Found Deceased WI - Kathleen Ryan, adult, teacher, car found burned with body inside, St. Francis, 2 Feb 2019

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But how long does it take to get that hot, longer than someone noticing it in their driveway and calling 911 and them responding?
I'll tell you it doesn't take that long. Years ago, my Dodge Omni caught fire in the K Mart parking lot while I was in grabbing a few items. By the time I heard the fire sirens, checked out and got outside to find it was MY car- the radiator was melted. Ten minutes tops.
 
I don't want to say it was a suicide - I think whatever happened, the police/detectives don't want to let us know because it would be hurtful to the family. Again, just my opinion. If the Knar/Ryan family are reading any of this, I wish you peace.

I know that unexpected suicides happen all the time, but neither what has been published about Kathleen nor the circumstances and timing of her death that have been made public so far seem to fit a suicide, IMO. First off, I can't imagine any grandmother I know planning to commit suicide on route to a family gathering, especially knowing her three young grandchildren had a birthday cake waiting for her and were planning to celebrate her upcoming birthday. That, IMO, would knowingly add even extra trauma to the tragedy of suicide. From what was written about her, that would seem very out of character. JMO. The silence from detectives could be due to them already being in the process of investigating some very plausible, but so far unnamed, suspects. MOO.
 
I don't want to say it was a suicide - I think whatever happened, the police/detectives don't want to let us know because it would be hurtful to the family. Again, just my opinion. If the Knar/Ryan family are reading any of this, I wish you peace.

I think LE (Law Enforcement) has a good idea of what happened to Kathleen. But LE wont and can't say how Kathleen died until the medical examiner/coroner completes their investigation/autopsy which may take several months.

ETA: If Kathleen was murdered, LE won't be naming any POI or suspects and certainly not making any arrests until the ME determines the manner of death to be homicide.

JMO
 
Another option to your theory above.

Google maps shows a shell station/truck stop nearby, called Lake County Oasis. https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+county+oasis&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#fid=0x880f8ddf32dae751:0xe2c64c926473898e&fpstate=luuv&imagekey=!1e2!2sgMjEabhkfu7srrTs85-Qpg&trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:nav,rc_ludocids:16340832489594653070,rc_q:LAKE%20COUNTY%20OASIS,ru_q:LAKE%20COUNTY%20OASIS&viewerState=im

Interestingly following that link across the street offers this drive. It doesn’t look like the same one in the news articles, but I can’t be sure. View attachment 169517

Google MapsAlso nearby is the former hotel turned to monthly rental and appearing rundown and shady nowadays according to what I’ve read online. The monthly hotel address is 36355 on the pic shown . Both are near the burn location.
View attachment 169518
Map

View attachment 169519
Hotel — monthly

Scenario.

Perp sees her at truck stop/shell. Kidnaps at gunpoint while his vehicle parked at station. Hours go by (not going to think about what happens then) then he returns to location near where his vehicle is already parked and starts the fire, walks a very short distance to his vehicle. No one would wonder about a truck parked for a few hours there.

Police have said they are checking debit and credit cards, tolls, and surveillance. Hopefully they are getting leads from those.

Fun fact, to bring a little levity to this tragic case: that former hotel turned monthly rental you posted a photo of here is in the 80s comedy movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," with Steve Martin and John Candy. That is a John Hughes film. They rent a room in it in one scene. It was called the El Rancho hotel back when I lived in Gurnee, though we all called it El Rauncho, as it had a bad reputation even back then. I suppose that would be close to the Spanish pronunciation anyway.
 
Fun fact, to bring a little levity to this tragic case: that former hotel turned monthly rental you posted a photo of here is in the 80s comedy movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," with Steve Martin and John Candy. That is a John Hughes film. They rent a room in it in one scene. It was called the El Rancho hotel back when I lived in Gurnee, though we all called it El Rauncho, as it had a bad reputation even back then. I suppose that would be close to the Spanish pronunciation anyway.

Movie clip

 
The autopsy was completed on 2/5. The coroner is awaiting the results of more testing before releasing the cause of death. Anyone have any ideas on what those other tests might be and how long it might take for the coroner to get the results? MOO.

Lake County, IL
Posted on: February 7, 2019
Update: Body Identified (Warren Twp Death Investigation)
On February 5, 2019, the Lake County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the remains recovered from the burned vehicle. Lake County Coroner Doctor Howard Cooper said, “Through dental records we positively identified the body as Kathleen Ryan, 56, of the 2300 block of East Holt Avenue, Milwaukee. I am awaiting additional testing before releasing the preliminary cause of Kathleen’s death. I have been in close communication with the Ryan family and extend my deepest condolences to them.”
 
The autopsy was completed on 2/5. The coroner is awaiting the results of more testing before releasing the cause of death. Anyone have any ideas on what those other tests might be and how long it might take for the coroner to get the results? MOO.

