Found Deceased FL - Tracey Lynn Rieker, 44, Venice, 30 Sept 2020

Been thinking about the earlier reported statements concerning vehicular homicide as the possible manner of death. In the majority of states, the statute provides that the Medical Examiner is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death. Perhaps it was District 12 ME Russell Vega that first cited Tracey's manner of death as a homicide. We know he's not talking now.

District 12 Medical Examiner Russell Vega said he couldn’t reveal the manner of death due to the ongoing investigation. A toxicology test could take longer, he said, due to the condition of the body.

Questions remain: Family, friends remember life of Tracey Rieker

FAQ - District 12 Medical Examiner Office
 
Oof. there's a LOT of misinformation in there. He did not wake up and call 911. He never called 911. Police didn't know until Oct. 2nd that she was missing.

It seems TR had gone to the beach the day before to proselytize and was not in contact with her family, and they were afraid she returned to the beach again -- although she was asked not to.

Questions remain: Family, friends remember life of Tracey Rieker

Oct 14, 2020

Christian Rieker said he’s not sure what lead Tracey to take his car out sometime early Sept. 30.

“(We) realized she wasn’t here,” he said, recalling the day. “The garage door was open, so that was a little alarming. She had gone to the beach to proselytize the day before to talk about God. We talked to her about how worried we were when she did that, so we asked her to not do that again.”

At first they thought she’d gone to proselytize again, then noticed Christmas plates and other decorations missing.

They reached out to some friends before later contacting authorities, who Christian said were responsive to his call, even though she hadn’t been missing for 24 hours at the time.

He waited some time before starting an online effort about her status.

“Tracey was actually a very private person. When she hadn’t come home the next morning was when we posted it (on social media),” he said.

But once the campaign began, thousands of people became involved — in reality or digitally. Searchers put up drones and a private investigator became involved, along with volunteers checking parks and beaches for her.

“They put in days upon days upon days looking for her — and we got multiple sightings of her and the car which didn’t pan out,” he said.

On Saturday, the Xterra was found less than a mile from the family’s home.
 
Questions remain: Family, friends remember life of Tracey Rieker


At first they thought she’d gone to proselytize again, then noticed Christmas plates and other decorations missing.

Rsbm. Those are strange items to notice missing so soon.

I'm not sure if he's saying that's what alerted him to something being off.

According to CR, she had previously talked of cancelling Halloween and Christmas, so she .... what. Removed those things from the home at 3am and no one heard her do it, just like no one heard her drive away?
Even if she kept the plates in the garage, it doesn't make sense. It's deathly quiet at that time of the morning, noise carries in a garage.
 
Rsbm. Those are strange items to notice missing so soon.

I'm not sure if he's saying that's what alerted him to something being off.

According to CR, she had previously talked of cancelling Halloween and Christmas, so she .... what. Removed those things from the home at 3am and no one heard her do it, just like no one heard her drive away?
Even if she kept the plates in the garage, it doesn't make sense. It's deathly quiet at that time of the morning, noise carries in a garage.

I think news report/family sharing was more about TR's state of mind when she vanished.

TR reportedly caused the family worry the day before, and they asked her not to go to the beach again so maybe she was occupied gathering things she suddenly deemed evil. She left the garage door open and was driving her husband's SUV. Perhaps she loaded his SUV with things and was headed to a dumpster when she missed the turn and ended up in the water.

We will probably never know. Continued strength and comfort for her family and friends.
 
Rsbm. Those are strange items to notice missing so soon.

I'm not sure if he's saying that's what alerted him to something being off.

According to CR, she had previously talked of cancelling Halloween and Christmas, so she .... what. Removed those things from the home at 3am and no one heard her do it, just like no one heard her drive away?
Even if she kept the plates in the garage, it doesn't make sense. It's deathly quiet at that time of the morning, noise carries in a garage.
I’m patiently awaiting more information - video of the neighborhood to start
 
Maybe she had all the decorations she was planning on getting rid of out somewhere in the house? When I am doing a house purge, I generally stick everything in a pile somewhere to sort through: keep, donate or throw away.

I think she was having serious mental health issues and with the lack of sleep added in, it made for a terrible, tragic accident.
 
In listening to the husband's video message posted on Crimeonline linked below, he mentioned that Tracey left her own car behind and took his distinct, green Nissan Xterra SUV. I wonder if she was familiar with this vehicle-- especially as she's believed to have left in the middle of the night and the area described as very dark. I'm so sorry for this lovely family -- especially her children.

Tracey Rieker: Police find body in large pond, likely of missing mom-of-four [BREAKING]
I find it noteworthy she took her husband's car....a green the color of pond algae. I guess that would make it difficult to see the car in the water, even shallow, for a period of time. The longer it stayed and drifted the less likely it would be to see.
 
I find it noteworthy she took her husband's car....a green the color of pond algae. I guess that would make it difficult to see the car in the water, even shallow, for a period of time. The longer it stayed and drifted the less likely it would be to see.

I find that exceptionally interesting, the color of the car. Especially when I saw the drone footage of the color of the water. It's a match.

JMO.
 
Maybe she had all the decorations she was planning on getting rid of out somewhere in the house? When I am doing a house purge, I generally stick everything in a pile somewhere to sort through: keep, donate or throw away.

