Recovered/Located AZ - Lance Cpl. Job Wallace, 20, Camp Pendleton Marine, Surprise, 16 Sept 2019

[zecats]

I'm sorry I don't know how to post maps but the driving distance between Surprise, AZ and El Paso, TX is 453 miles.......In the opposite direction of where he should've been headed (Camp Pendleton in southern CA). Drive time is about 7 hours. If he left the friend's house at 9pm Monday, that'd put him in El Paso about 4am? It says the surveillance video showed the truck at about 9am Tuesday. That leaves some unaccounted for hours. It also says that video was from a checkpoint. It also states the driver's face was covered so it's hard to tell who it is. If it was a manned checkpoint, wouldn't it be odd to have a driver's face covered? If it's unmanned and only video monitored, then well that's a shame.

Absolutely agree with you.

Here's a map, BTW

Google Maps

 

[SuziQ]

I fear for this young man. When my son was stationed at 29 Palms, he went into town to get fast food. Walking into the restaurant he was kidnapped by three men. He was pepper sprayed, thrown into a car, pistol whipped, robbed, driven out into the dessert, and abandoned. It happened to two other Marines that week. Thank God my son lived.

 

[PommyMommy]

Absolutely agree with you.

Here's a map, BTW

Google Maps

Thanks, zecats. I added Camp Pendleton. I guess we don't know where in AZ his phone pinged? MOO

Google Maps

 

[zecats]

Thanks, zecats. I added Camp Pendleton. I guess we don't know where in AZ his phone pinged? MOO

Google Maps

Not yet...I've only seen pinged in AZ. But you posted upthread that cell phone contact with him was lost after he left the friend's house, so would that be the last ping?

 

[FlamingoLady]

DBM
Not sure if I can reference a post from a "missing" group on FB

 

[MassGuy]

There are some concerning things here, but I think it is overwhelmingly likely that he went AWOL.

They obviously need to explore all possibilities here, to include foul play.

That being said, people in the military run off all the time. Things happen, and some of them realize that they got into something they weren’t ready for.

If you Google “Marine Court Martial results,” you will see dozens of cases that involve people doing this.

I served with one guy who smoked marijuana when he was on leave. He was already under investigation for another incident, and was called back early. Knowing that he would be drug tested (and would fail), he ignored the phone calls and the command charged him with going AWOL.

I’m not saying that happened here, just illustrating a situation where I’ve seen that occur.

 

[zecats]

There are some concerning things here, but I think it is overwhelmingly likely that he went AWOL.

They obviously need to explore all possibilities here, to include foul play.

That being said, people in the military run off all the time. Things happen, and some of them realize that they got into something they weren’t ready for.

If you Google “Marine Court Martial results,” you will see dozens of cases that involve people doing this.

I served with one guy who smoked marijuana when he was on leave. He was already under investigation for another incident, and was called back early. Knowing that he would be drug tested (and would fail), he ignored the phone calls and the command charged him with going AWOL.

I’m not saying that happened here, just illustrating a situation where I’ve seen that occur.

Maybe being home on leave for 3 days only served to enhance that. I hope you're right, though, because it's certainly better than some alternatives.

 

[MassGuy]

Maybe being home on leave for 3 days only served to enhance that. I hope you're right, though, because it's certainly better than some alternatives.

Do we know how long he had been in? Because I think it’s more likely to occur early on as opposed to later.

 

[zecats]

Do we know how long he had been in? Because I think it’s more likely to occur early on as opposed to later.

"Wallace enlisted in December and was training at the San Diego Marine Corps Base before receiving his promotion which relocated him to Camp Pendleton, his mother said."

Mother of missing U.S. Marine from Arizona asks for the public's help

 

[GordianKnot]

Mother of missing U.S. Marine from Arizona asks for the public's help

SABBM:

"I want the public to know that he is a really gentle person who gave up scholarships and college opportunities to serve his country," Wallace said.
____________________________________

Based on that quote from his mom, it sounds like it's possible JW's basic temperament/personality may not be highly compatible with the military culture.
I honestly can't recall ever hearing of an active Marine being described as a "really gentle person."

Not saying this is the case, but it's a definite possibility that he may have been feeling some pangs of regret over his decision to enlist, and decided on impulse not to return to base.

He's only 20 years old. A whole lot of 20-year-old college students change their majors.
From a developmental standpoint, it's pretty normal for 20-year-olds to change their minds about their career paths.

I think William of Occam would argue that this is most likely a voluntarily missing scenario.

Odds are in favor of JW most likely being AWOL right now, but his disappearance is concerning, regardless of the reason for it.

JMO.

 

[zecats]

Mother of missing U.S. Marine from Arizona asks for the public's help

SABBM:

"I want the public to know that he is a really gentle person who gave up scholarships and college opportunities to serve his country," Wallace said.
____________________________________

Based on that quote from his mom, it sounds like it's possible JW's basic temperament/personality may not be highly compatible with the military culture.
I honestly can't recall ever hearing of an active Marine being described as a "really gentle person."

Not saying this is the case, but it's a definite possibility that he may have been feeling some pangs of regret over his decision to enlist, and decided on impulse not to return to base.

