CA CA - Kristen Modafferi, 18, San Francisco, 23 June 1997

[theforgotten]

Thank you Geojeffrey for posting these links.

 

[Paulette]

Hello geojeffrey, I read somewhere that Kristen wanted to go to a Summer Soltice event at Ocean Beach. I can't remember where, but it was recently while following one of your links. It also stated that her mother spoke w/the roommates before Kristen left home.

I've stood in Sutro Heights Park & scanned Ocean Beach on a moonlite night, you can see for about a mile in each direction. People have bonfires, drink and do drugs. I can just imagine what they would do for a Summer Solstice party. I know one man that fell asleep & only woke up when the tide came in.

I also thought that maybe she went to Baker Beach. That means she could have taken another bus, the 29 Irving & walked to the beach. If she took the #38 she'd have to walk through the park or on the street to get to Baker Beach. An event like Summer Solstice wouldn't have started till after dark. How would she get back to the city? Take a ride of course!

I'd sure love to have her birth time, but would never intrude on her family. Over the years I've looked at her astrology chart. Jupiter was transiting at 21 degrees Aquarius the day she disappeared, it was also retrograde (appears to go backward). Well, it's done a complete 12 year cycle and has already retrograded over that point. It will be direct on Dec.1st. The same degree as when she went missing. I know it's delusional hope that something comes to light on this anniversary. If nothing happens on the 1st, I'm gong to be very disappointed...

 

[geojeffrey]

Ive been following this case for many years, but am still sieving out some of the finer details or at least refamilarizing myself with them, and I appreciate the opportunity to discuss and throw out ideas!

Pautlette, I am curious, when was the solstice party you mentioned? She disapeared on Monday the 23rd, would there have been a late night beach party that night, or would it have been the preceeding Saturday (with the solstice falling on the 21 or 22nd)? I wonder if she would have gone to a Monday night party with starting class the next day? I suppose when I was her age--I probably would have gone to the party--class or no class, but it just sounds like she was so busy with two jobs and the upcoming class.

Is there anything in the charts about who might have had ill intent towards her, anyway of gauging if it was the more likely friend/acquantaince scenario or a total stranger? Is there anyway of assessing if this event was part of a larger ongoing scheme?

Also, do you have any feelings or ideas about who the blonde haired woman may have been? Not knowing who she is drives me nuts as she is clearly the key to solving the case.

I will email Dennis Mahon to ask if he knows Kristen's time of birth. IF he has seen her birth certificate in the course of the investigation, it would probably be listed.

Best regards.

 

[geojeffrey]

Another website with some information and possible clues as to what happenned:

http://hazel8500.wordpress.com/2006/08/03/victoria-woman-faces-murder-charge-in-thailand/

 

[Paulette]

Hello Geojeffry, I've rummaged through google articles & found the Summer Solstice party article.

It states: "She was last seen at a Geary Street bus stop after leaving her job at a coffee bar in Crocker Galleria. She was headed for Lands End, she had told fellow workers, to attend a summer solstice party at Ocean Beach."

I also doubted that a summer solstice party would be held on the 23rd, especially on a Monday. But why would she be "seen sitting at a Geary St. bus stop" if she wasn't going to Lands End?

So that's 2 pieces of evidence that she indeed was going to Lands End.

Her scent was picked up "on a trail near the ocean." Her parents arrived on Friday the 27th, filed a missing persons report on the 30th AND her scent was still there when they finally brought out the sniffing dogs (I"m just guessing it wasn't the 30th) on July 1st or 2nd.

If I had her birthtime we could give her an ascendant (a point where she begins her life in the world.) I'm not a proper astrologer and can only do the basics, but, this site has some of the best on the planet. If you do ask Dennis for her birthtime, please ask for the time the missing persons report was filed. We could ask the Forensic Astros to do a chart, but they will only consider it if they have an exact time the missing persons report was filed.

The cops found a Bay Guardian newspaper open on her bed at the personals section. They think she was advertising for friends with shared interests, like photography & exploring the city. The blond woman she was seen talking to outside Spinelli's may have been one. But, it wasn't reported that she was seen at the bus stop chatting with anyone. So I have to discount that she went to Land's End with anyone.

