Found Safe DC - John Wayne Regan, 34, from Australia, missing after meeting GU professor, 8 Jan 2019

[JerseyGirl]

A man from Australia has been missing for months after traveling to Washington, D.C.

John Wayne Regan came to D.C. to see a Georgetown University professor he met online.

Sara Singha of Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs said she last saw him in January, when he told her he was going to meet some friends.

Since then, he’s missed the February wedding of his sister, with whom he was very close. There’s been no activity on his credit cards, and he had only a week’s worth of clothing.

Australian Man Missing for Months After Visiting DC

 

[daikon.radish]

I hadn’t heard of this until today - story from the Australian ABC:

Sydney man missing after Washington DC visit may be with 'cult or a sect', family says

John sounds possibly vulnerable, having just beaten cancer, and this was his first big overseas trip. The last text his family received “didn’t sound like him” so they’re worried he’s not able to contact them himself. Plus the fact (as mentioned in the post above) that John missed his sister’s wedding. The family are fine with him staying in the US if that’s what he wants to do, but they’d like to hear it from him. Fingers crossed for a swift and happy resolution!

 

[mlhenn]

Missing Persons Cases Network

•He promised he would be home in a week's time.
•A yellow alert - a global police alert for a missing person - has been issued by Interpol.
• The family is concerned Regan has met with foul play and could be involved in a "cult-like" scenario after meeting up with a woman during his travels.
•John beat cancer seven years ago and has tried to stay healthy since. Part of his desire to be in peak condition led him to online meditation and mindfulness courses - through which his family says he met American woman Sara Singha. He took her up on an offer to visit her in San Francisco, even though she was based in Washington DC. She would later cancel on him and then invited him to stay with her in Washington. Not long after, John told his mother he was planning on extending his stay in the US.
•Regan's family tracked Sara down as part of their frantic efforts to find him. She told them Regan was going to meet friends in January.

 

[daikon.radish]

Ugh, that doesn’t sound good, does it? I hope the private detective the Reagans have hired has been looking into Sara Singha’s words... it just seems so weird, arranging to meet in SAN Francisco then not meeting, inviting John to DC. Who knows what happened after that?

 

[indicolite22]

Did he have enough money left on his account for a plane ticket home?

From the link below:
John's bank accounts were tapped in mid-January due to bills and car payments unrelated to his disappearance.

Missing Persons Cases Network

 

[JerseyGirl]

Missing Persons Cases Network

 

[indicolite22]

His fb account: John Regan

 

[indicolite22]

Daily Mail Australia is quoting John's aunt Rhonda Hatton on her fb, where she made several posts about his disappearance since February (BBM):

'He has not touched his bank account since mid December,' she said in February.

'I would presume if he is travelling he would be accessing his money and does not have a credit card.'

She also said that he promised family repeatedly in January to be home before his sister's wedding in February where he was supposed to be the maid of honor.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7292075/Missing-Sydney-man-feared-held-against-Washington-meditation-cult.html

ETA: The Australian ABC article linked previously states that John's mother received the last text from him, telling her that he's OK, in February. Did the message come after the wedding that he missed without an explanation? Why is the missing date January 8th when there was contact ater that date? Is it because that was the day of his last sighting of a phone conversation with him?

 

[bykerladi]

How did it go from missing to a cult? Why does the family suspect a cult? I feel like there's something missing from the story.

'Maybe it's a cult': Family fears for Australian man missing in the US

 

[mlhenn]

ETA: The Australian ABC article linked previously states that John's mother received the last text from him, telling her that he's OK, in February. Did the message come after the wedding that he missed without an explanation? Why is the missing date January 8th when there was contact ater that date? Is it because that was the day of his last sighting of a phone conversation with him?

It’s confusing to me as well so this is MOO...
Possibly they are saying he’s missing since January because 1) that’s when he originally stated he’d be back 2) that’s when Sara said she saw him last.
They may mean February because 1) that’s when he officially threw up a red flag by missing the wedding 2) the last contact with him (or said to be him) via phone, email, etc.

Again this is just MY OPINION but I could be totally off.

 

[mlhenn]

How did it go from missing to a cult? Why does the family suspect a cult? I feel like there's something missing from the story.

