GUILTY OR - Brooke Wilberger, 19, Eugene, 24 May 2004 - #2

[RobertStJames]

Wow!!!!

That's not an answer. What is Zak's alibi?


On May 24, Hansen was in town securing a job offer. Otherwise, he would have stayed at the apartments, which he managed with his wife, Stephanie (Brooke's sister), to help Wilberger clean the light poles lining the south end of the complex beside Philomath highway.


You're aware that Zak has stated, to the OSU Barometer, that the sweatshirt Brooke was wearing was, in fact, his, and that he does not remember where he got it. He thinks a "renter might have left it behind."


RstJ





RstJ

 

[Anngelique]

A year later, Wilberger family prayerful, realistic
The father of Brooke Wilberger, now missing one year, says relatives know she may never come back

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

RON SOBLE
CORVALLIS -- Tuesday was hauntingly like the day Brooke Wilberger disappeared a year ago: A bright sky illuminated a mild spring day.

Her parents met with reporters a few steps from the Oak Park Apartments, where the 19-year-old Brigham Young University freshman vanished while cleaning outdoor lamps to earn money for fall term.

"It's been a hard year, as you can probably imagine," said Wilberger's mother, Cammy. "We just get up every day thinking, praying and then ready to face the day."

"We have to put our trust in God," said Brooke's father, Greg Wilberger. "There's a plan for everyone."

The reality of the situation is sinking in for the family. "We realize she may not come back alive," Greg Wilberger said.

The Veneta couple met with reporters in a small crowded room at the Hilton Garden Inn across the road from Oregon State University's Reser Stadium. The apartment complex where Brooke Wilberger was working is behind the hotel.

Joining them were two of Brooke Wilberger's brothers-in-law, Zak Hansen, 31, of Corvallis, who managed the apartments; and Jared Cordon, 30, of Portland.

Police have never wavered in their belief that Wilberger was abducted last May 24. An intensive search by a task force made up of Corvallis detectives, the FBI, Oregon State Police and Benton County sheriff's deputies has come up empty.

"We are at the same place," Corvallis police Capt. Ron Noble said. But he added: "We're not done yet. This isn't a cold case."

Detectives found Wilberger's flip-flops, cell phone, keys, wallet and Ford Contour near where she was last seen.

Close to 5,000 tips have poured in for sorting by the task force. Even Tuesday, before the news conference, a woman left a manila envelope at the hotel desk purportedly containing information about the disappearance, Noble said. He declined to comment on its contents. Almost 60 people have been on the task force's "persons of interest" list, including two under investigation now. Noble wouldn't identify them.

Kurt Wuest, a retired Lane County sheriff's deputy who has volunteered time to help in the investigation, concentrates on scrutinizing leads and thinks the stack of information will yield a break in the case.

"Maybe this one or that one can use a second glance," he said in a recent interview. "There will be things that fall through the cracks. It's inevitable."

http://www.oregonlive.com/regional/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1117015131252140.xml&coll=7

 

[mysteriew]

Police have released one more detail regarding a 911 call made the day Brooke Wilberger was abducted, in hopes of making contact with a man named Brian.

The man, who only gave a first name, used a cell phone to call 911 the day Wilberger vanished from a Corvallis apartment complex parking lot. He reported seeing a speeding and recklessly driven green-mini van in the Rickreal area, north of Monmouth.

Brian made that call at 11 a.m., said Corvallis Police Capt. Ron Noble. Wilberger was last seen by family members around 10 a.m. May 24, 2004.

http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2005/06/03/news/community/friloc03.txt

 

[KatherineQ]

I thought they arrived at the 10:50 a.m. time frame based on the amount of work she'd gotten done since being seen at 10 a.m.

 

[scandi]

Hi everyone,

Most interesting I must say, and must comment further that I am glad that we now have something to try to figure out in this special case.

What didn't happen is what the police chief knows. And it leads him to what did happen by elimination, right?

* No strange or out of place car was reported being seen.

* No one came forward to say they heard someone scream out.

* No one saw her after 10am. {As to calculating time from 10am by the amount of work finished by Brooke on the lamppost, it would not be a fact and only an assumption. I don't think it would be allowed in court or to use in seeking a search warrant}.

To a layman like me, it suggests clearly that she was grabbed quickly, before she could utter a sound or a scream. And it could have happened in seconds or in a few blinks of an eye. That would probably rule out someone she knew as they would probably chat a bit, unless she was cracked over the head from behind, her perp unbenownst to her slipped up on her without making a sound. I suppose the quickness of her bing taken doesn't rule out family or someone she knew, but it would not be a probable assesment, I would think. They would use their wiles to get her into their car and away from the property.