Will get back to you if I have anymore ideas.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1999/05/24/NEWS16335.dtl

 

[geojeffrey]

I had Kristen on my mind today. It is amazing that there is so little new or even recent information available about this case. Her parent's website (www.modlink.com) has been unavailable for sometime now.

Dennis Mahon's site doesn't have anything new either. He said he was asked to back off of the case when the FBI got involved 3 years ago....

 

[theforgotten]

I had Kristen on my mind today. It is amazing that there is so little new or even recent information available about this case. Her parent's website (www.modlink.com) has been unavailable for sometime now.

It's really ashame that her parent's website isn't up and running anymore. I wonder why? I would think that they would want to get information out about her.

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/03/MND01C7CBP.DTL

They've tried handing out prayer cards, offered a $50,000 reward, pasted photos onto NASCAR race cars, hired a private investigator and flown to San Francisco dozens of times to hunt for clues.

But after nearly 13 years, the parents of Kristen Modafferi have found no sign of the cheery, 18-year-old college student and North Carolina native who vanished in San Francisco one afternoon after punching out from her coffee shop job and heading to the ocean. That doesn't mean Bob and Debbie Modafferi have given up hope.

They don't want the city where their daughter was last spotted to give up hope, either.

The couple's latest effort to locate their daughter rose into the skies of San Francisco over the past couple of weeks in the form of three billboards showing the dark-haired, dimple-cheeked woman and asking for anyone with information about her to call the FBI.

The Modafferis have also placed large posters in five bus and streetcar stops in town, and are having 5,000 flyers distributed throughout California by the Three Children Focus child-search group.

 

[theforgotten]

Bumping for Kristen.....

 

[UM&AMWfan]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/03/MND01C7CBP.DTL

They've tried handing out prayer cards, offered a $50,000 reward, pasted photos onto NASCAR race cars, hired a private investigator and flown to San Francisco dozens of times to hunt for clues.

But after nearly 13 years, the parents of Kristen Modafferi have found no sign of the cheery, 18-year-old college student and North Carolina native who vanished in San Francisco one afternoon after punching out from her coffee shop job and heading to the ocean. That doesn't mean Bob and Debbie Modafferi have given up hope.

They don't want the city where their daughter was last spotted to give up hope, either.

The couple's latest effort to locate their daughter rose into the skies of San Francisco over the past couple of weeks in the form of three billboards showing the dark-haired, dimple-cheeked woman and asking for anyone with information about her to call the FBI.

The Modafferis have also placed large posters in five bus and streetcar stops in town, and are having 5,000 flyers distributed throughout California by the Three Children Focus child-search group.

I saw a repeat of 48 Hours or something a couple months ago and some lady detective theorized that Kristin got sucked in by a freak wave at the beach and was sucked out to sea.

How realistic is that and how often does that happen where someone is sucked out to sea just by standing on the beach and they're never heard from again???

It can't be too often or people would be disappearing all the time over by the beach!

Is there any chance Kristin jumped of the Golden Gate Bridge or killed herself in another way? I'm sure that's been ruled out since she had a lot to live for.

 

[Paulette]

I saw a repeat of 48 Hours or something a couple months ago and some lady detective theorized that Kristin got sucked in by a freak wave at the beach and was sucked out to sea.

How realistic is that and how often does that happen where someone is sucked out to sea just by standing on the beach and they're never heard from again???

It can't be too often or people would be disappearing all the time over by the beach!

Is there any chance Kristin jumped of the Golden Gate Bridge or killed herself in another way? I'm sure that's been ruled out since she had a lot to live for.

No, she didn't jump off the GG Bridge. Tracking dogs tracked her to the parking lot of the Sutro Baths. She was on foot & taking buses to get around. The GG Bridge is quite a distance from the scent the dogs picked up.

I think I saw that show, 2 psychic detectives "felt" her presence around Sutro Baths. Bunkem & Junkem!

She was either abducted or washed out to sea. I don't think we'll ever know the latter, and the former only if someone comes forward or her bones are found.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

No, she didn't jump off the GG Bridge. Tracking dogs tracked her to the parking lot of the Sutro Baths. She was on foot & taking buses to get around. The GG Bridge is quite a distance from the scent the dogs picked up.

