CA - Chelsea King (17) Rancho Bernardo (north San Diego County) #1

[TravelingBug]

On Friday morning, a "reverse 911" call went out to Rancho Bernardo-area residents, urging them to immediately report any possible sightings of the missing teen.

Snipped from http://www.10news.com/news/22678790/detail.html

It sounds like the police are doing a great job using all resources they can to find Chelsea.

They really are! And part of that was helped by her parents calling so quickly once they knew something was amiss. It was under an hour from the time Chelsea was supposed to be home when her dad had already called AT&T, learned the car was still at the park, and then called the Sheriff. And the Sheriff responded and began mobilizing right away. Both of those are such contrasts to many cases we've seen lately, and hopefully that will lead to a better outcome!

And business and organizations are really kicking in with donations, awareness, and volunteering. For instance by about 9 am yesterday, local churches had emailed out the search flier to all their parishioners, which is huge since there are several large churches right nearby, and with many of their attendees living in the neighborhood closest to the park.

This really is quite a close knit community, especially after what we've been through with the wildfires. So we've got experience about rallying together and everyone doing whatever part they can do - and realizing that doesn't look the same for everyone...but yet everyone doing something to try and help Chelsea be brought home!

 

[hndinglove]

That site's not local to San Diego and appears to be based in Thailand -- it looks like a site that translates news stories. I wouldn't consider this credible information.

The article below indicates that Chelsea was in her jeans. That is quite different than running clothes and definitely makes me think that this could be an abduction. Running in jeans is so constrictive that I dont think a runner would be comfortable doing 5 miles in that attire.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal...ng-missing-abduction-suspected_100327363.html

 

[TheMentalist]

Extreme Rain is Pounding Southern California right now I dont know if this is also occurring in San Diego at the moment but I hope that they are able to continue searching for Chelsea.

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I just got a message on Facebook from a member of the Help Find Chelsea King group. It looks like they are wanting people to plaster flyers of Chelsea and spread the word outside of San Diego (within a few hour radius) because in the event Chelsea was abducted, she may not be in the San Diego area anymore.

 

[TheMentalist]

I just got a message on Facebook from a member of the Help Find Chelsea King group. It looks like they are wanting people to plaster flyers of Chelsea and spread the word outside of San Diego (within a few hour radius) because in the event Chelsea was abducted, she may not be in the San Diego area anymore.

Does anyone have the poster to scan and post?

 

[blossomfish]

Here is a link to one flyer:

http://www.powayusd.com/pusdphs/images/Chelsea King Flyer 8 x 11.pdf

 

[KaylynnCouture]

Does anyone have the poster to scan and post?

A few pages back I posted 3 of Chelsea's missing person flyers that can be printed and passed around.

 

[TravelingBug]

Here is a link to one flyer:

http://www.powayusd.com/pusdphs/images/Chelsea King Flyer 8 x 11.pdf

Thanks, especially, for reposting that one. It's got the most recent photo of her.

And yes, I believe the site saying she was in jeans was wrong. All the reports from LEO here have stated she was in her running clothes, and it was relatively warm at 2 ish on Thursday that she'd most certainly not be in jeans to run. Even athletic running pants would have been probably warmer than she'd have opted for.

We had hard rain earlier this morning, but it's not rained again for about the last 45 minutes. Looks like another 30 minutes or so before a hard batch of rain comes in based on satellite. Hopefully that part of the storm moves through as quickly as it looks like it might, and the searching beginning at 1ish (or a little after to allow for training) might get at least no rain and just the standing water and mud on the ground to deal with). Unfortunately we've had so much rain that the ground isn't absorbing it as much right now, so there's a lot more pooling, standing water, and silt streaming in the area around the park/lake/surrounding roads, paths, and trails.

 

[LilysMom]

Casa de las Campanas, a retirement facility (senior living), is directly across the street from the parking lot. I can't remember when we visited there before placing my grandpa elsewhere if they had security cameras on the entrance. I could swear they did. Whether or not those cameras would actually capture across the street as well is questionable but it would be worth looking into.

The fire department works out in the park almost every afternoon. They play basketball, etc. Groups of people walk the trails daily on their lunch hours as well. It's just gutsy, imo, to grab a teen from a park that has frequent visitors some of them law enforcement and fire department. I just feel like this was someone who knew the area and the times that the trails were least used.

 

[smither]

Does anyone have the poster to scan and post?

Flyer can be downloaded / faxed / e-mailed from here:

http://www.lrcf.net/missing/

The Laura Recovery Center is assisting with the volunteer search. Volunteers needed at the Search Center - 11858 Bernardo Plaza #200 in Rancho Bernardo. CA (behind CItiBank); Phone: 858-485-8502.

Volunteers needed for searching as well as to help in the Center. LRC training provided.

 

[glitterghost]

Can we get confirmation on wether that was Chelsea's shoe or not?

 

[TravelingBug]

Can we get confirmation on wether that was Chelsea's shoe or not?