He's only 20 years old. A whole lot of 20-year-old college students change their majors.
From a developmental standpoint, it's pretty normal for 20-year-olds to change their minds about their career paths.

I think William of Occam would argue that this is most likely a voluntarily missing scenario.

Odds are in favor of JW most likely being AWOL right now, but his disappearance is concerning, regardless of the reason for it.

JMO.

If he is indeed AWOL, I hope it will be verified sooner rather than later. How long can a young man stay totally off the grid, avoid highway CCTV, not contact his family, survive financially, etc?

 

[MassGuy]

If he is indeed AWOL, I hope it will be verified sooner rather than later. How long can a young man stay totally off the grid, avoid highway CCTV, not contact his family, survive financially, etc?

Yeah. The standard play (if there is one), is to head somewhere familiar.

By that I mean the house of a friend or family member.

There’s no way he could stay undetected very long without having some sort of assistance.

 

[GordianKnot]

Yeah. The standard play (if there is one), is to head somewhere familiar.

By that I mean the house of a friend or family member.

There’s no way he could stay undetected very long without having some sort of assistance.

I'm wondering if he has a girlfriend or a SO.

Looking at his FB, there's nothing really recent there to help with that question.

 

[crhedBngr]

Job's case is in NamUs.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[FlamingoLady]

I hope if he is, indeed, AWOL, he doesn't cross over the border and possibly get into more trouble than he expected.

 

[PommyMommy]

Job's case is in NamUs.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

That was quick. His vehicle looks white to me in that photo. Must be the lighting. MOO​

 

[GordianKnot]

Not yet...I've only seen pinged in AZ. But you posted upthread that cell phone contact with him was lost after he left the friend's house, so would that be the last ping?

Arizona family searches for missing Camp Pendleton Marine

SABBM:
Wallace said law enforcement officials told her that her son's phone was last pinged Monday night in Arizona. But a Border Patrol camera spotted his truck the next morning traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 near Fort Hancock, Texas, southeast of El Paso.

A Surprise police spokesman says officers took a report and have turned the matter over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
_____________

So, according to this article, phone last pinged Monday night in AZ.

It would fit with him having deciding not to return to base.
In that event, he would have powered off his phone so that he couldn't be tracked.

JMO.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

SEP 20, 2019
Mother of missing U.S. Marine from Arizona asks for the public's help
[...]

The family has started a Facebook page titled "Missing Marine" to get the word out to the public, Wallace said over the phone.

[...]

"I want the public to know that he is a really gentle person who gave up scholarships and college opportunities to serve his country," Wallace said.

[...]

Wallace's truck was last spotted Tuesday morning east of El Paso, Texas, near Fort Hancock on a Border Patrol surveillance video. The face of the driver was covered so it is undetermined if Wallace was driving.

The family has also created an email for any information or tips regarding Wallace's disappearance. Anyone with information should email missingmarine@hotmail.com.

Thanks, zecats. I added Camp Pendleton. I guess we don't know where in AZ his phone pinged? MOO

Google Maps

I put the location of where the truck was spotted on surveillance video in red type, as you had already used bolding. I wanted to add the Fort Hancock location to the map that @zecats started, and that you had added Camp Pendleton to:

Google Maps

Here is a zoomed in part of the map around Fort Hancock:



If the surveillance video wasn't at the Fort Hancock border crossing, maybe the truck was on Texas State Highway 20 (TX-20)--but it sounds like the vehicle left I-10 before it was captured on video.

 

[GordianKnot]

New article:
Parents of missing Marine from Surprise search for answers in son's bizarre disappearance

SABBM:
His parents said he left Monday night in his truck, headed back to Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

The next morning, his sergeant called to say that Job never showed up.

"Trying to call his phone, we couldn't get through," Justin Said. "His girlfriend had not heard from him. Nobody knew. Nobody had any answers at all."

"Obviously, as a mother, my mind went in a million different directions," Stacy said. "My first thought, he's in danger, something, an accident."

The Wallaces insist their son loved serving his country and would never go AWOL.

He's been in the Marines for nine months, and they say he was looking forward to going back after being promoted.

"It's not like him," Stacy said. "None of this is like him. Not one indication that he didn't love being a Marine. It was his childhood dream."

________________

So, per this article, he has a girlfriend.
Hopefully, someone from either LE or NCIS has spoken with her.

Sometimes, the reality doesn't live up to the dream.

I'm still thinking the likeliest scenario here is that he's voluntarily missing.

JMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

I put the location of where the truck was spotted on surveillance video in red type, as you had already used bolding. I wanted to add the Fort Hancock location to the map that @zecats started, and that you had added Camp Pendleton to:

Google Maps

Here is a zoomed in part of the map around Fort Hancock:

View attachment 205589

If the surveillance video wasn't at the Fort Hancock border crossing, maybe the truck was on Texas State Highway 20 (TX-20)--but it sounds like the vehicle left I-10 before it was captured on video.

Thank you, TB! I knew we were missing something.

Sure wish we knew for sure if it was him behind the wheel. MOO