Found Deceased CO - Jonelle Matthews, 12, Greeley, 20 Dec 1984 *arrest 2020*

Status
Not open for further replies.
Weather History for Greeley, CO

I had to look up the weather that day. So from this site it looks as if the day time temperature was about 35 degrees and there was about 2 inches of snow. That means the ground was frozen.
Being brought up on a ranch I know even with land moving equipment it's really hard to dig. Plus this was out in the middle of nowhere at the time. Why would someone take the chance a local farmer or even a passerby would see that equipment out there that time of year. It would be unusual and remarkable. Of course this last part is IMO sorry for the multiple posts
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20190729-091633_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20190729-091633_Chrome.jpg
    87.1 KB · Views: 14
Thank you for clarifying :) I think there was an old article which perhaps had a discrepancy on that bc I did read “mother” somewhere i thouuuught; there seem to be other discrepancies as well as you know).
I’ve read both in the articles. If I remember correctly, the older articles say mother and the newer ones say father.
 
Greeley police processing new evidence in Jonelle Matthews case, sending to CBI for forensic analysis

A day after confirming bones found earlier this week at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County are the skeletal remains of Jonelle Matthews, Greeley police announced Friday they are preparing to send various pieces of evidence collected at the scene to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for forensic testing.

Joe Tymkowych, spokesman for the Greeley Police Department, declined to comment about what specific evidence the agency has collected. However, he did say detectives also are investigating certain historical records from the area where Matthews’ remains were found.
...
Police are scanning historical records to try to determine who might have owned the land where Matthews’ remains were found since she went missing more than three decades ago. Police also are trying to determine if anyone had farming or ranching leases there over the years, as well as who has resided in a bank of farm houses on Weld 34 1/2.
...
Although the department has new items to analyze, it’s not yet known how time, the environment and other factors might have affected the evidence.

“We’ve processed several items and we’re submitting a lot of evidence to CBI for testing,” Tymkowych said. “Whether it’s been degraded over time to the point it’s no longer reliable? That’s another question, but we aim to find out.”
...
Some of the evidence on its way to CBI was collected Thursday during an autopsy performed by the Weld County Coroner’s Office, Tymkowych said.
...

Please, please, please let there be enough evidence to find out who did this!
 
Skull and bones of 12-year-old Colorado girl who went missing in 1984 found at oil and gas site | Daily Mail Online

That all changed around 4.50pm Tuesday when oilfield workers who were digging a pipeline about one quarter of a mile northwest of Weld County Road 49 and Weld 34 1/2 unearthed a small hole containing a child's skull, bones, and severed jaw fit with braces, according to the Greeley Tribune, which obtained photos of the remains, but has declined to publish them.

How reliable is this source?
 
I'm so on the fence about the police finding enough evidence to make an arrest. Although from watching the raw footage of the Mattews it sounds like they have a cause of death. IMO that will be instrumental in being able to reduce the number of potential suspects.
I have been wondering what the locals have to say about suspects. Since it was a small town at the time of her disappearance I'm sure the public had many rumors. All of which would not be allowed to be discussed here but it is still in my head.
 
Greeley police processing new evidence in Jonelle Matthews case, sending to CBI for forensic analysis

A day after confirming bones found earlier this week at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County are the skeletal remains of Jonelle Matthews, Greeley police announced Friday they are preparing to send various pieces of evidence collected at the scene to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for forensic testing.

Joe Tymkowych, spokesman for the Greeley Police Department, declined to comment about what specific evidence the agency has collected. However, he did say detectives also are investigating certain historical records from the area where Matthews’ remains were found.
...
Police are scanning historical records to try to determine who might have owned the land where Matthews’ remains were found since she went missing more than three decades ago. Police also are trying to determine if anyone had farming or ranching leases there over the years, as well as who has resided in a bank of farm houses on Weld 34 1/2.
...
Although the department has new items to analyze, it’s not yet known how time, the environment and other factors might have affected the evidence.

“We’ve processed several items and we’re submitting a lot of evidence to CBI for testing,” Tymkowych said. “Whether it’s been degraded over time to the point it’s no longer reliable? That’s another question, but we aim to find out.”
...
Some of the evidence on its way to CBI was collected Thursday during an autopsy performed by the Weld County Coroner’s Office, Tymkowych said.
...

Please, please, please let there be enough evidence to find out who did this!

It comforts me that LE is asking all the right questions!
 
Greeley case shows how missing-child investigations evolved

August 4, 2019

"GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — In March 1985 during a speech to members of the National Newspaper Association, President Ronald Reagan urged the media to take up what he called a "mission of mercy" by printing the names and faces of missing children in their respective newspapers.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, more than 1 million children per year went missing from their homes and neighborhoods, Reagan said. Although it wasn't a new phenomenon, the 1980s marked the first time the problem of child abductions was thrust into the national spotlight, and as a result, the phrase "stranger danger" entered the national vocabulary.