I think she was having serious mental health issues and with the lack of sleep added in, it made for a terrible, tragic accident.

I keep all of my holiday decorations in the garage, with our cars. Maybe the decorations were in there, and the boxes were moved or noticably missing.

If she was having mental health issues and sleep issues, she may have thought that she needed to get the decorations out of the house ASAP.

According to CR, she had previously talked of cancelling Halloween and Christmas, so she .... what. Removed those things from the home at 3am and no one heard her do it, just like no one heard her drive away?
Even if she kept the plates in the garage, it doesn't make sense. It's deathly quiet at that time of the morning, noise carries in a garage.

Someone came into my garage (the door was foolishly left open) at about 2:00am, and riffled around in our cars. I was watching tv in the family room adjacent to the garage and neither I nor the dog heard it. Stuff was dumped in our cars, and a toolbox was moved. We were literally feet away in an attached room and didn't hear it.
 
Maybe she had all the decorations she was planning on getting rid of out somewhere in the house? When I am doing a house purge, I generally stick everything in a pile somewhere to sort through: keep, donate or throw away.

I think she was having serious mental health issues and with the lack of sleep added in, it made for a terrible, tragic accident.

I hear you, I do too and have stored such things in the garage myself. Easier to move to the car.

If she had them boxed, I guess she could have moved them quietly. I know my husband wouldn't notice missing boxes, unless they were conspicuous enough to miss. Like on the dining table or kitchen worktop.

I may be overly questioning a few things because her friend and a cousin are in a small group I'm in.
 
Perhaps his vehicle was parked behind hers and she wanted to get out of the house quick. Or she had a smaller type vehicle and stuff she wanted to discard wouldn’t fit.
 
Questions remain: Family, friends remember life of Tracey Rieker

She had also started studying the Bible up to eight hours a day and was concerned about COVID-19. She was fasting for a National Day of Prayer, but decided to keep it going through the weekend.

Some of her recent behaviors had been concerning; she was worried about celebrations of Halloween and Christmas, which she started to think were based on pagan holidays. She started wanting to dispose of decorations she’d had for years — including a Halloween tree that doubled as a celebration for her 17-year-old daughter Cassie Studli, who was born Oct. 31.
 
When was the National Day of Prayer?
How long has she been fasting?
 
When was the National Day of Prayer?
How long has she been fasting?

It appears she fasted beginning Thursday, Sept 24 through the weekend (4 days) but reportedly had not been eating/sleeping well before this date.

Inspired by the example of Abraham Lincoln…

who, at the urging of both houses of Congress, three times called the entire nation to fast and pray, all men and women of good will are invited on September 24, 2020, to fast and pray for God’s mercy on our land in these tumultuous days and the healing and conversion of our hearts.

September 24: National Day of Fasting and Prayer - Church of Saint Mary
 
It appears she fasted beginning Thursday, Sept 24 through the weekend (4 days) but reportedly had not been eating/sleeping well before this date.

Inspired by the example of Abraham Lincoln…

who, at the urging of both houses of Congress, three times called the entire nation to fast and pray, all men and women of good will are invited on September 24, 2020, to fast and pray for God’s mercy on our land in these tumultuous days and the healing and conversion of our hearts.

September 24: National Day of Fasting and Prayer - Church of Saint Mary
She started fasting on September 24, continues through the weekend and went missing on September 30.
Almost a week of fasting? And not eating much food leading up to the 24th?
8 hours of day praying? That sounds very disconnected from her family.
Wonder when the last time she saw a doctor.
 
She started fasting on September 24, continues through the weekend and went missing on September 30.
Almost a week of fasting? And not eating much food leading up to the 24th?
8 hours of day praying? That sounds very disconnected from her family.
Wonder when the last time she saw a doctor.
I wonder if the autopsy will be helpful since she was in the water for so long?
 
She started fasting on September 24, continues through the weekend and went missing on September 30.
Almost a week of fasting? And not eating much food leading up to the 24th?
8 hours of day praying? That sounds very disconnected from her family.
Wonder when the last time she saw a doctor.
She was fasting for a National Day of Prayer, but decided to keep it going through the weekend.

TR reportedly went to the beach to proselytize the day prior and her family asked her not to go again. She was obviously not well and seems to me she left in the middle of the night when she knew she would not be met with resistance. MOO
 
If TR was fasting for any length of time, it's possible she was experiencing hallucinations, both auditory and visually. It's quite possible a visual hallucination caused her to drive into the pond.

Many things beside psychological issues can cause hallucinations: drugs, fasting and isolation. If you combine all four she was ripe for experiencing them. I struggle with why her family members did not get her medical help. Her behavior for several weeks prior to her death would suggest a medical intervention.

I'm trying to put myself in her family's place. If my daughter, wife, mother was behaving in the same manner she was: walking the beach addressing complete strangers about God, acting in a manner that suggests she may have been having a psychotic episode, fasting to the extent she was endangering her own health as well as others, it would have set off alarm bells. She needed help, an intervention. I don't get the vibe that any of that happened.

Unless there is actual evidence that her vehicle was involved in an accident that sent her into the pond, I doubt the autopsy and toxicology results will provide any information.
 

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