CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - #13

[GrainneDhu]

Think a lot of it was based on large part what they were told at the time and by whom, only later to find out some of what they were told wasn't anywhere near the truth.

It just seems that all roads lead back to AH. Can't figure out still why he let the cat out of the bag about the family disagreement the night before Bob vanished though. What would have been his motive for that???

People who have committed crimes (either social or legal) often do really puzzling things from the viewpoint of trying to cover them up. For instance, someone married who is carrying on an affair puts the motel rooms on their credit card... knowing the spouse pays the bills.

I cannot remember who said it but someone smart said that the most dangerous thing a criminal can do is talk. In talking, they will tangle themselves up.

I'm beginning to wonder if AH did the equivalent of putting the illicit motel room on his marital credit card.

 

[Cubby]

BBM. You know, I was team AH for a while, fwiw. I thought that the fact he brought it up was indicative of his innocence until that point. I mean who tosses family under the bus like that? Either he was sincere, or stone cold. Now I dont know what to think.

He stood in the driveway with a key to Bob's house and waited.

It is troubling. Zwiebel and Oriah have me thinking, was he going in with LE for the first time or had he already come out? IDK.

BBM. One who wishes to profit from the situation by walking away from more than half a million in debt he owes the missing person.

As for the rest of your post, wow. Just wow. I had never considered the possibility AH went through Bob's home prior to LE arriving. However, now that you mention it, it is very possible.

I'd also like to know did he lock up and leave at the same time LE left? And what did he do with the key to Bob's home after he left?

 

[believe09]

I hope everything going on right now is bringing PPD closer to a resolution.

anyone with any information, even the smallest bit of insight, please reach out and provide it.

 

[zwiebel]

Does anyone have any idea what would happen if a person went to a detective with a suspicion, rather than any concrete, detailed information.?

I was just thinking, I would certainly know if someone I knew well was behaving oddly, out of character etc. I don't know how I would say that to someone in authority though. It would be easier if someone in authority came to me and said, "Did you see so and so and was there anything unusual about their behaviour?"

But I just don't know how I would call a detective cold and say, "This person was too quiet that day/too nervous/looked wrong but I don't really know anything more than that." I'd be worried the result would be:

"Get outta here, crazy lady!"

 

[believe09]

Does anyone have any idea what would happen if a person went to a detective with a suspicion, rather than any concrete, detailed information.?

I was just thinking, I would certainly know if someone I knew well was behaving oddly, out of character etc. I don't know how I would say that to someone in authority though. It would be easier if someone in authority came to me and said, "Did you see so and so and was there anything unusual about their behaviour?"

But I just don't know how I would call a detective cold and say, "This person was too quiet that day/too nervous/looked wrong but I don't really know anything more than that." I'd be worried the result would be:

"Get outta here, crazy lady!"

Detective Radomski would be thrilled. And he would investigate it. But if he doesnt get the information, he cant vet it and that is the truth. Anyone with info should let him do the heavy lifting, because he isnt going to call you a crack pot. He is going to check it out.

 

[Oriah]

Does anyone have any idea what would happen if a person went to a detective with a suspicion, rather than any concrete, detailed information.?

I was just thinking, I would certainly know if someone I knew well was behaving oddly, out of character etc. I don't know how I would say that to someone in authority though. It would be easier if someone in authority came to me and said, "Did you see so and so and was there anything unusual about their behaviour?"

But I just don't know how I would call a detective cold and say, "This person was too quiet that day/too nervous/looked wrong but I don't really know anything more than that." I'd be worried the result would be:

"Get outta here, crazy lady!"[/quote]

I think (underlined) that is exactly the opposite of what most LEOs in the US would say!

Any kind of information regarding how someone's behavior changed on the day a crime was committed -or the days before or after- is incredibly useful. Even if it ends up being inconsequential in the end, kwim?

So let's say, one of us WSs was watching a FB page or some other social networking site- and we noticed a change in a posters posts surrounding a certain date. That would be really important info for LE to have, I would think.

 

[zwiebel]

Thanks. It probably seems obvious to anyone who has dealt with cases for a long time, or had contact with LE. But for people who only know the workings of LE from TV, it must be a bit intimidating. I have read so many times in the media, after a suspect has been caught, comments from people who knew them who said they knew something was 'off' but didn't think it was important/didn't think LE would find their info useful.

 

[zwiebel]

Or they were worried about getting an innocent person in trouble.....

 

[believe09]

Thanks. It probably seems obvious to anyone who has dealt with cases for a long time, or had contact with LE. But for people who only know the workings of LE from TV, it must be a bit intimidating. I have read so many times in the media, after a suspect has been caught, comments from people who knew them who said they knew something was 'off' but didn't think it was important/didn't think LE would find their info useful

I think it is scary to deal with LE and sometimes folks want an intermediary. Which is OK too.

