CA CA - Phuong Le, 24, Fairfield, 25 April 2010 - #3

[KR2tonenow]

Really?
Did police warn the public when Amber Dubois went missing to watch out for similar type crimes? I don't think so.
If they don't know what happened, they can't warn anyone of what to look out for.

I'm with you on this one, JJ. More time and letting this perp slime away without informing the public and keeping information to themselves. I think Amber's case is a completely excellent example of how if LE had let the public in at least WARN them, then parents and hopefully young women will be safer. If the news reports are inaccurate, its probably because the news media is guessing. But without the media, the knowledge of this case dies. Is that what Fairfield/Napa wants??

 

[dovebar]

One frustration is the continued portrayal of Fairfield as a "nice" area. Fairfield has some upscale housing developments and shopping areas, with a lot of scuzzier, older housing and a lot of gang activity.

As small as she was, I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be a simple abduction and killing as gang initiation.

 

[BeanE]

LE has to keep a balance between being diligent to warn the public when they have indications that the public is in danger, and not alarming or panicking the public needlessly when they don't have indications that warrant it.

I don't envy them.

 

[Benicia Mom]

As a friend of Phuong's I want to thank you for the respectful way that this website and its users approach the unraveling of this situation. I found my way onto this site while searching for the why and how of her disappearance, and subsequent death. All of you have been incredibly considerate towards her and her family and at the same time methodically and intelligently work on the mystery of her death. In contrast many other sites have sensationalized the case, which has caused great distress for al of us. It has been difficult at times to watch the news, and so to be updated I have relied on all of you. Again thanks.

 

[Herding Cats]

Benicia Mom, I'm in nursing school. I graduate in December, and know just how close a class becomes. It's not like we have 450 other people in our graduating class...we've been side by side in the trenches for two years, a group of 50 or so. I know how close we get.

We lost someone from our class recently in a horrific accident. We feel his loss regularly. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you and your classmates, and hope that, in time, you can put a "class memorial" together. We did that for our friend, and gave it to his Mom (another nurse), and she just cried and cried. and then hugged us...

In your time of sorrow and furious grief, know that you are not alone. I am with you, in spirit if not in fact. I send all my love, hugs, and prayers to you all.

Best-
Herding Cats

 

['Ailina]

As a friend of Phuong's I want to thank you for the respectful way that this website and its users approach the unraveling of this situation. I found my way onto this site while searching for the why and how of her disappearance, and subsequent death. All of you have been incredibly considerate towards her and her family and at the same time methodically and intelligently work on the mystery of her death. In contrast many other sites have sensationalized the case, which has caused great distress for al of us. It has been difficult at times to watch the news, and so to be updated I have relied on all of you. Again thanks.

Benicia Mom...I'm relatively new to WebSleuths. I found my way here shortly after the disappearance of Annie Le last year. Since then, I've gained an unparalleled respect for the posters here, and especially for WebSleuths owners, administrators, and site policies. I was unaware of just how professional this site really is.

One of the strictest policies WS has is that this is a victim friendly website. There is ZERO tolerance for folks who attack victims or victims' loved ones. It's something that just isn't allowed here.

And because of policies like that, WS is a safe, productive environment, which is exactly the kind of environment that's crucial for making progress on so many of these awful, tragic cases, like Phuong's.

I cannot express to you how thankful I am that you've found WS to be a safe, reliable place to gain information. That's not only important for the sake of important updates, but even more so that you and Phuong's family feel you have a place to find true, honest, compassionate support. I'm so, so thankful for that. I've said many times...if tragedy ever strikes me or my family, I'll no doubt want WebSleuths on the case and in my corner.

My deepest, most heartfelt prayers and sympathies to all of you...

 

[dovebar]

I'm glad our speculations haven't been hurtful.

I am struck by how vulnerable women are in even public places, in broad daylight, especially if we are distracted, upset, petite, or any of a host of other factors that can contribute to our vulnerability.

My best wishes to her family, friends, and colleagues.

 

[MysteryAddict]

Since the news article says "she was last seen at Barnes & Noble coffee shop",
can we assume LE has an eye witness who can swear to seeing her there?
I wonder.

We had discussed the fact that just because her car was in that parking lot
didn't mean she had ever entered the store.

 

['Ailina]

To the best of my knowledge...early news reports stated someone inside B&N saw her inside the store. But as far as I know, we've never read any confirming details about it. There was speculation she may have been captured on B&N surveillance cameras, but I think it was mentioned the cameras aren't aimed at patrons, but rather, toward the registers.

You can find the articles in earlier threads, or maybe someone can verify with a link if they have one handy?

 

[panthera]

Since the news article says "she was last seen at Barnes & Noble coffee shop",
can we assume LE has an eye witness who can swear to seeing her there?
I wonder.

We had discussed the fact that just because her car was in that parking lot
didn't mean she had ever entered the store.

