Found Deceased CA - Danielle Bertolini Brooks, 23, Fortuna, 29 Jan 2014

A POI in Danielle and Sheila's disappearance was shot during a possible burglary. Charming fellow.

A suspected car burglar and person of interest in an ongoing missing persons case who was shot once in the leg on Monday after allegedly attacking a Eureka resident was not arrested after checking into a local hospital where a police detective was waiting for him, according to Eureka Police Detective Ron Harpham.

Harpham said the suspect, whom he would not name, checked himself into Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna on Tuesday at about 7 p.m. and was questioned by a detective who was waiting there in case he showed up. When asked why the suspect was not arrested, Harpham said the case is still under investigation.

Harpham said the shot man is also tied to the missing persons cases of Sheila Franks and Fortuna resident Danielle Brooks-Bertolini.

According to authorities, Franks, 37, was last seen on Feb. 2 in Fortuna. Brooks-Bertolini, 23, was last seen on Feb. 8 and was reported missing on Feb. 19.

"The guy that is shot is an investigative lead in that sheriff's department, Fortuna investigation," he said. "I wouldn't say he was suspect. He is a person of interest."

http://www.times-standard.com/local...ected-car-burglar-shot-by-eureka-woman-checks
 
Why wasn't he arrested for the assault? Are LE incompetent or dirty?
 
Why wasn't he arrested for the assault? Are LE incompetent or dirty?

It sounds like the investigation isn't finished and the victim doesn't want to press charges.
LE could also use this as a bargaining tool to get info out of him about Danielle and Sheila. JMO
Rumor has it (according to their families) that he was the last to see both of them.

From the article linked above:

Harpham said the suspect, whom he would not name, checked himself into Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna on Tuesday at about 7 p.m. and was questioned by a detective who was waiting there in case he showed up. When asked why the suspect was not arrested, Harpham said the case is still under investigation.

Harpham said the male resident and his wife are not going to press charges.

"It's just a bad experience for them, and they just want everything to go away," he said.

http://www.times-standard.com/local...ected-car-burglar-shot-by-eureka-woman-checks
 
The sister of the other missing Humboldt county woman, Sheila Sherrell Franks, has revealed the name of the last person to see both Sheila and Danielle alive. Sheila disappeared Feb. 2 and Danielle on Feb. 9. According to Sheila's sister, this man married Sheila in November 2013, but has not helped look for her or even post fliers. He has not been named in the media as a POI, so we can't name or discuss him here...yet. But we can certainly sleuth him and hold onto the info until we can use it.

https://www.facebook.com/HELPFINDSH...0.1416202473./620258281430617/?type=1&theater

Sheila's thread: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...7-Fortuna-11-Jan-2014&p=11208972#post11208972
 
Any word on that jawbone?

I found info on all three remains found this summer. All adult males. No women, but an interesting comment below the article about a rumor that bodies of two women were thrown into a well along with another man who escaped. The thrower has the same initials as the alleged last person to see Sheila and Danielle. He is said to think it's funny that everyone is looking at him in this case. I've known this poster to be quite accurate in the past, so it makes me wonder. But it's just rumor, so far.

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/oct/7/unidentified-bodies/
 
Missing: Jessica Neiman, Danielle Bertolini, Sheila Franks, Jeff Joseph
http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/nov/21/missing-people-northern-california/

The article cited above gives chilling statistics that explain why families cannot just rely on LE to find their missing loved one. As frustrating as that fact is, Danielle's family has done their best to keep her case active. They should be very proud of themselves IMO.

Law enforcement is usually overwhelmed with cases and has little time to assist them. Here in Humboldt, the numbers of reports filed for missing adults is substantially higher per capita than for any other county in California. According to numbers provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for 2013, Humboldt County had 258 reports of missing persons per 100,000 population and San Francisco, its nearest competitor, had only 190 reports per 100,000. In total, DOJ reports that Humboldt had 347 reports for 2013—almost one per day. (Missing doesn’t necessarily mean that the individual has been harmed. They may be voluntarily out of contact with family and friends.)
 
I found info on all three remains found this summer. All adult males. No women, but an interesting comment below the article about a rumor that bodies of two women were thrown into a well along with another man who escaped. The thrower has the same initials as the alleged last person to see Sheila and Danielle. He is said to think it's funny that everyone is looking at him in this case. I've known this poster to be quite accurate in the past, so it makes me wonder. But it's just rumor, so far.

http://lostcoastoutpost.com/2014/oct/7/unidentified-bodies/

makes me sick. ETA: thanks Lilibet for all the work you do to keep up on those missing from NorCal
 
makes me sick. ETA: thanks Lilibet for all the work you do to keep up on those missing from NorCal

Makes me sick too, m_brown. Thanks for the thanks. I used to live in Humboldt county. It was bad when we left in '84 and it saddens me to see how much worse it is now. :(
 
I will not pretend to have any idea about this area or living in California in general, since I have only visited Southern California. But just general reading on various msm news stories, blogs, whatever, there is definitely some reluctance on local LE's part to investigate in certain areas, including where these women and Mr. Joseph are missing. How can that be fixed?
 
