CA CA - Peter McColl, 16, Berkeley, 28 Aug 1995

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FWIW, my recollection of the PM case was residing in nearby Emeryville, California between 1994 and 1998 for a startup venture. I can tell you that there was a lot of pressure to not only locate the teen but theorize a criminal reason for his disappearance, which never came to be (to date). Keep in mind that Berkeley Police Department has more resources than us folk on WebSleuths, not to mention the power to arrest, question, issue a search warrant, etc. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't (at least) report that a person(s) of interest was ruled out.

I was reading an earlier theory about PM taking an off-course trip on BART. There's no evidence that this happened (or that he met his fate off the GG Bridge) but the Bay Area's subway system would have been a blind spot around the time of day the lad disappeared. People have already gone to work and anyone remaining on the trains (back then) would be sleeping transients or groups of young fare-dodgers, especially during Summer Recess. PM would have blended in like the skies of a Monet painting and the other riders wouldn't see any incentive to report a sighting to law enforcement, even for a publicized missing persons case.

There was a similar (albeit unconnected) Missing Endangered case more recently in Texas: Alexandria Lowitzer. She had also just turned 16, also lied to her family about where she was going, and also left items of personal value behind (which casts doubt on the runaway theory, whether it was a secret significant other or wayward friend). The ultimate difference with PM of course is that she's female, 5'2, and would've been easier to overpower versus a fit 6'0 male with martial arts abilities.

If there's any other missing persons cases involving 16 year olds - and lacking evidence of foul play - I would be interested in reading, just to compare the backgrounds (like above).
 
Rose_Red said:
How did the bus driver from the 43 bus know that the Caucasian boy that Peter met had an accent? The bus driver did seem to see Peter quite a few times. Where is the sketch of this person of interest?

There were a couple of other students waiting for the bus that may have seen Peter pass his bus stop on his way back. How confident are they in their identification. Was anybody else with this person they thought was Peter McColl?

Like another poster asked, what type of shirt did the witness at the thrift store see Peter buy?
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I am quoting myself here.

I guess the bus driver said he was on his break, and that is when he saw Peter talking to the boy with the British accent and that it was prearranged meeting. I wonder what setting this was in for the bus driver to be close enough to hear the accent and to know that it was prearranged meeting. Were they at a restaurant, cafe, sidewalk? It just seems a bit odd, but at the same time he was a credible witness when it came to the interaction between Nicole and Peter. If it was indeed Peter that the bus driver saw meeting with the boy and he was close enough to hear his accent and that it was prearranged I wonder if he heard any of the rest of the conversation. Also, wondering if the bus driver was ever asked to describe the boy for a sketch since he is considered a POI.

There were comments earlier about the $100 dollars that he left behind. I agree with the poster who said that just because he left $100 dollars at home did not mean he did not have money with him. He was able to purchase a red shirt, which requires money, and he was able to ride the bus, which requires money, so he likely had money in his wallet even if he did leave behind $100.
 
Rose_Red said:
I am quoting myself here.

I guess the bus driver said he was on his break, and that is when he saw Peter talking to the boy with the British accent and that it was prearranged meeting. I wonder what setting this was in for the bus driver to be close enough to hear the accent and to know that it was prearranged meeting. Were they at a restaurant, cafe, sidewalk? It just seems a bit odd, but at the same time he was a credible witness when it came to the interaction between Nicole and Peter. If it was indeed Peter that the bus driver saw meeting with the boy and he was close enough to hear his accent and that it was prearranged I wonder if he heard any of the rest of the conversation. Also, wondering if the bus driver was ever asked to describe the boy for a sketch since he is considered a POI.

There were comments earlier about the $100 dollars that he left behind. I agree with the poster who said that just because he left $100 dollars at home did not mean he did not have money with him. He was able to purchase a red shirt, which requires money, and he was able to ride the bus, which requires money, so he likely had money in his wallet even if he did leave behind $100.
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Nothing about Peter's behavior that day suggests that he was suicidal, and nothing about Peter's behavior that day suggests that he was planning to walk away from his life. Foul play has to be the prevailing theory.
 
rbbm.
The Doe Network: Case File 1175DMCA
Case File 1175DMCA

PJMccoll3.jpg
PJMccoll4.jpg

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Left and Center: McColl, circa 1995; Right: Age-Progression to age 30 (circa 2010)

''Peter John McColl
Missing since August 28, 1995 from Berkeley, Alameda County, California.''