Media reported that one witness said he saw her sitting in the coffee shop around 8:30pm. I don't remember any other confirmation she was there though. MOO

 

['Ailina]

Media reported that one witness said he saw her sitting in the coffee shop around 8:30pm. I don't remember any other confirmation she was there though. MOO

Right, I don't think we've ever gotten clear confirmation. LE may have, but that's not something that's been communicated to the public. MOO2.

 

[jjenny]

Since the news article says "she was last seen at Barnes & Noble coffee shop",
can we assume LE has an eye witness who can swear to seeing her there?
I wonder.

We had discussed the fact that just because her car was in that parking lot
didn't mean she had ever entered the store.

I am surprised there appears to be no videos of her in or near the store-apparently the store didn't have videos in either parking lot or inside pointing at the customers.

 

['Ailina]

I am surprised there appears to be no videos of her in or near the store-apparently the store didn't have videos in either parking lot or inside pointing at the customers.

That struck me as odd, too, but I can only surmise LE has covered all the bases. I speculate if they found something, they're not talking about it. If they didn't find anything....I couldn't speculate about that at all. ???

 

[LadyL]

I thought I read somewhere in these threads that LE perused the store videos and did not spot Phuong in them.:waitasec:

ETA: I can't find anything to substantiate that.

The thing that most sticks out to me is that if Phuong had a regular routine, as has been suggested, then someone could've been familiar with that routine and could've been stalking her or could've followed her from the gym.

That's just where my gut is leading me at this point. I think someone grabbed her in the parking lot. I think she put her own things in the trunk (so she could leave the back windows open for ventilation? was it hot that evening?) and naturally kept her keys with her and perhaps didn't have time to lock the car before being abducted.

It's possible the store employee who thought they saw her did indeed see her on a different evening and just has the nights confused.

ETA: read a different source that states it was a customer who thought they saw her.

Is there video from the gym? I think the trail might lead there IMO.

My condolences to family & friends.

RIP Phuong.

 

[LadyL]

She was so pretty.

 

[gngr~snap]

I have a bad feeling Phuong's car was in the parking lot that day but she never was...

 

[Chili Fries]

Nancy Grace talked to a SF Chronicle reporter about the cameras:

Henry K. Lee, did they have surveillance inside the Barnes & Noble`s?

LEE: They did, Nancy. And they could not find her in the video inside. They also had surveillance cameras outside. No signs of her there. So I would hedge a bet --

GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Henry K. Lee, I understood from Stacey Newman that the last sighting was by someone in the Barnes & Noble`s at 8:30 p.m.

LEE: That`s right. What happens is that it looks like these cameras inside the store, Nancy, or in the coffee shop are geared more toward the employees, perhaps for security for internal reasons.

GRACE: Great. Hey, Henry Lee, what about surveillance out in the parking lot where her car was found?

LEE: They looked at surveillance cameras outside, Nancy, but no signs of her there. We don`t know if it`s an angle issue.

GRACE: That doesn`t make sense. You mean her car is there but none of the cameras caught her leaving the car?

LEE: And that`s not unusual, Nancy, because we`re talking about a certain time. There might some occlusion or blockage so they`ll be looking at other cameras from other sources to see if there`s any cross traffic.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/28/ng.01.html

So it looks like she could have been inside and not been seen on cameras. And the parking lot cameras may be inconclusive instead of being able to provide evidence one way or another.

 

[jjenny]

I have a bad feeling Phuong's car was in the parking lot that day but she never was...

Her car wouldn't just appear in the parking lot by itself. If she didn't drive it, somebody else had to, and clearly LE didn't say anything about anyone driving her car. So I am pretty sure she was at the store, or at least in the parking lot.
They just don't have it on video.
It could be stranger abduction. She could have come out of the store and somebody grabbed her. Wouldn't be the first time a woman got abducted from a parking lot.

 

[dovebar]

I put my purse in the trunk if I am going running or to the gym because I don't want to take it inside, especially if I have to pay for a locker or the locker is small and I don't want to leave it in plain view. Sometimes I would take just the wallet into a store with me if I went there after the gym or if I needed it at the gym for ID. But I'd leave the giant purse in the trunk.

I would be interested to know if everything was in the purse they found. Was her wallet inside it?

It's possible she was abducted at the gym and someone later dumped her car. It's also possible she came from the gym and took just her wallet into B&N.

 

[gngr~snap]

Her car wouldn't just appear in the parking lot by itself. If she didn't drive it, somebody else had to, and clearly LE didn't say anything about anyone driving her car. So I am pretty sure she was at the store, or at least in the parking lot.
They just don't have it on video.It could be stranger abduction. She could have come out of the store and somebody grabbed her. Wouldn't be the first time a woman got abducted from a parking lot.

BBM
I was wondering why there weren't more people coming forward to say they saw her, but now that I think about it when I am at the bookstore I barely notice anyone. I'm either staring at the shelves or have my nose in a book so I guess it isn't as odd as I was thinking.