Found Deceased AZ - Benjamin Anderson, 41, Car found burned, Phoenix, 31 Dec 2021

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cocomod said:
This case has my attention. He seems like he was loved soooo much by friends. The fact that they got together so quickly to look for him and have been so insistent! They are the reason he is in the news. I know Phoenix police have a hard time keeping up with crime in the area. I can see them blowing this off in the beginning. But, the continued pressure by these friends have made the news. The police have to be paying attention now - especially with a burned out car. Where is Ben?
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The fact they took this serious within a few hours of being contacted by family and friends is pretty swift in my book. It is a grown man. And on New Years eve....can you imagine the number of calls coming in?
 
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Why do these awful things have to happen to good people? It's heartbreaking.

What amazing and loyal friends Ben has, especially DS.
They must be beyond agonized by this.

I wish I could believe Ben is safe somewhere, but the circumstances are horrible and frightening.
 
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realanastasia said:
SBM....

The Phoenix PD “dropped the ball,” said Stahoviak. “We were urging them and urging them to do their jobs. We were going out into very dangerous neighborhoods on our own. They told us we shouldn't be out there, and we said, ‘We will, if you won’t.’”

On Sunday afternoon, a detective from the missing persons unit got in touch and said she was headed over to Anderson’s apartment to conduct a search. Stahoviak said he hasn’t heard anything since.
.......
“His parents have called the police department and left messages,” said Stahoviak, who has spent all of his spare time handing out flyers in hopes that someone will recognize Anderson. “Nobody has called them back.”
........
To Giacalone, “burning the car signals a different level of suspect—one that wasn’t doing it for a joyride.”

“To me, there is another motive,” he said. “Whether they had the right person is also something to look hard at.”
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So this approach is out of the David Robinson playbook (Daniel Robinson Missing Person June 23,2021, Buckeye AZ). Blame Police for not doing enough. Even though within a few hours of 6:30 they had the notices out. And it's New Years Eve. Just how many calls do you think they were handling that evening? I get that it is there friend and they want all resources dedicated to their one missing person but the reality is too many tax cuts over the last 40 years effect all services including LE.

There is absolutely no proof that someone else isn't involved and simply knew to leave the Lexus at Super 8 with the keys laying on the seat....given the clientele.
 
Man previously reported missing found dead in desert of New River
“NEW RIVER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) -- The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Monday a man who was reported missing after his car was discovered burned has been found dead.

Deputies say a body was found on Friday near Table Mesa Road, west of Interstate 17, in New River. On Monday, deputies confirmed the body was of Benjamin Anderson. Anderson was previously reported missing by family and friends when they didn't hear from him on New Year's Eve. His car was found burned off Interstate 17 and Dunlap Avenue the morning of New Year's Day.”
 
It’s amazing, the stupidity of these “people” who did this. They apparently found his remains before they found the car, on the SAME day he went missing. What did they do, throw him on the shoulder of the road?! What a waste of life, everyone involved here
 
realanastasia said:
Missing Man’s Car Was Spotted With Mystery Trio—Hours Before It Was Torched

Some new info:
"Stahoviak, who has put up $10,000 of his own money as a reward, said he won’t rest until his friend is found. He told the Arizona Republic on Sunday that Anderson had never gone missing before and had no enemies, as far as he knew.

“Those people in that car know something,” Stahoviak told The Daily Beast. “The Sheraton has video footage of those people in that car, because we talked to a security guard at the Sheraton who said the police have it. Those people weren’t wearing masks, so who are they? The security guard said the video was very clear and you could see the driver and passenger switch seats. That’s pretty darn clear.”

The Phoenix PD “dropped the ball,” said Stahoviak. “We were urging them and urging them to do their jobs. We were going out into very dangerous neighborhoods on our own. They told us we shouldn't be out there, and we said, ‘We will, if you won’t.’”

On Sunday evening, Stahoviak said he and three additional carloads of Anderson’s friends went out looking for clues and witnesses. A clerk at the Super 8 told them that there’s no daily housekeeping at the motel, and no one is checking rooms whose occupants are current on their payments. Now, Stahoviak is about ready to start knocking on doors himself.

