WY WY - Katie Ferguson, traveling back to Cody from Alabama w/her two children & ex-boyfriend when she vanished around Little Rock AR, 10 Oct 2023

[Dargon335]

Nicole said the family is now waiting to hear back from investigators on the DNA results from the blood found in the vehicle.

Yes, the DNA testing of the blood samples should confirm the identity of the person in the passenger seat. AFAIK, the passenger seat itself hasn't been found, unless it was part of the items found in the back of the vehicle.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Adam Aviles Federal Complaint | PDF

Adam Aviles Federal Complaint

www.scribd.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A map showing the timeline of Ferguson's cross-country roadtrip before she wenthttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12805585/Katie-Ferguson-mom-Alabama-Wyoming-Adam-Aviles-case-investigation.html

 

[ifindedout]

A map showing the timeline of Ferguson's cross-country roadtrip before she wenthttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12805585/Katie-Ferguson-mom-Alabama-Wyoming-Adam-Aviles-case-investigation.html

Working link above

Mom-of-two vanishes during cross country trip with her ex-boyfriend

A mother-of-two has vanished during a cross-country road trip from Alabama to Wyoming with her ex-boyfriend who has been arrested on unrelated felony charges.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Dargon335]

Smell Of 'Putrefied Blood' In Car Of Missing Wyoming Woman's Ex-Boyfriend

Per the link above:

[...]
Deputies were still investigating the Durango when a man walked up to them with a gas canister. Later identified as Aviles Jr., the man said he was there to fill the Durango up because it had run out of gas and was inoperable, says the affidavit.
[...]

Since LE took possession of his vehicle it would be interesting to hear from them how much fuel was in the tank at the time he claimed it 'had run out of gas and was inoperable'. If the vehicle actually has fuel in the tank then his statement is not correct, then IMO the 'gas canister' may have been intended for another purpose.

 

[NervousNellie]

Since LE took possession of his vehicle it would be interesting to hear from them how much fuel was in the tank at the time he claimed it 'had run out of gas and was inoperable'. If the vehicle actually has fuel in the tank then his statement is not correct, then IMO the 'gas canister' may have been intended for another purpose.

Snipped for focus.

I thought about that (as have other posters, I think), but for what purpose would he abandon the car and then come BACK with a can of gas? If he intended to burn the vehicle, wouldn't he just bring the can of gas with him the 1st time? And then only have to walk away from the car once.

 

[Dargon335]

@NervousNellie: That is a good question. It's impossible for us to know what his thought process was at the time. However, if the vehicle had at least some gas in the tank then IMO his statement to LE doesn't make sense.

 

[tlcya]

Snipped for focus.

I thought about that (as have other posters, I think), but for what purpose would he abandon the car and then come BACK with a can of gas? If he intended to burn the vehicle, wouldn't he just bring the can of gas with him the 1st time? And then only have to walk away from the car once.

I still can't get past the fact he was "working" on that vehicle when LE first approached him to investigate the missing person report they'd received on her. I can imagine was near to soiling himself when he saw that LEO approaching. I would love to get a look at that LEO's body cam from his Nov. 2nd visit to Aviles in Cody Wyoming. I can only assume that the state of the interior of the vehicle with bullet hole in passenger door was not visible to that initial investigating officer.

By the 4th the vehicle was abandoned in the Oregon Basin. Either a) Aviles intended to continue driving the Durango to some unknown location to be hidden/disposed of some way and ran out of gas (not the brightest) or b) Aviles intended to burn the car but forgot to bring the gas to do so (also not the brightest). I am leaning toward a). He had some idea of where he wanted to destroy or dispose of the vehicle but ran out of gas and had to come up with plan B which was go get gas and burn that thing where it sat.

ETA I suspect he was planning on dumping the vehicle where it wouldn't be found. Like in a body of water or something like that.

 

[NervousNellie]

I still can't get past the fact he was "working" on that vehicle when LE first approached him to investigate the missing person report they'd received on her. I can imagine was near to soiling himself when he saw that LEO approaching. I would love to get a look at that LEO's body cam from his Nov. 2nd visit to Aviles in Cody Wyoming. I can only assume that the state of the interior of the vehicle with bullet hole in passenger door was not visible to that initial investigating officer.

By the 4th the vehicle was abandoned in the Oregon Basin. Either a) Aviles intended to continue driving the Durango to some unknown location to be hidden/disposed of some way and ran out of gas (not the brightest) or b) Aviles intended to burn the car but forgot to bring the gas to do so (also not the brightest). I am leaning toward a). He had some idea of where he wanted to destroy or dispose of the vehicle but ran out of gas and had to come up with plan B which was go get gas and burn that thing where it sat.

ETA I suspect he was planning on dumping the vehicle where it wouldn't be found. Like in a body of water or something like that.

Wow - excellent ideas! I guess I am pretty linear in my thinking...

 

[Dargon335]

By the 4th the vehicle was abandoned in the Oregon Basin. Either a) Aviles intended to continue driving the Durango to some unknown location to be hidden/disposed of some way and ran out of gas (not the brightest) or b) Aviles intended to burn the car but forgot to bring the gas to do so (also not the brightest). I am leaning toward a). He had some idea of where he wanted to destroy or dispose of the vehicle but ran out of gas and had to come up with plan B which was go get gas and burn that thing where it sat.

@tlcya I agree with your assessment. The fact that he brought a can of gas to the vehicle would lead us to believe he planned to do one of those activities you mention above (move or burn the vehicle). If we knew how much gas was in the vehicle when impounded by LE then perhaps that question could be answered.

