Hi all, this is my first post here, so apologies in advance if I say or do anything wrong
I found out about this site because I became fascinated with this story of Blaze due to the fact that I live just 10 minutes away from Foothill Ranch and visit the area frequently, as well as because of the mysterious nature of his disappearance. I swear when I think about it, all this reminds me of an episode of "Without a Trace". As a result I have become quite fascinated with it.
In any case, I've been reading this and the other, closed, thread for the past 90 minutes, and while I'm not sure how much it will add to the discussion, I thought I'd try to summarize the theories and facts as I understand and analyze them. I'm curious as to what others think at this point.
First, it seems these are the possible/likely scenarios:
1) He was abducted as a result of an ill-fated meeting and is either being held for some reason or was killed
2) He disappeared of his own volition for reasons only known to him (and perhaps a close friend)
3) He committed suicide
4) He fell into a ravine or something of this nature in the wilderness
I discount #4 right off the bat as highly unlikely due to the extensive searching that has already taken place both by OCSD as well as the drones within the past few days. The fact that OCSD has called off the search lends credence to the contention that he is not in that wilderness area, either alive or dead
#3 - suicide - I think is definitely possible for reasons already stated, but not very likely, primarily because if he had committed suicide, in my opinion his body would have been found during the extensive search
So I tend to think it's #1 or #2 and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to support both at this time.
As for abduction or foul play of some kind, it seems from the anecdotes of friends and his Grindr(sp?) account that he was likely gay, which would support the theory that perhaps he was trying to meet someone in the park for an encounter and something went wrong. This could have ended with an abduction and/or a murder. If a murder it would likely have taken place at another location as once again it seems nothing has been found in the wilderness search
I think it's equally likely that he may have disappeared of his own volition. Many of the comments I've read suggest that he may have had some trouble with school. It's clear he had a passion for writing and cooking and other artistic talents. Perhaps he was under a lot of pressure at school and/or his scientific major was more to please his parents than himself, and he finally decided he needed to chart his own path. The movie "Dead Poets Society" comes to mind with, of course, a different outcome. Of course, this is the explanation I assume most of us are hoping for.
This all being said, there are still more questions than answers. As others have mentioned, the behavior of the driver is highly suspect for several reasons. a) The whole 11:30 and 4:00 AM thing. b) Not warning the parents first thing in the morning that something was wrong. c) Seemingly contradictory statements to media outlets (although IMHO the media are generally incompetent and so I take everything they write with a large grain of salt. In that regard, finding this website has been quite a breath of fresh air!)
From my perspective, the driver's behavior could easily support either #1 or #2 - he could be covering up and or involved in foul play, or just as easily be covering for Blaze in his desire to make a clean break from his family.
Then there's the case of his other friend, the female, who he was texting. Perhaps she's the key to this. If so, I'd conclude this supports theory #2.
I also agree that LE probably knows a lot more that what we're reading, which is precisely as it should be IMHO.
Anyway, that's my condensed version. I hope we clear up the remaining questions in the coming days and it is a positive outcome, not the negative one most are probably assuming at this point.