“Something’s going on at that hotel,” he said.

On Sunday afternoon, a detective from the missing persons unit got in touch and said she was headed over to Anderson’s apartment to conduct a search. Stahoviak said he hasn’t heard anything since.

“His parents have called the police department and left messages,” said Stahoviak, who has spent all of his spare time handing out flyers in hopes that someone will recognize Anderson. “Nobody has called them back.”
Absent any hard information, Stahoviak, who hit the streets again on Monday looking for clues, has his own ideas about what might have happened to Anderson.

“Ben has just always been such a nice person,” he said. “And I think he would've helped anybody. Even if they were drug addicts, he wanted to help them. My theory is that some sort of help was provided, and it went south.”

To Giacalone, “burning the car signals a different level of suspect—one that wasn’t doing it for a joyride.”

“To me, there is another motive,” he said. “Whether they had the right person is also something to look hard at.”
Click to expand...
BBM
We can only hope we all have friends like this.
God bless them.
They are diligent and determined to find out what happened to their friend.
 
whitelilac said:
Yes, Fox 10

"On Friday, December 31st, 2021, MCSO responded to the location of Table Mesa Road, west of I-17, for a body found in the desert. The MCSO Homicide Unit assumed the investigation, and today the identity of the decedent was identified as 41-year-old Benjamin Anderson," Gillett said in a Jan. 3 news release.

Missing man's body found – his car was discovered burned in north Phoenix on New Year's Day
Click to expand...
Ohhh NOOOOO !!!
I just got home and jumped in here to see if any updates.

UGH...how the heck, why the heck ????

I just dont understand this world we live in.
 
realanastasia said:
Body of missing Phoenix man discovered in desert; car set fire | 12news.com

This is another source reporting it’s Ben.
Click to expand...
per news report above and BBM
"MCSO’s homicide unit is looking into Anderson’s disappearance and death, but it’s unclear if any crime took place. It is standard procedure for homicide detectives to look into a person's death until a cause is established.
I'm sorry, but how can they think that NO crime took place.
Sheesh....his car was on fire, burned to nothing and his body found elsewhere.
Good Lord. Who are these LE/reporters ??
Common sense says a crime happened.

do they think HE, BA, did this to his car and himself ??
 
Spartygirl said:
per news report above and BBM
"MCSO’s homicide unit is looking into Anderson’s disappearance and death, but it’s unclear if any crime took place. It is standard procedure for homicide detectives to look into a person's death until a cause is established.
I'm sorry, but how can they think that NO crime took place.
Sheesh....his car was on fire, burned to nothing and his body found elsewhere.
Good Lord. Who are these LE/reporters ??
Common sense says a crime happened.

do they think HE, BA, did this to his car and himself ??
Click to expand...
Agree.
The Fox article at least clearly mentions "homicide" .

Sgt. Calbert Gillett with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Jan. 3 that his body was found the same day he went missing, and a homicide investigation is underway.

Missing man's body found – his car was discovered burned in north Phoenix on New Year's Day
 
whitelilac said:
Agree.
The Fox article at least clearly mentions "homicide" .

Sgt. Calbert Gillett with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Jan. 3 that his body was found the same day he went missing, and a homicide investigation is underway.

Missing man's body found – his car was discovered burned in north Phoenix on New Year's Day
Click to expand...
So sad. Ben meant so much to those around him, his friends tried so hard to find him. I hope they find the animals who did this and lock them up.
 
SO, to reset....
Sheriff Office (not Phoenix PD) finds body at some point Dec. 31, attempts to start IDing body but in all likelihood doesn't post incident across to other Departments in Valley. Finally on the 2nd as the missing person is highlighted; the lightbulb goes off with Sheriff staff. (IMO Ben had no ID on him and at the time of discovery no active missing person bulletin entry (NCIC, NAMUS).

Possibilities: Home invasion; pickup from night before; hook up that morning; work or personal conflict (that DS may be texting BA about). Relationships?

