WA WA - Leah Roberts, 23, Whatcom Co, 13 Mar 2000

[Hathor16]

Why was she so far north? Her destination should have taken her up hwy 9 and east on hwy20. Canyon Creek road leafs no where, hwy 542 leads no where. Either she got bad directions or somebody dumped her car up there.

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[PaulR]

Why was she so far north? Her destination should have taken her up hwy 9 and east on hwy20. Canyon Creek road leafs no where, hwy 542 leads no where. Either she got bad directions or somebody dumped her car up there.

This is a good question. I've had a few ideas over the years. Mostly dealing with Mount Baker, which 542 leads directly to.

If you aren't used to the large mountains (volcanoes, really) on the West Coast, they can look closer than they appear. Baker is something you can't miss on a clear day. Leah may have thought it close enough to make a quick drive to. And Kerouac wrote about seeing Mount Baker in his books.

Another possibility: Desolation Peak is also referenced in the copy of Dharma Burns I found in Google Books as being in the Mount Baker National Forest. If Leah had asked for directions to Mount Baker, she would have gotten directions to take 542. Desolation Peak is actually in the North Cascades National Park, which is next door (and across Ross Lake.)

A third idea: she talked to someone about her plans (presumably to hike to Desolation Peak) and got discouraged. It's a long hike. From the trailhead it's a 4400 foot elevation gain in under 5 miles, which is considered "strenuous", and that is if she took a few boats (which I don't think run this time of year) to get closer to the trailhead - from Route 20 itself, she'd have to hike in 16 miles just to get to the trailhead. This being March, there would have been significant snow in the area. The Washington Trails Association has a history of trip reports, and I've never seen one written before late May - and that report talks about people using ice axes to cut steps so they could get to the top. Looking at the inventory of what was in Leah's car, I don't think she was close to prepared for a multiday hike in the snow with a cat. Even if she did stop at an REI to pick up gear, I would hope they would have discouraged her from doing a hike that she was probably physically unprepared for. So at this point maybe she decides to see what she can drive to, and Baker makes sense.


As to where she was found, I found a video on YouTube of someone driving more remote sections of the road, but I can't see joggers wanting to go up there. The part of Canyon Creek Road right off 542 is next to a timeshare complex, a small inn, and what looks to be another condo/timeshare complex. It may be just me but I'm not jogging on a road that turns into this: [video=youtube;5sIuXfLILEM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sIuXfLILEM[/video]

 

[Kjowl16]

I don't post very often but Leah Roberts is always in my thoughts. I have followed her story for the last ten years and think about her often. I hope that there are answers soon. Thinking and praying for her and her family today. <3

 

[Hathor16]

That explanation could make sense, Ive spent time in the area and totally agree its quite the dangerous climb, and pretty wild.

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[SurrealisticSlumbers]

[FONT=&amp]
Leah Toby Roberts[/FONT]
Missing since March 9, 2000
​

Vital Statistics

Date of Birth: July 23, 1976
Alias(es)/Nickname(s): None
Age (at time of disappearance): 23 years old (now 41)
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'5" - 5'6"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair Color: Sandy blonde
Eye Color: Blue

Other Identifiers

Dentals: Available (listed as entered in NamUs)
Fingerprints: N/A
DNA: Available (a sample listed as 'submitted' in NamUs)
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Roberts has a surgical scar on her right hip; metal rod inside entire length of her right femur as the result of previous injuries sustained in an auto accident. She has a beauty mark above the upper corner of her right lip. Ears are pierced. When smiling, she has dimples. Roberts is a vegetarian, and smokes cigarettes. She has a strong southern accent and can speak fluent Spanish. She is athletic, once playing soccer in college.

Clothing, Accessories, & Other Items

Three rings on her right hand, including a 14-karat white gold ring set with a .45-karat emerald-cut diamond flanked by two .07-karat baguette diamonds.

Also had on a pair of 14-karat gold earrings with .30-karat rubies.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Hitting the Road
Leah was last seen when she left Raleigh, NC on March 9, 2000. She didn't tell anyone where she was headed, leaving in her white '93 Jeep Cherokee (NC license plate # JVP 2881). Apparently, she loved traveling and had been interested in taking a road trip to the Pacific Northwest. She did leave a note for her roommate, assuring her that she was not suicidal, and also mentioning her love of Jack Kerouac (One of Leah's favorite novels was The Dharma Bums, Kerouac's 1958 autobiography, set in Whatcom County, WA). She also left money to cover expenses while she was gone, suggesting she expected to return in the space of a month or so.

Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
Phone: (360) 778-6629
When calling, please reference Case #2000A-4762.
NamUs MP Case #150

Links

NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/150/
Doe Network: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3289dfnc.html
Charley Project: http://charleyproject.org/case/leah-toby-roberts
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Leah_Roberts
YouTube videos about the case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnvBDM_WeE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYF88-i27Pk
Disappeared full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLnq6CcWyg
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BringLeahHome/

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

A cool article: http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-news/13-years-later-where-leah-roberts

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

Whoops. Didn't see that a thread had been created for Leah! Sorry for duplicate info.

