owned such a truck for business, they would have come forward at the time to say they owned that type of looking vehicle. But they did not, so I am guessing the person whom was seen setting in it, owned it. It looks like it has been modified from its original appearance, to work better for what it was going to be used for.
Could have been used for local delivers etc. Not a lot of money went into it, but it did serve a purpose to make money at the time.

Theirs a chance it may be stored in someones barn, shed etc, and has been there for a very long time, after the murders.
​
 
ok this is very weird.I recently was researching for a recent post on my blog http://thewaronwomen.org and forget how but I came across this case. Now I see it on front page at ws as I logged in. This may be way off, but when looking at a map right now North Carolina is not extremely far from Kentucky. The suspect drawing for the Short case looks similar to some of the Kentucky abductions, which are being done with a gun I would like to add. Anyone agree? You can see on my blog but I will gather some of the sketch drawings to post here. They say its unknown who the person was after the parents or Jennifer...
 
This case has haunted me since it happened. I was in the area where her remains were found a few weeks prior... went down to the campground to spend a day on the river. Not knowing at the time the "prime suspect" lived on that road and the eerie feeling I got she was there, hair raising experience. Then the news came a few weeks later she was found by the dog playing with her skull.

I called home freaking out and didn't go back there... haven't been back. I pray that someone w/any info comes forward, but honestly feel it's too late.
 
I remember this case from when it happened. Always bothered me deeply. Somethinga bout the photosof the family, reminded me of some people I knew. Such a sad/horrible thing to totally destroy a family. I know the police seemed to think it could be related to a dispute the father had over some business. But I always wondered if that was the case, then why did the assailant(s) take the girl with them? Increasingly, I feel that the purpose of the assailant being there was to take the girl. Unfortunately, if this was a stranger, a random abduction, the likelihood of it being solved is slim unless someone eventaully confesses.
 
If he went there for some kind of revenge against the man/or against the woman for that matter, and killed the other two so not to identify or give a description to police, then i would be more inclined to believe that. But then to go in, and kill the adults, then almost as an afterthought he decided to kidnapped and rape and murder a young girl?..........I would have to see some LE files on this case to perceive this as possible.

To do that would be awfully risky, unless one had a plan in advance, or was just so sure of themselves they could get away with killing two at the scene and taking the third person out from the home to rape and kill.
 
PrairieWind said:
I remember this case from when it happened. Always bothered me deeply. Somethinga bout the photosof the family, reminded me of some people I knew. Such a sad/horrible thing to totally destroy a family. I know the police seemed to think it could be related to a dispute the father had over some business. But I always wondered if that was the case, then why did the assailant(s) take the girl with them? Increasingly, I feel that the purpose of the assailant being there was to take the girl. Unfortunately, if this was a stranger, a random abduction, the likelihood of it being solved is slim unless someone eventaully confesses.
Click to expand...

Until i see some official LE files to dispute your assumptions based on speculation, i agree with you.
​
 
Did they check to see if Gary Bowman or his wife had owned a gun with the same size caliber bullets used in the killings?
 
I'm surprised that no one has come forward on the identity of the person who owns that truck. It is very distinctive, because of the wooden rails along the sides. Makes me think the truck's owner is not a local or someone who knows a person with a truck with that description is keeping quiet.
 
I read on an old forum that the police thought possibly a migrant worker may have killed the family. Supposedly, Short hired them to work for his business.
 
McSpy said:
I read on an old forum that the police thought possibly a migrant worker may have killed the family. Supposedly, Short hired them to work for his business.
Click to expand...

If you come across that old forum again, could you please post a link.

I would like to read about that. Thanks in advance and thanks for posting.
​
 
IMHO - I don't think Gary Bowman would have been smart enough to pull off a crime such as this, unless he had help. I would hope that LE went thru his DMV records to make sure that he never owned a truck such as the one posted on the flyer.

Also, it's not even really known if this truck is connected. Of course it's a possibility it is, but since there have been no witnesses to come forward stating they saw the person/people who did this, then this truck could be totally unrelated to what happened to the Short's.

I still say...look no further than some of the former corrupt members of the HCPD for the answers to this crime (JMO). The dumping of Jennifer's body on/near Gary Bowman's property may have been to set him up to take the fall for this or could have been a warning message to him (JMO).

Something about this just seems too "professional" - IMHO - whoever did this wasn't sloppy and knew exactly what they were doing. Apparently it was a well thought out and well executed plan.
 
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