Found Deceased CA - Erin Valenti, 33, from Utah, en-route from Palo Alto to San Jose, 7 Oct 2019 #2

[Yesiamapirate]

It's just so bizarre to me that she couldn't do that very thing, stop and ask for help, but COULD DRIVE a motor vehicle around for hours! What on earth could make her so disoriented but still able to operate a car? And a phone. She could still make phone calls. Just weird. And when the police did make contact via phone, why not say, "I'm lost. I can't find the airport, I'm low on fuel?" Or, "I'm not feeling right, I need help." It's like she did and didn't know she was in trouble. She made all those phone calls over the hours but didn't do the logical thing which would be to pull over and tell someone she needed help. Why?

So I kind of think like this.....NOT that I think this is what happened to her but my thoughts in general about driving but yet "incoherent". Back in the day and not a very proud time, I drank a lot. I can remember once waking up at home, car in the drive but having no recall of how it got there or driving it. But yet I did drive the car, several miles home and parked it perfectly in my drive.

This just addresses your general thoughts on being able to drive, yet not quite there to be lucid.

This is all just my opinion and again NOT necessarily applies to this particular case.

ps..I don't drink and drive ever anymore.

 

[Steelslady]

It's just so bizarre to me that she couldn't do that very thing, stop and ask for help, but COULD DRIVE a motor vehicle around for hours! What on earth could make her so disoriented but still able to operate a car? And a phone. She could still make phone calls. Just weird. And when the police did make contact via phone, why not say, "I'm lost. I can't find the airport, I'm low on fuel?" Or, "I'm not feeling right, I need help." It's like she did and didn't know she was in trouble. She made all those phone calls over the hours but didn't do the logical thing which would be to pull over and tell someone she needed help. Why?

This has me puzzled as well. If she were suicidal, she wouldn't have called her husband and loved ones for help because she was lost? Most people that are suicidal and actually go through with it usually don't call their loved ones like this before they do it.

I am sure there are cases where it does happen, but it's unusual.

 

[NoSI]

The beautiful lady from North Carolina.
Drowned in Lake Wylie.

Oh, yes, Vatsla Watkins... Gorgeous, beautiful family, successful... Depression and suicide do not discriminate... and yes, when severely depressed, logical thinking goes out the door. The one and only goal becomes to end the pain.

 

[Seattle1]

This has me puzzled as well. If she were suicidal, she wouldn't have called her husband and loved ones for help because she was lost? Most people that are suicidal and actually go through with it usually don't call their loved ones like this before they do it.

I am sure there are cases where it does happen, but it's unusual.

I agree, and believe she made contact because she was in altered state of mind.
I'm also inclined to believe EV was in the process of death by OD - accidental or otherwise. MOO

 

[CSIDreamer]

I agree, and believe she made contact because she was in altered state of mind.
I'm also inclined to believe EV was in the process of death by OD - accidental or otherwise. MOO

I feel the same way. I suspect it happened in Palo Alto. (I'm hoping I remembered the city prior to San Jose right).

 

[bears10]

I just can not see a success-driven business woman, traveling on business, taking her own life--it makes no logical sense at all.

suicide isn’t logical.

 

[MsBetsy]

suicide isn’t logical.

It never is. At least not to family and friends and especially when there are no warning signs.

Imo

 

[slcmike]

So I kind of think like this.....NOT that I think this is what happened to her but my thoughts in general about driving but yet "incoherent". Back in the day and not a very proud time, I drank a lot. I can remember once waking up at home, car in the drive but having no recall of how it got there or driving it. But yet I did drive the car, several miles home and parked it perfectly in my drive.

This just addresses your general thoughts on being able to drive, yet not quite there to be lucid.

This is all just my opinion and again NOT necessarily applies to this particular case.

ps..I don't drink and drive ever anymore.

It's very possible. My old roommate is bipolar and stopped taking her meds. She had a pysochotic episode and got in her car and drove from Salt Lake. She was found about 2.5 hours away near the Colorado border. She told me after the fact that she was hearing voices that told her to drive to California. Obviously she went the wrong way. She said she remembered driving through stop signs and red lights because she thought the car would explode if she stopped. She eventually slowed to a roll and jumped out. She was found crawling around in a ditch.... So it is quite possible to drive long distances in a severly altered mindstate.

 

[MimosaMornings]

It's very possible. My old roommate is bipolar and stopped taking her meds. She had a pysochotic episode and got in her car and drove from Salt Lake. She was found about 2.5 hours away near the Colorado border. She told me after the fact that she was hearing voices that told her to drive to California. Obviously she went the wrong way. She said she remembered driving through stop signs and red lights because she thought the car would explode if she stopped. She eventually slowed to a roll and jumped out. She was found crawling around in a ditch.... So it is quite possible to drive long distances in a severly altered mindstate.