They're now saying multiple shoes, bags of clothing, etc. have been found in the searching, and while they've not stated it directly, seem to be downplaying there being any significance to the earlier finds. So I'm guessing it probably wasn't.

 

[TravelingBug]

Casa de las Campanas, a retirement facility (senior living), is directly across the street from the parking lot. I can't remember when we visited there before placing my grandpa elsewhere if they had security cameras on the entrance. I could swear they did. Whether or not those cameras would actually capture across the street as well is questionable but it would be worth looking into.

The fire department works out in the park almost every afternoon. They play basketball, etc. Groups of people walk the trails daily on their lunch hours as well. It's just gutsy, imo, to grab a teen from a park that has frequent visitors some of them law enforcement and fire department. I just feel like this was someone who knew the area and the times that the trails were least used.

It apparently was a Casa security guard who has stated definitively that he did see her at the park at some point, so I'd imagine that anyone who may have had cause to have been outside has been questioned, and, like you said, hopefully looking at cameras.

I agree, the park definitely is a happening place at certain times. Between 10-11:15ish and 1:30-3ish were always my favorite times to go if I was actually going to be "in" the park area and running the trails that are in the park because those were always the least crowded times, and away from the times with bigger lunch crowds and before the afternoon sporting activities in the park.

There were definitely some days when I felt like I was being "watched" more than I was comfortable with by some of the workers sitting there in their trucks during lunch time - which was why I started going more at "off" times if I was staying in the closer park vicinity.

There were often park/city maintenance people there, aside from the very frequent FD folks in the park, and at the east edge of the park that is beyond the parking lot by the shuffleboard, Joselyn Center, and nearer the dog park portion and along the more canyon-ish area there were often officials who were trimming brush, working on water lines, cleaning things up in the dog park area, or getting things from sheds to groom the fields and ball park areas. So it was rare to ever be in the closer to the heart of the park areas without running across a few people, even at "off" times.

My own experience, going off of the trails toward the lake and the ones that head into the hills by the neighborhoods where Chelsea was believed to have run, though was that I'd always keep my cell with me because it was much more desolate back there on those trails (obviously part of the appeal, though).

I think the biggest wildcard now, that's really a new thing, is that with the new bridge that opened last summer, Chelsea could easily have gone to run from the park area on the north side trails. A year ago it'd be less likely someone would have gone from the RB Community Park to the Escondido side of the lake, but now that great new bridge finds a lot of people crossing back and forth between the two sides. That opens up far more territory that needs closer scrutiny than there'd have been earlier.

Also, for those interested, I'm hearing the helicopter up again for the first time in several hours. It's also raining steadily now.

 

[TheMentalist]

Posted one hour ago.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/27/no-trace-poway-teen/?imw=Y

 

[soyesterday]

This is horrible. The longer the time goes by, the scarier it is.
Where could she be??

 

[mamabear42404]

If any of you happen to be on right now or within the next 20 minutes, at 2pm (pacific time, 5pm eastern) I'm going to pray specifically for this search today for Chelsea, that eyes and ears would be open, that Chelsea would be found. Please join me if God puts it on your heart. I live in Poway so this hits close to home. And if any of you haven't done so already you can post links about Chelsea on your facebook, twitter, myspace.. just another way (and faster imo) to get the word out about Chelsea.

 

[LilysMom]

It apparently was a Casa security guard who has stated definitively that he did see her at the park at some point, so I'd imagine that anyone who may have had cause to have been outside has been questioned, and, like you said, hopefully looking at cameras.

I agree, the park definitely is a happening place at certain times. Between 10-11:15ish and 1:30-3ish were always my favorite times to go if I was actually going to be "in" the park area and running the trails that are in the park because those were always the least crowded times, and away from the times with bigger lunch crowds and before the afternoon sporting activities in the park.

There were definitely some days when I felt like I was being "watched" more than I was comfortable with by some of the workers sitting there in their trucks during lunch time - which was why I started going more at "off" times if I was staying in the closer park vicinity.

There were often park/city maintenance people there, aside from the very frequent FD folks in the park, and at the east edge of the park that is beyond the parking lot by the shuffleboard, Joselyn Center, and nearer the dog park portion and along the more canyon-ish area there were often officials who were trimming brush, working on water lines, cleaning things up in the dog park area, or getting things from sheds to groom the fields and ball park areas. So it was rare to ever be in the closer to the heart of the park areas without running across a few people, even at "off" times.

My own experience, going off of the trails toward the lake and the ones that head into the hills by the neighborhoods where Chelsea was believed to have run, though was that I'd always keep my cell with me because it was much more desolate back there on those trails (obviously part of the appeal, though).

I think the biggest wildcard now, that's really a new thing, is that with the new bridge that opened last summer, Chelsea could easily have gone to run from the park area on the north side trails. A year ago it'd be less likely someone would have gone from the RB Community Park to the Escondido side of the lake, but now that great new bridge finds a lot of people crossing back and forth between the two sides. That opens up far more territory that needs closer scrutiny than there'd have been earlier.