The only thing I can see that would further tell the story as to what didn't happen to Brooke would be the position her flip flops were in when they were discovered. If they were set askew wouldn't that mean she didn't leave on her own but rather unwillingly?

Everything to me adds up to a quick abduction by a stranger.. And I must say whomever here talked about the car being able to be parked while unseen and not in the parking lot to the apt, gives me further thought that that would lend itself to such a scenario.

Being hit hard over the head would incapacitate her but leave blood I think. It makes more sense to me that he threw a wire over her head from behind to grab her and not cause her to die. In the 30 or so minutes it would take to drive up to Rickreall, she could possibly be then waking up, realizing her status and trying to fight valiantly to get out of the moving car which would cause eratic driving to be noticed. She might have grabbed the wheel unexpectedly which wouold cause him to swerve.

Gee, I wish I knew where this guy they have in custody lives. Is it up N of Corvallis?

Another thing I'm thinking is that this new found 911 call has triggered a search for other things he has done in luring girls to his car. He must have some history of doing something which would lead to this or be the next step up from what he has done before. They know him, they know his vehicle, and there is something unique about it that must have been given away by the 911 caller to add to what they already knew to bring out the news like this.

Did I read that this brown, curly haired guy might be related to Brooke? Forgive me, but my brain gets carried away trying to remember everything and put it into perspective.

Has anything been written about what psychics have said about Brooke? I read a poster here senses something about the #10. Does that have any meaning to anyone?

xoxoxo Scandi

I live in Portland but work for a contractor out of Eugene and am a native Oregonian. I feel so connected to this case, and do hope this lead that the police are excited about bears the fruit of finding Brooke to bring her on home.

 

[Anngelique]

Hi everyone,

Most interesting I must say, and must comment further that I am glad that we now have something to try to figure out in this special case.

What didn't happen is what the police chief knows. And it leads him to what did happen by elimination, right?

* No strange or out of place car was reported being seen.

* No one came forward to say they heard someone scream out.

* No one saw her after 10am. {As to calculating time from 10am by the amount of work finished by Brooke on the lamppost, it would not be a fact and only an assumption. I don't think it would be allowed in court or to use in seeking a search warrant}.

To a layman like me, it suggests clearly that she was grabbed quickly, before she could utter a sound or a scream. And it could have happened in seconds or in a few blinks of an eye. That would probably rule out someone she knew as they would probably chat a bit, unless she was cracked over the head from behind, her perp unbenownst to her slipped up on her without making a sound. I suppose the quickness of her bing taken doesn't rule out family or someone she knew, but it would not be a probable assesment, I would think. They would use their wiles to get her into their car and away from the property.

The only thing I can see that would further tell the story as to what didn't happen to Brooke would be the position her flip flops were in when they were discovered. If they were set askew wouldn't that mean she didn't leave on her own but rather unwillingly?

Everything to me adds up to a quick abduction by a stranger.. And I must say whomever here talked about the car being able to be parked while unseen and not in the parking lot to the apt, gives me further thought that that would lend itself to such a scenario.

Being hit hard over the head would incapacitate her but leave blood I think. It makes more sense to me that he threw a wire over her head from behind to grab her and not cause her to die. In the 30 or so minutes it would take to drive up to Rickreall, she could possibly be then waking up, realizing her status and trying to fight valiantly to get out of the moving car which would cause eratic driving to be noticed. She might have grabbed the wheel unexpectedly which wouold cause him to swerve.

Gee, I wish I knew where this guy they have in custody lives. Is it up N of Corvallis?

Another thing I'm thinking is that this new found 911 call has triggered a search for other things he has done in luring girls to his car. He must have some history of doing something which would lead to this or be the next step up from what he has done before. They know him, they know his vehicle, and there is something unique about it that must have been given away by the 911 caller to add to what they already knew to bring out the news like this.

Did I read that this brown, curly haired guy might be related to Brooke? Forgive me, but my brain gets carried away trying to remember everything and put it into perspective.

Has anything been written about what psychics have said about Brooke? I read a poster here senses something about the #10. Does that have any meaning to anyone?

xoxoxo Scandi

I live in Portland but work for a contractor out of Eugene and am a native Oregonian. I feel so connected to this case, and do hope this lead that the police are excited about bears the fruit of finding Brooke to bring her on home.

No, the brown, curly haired person was a person who was seen in the green van the day before by the worker. I believe he was parked in a parking lot at Resers Stadium.

 

[scandi]

Thanks Annegelique,

Reser's Stadiumis a very public place. I wonder what it really was that caught the eye of the worker about this man sitting in a car in the drivers seat with his door open? I think it would be a great place to meet someone if they didn't know the area well.

