Anna Christian Waters (Missing 1/16/1973 from Half Moon Bay, CA)

[Annasbro]

The possibility that she fell into the creek and washed all of the way to the ocean is possible but very remote in the eyes of those of us that have searched the 3 mile length of the creek scores of times. As mentioned earlier even if the water level was high enough to acheive this there were numerous snags along the way each of which were searched the final drop into the ocean as shown by the pictures Joe posted is 30 ft or so and a shallow waterfall. There is a dam before this point at about 1/2 mile upstream. Anything is possible but I personally feel this avenue has been pretty well covered.

 

[PonderingThings]

Thank you Mr. Ford for the photos! It helps get the concept of the terrain in my mind!

I'm trying to eliminate the possibility of accidental vanishing, so I have a few oddball questions.

1. There appears to be planted fields in the area. I realise Anna vanished in January but was there any kind of harvesting or soil turning happening nearby on the day Anna vanished? I'm thinking big equipment, small child, accident nobody realised....

2. I am assuming the soil is firm, but was there any high dirt pile (or manure pile) that somehow might have avalanched on her and then was removed without realising she was in it?

3. Was/is there any area that is nearby that was prone to shifting/cave in? An abandoned mine... area damaged by earthquake, etc., ?

 

[Annasmom]

Thank you Mr. Ford for the photos! It helps get the concept of the terrain in my mind!

I'm trying to eliminate the possibility of accidental vanishing, so I have a few oddball questions.

1. There appears to be planted fields in the area. I realise Anna vanished in January but was there any kind of harvesting or soil turning happening nearby on the day Anna vanished? I'm thinking big equipment, small child, accident nobody realised....

2. I am assuming the soil is firm, but was there any high dirt pile (or manure pile) that somehow might have avalanched on her and then was removed without realising she was in it?

3. Was/is there any area that is nearby that was prone to shifting/cave in? An abandoned mine... area damaged by earthquake, etc., ?

Pondering: I know you didn't address your questions to me, but I will answer them anyway. Anna was only out of sight for about fifteen minutes and the Sheriff's Department was on the site within an hour or less of the time she disappeared. The physical search was extensive and went on for months. Everyone in the area was aware that a child had disappeared. None of the features you describe was anywhere within a half-hour range.

 

[HeartofTexas]

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has listed Anna's case as a probable non-family abduction.

Does that mean what I think it means ... that they cannot rule out a family member as having abducted Anna? That is too sad for words. I hope from the bottom of my heart that no veil of suspicion has hung over anyone in your family all these years.

 

[PonderingThings]

Thanks Anna's mom for the response - your input is always appreciated!

I thought that your answer was the most likely... but just had to ask the questions.

 

[Annasmom]

Does that mean what I think it means ... that they cannot rule out a family member as having abducted Anna? That is too sad for words. I hope from the bottom of my heart that no veil of suspicion has hung over anyone in your family all these years.

This means that the NCMEC considers Anna's case a case of probable abduction, as opposed to accident, homicide, etc., and that they believe it involved individuals other than family members (as opposed to a case where a non-custodial spouse abducts a child.)

 

[mjak]

Altruist: I'll try to answer all your questions. Anna went to the back yard to play, but she had seen our neighbor opening mail, and it is possible she went around to the front yard to collect our mail (which had not yet been delivered; the neighbor was opening mail from the day before.) .

Was there a mailman in the vacinity and if so was he questioned if he saw or new anything?

mjak

 

[itsreenw]

My (female) neighbor was in the house, talking to me, and her friend came to the front door. I have been in contact with the neighbor all these years; the boy friend was questioned, gave statements, stayed with us the whole day that Anna disappeared, and stayed in contact with the family for some time. There is not an iota of suspicion attaching to either of them. The fence was a picket fence and Anna could have looked through it; also, the gate may have been open, as it often was.

Annasmom, I looked at the pics Joe provided the link to. For anyone not aware that a tragedy had taken place, it looks absolutely beautiful and peaceful. Is that your home in pic #3? Are all the buildings your property or is the neighbor's house shown too? How close did the neighbors live?