I will not pretend to have any idea about this area or living in California in general, since I have only visited Southern California. But just general reading on various msm news stories, blogs, whatever, there is definitely some reluctance on local LE's part to investigate in certain areas, including where these women and Mr. Joseph are missing. How can that be fixed?

Good question! My observation, having lived in Humboldt in the past, is that it has attracted a large subculture who dislike LE and feel that they are above the law. There seems to be a code of silence that is impenetrable, so investigating crimes is difficult unless someone in the area grows a conscience. Even with a conscience, and even if you are not part of the subculture, it is very dangerous to be on the side of the law. When we lived there, we feared for our safety many times. The local LE, especially the sheriff department is woefully understaffed, especially in Southern Humboldt where lived. When they investigate a disappearance, according to law, they can't force people to talk, and they can't search private property without a warrant showing cause. I don't see a fix for this, sadly, as long as people think it's a fun game to make things hard for LE and be loyal to criminals.
 
Good question! My observation, having lived in Humboldt in the past, is that it has attracted a large subculture who dislike LE and feel that they are above the law. There seems to be a code of silence that is impenetrable, so investigating crimes is difficult unless someone in the area grows a conscience. Even with a conscience, and even if you are not part of the subculture, it is very dangerous to be on the side of the law. When we lived there, we feared for our safety many times. The local LE, especially the sheriff department is woefully understaffed, especially in Southern Humboldt where lived. When they investigate a disappearance, according to law, they can't force people to talk, and they can't search private property without a warrant showing cause. I don't see a fix for this, sadly, as long as people think it's a fun game to make things hard for LE and be loyal to criminals.

Thanks Lilibet. I just wanted to add that like you, I have felt a lot of frustration towards Humboldt County LE and many other areas of the northstate due to their seeming lack of shall we say "urgency' and "effort" in locating missing persons.

Wendybtn - In addition to everything Lilibet said, a huge part of the problem is the vast geographical area that these LE agencies are tasked with investigating and patroling. There is really no way to describe the rural-ness and vastness of Northern California unless you have traveled through here. It is a different world than SoCal and the Bay Area. It is incredibly beautiful but also incredibly rural and forested in many of these areas where people go missing. It is not safe in many of these areas (Humboldt, Trinity, Butte, Lassen, etc. counties) to go hiking through the National and state forests because of marijuana grows. Honestly, you could get shot if you are off the beaten path, exploring. It is not safe for LE to go trudging through these areas. They do it when they are busting illegal grows - but they are putting their lives at risk going into the forests. And then there is of course the blatant fact that, the economy in these areas is based on marijuana. Many people do not have "typical" jobs.

In Jeff's Joseph's case, you have the added element of his leased property being in the area the Hoopa reservation (Lilibet please correct me if I am wrong). I think that plays a large part into the difficulty of investigating his case and lack of information/tips being relayed to LE. There is simply too much land to go searching for these people without a tip. Poor Neal King comes to mind. He has a thread here-I honestly believe he will be found one day, but it will take someone turning on the POI in his case for that to happen. ETA: Here is Neal's thread http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...lle-26-March-2013-Missing-after-bus-mtg/page6

IMO, this issue will not be fixed until something changes in relation to large marijuana grows/economic factors change. Too many people rely on marijuana to support them in these areas because of the lack of jobs.
 
Thank you, m_brown, for elaborating so well on what LE faces in Humboldt and other areas. We have the same problems in Jackson and Josephine counties in Oregon. It is simply not safe for anyone to go out in the forest any more, which hinders investigations.

You are right that Jeff Joseph's property is on part of the Hoopa reservation, which creates complications for LE.

It will be interesting to see what the legalization of recreational marijuana in Oregon, and eventually in California, does to the atmosphere of lawlessness in these growing areas. I doubt it will change for the better. JMO
 
Benefit dinner for missing Plymouth woman
635571178154655174-Bertolini-dinner.jpg

HERMON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It's been almost one year since 23-year-old Danielle Bertolini went missing in California, and her family continues to look for answers. Bertolini was reported missing on February 19, 2014 and her mother says new evidence shows that she is no longer alive. But that is not stopping Billy-Jo Dick from bringing her daughter home.

"Too many things make it hard for us to believe she is alive, and too much supportive evidence states that she isn't. In my heart, I know that my daughter is gone," she said. Billy-Jo Dick and her family held a benefit dinner in Hermon Saturday night to raise money to send a search and rescue K9 team from the nonprofit Down East Emergency Medicine Institute, or DEEMI, to California to search for Bertolini's remains.

It is the most pain a parent can feel, but Billy-Jo said she made a promise to find her daughter, and even though Danielle is gone, her mother won't break that promise.
http://www.wlbz2.com/story/news/2015/01/17/benefit-dinner-for-missing-plymouth-woman/21931677/
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
170
Guests online
2,242
Total visitors
2,412

Forum statistics

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