Annegelique, did the writer or reporter that posted here for a while at first ever come back to post again? Just wondering.


xoxox Scandi

 

[RobertStJames]

Hi everyone,

Most interesting I must say, and must comment further that I am glad that we now have something to try to figure out in this special case.

What didn't happen is what the police chief knows. And it leads him to what did happen by elimination, right?

* No strange or out of place car was reported being seen.

* No one came forward to say they heard someone scream out.

* No one saw her after 10am. {As to calculating time from 10am by the amount of work finished by Brooke on the lamppost

Scandi,

You ever consider the possibility that Brooke was never out there cleaning lampposts at all?




RstJ

 

[Beffie]

Scandi,

You ever consider the possibility that Brooke was never out there cleaning lampposts at all?




RstJ

Do you think the brother in law took her earlier and planted her stuff there?

I guess I never thought that maybe she didn't go out to clean the lamppost.

It is an interesting thought. I like to believe it was a stranger abduction, did anyone see Brooke cleaning the lampost?

It seems like the family is really close and the police would have questioned the last person to see her (Brother in law was the last, right?).

 

[Scorpion]

this looks to me like they have a very good possible lead. I feel that the man they are looking for is already in jail, or has been. I feel brooke is no longer with us, I wonder if maybe they could have been two people in the van. one to drive and the other one to slide the van door open and snatch her inside. the police and any other search groups I would encourage strongly to search within a 10 mile radius of where she went missing. for some reason from day one I have felt that she was taken no more than 10 miles away, the number 10 keeps appearing in my mind for some reason, is there a hwy 10 or interstate 10 in that area, state route 10? this could be the answer they are looking for...

I felt that Brooke was gone quite early on. It seems perfectly possible that two abductors were involved.

:chicken: I am kind of chicken to do this, but I feel compelled. I want this time stamped and posted record that my guess for who the person of interest is, is James M. Hickman. I'd surely like to know if he has a green Dodge Van. So if soon they announce that they are charging him with something, I would have the small satisfaction of knowing I deduced it correctly. He is over 200 pounds and could overpower someone petite like Brooke. And BTW, this is just my guess and opinion, not scientifically proven or anything. If I am wrong, I'm wrong.

Just curious, IndigoFalls as to what led you to name this man - I can't find any reference to him.

I really did think Evans was a strong possibilitly - particularly as the last report I found stated that he had no alibi for his whereabouts on the day of Brooke's disappearance. Can't find anything indicating whether he's in or out of jail. However, the description doesn't fit him. But what if there were two of them? You probably wouldn't notice him so much.

Can anybody play the 911 call on this link?

911 call that led to Evans' arrest is released

http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=71834

I'm just wondering if it's been pulled. They certainly know what kind of vehicle Evans had.

 

[Anngelique]

I felt that Brooke was gone quite early on. It seems perfectly possible that two abductors were involved.


Just curious, IndigoFalls as to what led you to name this man - I can't find any reference to him.

I really did think Evans was a strong possibilitly - particularly as the last report I found stated that he had no alibi for his whereabouts on the day of Brooke's disappearance. Can't find anything indicating whether he's in or out of jail. However, the description doesn't fit him. But what if there were two of them? You probably wouldn't notice him so much.

Can anybody play the 911 call on this link?

911 call that led to Evans' arrest is released

http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=71834

I'm just wondering if it's been pulled. They certainly know what kind of vehicle Evans had.

No, the link does not work any longer. But Evan's has been cleared and is no longer a person of interest in THIS case, but he has a LOT of legal troubles ahead of him for other offenses.

 

[Scorpion]

No, the link does not work any longer. But Evan's has been cleared and is no longer a person of interest in THIS case, but he has a LOT of legal troubles ahead of him for other offenses.

Oh well, at least they're aware of him now I guess.

 

[Anngelique]

Scandi,

You ever consider the possibility that Brooke was never out there cleaning lampposts at all?




RstJ

So you are implying that the LE has botched this case and have no clue what they are doing? That because they have not realeased the alibi of the the brother Zak, or because they have not told you exactly why they believed she was out cleaning lamp posts, they are deceiving themselves and that the culprit is her brother-in-law?

Just for your information the LE has not released much about this case... period. As I have said before, the media has run with a couple of leads, but each time the LE was interviewed and questioned, they always said pretty much the same thing. No comment. They have been extremely tight lipped. I can see that you don't like the fact that they have not been releasing what information they have. So instead you are inventing a conspiracy theory and blaming the family even though the LE HAS said it was NOT someone close and it WAS a stranger abduction. The LE would have reason's for this and they HAVE looked into each and every family member and close friend. So I find your accusations rubble and on the verge of slanderous.

