CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - #17

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I suspect they do, as they'll be keeping track of where searches have been carried out for poor Herr Krost. He hasn't been found yet, and it's going to be such a sad Weichnacht for his family, this christmas. The official searches by LE SAR had stopped, the last I heard, but volunteers were still looking. I hope they still are because I can't imagine how his family are coping, living so far away. They really are in a situation where they are almost powerless to help and totally reliant on the goodwill of strangers.

sres pointed out that Alois disappeared on a trail that is not vehicle accessible, and the info I've seen indicates the Pinnacle Trail is pretty hard going, even for experienced hikers. I don't think Bob is in that area, myself.
 
Grainne Dhu said:
I keep thinking about finding Bob's remains. At this point, I think it is clear that Bob's remains are most likely to be found by some sort of outdoor activity enthusiast. So, I ask myself, how best to make that happen?

And the answer came: do a good Youtube and do everything to make it go viral. Not specifically a Youtube about Bob (although certainly he should be mentioned) but a video about the various ways human remains can look and if someone sees what they think are human remains, what they should do.

Then I asked myself "what would make a video like that go viral?" And my answer was "get a big name musician or band to provide a short song for the intro and end on the subject of love, loss and longing."

I may know such a band via one of those friend of a friend deals. The song would be right up their alley and they have a long list of charitable causes they've contributed money, their time and their creative efforts to. I would need to put together a cover letter and a small packet that goes over Bob's story so far.

So does anyone know who could do the "how to spot human remains" part? It needs to be someone who can provide samples in situ and who generally presents well.

And is anyone in direct contact with Fontelle? I think if the video led or ended with her saying a few words about Bob, that would be Youtube gold.
Click to expand...

This is the feature I was thinking about, but it's actually about WS UID sleuthers and not anthropologists - I was remembering wrong. Deborah Halber's book should be coming out next year, but I'm wondering if she will be able - or it will be wise - to keep the title intended, 'Skeleton Crew'? Stephen King published a fiction work of the same name.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2013/02/22/web-sleuths/SMOW1wV7Ghi9aLvaKqr5jK/story.html

I'm still looking for anthropologists or people from related fields who might be able to help with the Youtube project.
 
It isn't celebrated in my corner of the world, but it's officially just Thanksgiving Day here now. So in case you are all busy tomorrow, before I go to bed;

My good wishes to Mr and Mrs Harrod, and all Bob's supporters who are trying to bring him home. I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow.
 
'..there are lots of boys and girls in San Bernardino who've been naughty, not nice.'

http://www.sbsun.com/lifestyle/20131128/lets-make-this-a-peoples-christmas-in-san-bernardino

Sorry, the line just struck me and I had to share. The writer's talking about Christmas being cancelled in SB - or rather the Christmas parade. I'm sure something will be sorted out, and he does make clear later on that it is all due to finances, not the niceness or otherwise of people in San Bernardino. In my neck of the woods, people are fond of co-opting farmers with tractors for all sorts of public purposes and events. In England, it tends to be milk floats. But I've no idea if that would go down well in California.

I didn't realize the county was in such dire financial straits though, and it makes me worry for their LE department. Besides all the normal matters, they are now having to deal with the huge investigation the discovery of the McStay family has caused. The sheriff's dept has said they have 4,000 old documents passed to them from San Diego PD to go through. The sheriff and coroner's department there seems very committed to the location and identification of missing people, so I hope their funding is protected. The county is next door to Orange County and not very far away from Placentia at all; there has to be a strong possibility Bob is there somewhere, and if he is, I'd like authorities to have all the necessary resources to find him.

That makes me wonder - if OC LE had some reason to think Bob was in another county, would it be horrendously complicated for them to request help from that county's LE department?

Note: I googled milk floats for my US cousins who wouldn't know what they were - and you have them too! Lovely ones, and some look modern?

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/43238?page=1

ETA: Actually, I don't know if those modern ones are English or American. But the Lebanon, NJ one definitely is.
 
I suspect cooperation is good, county to county. But very time consuming.
 
There is another OC cold case that's been resolved, that I hadn't noticed. It's from 2000 and involves a brother and sister (Gladys and Alejandro) Romero charged with homicide during a home invasion. They pretended to be fruit sellers and Gladys was finally linked to the crime in 2010 by Santa Ana detectives.

She has been found guilty and is due to be sentenced on the 13th, according to the DA's press release, and Alejandro's trial was supposed to have happened in summer, though I can't find any reports on that.

http://orangecountyda.com/home/index.asp?page=8&recordid=3495

http://www.ocregister.com/news/romero-499369-gladys-brother.html

http://www.orangecountyda.com/docs/10444327112013casemanagementlist.pdf

The OC DA's office does seem to be going through its serious cold cases at a rate, doesn't it? I can hardly keep up.........I'll probably still catch any news about Bob's case though, don't worry.
 
I don't know if news has reached the US - I know you've had a tragedy in the Bronx yourselves - but there has been a terrible helicopter crash in Glasgow, Scotland. Eight people are known to have died and 14 are critically injured.

It made me so sad because it was a police helicopter (female officer that died had a bravery award) that crashed onto a crowded pub, and a son of a man knew his father always sat in the corner right where the helicopter crashed through the roof. He was just standing outside the crash site with a photo of his dad, telling everyone he knew his dad was dead but he couldn't get any news. And how he would have been sitting right beside him, but he'd been delayed in getting there.

He was so desperate for any information, though nobody could give it to him. Scottish men are known for being very tough, and men from Glasgow especially so. I couldn't help seeing that man slowly breaking after hours of not knowing, and then thinking of Mrs Harrod and the years of suffering she has lived through...and some others who really cared for Bob too.