I think I saw that show, 2 psychic detectives "felt" her presence around Sutro Baths. Bunkem & Junkem!

She was either abducted or washed out to sea. I don't think we'll ever know the latter, and the former only if someone comes forward or her bones are found.

If the dogs tracked her to Sutro Baths then how could she be washed out to sea?

 

[kemo]

The Sutro Baths are the wreckage of an old bath house in San Francisco that was built on the rocks at the ocean. People have been swept away by "rouge" waves on occasion and in at least two situations, the bodies of people who witnesses saw swept away, were never recovered. This doesn't prove anything but there was a record of an internet search on her CPU for the directions to Sutro Baths (and the dog trail). It is very possible that it was just an accident.

It was also very likely that Kristen placed an Ad in a local paper for a "female companion" to do things with and witnesses claim to have seen her with a "mystery woman" near her place of employment the day she disappeared. There is speculation that she met with the female accompanist of a sexual predator. One suspect has been identified and a great deal of time and money has gone into investigating him. (No one should feel sorry for him; he brought it all on himself). I don't think he has been ruled out "100%" but LE and the family seem to think he is uninvolved.

It is all a very tragic story with no resolution; no closure for the family. It is also an example of how a family with some resources cans a keep a missing person case going but still, that is no guarantee of results.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

The Sutro Baths are the wreckage of an old bath house in San Francisco that was built on the rocks at the ocean. People have been swept away by "rouge" waves on occasion and in at least two situations, the bodies of people who witnesses saw swept away, were never recovered. This doesn't prove anything but there was a record of an internet search on her CPU for the directions to Sutro Baths (and the dog trail). It is very possible that it was just an accident.

It was also very likely that Kristen placed an Ad in a local paper for a "female companion" to do things with and witnesses claim to have seen her with a "mystery woman" near her place of employment the day she disappeared. There is speculation that she met with the female accompanist of a sexual predator. One suspect has been identified and a great deal of time and money has gone into investigating him. (No one should feel sorry for him; he brought it all on himself). I don't think he has been ruled out "100%" but LE and the family seem to think he is uninvolved.

It is all a very tragic story with no resolution; no closure for the family. It is also an example of how a family with some resources cans a keep a missing person case going but still, that is no guarantee of results.

When you say it's very possible it was an accident you mean it's very possible she was swept out to sea by a rogue wave??

 

[geojeffrey]

It is true that the possibility of an accident cannot be ruled out with what we know.

BUT, there are a few things that suggest foul play.

As Kemo mentioned the blond girl at the mall she was seen with. Another possibility that could explain this reported siting include the two employees who reported seeing this....maybe they know more than they admit to, but are using the blond girl as a ruse--to keep investigators away from them.

Also, Sutro baths and the surrounding area are VERY high volume tourist locations. The neighborhood nearby is also packed with a very high density population. People are everywhere, this is NOT by any means an isolated location. The baths sit on a high barren rocky bluff that drops dramatically into the Pacific Ocean. The Ocean is cold with rough seas all year (no beach). Few people would even consider going past the security signs and barriers. AND when people do go into the dangerous area there is almost no vegetation to shield them from sight. If Kristen went to a dangerous area and was swept away, it is VERY unlikely that she would not have been seen. No one reports seeing her there. Also, she carried a backpack, camera, books, headphones and other items. If she had fallen down the steep rocky slopes, it is amazing that NONE of her belongings were found.

Link to picture: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/4318333.jpg

Another thing that makes me think foul play is that the FBI took over the case from local police. They did this about 3 years ago. The FBI has fairly rigid standards for taking on investigations. They must know something (not public) that made them take the case; they are investigating the case as an abduction.

Does anyone have any ideas about the blond girl??? IS she an accomplice or is she made up..or what?? I really feel like she is the key to the case...

 

[UM&AMWfan]

The 2 employees of what store reported seeing a blonde girl with Kristin??

Haven't they checked those 2 employees out? They could just be creating a ruse to thrown investigators off.

