Pettibon Junction
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2014
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There's a lot of people who believe Donna disappeared of her own accord. There's some substance to that. Tahoe is a resort town, a place that attracts seasonal workers or folks just passing through. However, one thing's certain: she didn't make those phone calls herself. Voluntary disappearance or not, at least one other person was complicit and whoever that person was, he was a man who knew Donna and who was most likely known to her also.
Unfortunately, this case often gets derailed by speculation about the Zodiac Killer, all due to the "Pines" card. In considering the confirmed Zodiac murders (of which there are only four), the killer gave no indication of knowing his victims or even wanting to. At Blue Rock Springs, he opened fire without a word. At Lake Berryessa, he bound his victims under the pretense of robbery before stabbing them with a long-bladed knife and for all the time he spent with them, he asked zero personal questions of Bryan and Cecilia. God only knows what he talked to Paul Stine about.
Zodiac trolled outdoor places for certain types of people. Donna's disappearance was far more intimate, focused on a very particular person and taking place behind closed doors. (Whoever was involved may have been in her home prior to her disappearance.) This was most certainly NOT a Zodiac crime, may not have been a crime at all, but if we want to find Donna, we need to look long and hard at the men in her life: were there any male coworkers who abruptly quit their jobs around the time Donna vanished? Neighbors who moved out shortly after? Friends who later distanced themselves from a shared social circle? Perhaps a married man who was reported missing by his family?
It's difficult, over 40 years later, but to figure out what happened to Donna, a back-to-the-drawing-board approach is probably required.
Unfortunately, this case often gets derailed by speculation about the Zodiac Killer, all due to the "Pines" card. In considering the confirmed Zodiac murders (of which there are only four), the killer gave no indication of knowing his victims or even wanting to. At Blue Rock Springs, he opened fire without a word. At Lake Berryessa, he bound his victims under the pretense of robbery before stabbing them with a long-bladed knife and for all the time he spent with them, he asked zero personal questions of Bryan and Cecilia. God only knows what he talked to Paul Stine about.
Zodiac trolled outdoor places for certain types of people. Donna's disappearance was far more intimate, focused on a very particular person and taking place behind closed doors. (Whoever was involved may have been in her home prior to her disappearance.) This was most certainly NOT a Zodiac crime, may not have been a crime at all, but if we want to find Donna, we need to look long and hard at the men in her life: were there any male coworkers who abruptly quit their jobs around the time Donna vanished? Neighbors who moved out shortly after? Friends who later distanced themselves from a shared social circle? Perhaps a married man who was reported missing by his family?
It's difficult, over 40 years later, but to figure out what happened to Donna, a back-to-the-drawing-board approach is probably required.