I've seen her in most other databases as missing from Raleigh, NC, not Whatcom County - threw me off and when I tried searching her name here on WS nothing came up, probably because I searched her full name.

 

[Richard]

[FONT=&amp]Article about James Allen Kinney


By MIA TAYLOR[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]January 16, 2002[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]The Patriot Ledger[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]BELLINGHAM, Wash. &#8211; He shifts seamlessly between personas with the slightest change in the direction of a conversation.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]There&#8217;s the James Allen Kinney who stares down through dust-covered eyeglasses at his lap, rubbing his knees nervously and speaking in almost childlike tones about bad memories and painful moments.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]And then there&#8217;s the James Allen Kinney who looks right at you, with a smirk, talking proudly about the clever tactics he used to stay one step ahead of the law for more than two years, the Kinney filled with bravado, willing to take risks even as his mug shot appeared on the FBI&#8217;s Most Wanted list.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]&#8220;I walked into a police station in Pennsylvania, to get directions to Allentown, and the officer said, You look familiar,'&#8221; Kinney boasts. &#8220;I said I&#8217;m just your average Joe,&#8217; and walked back out.&#8221;...

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]... When he talks about the bad times, Kinney seems to recede into a shell, looking at his lap or staring with vacant eyes....

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]... Eventually, Kinney joined the Army and went to Vietnam.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Clifford Kinney began to notice signs of &#8220;mental problems&#8221; when Kinney returned from the service in the early 1970s.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Kinney has been in hospitals for extended psychiatric treatment at least 26 times since 1980. He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic with bipolar disorder....
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]... Kinney also revealed details of a thought process sharp enough to figure out how to avoid capture after Sherlock&#8217;s murder.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]He went to a library and checked out a book detailing how the FBI tracks suspects. Then, Kinney said, he used what he learned reading the book to stay out of jail. He also watched television broadcasts about the case.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]&#8220;I let John Walsh pave the way,&#8221; he says, of the &#8220;America&#8217;s Most Wanted&#8221; host. &#8220;Wherever they were looking, I wasn&#8217;t there.&#8221;

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Kinney said he spent time in California, Vermont and even Massachusetts. He claimed to have thought about turning himself in, not to police, but to Sherlock&#8217;s family....

... The lawyer stressed that Kinney&#8217;s mental illness is no excuse for murder. He said Kinney deserves to die in prison....

https://taylormia.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/part-iii-two-faces-of-a-killer/[/FONT]

 

[Leomoon80]

What if anything does James Kinney have to do with Leah Roberts? Is there a reason to suspect he was involved in her disappearance? I haven't heard of him before today.

 

[StevenLP]

I moved to Bellingham about a year after her disappearance and remember hearing about it. I was reminded of the case recently and decided to see if there had been any resolution. What struck me was the discussion of tampering with the vehicle to allow it to accelerate on its own. The only references to the actual tampering that was done has been about a wire being cut either for the starter or starter relay. The other is that the “cover” for the relay was missing. This is not how a starter or relay works. The starter motor and associated relay cannot be used to accelerate a vehicle. Their only function is to apply power to the starter motor, which will spin the engine. Cutting any associated wire will only prevent the starter motor from engaging. Tampering with the system could allow the starter to be engaged while the vehicle is in gear, which would allow the vehicle to move while starter is spinning. The vehicle would only move as fast as the starter will spin, which is much slower than the engine even at idle. A decent incline would probably be too much for a starter motor to overcome. This would also have to be operated remotely. This evidence is not an indicator of the vehicle being wrecked intentionally with no occupant inside.

 

[opalescentwaves]

Currently thinking about Leah in the middle of the night, frustrated that I can't just look up what really happened to her.

I heard about the Leah Roberts case last year while watching an early morning re-run of Unsolved Mysteries. Since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Leah and what could have happened to her. Her case has deeply affected me for many reasons, especially at this point in my life. Like Leah back in 2000, I'm currently 23, a senior in college, from North Carolina, have somewhat been influenced by the words of the Beat Poets, and I'm just trying to figure life out right now. I completely understand how the pressures of college and life in general at this age could have affected her. Like Chris McCandless (who began his travels at 22), I think Leah wanted something more simple and freeing than the life and pressures she was experiencing.

As happy as I would be to just discover new developments in the case and evidence that she may still be alive somewhere, I, unfortunately, feel in my gut that she was either abducted/murdered or succumbed to the elements in the woods back in 2000 and the remains of her, and especially her poor kitten, will probably never be found/identified.

I just really care about this case, and I'm holding on to the sliver of hope that one day we will eventually find out the truth.