Holy cow that’s scary.

 

[MsBetsy]

It's very possible. My old roommate is bipolar and stopped taking her meds. She had a pysochotic episode and got in her car and drove from Salt Lake. She was found about 2.5 hours away near the Colorado border. She told me after the fact that she was hearing voices that told her to drive to California. Obviously she went the wrong way. She said she remembered driving through stop signs and red lights because she thought the car would explode if she stopped. She eventually slowed to a roll and jumped out. She was found crawling around in a ditch.... So it is quite possible to drive long distances in a severly altered mindstate.

Yes, this is the perfect example of how someone could still drive for hours or even days in an altered state and still be able to do those kinds of activities.
We don't know what was going on in her mind or what she may have been hearing or seeing. Imo

I hope at least she was at peace when she lay down in the back seat and went to sleep.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Still no updates?

 

[Steelslady]

Still no updates?

Tox screens take from 6 weeks to several months unfortunately.

 

[Colorado303]

Still no updates?

Even once tox screens come back I think it’s very possible we’ll never know more than we do now.

If there was no foul play (and it appears that there wasn’t) her death is a private matter and family may choose not to release them. While perhaps not a popular view here, I’d completely understand and respect that decision. Of course I’m curious, but don’t need to know what happened. My heart is with her family and friends and I hope they do whatever will help them heal as quickly and completely as possible.

RIP EV.

 

[mcluver23]

While I respect their right to privacy, I have so much respect and admiration for those that do share the truth with us. We try to help from afar whether by sleuthing, hitting the pavement or thoughts and prayers. We learn so much from others journeys. They aren’t always pretty stories, but we don’t judge here. We all fall short. We just do our best and try to support our fellow man.

 

[funkychicken]

I totally agree, Mcluver22

 

[Trebor5591]

If there was no foul play (and it appears that there wasn’t) her death is a private matter and family may choose not to release them. RIP EV.

I've read several media reports where the reporter has promised followup when cause of EV's death is known. As I noted earlier, an informational copy of a California death certificate, with cause of death identified, is available for $30. Even should the complete autopsy report remain private, the "cause of death" determined by the autopsy will transfer to the death certificate, and will be reported by the media, whenever that occurs.

 

[MsFacetious]

I'm yet to read of any suicide that makes logical sense to me.

It also made no logical sense for a beautiful, driven, fashion designer with 2 young children (also in my post) to drown herself in a Lake last spring.

I have seen suicides to avoid life in prison or terminal illness that I could comprehend. Those are about the only ones however.

 

[sans_soleil]

I have seen suicides to avoid life in prison or terminal illness that I could comprehend. Those are about the only ones however.

Trigger warning but as someone who has gone through depression, I can say that when I have suicidal thoughts I think I am burden to all my loved ones, that everyone would be happier, and I would no longer have to suffer as well (it seems almost like a cliche writing these words). Mental illness is horrible, it completely distorts thinking and I still have to frequently pull myself out of it. Yes, suicide does not make sense, and on my good days / during my good weeks / months, I can only see people whose lives would surely have improved gone, and their loved ones suffering. However when personally going through it, thoughts tend to be very different than what is rational and what can be firmly said to be realistic.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Trigger warning but as someone who has gone through depression, I can say that when I have suicidal thoughts I think I am burden to all my loved ones, that everyone would be happier, and I would no longer have to suffer as well (it seems almost like a cliche writing these words). Mental illness is horrible, it completely distorts thinking and I still have to frequently pull myself out of it. Yes, suicide does not make sense, and on my good days / during my good weeks / months, I can only see people whose lives would surely have improved gone, and their loved ones suffering. However when personally going through it, thoughts tend to be very different than what is rational and what can be firmly said to be realistic.

Keep pulling yourself out- I had a brother who committed suicide and I bet he had no idea just how important he was and neither do you. Way more than you think.

I don't think this was a suicide personally, I think it was an accidental (over) intoxication with "something".

 

[Trebor5591]

I've read several media reports where the reporter has promised followup when cause of EV's death is known. As I noted earlier, an informational copy of a California death certificate, with cause of death identified, is available for $30. Even should the complete autopsy report remain private, the "cause of death" determined by the autopsy will transfer to the death certificate, and will be reported by the media, whenever that occurs.

I contacted one of the media entities who had reported on EV, asking when would a cause of death be known. I received the following reply yesterday: " Hi there. Thanks for reaching out to us! Our reporter called the medical examiner's office yesterday and those details [i.e. cause of death] aren't finalized yet. They said it may take up to 2 months before all the tests are conducted. We are continuing to keep an eye and ear on this story though. We will post an update when we have one. "