One of those millions of children reported missing during the 1980s was 12-year-old Greeley resident Jonelle Matthews, who disappeared Dec. 20, 1984, after performing in a Christmas concert with the Franklin Middle School Honor Choir. She was last seen about 8 p.m. that night when she was dropped off at her home by a friend and her friend's father.

Reagan briefly mentioned Jonelle during that March 1985 speech to highlight the founding of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. A private, nonprofit funded primarily by the U.S. Justice Department, the center was established in June 1984 following the passage of the Missing Children's Assistance Act in Congress.

Today, the center serves as "the national clearinghouse of information to provide a coordinated, national response to problems relating to missing and exploited children."

In the wake of last month's discovery of Jonelle's remains at an oil and gas site in rural Weld County, Robert Lowery, vice president of the Missing Children Division at the center, spoke with the Greeley Tribune about how missing children investigations have changed over the last 34 years, including some history about the well-known practice of printing the faces of missing children on milk cartons...."

Greeley case shows how missing-child investigations evolved
----

RAW: Last known video of Colorado girl missing for 34 years, Jonelle Matthews

Published on Dec 21, 2018

 
Last edited:
It seems there used to be another thread for Jonelle, which was apparently closed/merged:

CO - Jonelle Renee Matthews (12) - Greeley CO, 1984

From the first post there:

“Jonelle was last heard from at 8:30 p.m., BBM when she spoke to an acquaintance of her father on the phone.

Jonelle's father, Jim Matthews, arrived at the house at approximately 9:30 p.m. and discovered she had disappeared. Jonelle's stockings and shoes were on the floor and the television and lights were turned on. BBM: She had also taken a phone message for another family member. The garage door was discovered open and investigators located footprints inside the garage and around the back of the family's home. Authorities suspect that an unknown intruder or intruders broke into the residence and abducted Jonelle that evening. She has never been seen again.”

So is the “phone message” she took separate from the “acquaintance of her father” that she spoke to”?

Or is it the same thing?

“Jonelle took a phone call from a teacher at her father's school at 20.30”.
 
For more than 30 years, Jonelle Matthews' family could only wonder what had happened to the 12-year-old girl whose disappearance attracted the attention of the White House and shocked a rural Colorado community.

They have faced false alarms over the years whenever human remains were found or police interviewed someone new for information about Jonelle. In July, they finally learned what happened to their daughter and sister — a construction crew discovered her remains, and police officially labeled her death a homicide.

But they still don't know who killed her. Finding her body ended one chapter of the family's life and opened another, said Jennifer Mogensen, Jonelle's older sister.

"Somebody is responsible for doing this to her," Mogensen told The Associated Press this week.
Girl's remains found after 30 years, now family seeks killer
 
IMO I think that LE needs to do a VERY thorough search of the area Jonelle was found. With all the missing that have similar circumstances the state could have a serial killer and burial location on their hands.
I agree. My first thought was that the person who thought s/he got away with it, might have killed again.

Hopefully, some DNA evidence will be found by the lab.
 
Qmfr:

ETA: Fwiw, I just found the Red Plum “Have you Seen Me” ad. It is indeed a MP out of Greeley. “Ariana Thomas”, date missing “6/27/18”. Making a note to check for thread.

(Following up to check on link for Ariana Thomas, not seeing any msm, ncmec, etc. @Gardener1850 ?

Also, here is another Red Plum “Have you seen me”, MP out of Greeley, started a thread here:

CO - CO - Noelle Limbaugh, 16, Greeley, 29 Jan, 2018. )


—-

I wonder what developments have been made in Jonelle’s case.
 
Qmfr:



(Following up to check on link for Ariana Thomas, not seeing any msm, ncmec, etc. @Gardener1850 ?

Also, here is another Red Plum “Have you seen me”, MP out of Greeley, started a thread here:

CO - CO - Noelle Limbaugh, 16, Greeley, 29 Jan, 2018. )


—-

I wonder what developments have been made in Jonelle’s case.

I cannot find anything on Ariana. Google shows a cached page for her here: Colorado - ARIANA THOMAS - Missing Alert

But appears her profile is not listed there anymore. Hopefully her case was resolved. MOO.

Thanks for starting a thread for Noelle.

I hope Jonelle's killer will be found soon.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
172
Guests online
2,245
Total visitors
2,417

Forum statistics

Threads
589,978
Messages
17,928,611
Members
228,028
Latest member
Kac1991
Back
Top