 

[dannyodie]

No, the link does not work any longer. But Evan's has been cleared and is no longer a person of interest in THIS case, but he has a LOT of legal troubles ahead of him for other offenses.

I remember reading about that evans guy. the man that remembers the van being parked looked suspicious to him and that he thought that the man looked like he had kinda long hair, this picture that the link leads too looks like his hair had been somewhat a recent one, this man I don't think came into the picture till sometime after she went missing. maybe he got a hair cut that same day or the next. hopefully he wasn't sleuth enough to evade their investigation on him

http://www.katu.com/team2/story.asp?ID=71834

 

[Anngelique]

Argggh, I wrote a long post and it disappeared when I tried to send it.

Evans is a very BAD seed. He was very heavily investigated. Mainly because his step-sister felt he was guilty of taking Brooke. He was first looked at when he tried to lure a woman at a Ross' Dress for Less. He got a face full mace. He was very heavy into drugs at this time. His step-sister led police to some concrete he had poured in the basement of the rental home he was living in. Speculation was they would find Brooke burried under the cement. The police investigated this, and after a very thorough investigation into this Evans guy, determined he could be taken off a person of interest list for Brooke's case. The LE has been very tight lipped and they have not released reasons why he was cleared. The same is to be said with Kim (the panty thief). He is in all kind of trouble in so many counties, but he has been cleared as far as Brooke's case goes. There have been over 50 persons of interest in Brooke's case, and the LE has been working hard, investigating and then clearing these individuals one by one. Again, LE has not said much on what they are doing in particular but they have told us that they have been investigating and ruling individuals out. This include the immediate family and her close friends. They also have been deeply investigated. At this time we have only 2 persons of interest being looked at. One person we know nothing about. The other is the owner of the green van. Until they are cleared they are the best hope we have. Again, I reiterate, the LE has not been telling the public all that they do behind scenes, we just know that they have said they have investigated these people and for reasons not known to the public they have been cleared. The owner of the green van has been on the person of interest list for 6 months now and has NOT been cleared at this time. In fact, now they are asking the public for help in placing him at the scene.

 

[RobertStJames]

Do you think the brother in law took her earlier and planted her stuff there?

I guess I never thought that maybe she didn't go out to clean the lamppost.

It is an interesting thought. I like to believe it was a stranger abduction, did anyone see Brooke cleaning the lampost?

It seems like the family is really close and the police would have questioned the last person to see her (Brother in law was the last, right?).

He says it was his wife:

Greta (May 26?)

VAN SUSTEREN: Zak, let me go to you now. I think we've fixed our audio problem. Zak, was she staying with you and your wife?
HANSEN: Yes, that is correct. She comes up during the work week and stays with us and our family and works at the apartment complex here.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. When was the last time, Zak, you or your wife saw Brooke?
HANSEN: At 10:00 o'clock on Monday morning.
VAN SUSTEREN: And under what circumstances -- was it you or your wife who saw her at about 10:00 o'clock?
HANSEN: It was my wife. And the normal circumstances.


The reason I've always questioned that lammpost story is because of this article, Jun 2, 2004 in the Gazette Times:

But she took pride in her work. Recently, as she drove through the complex with her mom, Brooke pointed them out: "Look at that, Mom. Those are the cleanest light
posts in Corvallis. I cleaned them myself."


Huh? This is not a detail the reporter made up, or one they fudged. Brooke appears to be telling her mother that she'd already cleaned those posts.

She couldn't have been claiming to have cleaned them in 2003. And it makes no sense at all that she'd be cleaning them once a week or even once a month.

If you want an exercise in frustration, try finding an article where anybody saw her out there that day.

RstJ


RstJ

 

[Anngelique]

He says it was his wife:

Greta (May 26?)

VAN SUSTEREN: Zak, let me go to you now. I think we've fixed our audio problem. Zak, was she staying with you and your wife?
HANSEN: Yes, that is correct. She comes up during the work week and stays with us and our family and works at the apartment complex here.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. When was the last time, Zak, you or your wife saw Brooke?
HANSEN: At 10:00 o'clock on Monday morning.
VAN SUSTEREN: And under what circumstances -- was it you or your wife who saw her at about 10:00 o'clock?
HANSEN: It was my wife. And the normal circumstances.


The reason I've always questioned that lammpost story is because of this article, Jun 2, 2004 in the Gazette Times:

But she took pride in her work. Recently, as she drove through the complex with her mom, Brooke pointed them out: "Look at that, Mom. Those are the cleanest light
posts in Corvallis. I cleaned them myself."