Also, for those interested, I'm hearing the helicopter up again for the first time in several hours. It's also raining steadily now.

I hadn't heard that it was a Casa security guard. Thanks for sharing that!

I agree about the bridge complicating things. It has completely expanded the search area and now the rain isn't going to help matters.

I'm just trying to think logistically how someone would have gotten her out of the park at that time of day (or before the evening search started) without anyone having seen something. Even if she was attacked, knocked out and then carried, it would have been hard to conceal that you were carring someone to your car. I can't think of anywhere that it would be easy to get her into a waiting car without anyone seeing. It just doesn't seem possible. Unless she is still back in there.

Have you come across anywhere when you've been back in there running that would be easy to grab her and get her into a vehicle?

 

[soyesterday]

I hadn't heard that it was a Casa security guard. Thanks for sharing that!

I agree about the bridge complicating things. It has completely expanded the search area and now the rain isn't going to help matters.

I'm just trying to think logistically how someone would have gotten her out of the park at that time of day (or before the evening search started) without anyone having seen something. Even if she was attacked, knocked out and then carried, it would have been hard to conceal that you were carring someone to your car. I can't think of anywhere that it would be easy to get her into a waiting car without anyone seeing. It just doesn't seem possible. Unless she is still back in there.

Have you come across anywhere when you've been back in there running that would be easy to grab her and get her into a vehicle?

I've been thinking the exact same things. HOW???

 

[TheMentalist]

We had a break in the heavy rains pounding Southern California for about an hour or so but they are back now and coming down pretty hard with roaring thunder. What a terrible day for the searchers. Thanks to all of those who are trying to bring this girl home.

The search continues this afternoon see link:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/rancho-bernardo/article_74fbafd9-6cd5-5412-b176-8100e8a0a31a.html

 

[TravelingBug]

I hadn't heard that it was a Casa security guard. Thanks for sharing that!

I agree about the bridge complicating things. It has completely expanded the search area and now the rain isn't going to help matters.

I'm just trying to think logistically how someone would have gotten her out of the park at that time of day (or before the evening search started) without anyone having seen something. Even if she was attacked, knocked out and then carried, it would have been hard to conceal that you were carring someone to your car. I can't think of anywhere that it would be easy to get her into a waiting car without anyone seeing. It just doesn't seem possible. Unless she is still back in there.

Have you come across anywhere when you've been back in there running that would be easy to grab her and get her into a vehicle?

If she went more the direction where the trails then splinter off toward the neighborhoods it would be a lot easier to remove someone there. There are street access points for most of those trails there. Obviously if she used the trail where it runs along West Bernardo itself more, too, that would be very easy, although there are other cars going past with varying degrees of frequency.

I know I often exit West Bernardo/Pomerado to avoid some of the construction mess on the freeway there, and that seems to increasingly be the case. At 11 on Thursday morning when I drove past there were a few cars and trucks parked on the West Bernardo lot, but not really all that many. Surface street traffic was pretty light there, as well. The one thing that caught my eye Thursday was all the construction/contractor vehicles coming and going working on the houses on Aguamiel still being rebuilt post-wildfire. I hadn't noticed than much construction/contractor traffic going through there as there had been that day.

The other thing that would make it easier to conceal removing someone would be that most of the vehicles that stop at the park during breaks are trucks or large vehicles. They are a lot of city vehicles, garbage
trucks, water trucks, landscaping trucks, etc. I'd say on a given day when I ran at, or started running at, the park, or even just driving past, that at least 75% of the vehicles parked/stopping/taking a break there are vehicles it'd be much easier to conceal someone easily in the back of and quickly make an escape. With people going out with blankets to sit, especially because things have been so darn wet recently, that would be another asset if someone had bad intentions.

What struck me was that the helicopter was doing a lot of low searching further south of the park, nearer toward north of the Duenda overpass where the canyon and trails run under the 15 and over toward the Escala road area (the windy street that goes down from Pomerado, behind Battle Mountain, etc.) That area is much more accessible by road, both from West Bernardo and Escala, and wouldn't have been the first area searched, because they began from the park and had been working more north of the park toward the area nearer Lake Hodges.

That's also the area nearer where I was seeing the constant bright light as if they were searching somewhere specific (although that was definitely on the edge of West Bernardo right on the west side, so towards the trails that go down past the very southerly edge of the park - really almost where that military crash happened over the edge of the freeway.

If you guys look at the photo here http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_e67448d3-ce87-5f40-846e-d1f90c55ed41.html that's where the trails go under the freeway to the east side by Escala and the Eastview neighborhood, with easy road access.

It's basically right opposite of that, on the west side of the West Bernardo area there where that constant light seemed to be, where trails go through the brush there before reaching Aguamiel and the neighborhood Again, obviously, with full street access.

The fact that they've had this many searchers out there constantly, and using infrared, and have been retracing the closest trails already and not find her leads me to think that this definitely is heading toward being an abduction, because if she were injured and somewhere off the trail, she should have been found by now I'm think.