    • Date Of Birth: July 30, 1979
    • Age at Time of Disappearance: 16 years old
    • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'0" (183 cm); 160 lbs (73 kg)
    • Distinguishing Characteristics: White male. Brown hair; blue eyes. Shoulder length hair, sometimes worn in a ponytail.
    • Marks, Scars: He has 20/400 vision and needs contacts or eyeglasses for distance vision. He did not have his glasses with him. He has slight scarring near the tip of his right little finger.
    • Clothing: Black jeans, a light grey "Berkeley Crew" t-shirt, a light grey sweatshirt with "US Rowing" on the front and Doc-Marten brand boots.
    • AKA: Rainbow
    • Dentals: Dental X-rays available
    • DNA: Available in CODIS''

''Circumstances of Disappearance
McColl was last seen in Berkeley, CA on August 28, 1995 as he was leaving his home near The Alameda walking toward Telegraph Avenue to go to a bookstore. Several bus and cab drivers say they spotted the boy the day he vanished.
He plays guitar. He was wearing contacts when he left but did not have his glasses with him. All identifying information had been taken out of his wallet.

He may no longer be in California. He may be in Oregon, Florida, Louisiana or Washington state.''
 
Peter, where are you?

Did Peter have access to a passport? A 16 year old can get a passport without a parent. Is this why he couldn't have breakfast? He had scheduled an appointment? Did he have a temporary form of ID/Driver's License whilst waiting for his hard copy? Is it possible he took a "gap year"?

Also, Jerry Garcia died August 8, 1995. There was a huge celebration of his life August 13th in the Bay Area. When did his bucket-list map come down? It is quite possible with the huge influx of Dead Heads or Touch Heads to the area, he might have made "new friends" or have been invited to travel around. I know his passing impacted me. He could have gotten caught up in the scene and misadventure.

There were comments earlier in the thread about tagging, drugs, and depression. I am a couple years older than Peter, and kids just did stupid stuff like tagging, doing drugs, worshipping the 27 club, but they weren't depressed or suicidal necessarily. Mainly it was the "high" of doing the forbidden and not getting caught. Suicide and depression are very real, don't get me wrong. The majority or indicators weren't there though for that age group based on what I read about Peter. He didn't give anything away, was getting his drivers license (that requires sequenced steps), etc. Most 16 year old don't "want to disappear" unless there have been indications of mental health concerns before. I do not think he intentionally vanished. Maybe he took off for awhile, but he didn't intend for it to be permanently.
 
Rose_Red said:
There have been posts that infer Peter was depressed. The evidence mentioned was that he changed his hairstyle and style of dress, did not have breakfast with his mother that morning when invited, he participated in tagging, he may have had family issues, and that bullying may have been in issue in Berkley HS.

Peter may or may not have been clinically depressed. Even if he was depressed, this does not necessarily mean that he was suicidal and that he committed suicide in the Golden Gate Bridge or anywhere else. Depressed people may resort to drugs as a coping mechanism, they may join religious groups or cults for acceptance and belonging, they may runaway from their problems, and they may even commit suicide. Theorizing that Peter may have been depressed doesn't really form any new leads. There are still many possibilities as to what could have happened to Peter McColl regardless if he was depressed or not.



Yes, you are mistaken, CelticFrostie. Rebecca McColl said that Nichole Zotti knew who Peter was and did indeed see him on the 43 Bus:








I am confused on the two quotes above, but I'm guessing Rebecca McColl meant that Peter's wallet was not found, and his Driver's License was not in his wallet, but in the mail. If anybody could clarify, did Peter take his wallet? Where was his wallet found, if it was found at all?

I still wonder about the Nichole Zotti angle, as I did before. It is quite a coincidence that both students from the same school would disappear on the same day, and a witness, the bus driver, saw both of them on the same 43 bus speaking to each other, and later a different cab driver believes he drove them to an airport. Is this really a coincidence or is there something more here? Was the male in the cab was ever positively identified!? There may be more to this.

