CA CA - Daniel Gallardo, 19, Barstow, 28 Oct 2015

[Gardener1850]

So here is the big mystery in this case. If he was supposed to go into work by "late morning" why would he still be 2 miles north of Truckee around 2 PM? That is where his car was found.

Car Trouble/Accident? But he had been texting his girlfriend like normal. Why not try to text if he broke down? And where is his body if he sustained fatal injuries?
Car Jacking? But who called his girlfriend and said hello? And why bother to hide his body far from the car/hide the car?
Suicide? Why call his girlfriend and say "hello", either hang up or lose signal and not call again..Just to hear her voice one last time? And still no body found?

 

[GigTu]

Late morning, Daniel was scheduled to start work. But well past that, at 1:45 pm he made a purchase at Chevron. There is only one Chevron in Truckee, which is PAST his work place (coming from Reno). Then, just before 2:00 pm.... In that 15-ish minute window, his phone is pinging off the cell tower in the area of Prosser Creek Resevoir. To me this says he again drove past the new workplace to get to where his phone was pinging. We need a map of the three areas of coverage for the phone pinging.

Here is a map of Rock & Roses in relation to Chevron. None of that area is in a hunting zone, obviously. This makes me assume his car was found very near the Resevoir.

 

[GigTu]

I considered that it could have been dumped there too. However, I've just done the timeline and I think he drove it there because his girlfriend claims he answered the phone but she only heard "hello" and then the call disconnected. Unless there is a chance someone else answered the phone and she didn't realize it wasn't Daniel.

She claims she just thought the call had been dropped due to loss of signal but his phone was pinging off all those towers in the area. How bad could the signal be there? It feels like the call was either interrupted or it wasn't Daniel who answered. IDK.

ETA: I just realized HE called HER. Observations about the weirdness of the call location and call dropping still stand though.

We don't know where his phone is, do we? Was it with the car, or is it also missing?

 

[Gardener1850]

Late morning, Daniel was scheduled to start work. But well past that, at 1:45 pm he made a purchase at Chevron. There is only one Chevron in Truckee, which is PAST his work place (coming from Reno). Then, just before 2:00 pm.... In that 15-ish minute window, his phone is pinging off the cell tower in the area of Prosser Creek Resevoir. To me this says he again drove past the new workplace to get to where his phone was pinging. We need a map of the three areas of coverage for the phone pinging.

Here is a map of Rock & Roses in relation to Chevron. None of that area is in a hunting zone, obviously. This makes me assume his car was found very near the Resevoir.

Thanks GigTu, the map really helps. Another odd thing is that someone used his card to buy food and gas but Daniel is not seen on cameras. His car is seen but he is not. This doesn't say whether they saw someone else or the person who purchased gas and food is just never in the frame of a camera...Maybe there is just a camera that points towards the road and captured his car arriving or leaving?

So let's say someone ELSE had his car by 1:45 PM. If they were planning on driving to the Reservoir area to dump his body and the car, why put $20 worth of gas in the tank?
And if he planned to commit suicide, same question--why bother to put gas in the car to drive not very far away?

Nothing makes sense!

 

[Gardener1850]

We don't know where his phone is, do we? Was it with the car, or is it also missing?

I think it is missing. Unless it is in the car and the police did not disclose that.

 

[GigTu]

I think it was Daniel driving to at least Truckee. Would a random car jacker happen to go to the very town Daniel planned to go to?

On the other hand.... His cousin knew where Daniel was headed. Anyone could have been doing the texting and pretending to be Daniel. I don't know, I dislike thinking that... But anything is possible.

 

[Gardener1850]

I think it was Daniel driving to at least Truckee. Would a random car jacker happen to go to the very town Daniel planned to go to?

On the other hand.... His cousin knew where Daniel was headed. Anyone could have been doing the texting and pretending to be Daniel. I don't know, I dislike thinking that... But anything is possible.

I lean towards it was Daniel as well. Which means he was being irresponsible in not going to his new job. Sigh. Everything points towards suicide but it just seems so strange and unexpected from what little we know. I wonder what he was texting his girlfriend about while he was skipping going to work.