Huh? This is not a detail the reporter made up, or one they fudged. Brooke appears to be telling her mother that she'd already cleaned those posts.

She couldn't have been claiming to have cleaned them in 2003. And it makes no sense at all that she'd be cleaning them once a week or even once a month.

If you want an exercise in frustration, try finding an article where anybody saw her out there that day.

RstJ


RstJ

And you don't think it is possible she did some one week and some another? You think she did every light post all in one day? That seems like a huge job since from the pictures I have seen there are so many of them!

You also don't think the LE is intelligent enough to come to the same questions as you do about the light posts? They just skimmed over that and said forget it? You don't think the LE has pinpointed the alibi of the people who last saw her and she was staying with? (namely her sister and brother-in-law?) You think the LE is doing shoddy work and it is right under their noses this whole time? It was a set-up and she never was out there cleaning the posts? And just because it has not been reported that she was actually out there cleaning the lamp posts, you feel she was NOT. There isn't a possibility that some students who live in the apartment did come forward and say they saw her cleaning them? You just don't know because you are not privy to ALL the information. The only thing stated was the sister was the LAST to see her. Not that she was the ONLY one to see her. You are jumping to HUGE conclusions that aren't necessarily there.

 

[LillyRush]

Hi, When I took pictures and looked around last year, there was a game going on at Reser Stadium, and the Hilton had cars parked in their lot, but not one person or car way in the back of the gravel parking lot that has a gate that goes to Oak Park Apts. Also, when I drove in and looked around, I only saw about one person, and nobody asked me what I was doing or did I want an apartment or anything. It would have been easy to park in the big lot, the big, most vacant lot, that is, and walk through the gate.

Thanks for the insights into the surroundings..makes more sense now how someone could just be there w/o garnering much attention. Also, I was thinking 10am-ish is usually a pretty dead time in most neighborhoods and apartment complexes. Most people are at work, sahms have dropped off all the kids and might be shopping, and even late rising college students have to leave for late morning classes by then.

 

[Bhodirasta]

I too am in OR. This case hits home. Everyday, I see a billboard with Brooke.

--- They found some VERY disturbing items in Kim's cell. They found a letter written to his parents saying that they should come with " 5 or 6 people " and they should bring "their guns" because "they are better than anything LE has" (remember the aresenal that was found in the house?)
He was planning an escape.

Also, they found child *advertiser censored*, *advertiser censored* with women, and also, a picture of a woman that had her breast surgically removed. Articles and letters found in his cell, that could be reported, contained words such as "rape" "torture" and "*advertiser censored*".

If there is ONE good thing that came out of this, it is that Kim just might be staying behind bars for a loooong loooong time.

Could he be connected somehow? LE surely would have figured this out by now, but good gawd, that is just HORRIBLE.

St. James, I understand your skepticism. I also understand Anngeliques confidence.
I surely hope that Anngelique is right, that it is NOT being reported, because if no one really did NOT see Brooke cleaning lightposts, then yes, that is ODD to say the least...

-Why do I keep comparing this case to Elizabeth Smart??? Elizabeth was of course, much younger, but the "idea" (or even hope that she is still alive) is the same...
-I am gonna say this, because I have been thinking it for a while now, but of course, this is a WILD SHOT IN THE DARK, but there is a FLDS "commune" not too far from where Brooke was abducted. That "commune" was the place the Lafferty Brothers visited right before they killed Brenda Lafferty and her dear dear baby...
This is more HOPE that she is alive, than reality, but no one can fault me for that... I do HOPE that she was "stolen" like Smart, and not abducted by some "stranger" that killed her...

 

[RobertStJames]

And you don't think it is possible she did some one week and some another? You think she did every light post all in one day? That seems like a huge job since from the pictures I have seen there are so many of them!

Yeah, well I've *been* there, and there just aren't that many. Not even a full day's work. And they were all spotless when I looked at them. And I looked at every single one of them. Carefully.

Yes, LE screws up cases sometimes. That's what happened here. Fortunately, I don't think Capt. Noble was one of the ones fooled, and he's running the case now. The guy who used to be running it, Capt. Deutsch, was applying for a job in Los Alamos on 1/9/2005. That is to say, about six months ago, when LE first came up with their current (and extremely secret) POI.

You think someone else saw her? You think that with reporters from local, state, even national levels all over Corvallis that nobody was able to find a witness who would say they saw her? Even an anonymous one?

btw, what do you make of the fact that her sister has not said one single word to the press, ever? Do you think that was helpful in finding out what happened to Brooke?

RstJ