I also agree that everyone agrees after the fact that <fill in the blank> was acting strangely, or did that, or said that but no one wanted to say anything.

In a way it interests me-we teach our children to notify adults when ever they hear or feel anything is wrong...like, say, a fellow student who is expressing dark thoughts. But people think it is wrong to do the same when there is another adult involved.

It is unlikely that Detective Radomski is going to check into a story by saying "Hey I received a phone call from B09 and B09 says you shaved off all of your body hair and spray tanned after Bob disappeared."

KWIM?? LE is well trained in the art of handling tips.

You raise good points though, z

 

[Oriah]

Or they were worried about getting an innocent person in trouble.....

That I can totally understand.

 

[zwiebel]

Now that's one approach I haven't seen on TV.

ETA Spray tan, not the totally understanding.

 

[believe09]

Now that's one approach I haven't seen on TV.

:floorlaugh: Can you imagine??

 

[zwiebel]

BBM

Good question believe. Which was it??? Was that calculated on his part to go in with witnesses, after he'd already been in there and knew what would be found and what wouldn't???

It seems kind of weird. Why WOULDN'T he have gone in before LE arrived IF he honestly didn't have any idea that Bob had disappeared?????

In any respect, waiting outside seems an unusual thing for a grandson to do.

I can think of an example though, where almost all of us might do the same thing; that is, do something that seems to make no sense but do it anyway because we would have a one hundred per cent belief it would be for our own good, and wouldn't cause us any harm.

If our Mom told us to do it.

 

[zwiebel]

I don't know. I guess most of us would respond to our Mom in the same way through a call, as face to face?

 

[mikkismom]

BBM




In any respect, waiting outside seems an unusual thing for a grandson to do.

I can think of an example though, where almost all of us might do the same thing; that is, do something that seems to make no sense but do it anyway because we would have a one hundred per cent belief it would be for our own good, and wouldn't cause us any harm.

If our Mom told us to do it.

FWIW, If I was worried about my elderly grandfather's well-being, I wouldn't NEED a key! I would call the police, assume he fell and hit his head and bust in! Windows/doors can be fixed. My main concern would be Grandpa! And, no, Mama couldn't keep me from doing it (nor would she.)

jmo

 

[dreamweaver]

At this point in the disappearance of Robert Harrod, I can only hope that the Disappeared show brings in tips and clues so that he can be found.

 

[zwiebel]

Somebody must have called AH that night to ask him to meet LE and let them into Bob's. It could have been Mrs Harrod I suppose, if she had his number.

It seems more likely to me though, that it would have been his mom. Mom seemed to be the one making most of the calls that night - LE report says she called FH, and apparently it was also JuM who let her sisters know Bob was missing. Given that AH lived closest to Bob, I would have thought she'd have called him too.

Although in that case, I would have thought she would have asked him much earlier, to go around to check on his grandfather. I don't know why she would have told him to wait outside though, if she did. JeM hadn't noticed anything amiss in the house earlier, and he'd let the CL clean, so he obviously wouldn't have told his wife not to let anyone go in the house. It's not as if JuM could have been worried AH might be stumbling into a crime scene.

If it was simply a fear of invading his grandfather's private space, well;
1) The family all knew Bob wasn't answering his phone
2) None of them seemed to have fears over entering Bob's private space over the next few days.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Does anyone have any idea what would happen if a person went to a detective with a suspicion, rather than any concrete, detailed information.?

I was just thinking, I would certainly know if someone I knew well was behaving oddly, out of character etc. I don't know how I would say that to someone in authority though. It would be easier if someone in authority came to me and said, "Did you see so and so and was there anything unusual about their behaviour?"

But I just don't know how I would call a detective cold and say, "This person was too quiet that day/too nervous/looked wrong but I don't really know anything more than that." I'd be worried the result would be:

"Get outta here, crazy lady!"

It depends on who takes the call and on the context, I think.

Who answers the call is beyond anyone's control. The context of the call is within a caller's control. Simply acting suspicious in and of itself is no crime. Acting suspicious after a known crime has occurred can be a significant tip and police will give it the weight it deserves.

Statistically, the police have interviewed the suspect in the vast majority of cases within the first month. If the case goes unsolved longer than that, the problem is most likely in figuring out which of the many people they interviewed is guilty. Finding out that someone was acting guilty can be a big neon signing flashing "check this person out further!"

 

[GrainneDhu]

Or they were worried about getting an innocent person in trouble.....

The vast majority of the time, this is a fear with no basis in reality. If a tip is called in about someone innocent, no lasting harm is done.

The very, very rare cases of corrupt police, well... history shows they don't need any phoned in tips to engage in illegal acts.

I would say to call it in and let the police sort it out. The vast majority of police officers are ethical and honest.

 

[believe09]

Call LE with anything. Any suspicion, any suspicious behavior. They will sort it out. That is their job, not ours.

So call. No matter how small you think the tip may be. Just do it. Dont try and weigh it for yourself.