Lake County, IL
Posted on: February 7, 2019
Update: Body Identified (Warren Twp Death Investigation)
On February 5, 2019, the Lake County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the remains recovered from the burned vehicle. Lake County Coroner Doctor Howard Cooper said, “Through dental records we positively identified the body as Kathleen Ryan, 56, of the 2300 block of East Holt Avenue, Milwaukee. I am awaiting additional testing before releasing the preliminary cause of Kathleen’s death. I have been in close communication with the Ryan family and extend my deepest condolences to them.”

Maybe toxicology tests, to determine if she was drugged by someone?
 
The autopsy was completed on 2/5. The coroner is awaiting the results of more testing before releasing the cause of death. Anyone have any ideas on what those other tests might be and how long it might take for the coroner to get the results? MOO.

Lake County, IL
Posted on: February 7, 2019
Update: Body Identified (Warren Twp Death Investigation)
On February 5, 2019, the Lake County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the remains recovered from the burned vehicle. Lake County Coroner Doctor Howard Cooper said, “Through dental records we positively identified the body as Kathleen Ryan, 56, of the 2300 block of East Holt Avenue, Milwaukee. I am awaiting additional testing before releasing the preliminary cause of Kathleen’s death. I have been in close communication with the Ryan family and extend my deepest condolences to them.”

Forensic Toxicology Testing which takes four to six weeks for the results.

This test will hopefully determine if there were any levels of drugs in Kathleen's system that would have been been fatal. Show any drugs that were not prescribed to Kathleen. Determine if Kathleen perhaps overdosed.

Could also show if there was any carbon monoxide in her system. This would be helpful to determiner if Kathleen was alive or dead at the time of the fire. This could also have been determined during the autopsy if there was soot in Kathleen's trachea and lungs if those organs were not too badly damaged by the fire.
 
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Was she married or divorced?
Kathleen was married to Peter Remington Ryan. It seems like he is not mentioned much. Perhaps they were living apart; Maybe his job sends him out of town but I can't figure out where he worked. There may be some negative things regarding his past employment, in my opinion. I could read certain things incorrectly on the WI Access site.
 
Kathleen was married to Peter Remington Ryan. It seems like he is not mentioned much. Perhaps they were living apart; Maybe his job sends him out of town but I can't figure out where he worked. There may be some negative things regarding his past employment, in my opinion. I could read certain things incorrectly on the WI Access site.

Ah ok. Thanks for the info!
 
I haven't seen anything that makes me think this is suicide. For me the timing doesn't work. I could be wrong. Maybe I just don't want to think that way. I've tried to go the accident route and again the timing doesn't work. If she left home around lunch time where was she for nine or so hours and why was she off her usual route? Any way I look at it, I think it was definitely a murder. Known or unknown person, I lean about 50/50. I do believe a crime was committed against this lady.
 
I haven't seen anything that makes me think this is suicide. For me the timing doesn't work. I could be wrong. Maybe I just don't want to think that way.
A recurrence of an illness or a relationship gone sour - reasons some kill themselves.

We lack the information to say if either was the case here.

Grappling with the issue of whether or not to end her life may have caused the gap in the timeline and the different route taken. Suicide does not always keep to a direction or adhere to a schedule.
 
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I don't want to say it was a suicide - I think whatever happened, the police/detectives don't want to let us know because it would be hurtful to the family. Again, just my opinion. If the Knar/Ryan family are reading any of this, I wish you peace.

The LE will absolutely release their findings. One quick google search will reveal that they release suicide info to the public.

This is not a popular method of suicide for women at all. In fact, I have read of fire investigators making that comment as well as reporting that the often women who attempt this way do not complete. Of those that did complete a commonality exisisted: prior attempts and bipolar disorder according to one fire investigator I read.

Kathleen was married to Peter Remington Ryan. It seems like he is not mentioned much. Perhaps they were living apart; Maybe his job sends him out of town but I can't figure out where he worked. There may be some negative things regarding his past employment, in my opinion. I could read certain things incorrectly on the WI Access site.
Yes, he does. Add “broker” to his name in search and see what is found.

A recurrence of an illness or a relationship gone sour - reasons some kill themselves.

We lack the information to say if either was the case here.

Grappling with the issue of whether or not to end her life may have caused the gap in the timeline and the different route taken. Suicide does not always keep to a direction or adhere to a schedule.

Agreed with that about suicide, but this is an abnormal method, especially for a female. Let alone weird timing and location.

Certain testing that may be done: soil testing to determine if accerlant was used. Tests to determine if and where accelerant was used inside vehicle. Where did fire start and how. Hoping they are able to determine if she died before, or after fire started.

Also hoping they know way more than what we think right now.
 
The use of accelerates, usually gasoline, was used in most cases of Self-immolation by fire from what I have read.

According to this study about 1/3 of the 32 cases studied occurred in automobiles. Although the scene was usually familiar to the deceased, some chose remote locations. Only about 1/2 if the 32 had a diagnosed mental illness. And most of the victims had a reason to kill themselves.

Fire and suicide: a three-year study of self-immolation deaths. - PubMed - NCBI

Of 164 patients admitted to a university hospital burn unit, 15 (9%) had attempted suicide, and 5 of the 15 died. The use of a flammable liquid was the most common method of attempted suicide

Psychiatry Online
 
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