 

[Murkywaters]

I just rewatched Leah's Disappeared episode. I understand they have male DNA from Leah's car, they were talking about trying to match it to their suspect in Canada. Did the DNA belong to him? if not the detectives should consider uploading it to Gedmatch.

 

[Richard]

Bumping. I feel that LE should question James Allen Kinney regarding this case. He was a very weird individual who traveled all over the country. He was a Vietnam Veteran with mental issues which got him some sort of disability ID to enter most military bases. He visited many different VA hospitals as well.

 

[Vincet78562003]

Am I allowed to post a reddit link?

I have found an extremely unlikely coincidence involving the disappearance of Leah Roberts and a Whatcom County Doe. [Unexplained Disappearance] : UnresolvedMysteries

I don't know if this was ever discussed here on WS, but I thought it was very interesting. A user on reddit found an unidentified Doe located in Whatcom County that has the same kind of leg plate that Leah had, and it was from a batch that had been shipped out right around the same time Leah had her plate inserted. However, the Doe is listed as male. Just a crazy coincidence or error with the Doe? I've heard before of Does being listed as the wrong gender. There's a specific case that comes to my mind of two teenage Does found decades ago that were recently identified, and one of them had been labelled with the wrong gender. Anyone remember that?

This is extremely fascinating! Has there been any updates on this? I'm not good at reading reddit. Where exactly did they find the mummified body? Did they not compare the number on the rod to the one Leah had? At least they could do that to just verify. I have a few theories surrounding this case.

 

[MrsPizza]

This is extremely fascinating! Has there been any updates on this? I'm not good at reading reddit. Where exactly did they find the mummified body? Did they not compare the number on the rod to the one Leah had? At least they could do that to just verify. I have a few theories surrounding this case.

 

[MrsPizza]

I agree! This is fascinating! I wonder where/when the mummified body was found? If anyone has looked into this further?

 

[Vincet78562003]

I agree! This is fascinating! I wonder where/when the mummified body was found? If anyone has looked into this further?

I emailed the case manager on Namus to ask whether or not the serial numbers on the rods were compared. She notified me that she would bring this to the attention of the investigators, but that we may not hear anything back from them because everything may be confidential at this point. We shall see. I did notify them, though.

 

[MrsPizza]

I emailed the case manager on Namus to ask whether or not the serial numbers on the rods were compared. She notified me that she would bring this to the attention of the investigators, but that we may not hear anything back from them because everything may be confidential at this point. We shall see. I did notify them, though.

Oh good! This story has always stuck with me. I feel like there must be answers somewhere. Or someone that knows something.

 

[JSolt1210]

I think the April 23 date is important...Easter. Rebirth? Maybe Leah was traveling around for a few weeks and marked 4/23 when she would begin a "new phase" of her life?

It seems interesting that she paid the bills for about a month, which would indicate to me that she would be returning in about 30 days. I don't think I would feel okay about stiffing my roommate/friend on my rent and bills payment if I was planning on disappearing.

Easter that year was indeed April 23rd... which means that Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent (the 46 days leading up to Easter), was March 8th, the day before Leah disappeared.

This may be a bit of a long shot, but do we know anything about Leah's religious beliefs, if any? I mean, she was apparently aware enough of Easter to have referred to it in her letter.

For many Christians, the 46 days of Lent are a time of spiritual preparation, culminating with the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday, and his resurrection on Easter. The period is marked by self-denial and penitential practices with the intention to "put off the old self... and to put on the new self." The idea is that if we unite ourselves to Christ in his death, then we will certainly be united to him in his resurrection.

After an emotional breakup, I decided to use Lent as a way to spiritually cleanse myself of the depression and hurt. I went to church twice a week. I prayed, meditated, read, wrote in my journal, etc. in the hope that, come Easter, I could leave that behind and start new and fresh. I didn't tell my closest friends and family at the time because I just didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want anyone worrying about me. I knew I was down, but I also knew that I needed to work through my heartache by myself and with my faith.

Could Leah have intended to do something similar? Maybe that's why she left things paid for the following month, knowing she'd be back by Easter—or the end of April—feeling like a new person.

Interestingly, the main reading on the First Sunday of Lent (March 12 that year) would've been about the Temptation of Christ—which occurs after Jesus leaves everything temporarily behind and heads off to the wilderness alone.

 

[PrimeTimePI]

So here is something interesting to keep an eye on that is happening in Norwood, NJ with an unidentified missing person that was found wandering in the street. She is claiming that she doesn't know her name, but walked from Washington State and was in a car wreck last year. Could this be Leah Roberts? The woman's account of when the accident took place is off, but knowledge of time and distance is off when you have a neurological issue. The police have already been notified of the Leah Roberts story and are following up on all leads.

link to news article: Amnesiac found wandering in North Jersey doesn't know who she is. Maybe you do?