It is all just too, too sad. I know it's not fair to expect the DA's office to work miracles, but I so hope they can do something for Bob. It's never right when something bad strikes anyone, but what seems to have happened to Bob is just so not right. There is some deep and icy coldness at the heart of his disappearance that needs the heat of justice shining upon it. Without that, there will always be a chill in the air of that little corner of the world, no matter what the weather.

Rest in peace, all you lost ones, and may peace come someday to all those who have lost and mourn you.
 
I just checked in on 82-year-old Hal Ticknor of Texas. He's been missing since October 11 and has a wife and loving family waiting for him. His local church and loved ones have turned themselves upside down and inside out trying to find him.

He was a little confused but well enough to drive his car, so I thought he might be found in a shelter or hospital somewhere. But a hunter just found him, in his car off the side of a rural road. Bless that hunter, but I wish it didn't have to be like this. :(
 
These things get to me also, zwiebel.

I cannot imagine the horror of my elderly dad going missing. My own dad (who thankfully, I still have) does have some age-related impairments; nothing anyone would call significant because he is still sharp as a tack and drives, travels, thinks it's a good idea to hang christmas lights lol etc- but definately has health impairments related to age- I would just be sick with concern. In fact, I would be certain something accidentally happened to him, such as a vehicle accident, or a fall, or something like that.

I do not understand the perspective of Mr. Harrod's daughters.

I don't care how sharp they are at whatever age they might be- due to health concerns, elderly people are part of a very vulnerable population.

How does one just sort of 'write off' a missing person who has those sorts of potential dangers? Unless, of course- they know exactly what has become of that person? You might as well wait a day or two to report your toddler missing. :(

I cannot get away from that thought process re: what may have happened to Mr. Harrod.
 
Mrs Ticknor was like Fontelle in that she made sure everyone knew her husband would never have deliberately chosen to not come home. But a huge difference was she had Hal's two sons right by her side, and together with their church and other community members they organized search after search. Those efforts to find him started immediately, and they had not given up when he was found by the hunter.

Bob's family had practical and computer skills (JeM and AH), media skills (JuM), organizational skills (PB) and letter writing, police experience/skills (RB).

It is very difficult to find any trace of them utilizing those skills to help find Bob though. As they did point out various vulnerabilities they thought he had, it's hard to see why they felt no urgent need to get searches underway for him.
 
zwiebel, the thanks button would be totally insufficient for your most recent post. Certainly I could not have said it better or even so well. Your last 2 paragraphs sum it up completely.

So, so sad.
 
I hope I say this right without getting in trouble, because we can't directly accuse certain people. Here goes: Certain people would have no reason to search for BH because they already know where BH is. 2. About the vomit in the bathroom, what if the 'upchuck' wasn't from BH, but from someone who is known well to BH, has not done 'bad' things before and because of those two reasons, went and vomited in the bathroom. 3. BH's SIL states to the CL that Bob went 'out for a walk' while he was running an errand and "he isn't back yet!?" If I were BH and I knew that my CL was coming, I certainly wouldn't be going for a walk, I'd be staying put, in my house, to let her in!

This is one disappearance that really gets to me the most. My heart goes out to Bob and Fontelle Harrod.
 
I' not sure if this is going to make sense because I'm not certain I am understanding correctly, but I'm going to try;

I glimpsed on another thread where a wife who was a beneficiary of a trust, was also appointed as administrator of it. As administrator, she wanted to sell some of the assets (property) of the trust. Normally, that is not supposed to happen as they are protected for the beneficiaries. But as she was also the beneficiary and didn't object, she was allowed to sell the assets, and then spend the money.

I'm not entirely sure if she was permitted to do this just because she was the administrator and beneficiary, or because she was the wife in the family trust as well.

Anyway, it got me thinking that I don't have any idea what the difference is between a conservator and administrator of a trust, and I can't recollect ever hearing if Bob's trust had an administrator appointed. Also, I wonder if it could mean her position as Bob's wife - even though she isn't a beneficiary - means Fontelle has some power to prevent Bob's assets being sold off, and the cash spent?

In theory the question should never arise of course, as Bob's beneficaries have always been sticklers that the spirit - as well as the letter - of the family trust should be adhered to.

I have really noticed recently that when long-term missing people are located deceased and they left assets behind, police turn out to have known an awful lot about what's been happening to those assets. Even though they've given the impression up until then that they didn't know a thing.
 
Grainne Dhu said:
Cubby has posted several times that a forensic accounting would probably reveal some very interesting things. Maybe start six months before Georgia's death and bring it up to the present? That would allow a forensic accountant to see what Bob's normal patterns were, how they changed after Georgia's death and if there has been any financial hanky-panky since then.

There have been some obvious beneficiaries to Bob's disappearance (AH being the major one) but I suspect there are one or more family members who benefitted behind the scenes.
Click to expand...

I remember grandson AH complaining about his aunts retiring from work, once they were appointed conservators. He seemed a bit resentful, and to my ears he seemed to be implying they were benefitting unduly. I don't know why though, as it wouldn't make any difference to the $10,000 he is due to inherit. When and if Bob is declared deceased.
 
They are just talking about San Bernardino on BBC Radio. How strange - CA doesn't usually figure much on the BBC.
 
They were talking about bankruptcy and finances, in relation to what's been happening in Detroit. Mr Harrod would have had some thoughts on all that, I think.

I remember seeing something about Bob reading the Wall Street Journal a lot. I suspect he had a lot of stocks and shares that haven't been mentioned, that may mean his fortune is much greater than has been suggested.

Certainly enough to fund some actual, physical searches for him. Though I'm also sure volunteers could be found, if only there was the will.

I wonder if we will ever be told why no public or private searches ever seem to have been organized for Bob?
 
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