Hello, I am very interested in this case.
I have read as much as there is available on the internet for the past three days. By far, the most informative article would be this one:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1206,992776&dq=amy-fandel&hl=en
Read it very carefully, a few times.
I have done so, and come up with three potential scenarios for the kids disappearance.
1.
Abduction by an acquaintance of their mother, Margaret Fandel.
Margaret Fandel was noted to hang out in bars, party, and allow questionable people that she had just met to be in contact with her children and to enter and use her house. This is mentioned to have happened on at least one occasion, and most likely it had happened a few more times.
Motive of the abductor: Sexual interest in Amy Fandel.
Scenario 1A: On September 5th at Good Time Charlies, a casual, passing acquaintance of Margaret noticed her, Aunt Cathy, and the children. He potentially overheard them say that the children would be dropped off home, alone. They leave at 10:00, arrive home and drop the kids at 10:30. Meanwhile, this unknown male drives to the house. He knows how to get there because he has associated with Margaret at her home before, or potentially she gave him the directions in the past. The children play at the Luptons; lets say from 10:45 to 11:30. Scott and Amy are kicked out for the night, they go home. They turn on every light in the house, and they prepare for bed. Scott is in the very beginning stages of preparing his macaroni. He fills the pot with water, opens the tomato can, gets the hard macaroni, and turns on the stove. He is interrupted by either a knock on the door, or a familiar face bursts in.
Scott and Amy went willingly: If Scott and Amy are told by a familiar face, a man that they know their mother is friends with, that their mother has been hurt at the bar, that she is in the hospital, that they need to come with him right away, Scott and Amy would have been very worried, forgotten to turn of the stove, not bothered to put away the food, and went with the man quickly, without taking their jackets.
This is the reason that there was no struggle. If the main interest was Amy, Scott was most likely killed quickly.
Scenario 1B This scenario is similar, but in the one, an acquaintance off Margaret may have chosen this night at random, and it just so happened that the kids were home alone. It may have played out in a very similar way as Scenario 1A.
Scenario2: A person may have been casing the Lupton house that night, wandering around by the road, in the woods. The person saw Scott and Amy get dropped off, go to the Luptons, walk home from the Luptons. He saw that they were now home alone. If this person burst through Scott and Amy's front door, holding a gun, saying "Come with me now, or I will shoot your sister", Scott would have gone. He would have been unable to fight, therefore, no signs of a struggle. He and Amy went willingly, once again, in this scenario. Scott was very protective of his sister, and he would have most likely complied in order to do what in his mind would be steps to save her. This is why the dinner was left on, and he didnt have time to grab his coat.
Obviously, by the scene, the kids left willingly, either due to being threatened, or by thinking that they were going with a family friend to see their hurt mother.
The Black Sedan: In the article, two carnies that had befriended Margaret Fandel had been in the area, and they owned a black sedan. They were investigated and cleared of any wrong doing, yet still potential suspects. If they are the culprits, this goes along nicely with Scenario 1A. A witness was said to have seen this black sedan speeding away from the Fandel home. They noticed they were being followed, stopped in a driveway, turned the lights off, and then, when they believed the coast was clear, they sped off in the opposite direction. This is extremely suspicious behavior. I strongly believe Scott and Amy were in the Black Sedan, either having been conned or threatened. The driver(s) may have been the carnies, or other acquaintances of Margaret. Either way the children walked out the door and climbed into the Sedan.
Family Abduction? I do not believe Roger Fandel or and other Fandels were involved. Roger left on his own accord, for reasons not having to do with the children, but his marriage to Margaret. There were no custody battles, and the break up seemed to be somewhat amicable. I don't think other Fandels would have kidnapped the kids for revenge against Roger.
Why is it very likely that they are dead? Scott Fandel loved his parents, and he was smart enough to know that, "Hey, I was abducted by (), and my mother is most likely worried sick, I love her, and I wouldnt want her to feel that way, so I will do anything to contact her and let her know that Amy and I are ok." I doubt Scott would live his life well into middle age and do nothing to contact his mother, or anyone for that matter. He was old enough to know people were looking for him, and so was Amy, for that matter. They would not have let this go on so long without any form of contact.
There is no chance the kids ran away, or were abducted by Satanists or underground sex rings, because then there would have been some kind of struggle. Scenario 1B doesnt even sound good now, because Scott and Amy would have screamed, in the house, in the car, someone would have heard. Scott would have fought back if it was someone he did not know.
I believe that if Scenario 1A is close to what actually happened, things began to go wrong after the sedan pulled into the driveway. Scott probably began to think "Why are they pulling over, why did they turn the car off, why are we waiting to another car to disappear from sight?" He was a savvy, smart kid, and he was probably noticing something ominous way before Amy did. The car started up again, and started going back where they had came from, and Scott started questioning the driver. He probably bombarded him with "Why are we going back this way, my mother is that way, what are you doing, why did you stop?" The driver probably was either not responding, or staying calm and giving excuses. They probably continued to drive to a more remote area (driver is familiar with the area) and, if the driver managed to keep the kids from hysterics, made it there. Or, Scott got too crazy with emotions and questions; the driver flipped, and killed him on the spot. Most likely Scott was killed first; Amy then molested or hurt sexually, and then killed. I believe the bodies were chopped up, and scattered in remote wilderness, buried, or thrown in a body or water.
This abductor was most likely experienced, was a lifelong predator, and possibly had done this once before. This was planned. This person was obviously male, and probably not a young male, but in his thirties or even forties. He was probably nice, and able to quickly build trust with the children.
Now, I have some questions. Were there any unknown finger prints found in the cabin? On the doorknob, and footprints in the front yard? I know that in the 15 hours after the abduction, many people went in and out of the cabin, so precious evidence was probably tampered with.
I would like to know what on earth happened to Scott and Amy Fandel. This case is fascinating, two kids disappear without a trace, no evidence, just circumstantial evidence and theories and scenarios. The only people that know what happened are Scott, Amy and their abductor. They are dead, and their abductor might be too. I think it is very unlikely that the case will be solved, or that there would be a major break, unless someone is willing to come forward. Too much time has passed, people have aged, died, the cabin has burned down. Scott and Amy are forever children, lost in the great unknown, like so many other people things and events. That is a fact that must be accepted. All that can be done now is to ponder and wait.
I am looking forward to responses, so please respond. I put a lot of thought into this. Give me more information, find errors, correct me, and tell me what you think.