How did the bus driver from the 43 bus know that the Caucasian boy that Peter met had an accent? I think it's odd that the bus driver remembers that Peter talked to a red-streaked hair girl, remembers he asked for directions to Montclair, and that he saw him with a Caucasian boy with an English accent. I'm from LA, so this seems uncommon for a driver to remember this much detail. I don't know how many people ride the buses in Berkeley, Nor Cal. This very may be plausible, but the bus driver did seem to see Peter quite a few times. Where is the sketch of this person of interest?

There was a couple of other students waiting for the bus that may have seen Peter pass his bus stop on his way back. How confident are they in their identification. Was anybody else with this person they thought was Peter McColl?

Like another poster asked, what type of shirt did the witness at the thrift store see Peter buy?
Click to expand...
So my name is Nichole Zotti . I wanted to clear up some things . And share some FACTS. First, I never went to school with Peter at Berkeley High . I was a runaway from Pleasanton Ca. And when I went to high school it was not in Berkeley. I did not know Peter at all . I have seen him on Telegraph Avenue a couple times. But he did not hang out with our crowd. I never was in a cab on the way to the airport. It’s been a long time but if I saw on a bus then that must have happened. We never hung out . Ever . It’s extremely sad that he has not been found and he went missing. I hope and pray the family gets answers & closer. I also thank god that I’m alive. .
 
And I think of Peter often. My heart breaks for the family!! My heart breaks for the mother .I could not imagine missing a child . The streets of the Bay Area were very dangerous. There were so many very shady characters , people .I have been through extremely traumatic experiences. I pray that the family gets much needed answers.
 
NZOTTI said:
So my name is Nichole Zotti . I wanted to clear up some things . And share some FACTS. First, I never went to school with Peter at Berkeley High . I was a runaway from Pleasanton Ca. And when I went to high school it was not in Berkeley. I did not know Peter at all . I have seen him on Telegraph Avenue a couple times. But he did not hang out with our crowd. I never was in a cab on the way to the airport. It’s been a long time but if I saw on a bus then that must have happened. We never hung out . Ever . It’s extremely sad that he has not been found and he went missing. I hope and pray the family gets answers & closer. I also thank god that I’m alive. .
Click to expand...
Welcome to Ws NZOTTI!
 
LucyOso said:
There were comments earlier in the thread about tagging, drugs, and depression. I am a couple years older than Peter, and kids just did stupid stuff like tagging, doing drugs, worshipping the 27 club, but they weren't depressed or suicidal necessarily. Mainly it was the "high" of doing the forbidden and not getting caught. Suicide and depression are very real, don't get me wrong. The majority or indicators weren't there though for that age group based on what I read about Peter. He didn't give anything away, was getting his drivers license (that requires sequenced steps), etc. Most 16 year old don't "want to disappear" unless there have been indications of mental health concerns before. I do not think he intentionally vanished. Maybe he took off for awhile, but he didn't intend for it to be permanently.
Click to expand...
I agree that there were no obvious signs that he was suicidal.

Foul play seems likely, but if he was the victim of random violence, why wasn't his body found? Most street thugs don't bother to hide the bodies of people they kill, but maybe most is the operative word; maybe some do.

There are violent people out there who will kill someone with no provocation; maybe Peter ran into one of them.
 
NZOTTI said:
So my name is Nichole Zotti . I wanted to clear up some things . And share some FACTS. First, I never went to school with Peter at Berkeley High . I was a runaway from Pleasanton Ca. And when I went to high school it was not in Berkeley. I did not know Peter at all . I have seen him on Telegraph Avenue a couple times. But he did not hang out with our crowd. I never was in a cab on the way to the airport. It’s been a long time but if I saw on a bus then that must have happened. We never hung out . Ever . It’s extremely sad that he has not been found and he went missing. I hope and pray the family gets answers & closer. I also thank god that I’m alive. .
Click to expand...

So, the person who the taxi driver took to the airport was not you? And, you did not head over to Southern California the weekend/week he disappeared? Is there anything that you do remember about him? Wish this one was solved, along with all other cases. Hope you are healing.
 
Yes I w
Rose_Red said:
So, the person who the taxi driver took to the airport was not you? And, you did not head over to Southern California the weekend/week he disappeared? Is there anything that you do remember about him? Wish this one was solved, along with all other cases. Hope you are healing.
Click to expand...
 
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