 

[Dargon335]

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but from what I've read here on WS it seems that most 'burned' vehicles end up being identified and traced back to the owner. MOO, but if Aviles had wished to burn the vehicle in that location, I'm assuming LE would eventually trace it back to him anyway.

 

[NervousNellie]

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but from what I've read here on WS it seems that most 'burned' vehicles end up being identified and traced back to the owner. MOO, but if Aviles had wished to burn the vehicle in that location, I'm assuming LE would eventually trace it back to him anyway.

Yes, but he might think it would be more difficult to find/use evidence after a vehicle fire.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

On the subsequent encounters with his vehicle, starting Oct. 9, police allege that Ferguson was not seen with him and they spotted a gunshot on the car. Police also allegedly found bloodstained clothings and noted smell of "putrified blood" from his vehicle during one of these encounters, the criminal complaint states.

In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, the couple's 4-year-old daughter allegedly said she witnessed her father "accidentally hurting" her mother, according to the complaint.

Ferguson’s mother, Mona Hartling, says the couple had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for eight years that was tumultuous.

Hartling and Ferguson, along with the couple’s two children, were in a shelter for a few months before Hartling moved them to Alabama to be with Hartling’s sister and to give Ferguson a “fresh start,” she tells PEOPLE.

She says her daughter and Aviles were living in motels during their stay in Alabama. But when Aviles returned home to his family in Wyoming in October, Ferguson was nowhere to be found.

Hartling says Aviles told her that Ferguson had left him and the children. The criminal complaint states that Aviles maintains that Ferguson went on a "drug run" during their trip and did not return. He also allegedly said she was "not missing," but instead wanted to lose contact with her mother.

In text exchanges between Ferguson and her stepmother reviewed by PEOPLE, Ferguson expressed her fear of Aviles before the trip took place.

Woman on Cross-Country Trip with Ex and Daughters Vanishes, Dried Blood Found in Vehicle

Katie Ferguson was last seen in October before she embarked on a trip with Adam Shane Aviles Jr., and their two daughters.

people.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I’m begging you will you please help[?],” Ferguson wrote to stepmother Angela Ferguson via Facebook on May 17, as she drove east from Wyoming to Alabama with her two young daughters, messages provided to the outlet show.

“I would drive it far as I can straight through but I can’t with [a 5-month-old] and a four year old,” Katie wrote. “I don’t want to be stranded on the side of the road with two kids.”

She wrote that she left Wyoming after ex-boyfriend Adam Aviles Jr. “kept following us.”

“I kept seeing him everywhere,” wrote Ferguson. “I couldn’t stay in Cody.”

Missing Mom of 2 Katie Ferguson’s Messages to Stepmom Months Before Vanishing: ‘I’m Begging You, Will You Please Help'

Missing mom Katie Ferguson was “begging” her stepmother for help relocating away from her ex-boyfriend months prior to her disappearance.

themessenger.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"I don't know if it was the stress of having a baby with her or the stress of life or what it was, but he was different,” Ferguson’s sister, Nicole, told the outlet. “He was very controlling. Like, she wasn't allowed to go do anything or go anywhere.”

"I would be like, 'Katie, you know, let's get together. My kids miss you,’” recalled Nicole. “And she would be like, ‘I can’t. Adam doesn't want me to.’”

Family of Missing Mom Katie Ferguson Reveals Red Flags About Ex-Boyfriend in Months Before She Vanished

The ex-boyfriend of Katie Ferguson reportedly became “very controlling” and allegedly relapsed into drug use before her disappearance.

themessenger.com

 

[Sundog]

Are Katie's two children with her stepmother now?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Solve The Case, a non-profit that helps to solve cases of missing persons and murder, reached out to Alen Ferguson, Katheryn’s brother, on November 4.

“Please let us know if we can help your family,” said the Solve The Case Facebook page.

Aaron Benzick, president of Solve The Case, said the non-profit is looking for any information that might lead to finding Katheryn and discovering what might have happened to her. As of yet, Benzick did not disclose whether anyone from the family has reached out to him.

The Solve the Case website posts details of cold missing persons cases. It also posts updates related to Ferguson’s case, including the mugshot of Aviles Jr. from when he was arrested on November 8.

With Aviles Jr. booked and Katie Ferguson still missing, Katie’s brother created a (funding site) to bring the family back together. The donations will be used to support Hartling and Ferguson’s children, ages two and four. Money will also go toward traveling expenses to get the children back to Alabama

Aviles Jr. arraigned as the search for missing Cody woman continues

One of the last people to see Katheryn Ann Ferguson before she disappeared in mid-October was arraigned last week for unlawful possession of ammunition.

torringtontelegram.com

 

[Unalienable Rights]

NewsNation - Dec 7 - interview with her mom.

Missing Wyoming woman’s mom: ‘He killed her, I know he did’

Mona Hartling wants justice after her daughter, Katie Ferguson, 33, went missing in October during a trip with her ex-boyfriend.

www.newsnationnow.com

 

[orchidaceaes]

Ex-Boyfriend Of Missing Cody Woman A Suspect In Murder Probe

The federal defense attorney for the ex-boyfriend of a missing Cody woman asked a judge on Thursday to delay his trial on gun charges because he’s a suspect in a murder case and could soon face "other charges."

cowboystatedaily.com

“Mr. Aviles is suspect in a homicide case,” wrote David Weiss, assistant U.S. public defender, in a Thursday federal court filing asking for an additional 70 days to prepare for Aviles’ trial.

 

[aaronb]