 

[kemo]

This case began with enough leads to keep it going and the family has enough resources to make sure that it isn't forgotten but there has been no resolution and I suspect nobody has any more that a "hunch" as to what happened. The involvement of the FBI is interesting but it doesn’t really prove anything. We don't know how much resources have been committed.

On a June afternoon, there should have a lot of people around and it is unlikely, but not impossible that she was swept away unseen. I believe the "want-ad" she placed probably set up the chain of events that led to her disappearance.

In the days before the internet took off, people often placed ads in the "personal" sections of papers. You would normally give a PO Box for a response. Most of this was an early form of "internet" dating. Kristen apparently put an ad for a "female companion".

Apparently there is no evidence that anyone answered this ad but it is certainly possible that the "mystery blonde" did answer the ad. I don't know if any suspicion has been directed towards the employees who reported the sighting. It could have been "mistaken identity" but the location of the sighting was close enough to where she worked and soon after the end of her shift, that it seems like a reasonable spot for her to meet someone.

Soon afterwards, this guy contacts the police with a story that a woman he knows (a blonde) many have had something to do with the disappearance. The lead didn't go anywhere directly but the guy raised a lot of suspicion. He turned out to be a strange lady's man/cult leader type and he became the focus of the investigation. A lot of law enforcement and family money went in to the investigation, and in the end, I think he has been pretty well cleared. So now what?

As a parent, I would want closure, closure and punishment for whoever did it. No serial killer who used a female accomplist at that time has emerged in the Bay Area but the MO is hardly unprecedented. Then there is always the possibility of the rogue wave. I feel bad for the family and I realize that we and our children can never be perfectly safe. I think it was incredible that an 18 year old from North Carolina would have the chutzpah to go the West Coast for a little adventure before she started University and I feel very bad about how it all ended.

 

[UM&AMWfan]

Kemo, did Kristen's parents say she was a lesbian?

Otherwise what's the deal with this "female companion" ad?

That's important to know since the lesbian/gay crowd often have their own hangouts/clubs and it could lead the investigation in a totally different direction.

 

[geojeffrey]

The ad that was mentioned in some of the articles about Kristen did not seem (to me anyway) to be of a sexual nature. It mentioned wanting a female companion to explore the City with; to go to tourist spots etc.

I have been following this case since the first year of the investigation, but have seen nothing about her sexual orientation. My 'thinking' is that she is straight or maybe having just turned 18, she had not faced questions related to her sexuality, but who knows...

I still feel like the answers are out there...maybe one day someone will talk. The rogue wave theory (to me) seems way off, like Kemo, I agree that the personal add probably led to her demise. Also, I still feel that Jon Onuma may have at least some info and I suspect her roommates may know more than they have said publicly.

 

[kemo]

Jon Onuma seemed to have a knack for manipulating women. He has basically made a career for himself as a low level con-man. For some reason, he tried to "help" a girlfriend by making an annonymous call linking her "enemy" to a high profile missing person case. In these days of high tech eletronic records, it was a bad idea. If he himself was actually involved in the crime, it was incredibly stupid. Jon found out real quick that it is difficult to comit credit card fraud when you are subject to a murder investigation and it's a real turn off for women to be hauled off for interigation by homicide detectives. Yet, it is possible to be low life scum and not be guilty of abduction and murder. Jon, and more importantly , the women he was associated with at the time of Kristen's disappearance, continued to deny any involvement and law enforcement could turn up nothing. I think the Moddafeni family pretty much came to the conclusion that he wasn't smart enough to pull it off that effectivly.

My own opinion is that the most likely explaination is that Kristen's perfectly innocent attempt to find a companion to hang out with, ended up costing her life. The ad was not that unusual. The Bay Guardian is a Bay Area "altenative" Newpaper that, prior to the internet, had a good business with "personal ads" that could often be perfectly innocent means for "new in towns" to find like-minded friends. I suspect that some male predator with a female accomplist took advantage of the situation. It could have been Jon, but it could have been someone else. There is no evidence that there was any serial killer operating in The Bay Area with a similar M.O. It could have been a one shot deal that will forever go unsolved. Then there is the chance of a rouge wave. Some mysteries are just never soved.