I know it is unlikely that the neighbor or anyone you know was responsible for Anna's abduction, but you mustn't rule out ANY possibilities. It is extremely remote. Somebody knew exactly where they were going. Often, the guilty party will impose themselves upon the family, search party, etc... as a way to divert suspicion. They keep in touch to give the appearance of concern and compassion. It is a way for them to find out what info or leads the police have and how close they are to getting caught. Again, I am not accusing your neighbor or her boyfriend, just considering ALL possibilities without bias. I am sorry if I offended or upset you.

I asked about the fence to determine if Anna could have seen someone familiar approaching and went to greet them.

 

[Annasmom]

Was there a mailman in the vacinity and if so was he questioned if he saw or new anything?

mjak

There was indeed a mail woman and she was questioned. She did not remember anything of note, but her daughter (who had been feeding her horse at the time) reported hearing rustling noises in the brush near the creek and thinking, she said, that "someone was stealing something."

 

[HeartofTexas]

reported hearing rustling noises in the brush near the creek and thinking, she said, that "someone was stealing something."

If she heard rustling noises in the brush near the creek, does that mean someone was on your property that shouldn't have been, or was there other access to the creek that didn't involve your property?

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, I looked at the pics Joe provided the link to. For anyone not aware that a tragedy had taken place, it looks absolutely beautiful and peaceful. Is that your home in pic #3? Are all the buildings your property or is the neighbor's house shown too? How close did the neighbors live?

I know it is unlikely that the neighbor or anyone you know was responsible for Anna's abduction, but you mustn't rule out ANY possibilities. It is extremely remote. Somebody knew exactly where they were going. Often, the guilty party will impose themselves upon the family, search party, etc... as a way to divert suspicion. They keep in touch to give the appearance of concern and compassion. It is a way for them to find out what info or leads the police have and how close they are to getting caught. Again, I am not accusing your neighbor or her boyfriend, just considering ALL possibilities without bias. I am sorry if I offended or upset you.

I was not able to see the photographs with my very slow dial-up connection, but maybe I can answer your questions. There were three houses. Ours was the small ranch house next to the road. Down the hill near the creek were a large Victorian house and a tiny cottage. All of us were renters. You did not offend or upset me!! On the contrary, I really appreciate everyone's putting their thoughts out. Doogie asked me about the neighbors when he first started the investigation. Since I have been in very frequent contact with them, all of them, for all these years, I am convinced that if someone took Anna, it had to be someone we didn't know.

I asked about the fence to determine if Anna could have seen someone familiar approaching and went to greet them.

This is certainly possible, but since she didn't come back into the house with the visitor, my thinking is that she may have gone on to get the mail (which had not yet been delivered). The road was only a few feet from the house, but it was above the level of the window, and we would not have been able to see if someone grabbed her. She hardly ever ventured out of the road except to go to the neighbors' houses (which were about 50 feet away from ours), but I think she had gotten the mail for us before.

 

[HeartofTexas]

One of Annasmom's answers to Itsreenw somehow got inside one of the quotes so I'm printing it here again so nobody will miss it.

I was not able to see the photographs with my very slow dial-up connection, but maybe I can answer your questions. There were three houses. Ours was the small ranch house next to the road. Down the hill near the creek were a large Victorian house and a tiny cottage. All of us were renters. You did not offend or upset me!! On the contrary, I really appreciate everyone's putting their thoughts out. Doogie asked me about the neighbors when he first started the investigation. Since I have been in very frequent contact with them, all of them, for all these years, I am convinced that if someone took Anna, it had to be someone we didn't know.

 

[Annasmom]

If she heard rustling noises in the brush near the creek, does that mean someone was on your property that shouldn't have been, or was there other access to the creek that didn't involve your property?

Anyone could have walked through the brush along the creek from either direction without being seen, or the sounds could have been made by an animal. What I thought was interesting was the young woman's initial intuition that "somebody was stealing something". Besides the three renter families, this property was used with the owner's permission by horse owners, a motorcycle club, and a hunting club. I do not know how many of these people were questioned. I do know that a number of them assisted in searching the grounds. As we have mentioned before, people were not really questioned until some time after the physical search of the property failed to turn up any evidence.

 

[gardenmom]

The pictures posted by Joe sure put a different perspective on things. It is more remote than I even thought!

 

[PonderingThings]

I must ask another question that I think I know the answer to - but just to rule out the possibility....

Anna's mom were there any large animals reported in the area that might have made off with Anna?

I realise the possibility is extremely remote as the searchers didn't find any evidence of this possiblility but I'm asking anyway.

 

[mjak]

Anyone could have walked through the brush along the creek from either direction without being seen, or the sounds could have been made by an animal. What I thought was interesting was the young woman's initial intuition that "somebody was stealing something". Besides the three renter families, this property was used with the owner's permission by horse owners, a motorcycle club, and a hunting club. I do not know how many of these people were questioned. I do know that a number of them assisted in searching the grounds. As we have mentioned before, people were not really questioned until some time after the physical search of the property failed to turn up any evidence.

Annasmom, I just read your response to me regarding the mailwomen and was about to post that I found it curious that the daughter thought she heard someone stealing something. Then I saw this post and you answered my question. I find it very curious that she would relate what she heard to this scenerio. Since its a wooded area I would assume animals, birds and leaves and twigs are common place and a rusteling noise not unusual. Since she was feeding her horse I am going to assume she had a sense of the outdoors and was familiar with these common noises. I am very curious as to why she thought what she heard what she did.

mjak

 

[Annasmom]

The pictures posted by Joe sure put a different perspective on things. It is more remote than I even thought!

Gardenmom: Remember that the farm is only about 30 miles south of San Francisco and three miles from the Coast Highway which runs all the way down the west coast to Mexico; also, that the road running in front of the house loops back to the coast highway so that a car could go east in front of the house, just keep on going without being observed by our family, and make it to San Francisco, the airport, or Oakland in an hour or less.

 

[Annasmom]

I must ask another question that I think I know the answer to - but just to rule out the possibility....

Anna's mom were there any large animals reported in the area that might have made off with Anna?

I realise the possibility is extremely remote as the searchers didn't find any evidence of this possiblility but I'm asking anyway.

The only large animals around there were horses and cows. We heard coyotes once in a while, but they stayed up in the hills and anyway couldn't really drag away anything larger than a cat.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Annasmom, I just want to say how much I admire you. I come here every day, several times a day, looking for any new information on Anna and am always disappointed when there aren't any new leads or new information to disseminate. In my spare time I've spent literally 100's of hours running various word combinations thru Google, trying to locate a girl who is looking for her birth parents that has even the most remote chance of being Anna... and so far have come up with almost nothing. Sometimes I feel so disheartened trying to look for a needle in a haystack that I just want to stop. But then I remember you have been doing this for 33 years and still don't know where Anna is. I will never have the patience you so graciously exhibit, but you are still an inspiration to me. I hope and pray that one day you have the answers you have been searching for and, in the meantime, I so much appreciate the time you take to carefully answer each of our questions.

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, I just want to say how much I admire you. I come here every day, several times a day, looking for any new information on Anna and am always disappointed when there aren't any new leads or new information to disseminate. In my spare time I've spent literally 100's of hours running various word combinations thru Google, trying to locate a girl who is looking for her birth parents that has even the most remote chance of being Anna... and so far have come up with almost nothing. Sometimes I feel so disheartened trying to look for a needle in a haystack that I just want to stop. But then I remember you have doing this for 33 years and still don't know where Anna is. I will never have the patience you so graciously exhibit, but you are still an inspiration to me. I hope and pray that one day you have the answers you have been searching for and, in the meantime, I so much appreciate the time you take to carefully answer each of our questions.

This is so sweet of you. Thank you for all the time you have spent trying to find some answers for us. We may never find out what became of Anna, but at least it won't be because we didn't try. The forum is doing a very valuable thing in providing feedback on all the questions which need to be asked, and ruling out whatever can be ruled out. This would never have been possible before we had instant communication.