'Maybe it's a cult': Family fears for Australian man missing in the US

MOO
But maybe because after beating cancer, his family stated he was dedicated to being his healthiest and went to US to meet
a woman he had met via an online self-meditation course.
Then the messages they were receiving from him did not sound like him at all. Ex:
"I want you to know I'm safe and doing fine," it read.

"Like Superman, I've needed to find my temple of solitude … please trust that I am well and that I know what I'm doing."

Again, just throwing ideas out there on why possibly they are referring it as “cult” related.

'Maybe it's a cult': Family of Sydney man missing after Washington DC visit hires private eye

 

[mlhenn]

How did it go from missing to a cult? Why does the family suspect a cult? I feel like there's something missing from the story.

'Maybe it's a cult': Family fears for Australian man missing in the US

Also his mother stated: “I’m going to use cult because I believe it would be some sort of cult to hold him there”
Missing Persons Cases Network

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

Sounds like it cannot be verified that the February text(s) actually came from John. As we know, anyone can text from someone else's phone.

How about Sara Singha? Think she is a real person with that actual name and this cockamamey story about SF and DC? Yeah, sounds fishy AF IMO.

ETA: after a little online research that we can all do very easily with names and google, I can see why the family might think this is cult related. Cult-ish perhaps, indeed.

 

[indicolite22]

It’s confusing to me as well so this is MOO...
Possibly they are saying he’s missing since January because 1) that’s when he originally stated he’d be back 2) that’s when Sara said she saw him last.
They may mean February because 1) that’s when he officially threw up a red flag by missing the wedding 2) the last contact with him (or said to be him) via phone, email, etc.

Again this is just MY OPINION but I could be totally off.

It seems (from the articles) that he kept pushing back his return date. The end of January (on time for the wedding) was supposedly his last promise. His aunt does mention a few specific dates with family contact in January. I'm not sure when was the last time someone saw him in person or spoke to him on the phone.

 

[indicolite22]

Sounds like it cannot be verified that the February text(s) actually came from John. As we know, anyone can text from someone else's phone.

Can't the police check the location of the phone when the last text was sent and determine when the phone was switched off? I'm sure his family was trying to reach him after the text.

How about Sara Singha? Think she is a real person with that actual name and this cockamamey story about SF and DC? Yeah, sounds fishy AF IMO.

The Daily Mail article linked earlier has her picture and she seems to be a real person. I was surprised by her nonchalant reply to John's mother. How does she know that he's OK?

 

[indicolite22]

Again, just throwing ideas out there on why possibly they are referring it as “cult” related.

A cult-like group might seem like a positive outcome and a plausible (not sure if very probable) theory. He gradually reduced contact with his family and tried to placate them when communication stopped. He stopped using his bank account, so someone must be providing for him. I wonder if he was knowingly lying to his family about returning for the wedding.
I hope they try to establish when and where he met that Sara person and who else he visited in the US.

ETA: Besides the cult theory, he could have ended up homeless and unable to return. He could have started a new life in the US, but why cut contact? Other possibilities would be self-harm or foul play. I'm not sure if that would have been drawn-out.

 

[bykerladi]

Sara Singha is real. She's still a fellow at Georgetown. BTW, NO ONE calls Georgetown "GU." At least not from that area.

 

[bykerladi]

ETA: after a little online research that we can all do very easily with names and google, I can see why the family might think this is cult related. Cult-ish perhaps, indeed.

meaning? Cults in the purest sense are uncommon in DC.

 

[indicolite22]

I reread the Daily Mail article. Sara's short email reply to John's mother (BBM):

''I do not know John's whereabouts. He was very well when I last saw him and was traveling to see friends and did not give me any further information. I'm sure he is just fine - I would let him contact you.''

According to the article, the only communication from John after this email was the suspicious last text from his phone in February. That could mean that Sara, even if she didn't know where he was, was at least still in (online?) contact with John at that time. Perhaps she knew who had his phone. Or was the text a coincidence? IMO, if he was in a cult, she would know.

Missing Sydney man feared to be held against his will in Washington meditation cult | Daily Mail Online

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

yep, indeed, I imagine she would know.

Her words seem a little cold to me - this man (who she knows and seems to like by all outward reports) is missing and his mother is quite worried - but we never know about intonation and inflection in someone's words when they are written.

And also, cults (pure or impure) are everywhere. (not being snarky, but being a bit vague, I have my degree in an area that is familiar with cults and cult behaviors).