Homicide that day with trip north to dump body. In his car or different vehicle?
His vehicle at some point prior to 9:25 pm is in Super 8 lot. Lexus Locates.
1) Left at Super 8 by Ben, perpetrator(s), or the 3 seen at Sheraton? Are the 3 seen the perpetrators of the homicide?
2) If not left by Ben, was the Super 8 just a stop by perpetrators before moving on to Sheraton and leaving it there? OR
2) Was Vehicle jacked and moved from Super 8 to Sheraton by the 3 seen at Sheraton and NOT the perpetrator(s). Or simply jacked from the Sheraton garage?

The burning seems to be done by the 3 after the brush with the friends. From Daily Beast article “We’d been on the Citizen app, but completely missed that somebody had uploaded a video of the car burning at 1:58 in the morning,” said Stahoviak. “The Fire Department put it out and then they left. The doors were melted, it looked like an accelerant was used.”

That would indicate involvement in a more serious crime then just car-jacking as indicated above by many on the thread.

Whew....

BTW Sheriff's Office will now take the lead on this crime since body was in their jurisdiction. Getting video from Super 8 is key and I was told it was not done by 10:30am 1/2/2022. The caveat is that staff who told me that did not work the weekend and may be unaware that it had been turned over already.

Updated map to show rough body area location based on reporting description.

Benjamin - Google My Maps
 
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According to this, there is very good video of the three

" ....in the parking garage at the Sheraton Crescent, there’s the car—with three people in it.”
“The Sheraton has video footage of those people in that car, because we talked to a security guard at the Sheraton who said the police have it. Those people weren’t wearing masks, so who are they? The security guard said the video was very clear and you could see the driver and passenger switch seats.

These three were not stealing a nice Lexus. You don't steal a car to burn it.
They need to be found.

Why three including a woman? Was this a cat fishing scheme? Thrill kill, anti gay hate crime?
Or as Ben's friend suggested ..."“Ben has just always been such a nice person,” he said. “And I think he would've helped anybody. Even if they were drug addicts, he wanted to help them. My theory is that some sort of help was provided, and it went south.”

So much evil in the world, against innocent good people. It's making me sick.

Missing Man’s Car Was Spotted With Mystery Trio—Hours Before It Was Torched
 
Knox said:
Wow that was quick!! I've been away all day with no chance to read up. Was the area his body was found, the same area Ben's friends followed his car too?
My thoughts are with Ben's family and friends tonight, what a tragic loss for them.
Click to expand...

no, his body was found about 30 miles north of the area where the 2 hotels were located.
 
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realanastasia said:
So is MCSO a different law enforcement group than Phoenix PD? Just trying to wrap my head around this new timeline where MCSO finds Ben’s body (late night on 12/31/21) BEFORE Phoenix PD locates the burnt remnants of his car (4 am on 1/1/22) and probably around the same time that the friends are searching for Ben. Did these 2 groups not talk to each other??

I wonder if that car chase with the suspected perpetrators and Ben’s friends happened before or after his body was left in the location where it was eventually found by MCSO.

And what is the distance between where Lexus tells Phoenix PD the car is around 9:30 PM on 12/31/21 and where Ben’s body is located? Per @KellyConQueso ’s timeline:
“12/31/2021 9:25 PM - Lexus calls police and tells them the vehicle was last located at the Super 8 by Wyndham off I-17 and Northern Avenue
12/31/2021 10:30 PM - 1/1/2022 12:25 AM Police say car is not there, friends continue searching area for BA's car”
Click to expand...
@realanastasia See my updated map and comments about MCSO and the timing in other post....it is miles away 20-25 maybe a bit more....
 
minneolo said:
IMO, the theory of the potential overnight guest or morning crime is weakened by the finding of the wet towel.

I know in my house, even a sopping wet towel set out at 9am would be quite dry by 6:45pm. Especially so if the towel was just damp from being used post-shower.

The wet towel suggests (to me) that Benjamin, or perhaps someone else, was in his place sometime in the afternoon.
Click to expand...
I agree. I live in the desert and the towel would be dry if it was used only to dry off after a shower.
 
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