 

[GigTu]

I wonder too. Reports say she said it was "normal texting". Then he called, said hello, got disconnected, disappeared. The call is suspicious.

 

[Gardener1850]

RGJ printed a correction to the story about where his car was found:

"A previous version of the story indicated Daniel Gallardo Jr.'s, vehicle was found in Truckee. His car was found about 40 miles north of Truckee in Sierra County. Truckee Police Department and Reno Police Department are assisting Barstow Police Department in the missing person case. Sierra County Sheriff's Office is investigating the vehicle found in its jurisdiction."

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime...car-found-truckee-nearly-year-later/91686976/

Perhaps this explains why we could not figure out where it could have been found in a hunting area?

The earlier story said the car was only 2 miles north of Truckee. That's a huge difference from 40 miles north of Truckee in Sierra County.

 

[GigTu]

Sierra County from Google maps

And an image grab from Google images

 

[Gardener1850]

Sierra County from Google maps

And an image grab from Google images

Thanks GigTu. So it looks like it could have been hidden in the Tahoe National Forrest.

 

[Gardener1850]

About 40 miles north up 89: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Tru...34fcc9!2m2!1d-120.1832533!2d39.327962!1m0!3e0

 

[Gardener1850]

Here's a street view of an area about 40 miles north where it looks like a car could just drive off the road and into the forest area: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Tru...34fcc9!2m2!1d-120.1832533!2d39.327962!1m0!3e0

 

[Gardener1850]

Since it's been a year, does anyone think the location of his car might have been captured by Google Earth? The trees look sparse enough someone could see unless it was purposely hidden.

 

[GigTu]

I'll dig up hunting zones tonight after work, unless someone beats me to it.

 

[GigTu]

Do you think something happened at that gas station?

For example, maybe he gave a ride to someone from Reno, and they agreed to be dropped off at the Chevron in Truckee. But of course, in this scenario they tricked him and stole his car, phone and probably money. Maybe whomever it was called the GF to 'hear' who he had been texting.

Just throwing out theories.

 

[GigTu]

I wish they'd just tell us where the car was found.

 

[Gardener1850]

Do you think something happened at that gas station?

For example, maybe he gave a ride to someone from Reno, and they agreed to be dropped off at the Chevron in Truckee. But of course, in this scenario they tricked him and stole his car, phone and probably money. Maybe whomever it was called the GF to 'hear' who he had been texting.

Just throwing out theories.

I think something could have happened before the gas station. But then, why was his car so far north of Truckee? Did someone steal it and use it and then ditch it there? They would have needed help to hide it there. It doesn't look like a location a person could walk out of. Maybe more than one person car jacked him? Or was it targeted? But why? He was a 19 year old without any serious criminal record...I keep going back to suicide and I hate to think that

 

[GigTu]

He just doesn't seem like a kid that would commit suicide. He wasn't avoiding anyone or saying his goodbye's. He had goals and future plans and all his pics make him seem happy. He has a twinkle in his eye, not dead eyes like a lot of people who are secretly sad look.

I think someone wanted his car to use for some drug deal or something. I bet he's not that far outside of Truckee, up along those highways, rolled off a cliff on the side of the road.

 

[Gardener1850]

He just doesn't seem like a kid that would commit suicide. He wasn't avoiding anyone or saying his goodbye's. He had goals and future plans and all his pics make him seem happy. He has a twinkle in his eye, not dead eyes like a lot of people who are secretly sad look.

I think someone wanted his car to use for some drug deal or something. I bet he's not that far outside of Truckee, up along those highways, rolled off a cliff on the side of the road.

I think so too. If the story was that he didn't get the job it would be a different feeling but he was starting a new job and had promised to bring his mom flowers when he went to see her next. I wonder how well they searched the area around the car? It wouldn't take much to hide a body in that area but if they hid the car I wonder why even bother hiding his body? Could someone have have left him there alive (but unconscious) and he woke up, got out of the car and tried to walk out? Just brainstorming. :thinking: