Found Deceased CO - Gannon Stauch, 11, Colorado Springs, Lorson Ranch, El Paso County, 27 Jan 2020 *endangered* #18

[momof4ws]

I totally agree with your kids.

It's not unbelievable to me that he would type that and it's unbelievable he would leave without his phone, mainly because I'm assuming that is how he keeps in touch with his mom and & dad, among all the other desirable uses for his phone.

He might have wanted to get away from his stepmom sometimes, but I don't think he wanted to completely leave little sis, dad, and mom.

He's not a runaway. imo.

jmo

Great posts about the phone tracking!!! IMO it makes sense to me that TS googled it on GS phone to make it appear that he wanted to run away and not be found but when she discovered that the phone could be tracked she decided that she would not have GS take his phone with him on their "outing" Monday because he could be found because of his phone. Just a thought...

 

[COSCitizen]

Someone mentioned earlier that Garden of the Gods would have been too busy Saturday to stash the body but what if the original plan had been the "Oooh, look Gannon! Whoops!" of pushing him off a precipice. There are fatalities most years when people climb where they shouldn't. "I turned my back for just a minute ...." There are several trails with steep drops in which the chances of survival are slight. However, I checked my calendar and that Saturday was a glorious winter day and even the locals would have been wanting to get outside and go to the park. It would have been tremendously frustrating when even a person willing to take insane risks couldn't get clear enough of the crowds to implement the plan. If there were marks from physical abuse, the person administering them might have decided that a fall would conceal the marks.

Whether or not the father approved of corporal punishment, bruising would be a bridge too far for most parents. Not to mention if Child Protection Services became involved.

So Monday, Gannon is reportedly not well enough to go to school. The person recalls an isolated spot not too far from home accessible by the truck and comes up with the runaway plan. The person throws a shovel in the back (we might get stuck and have to dig out!) and off they go. I won't speculate what happened when they reached the isolated spot. On the way home, the shovel gets thrown into the body of water that was being searched. (There are so many tools in the garage the shovel will never be missed!)

Once back at the house Gannon's cell phone has the search keyed in and his running away is announced a few hours later.

I think LE knew something was hinky even before receiving RD's video. Maybe it was the speed with which the flyers were produced, maybe because the household Ring didn't show him leaving the front door (leading to the weird gate emphasis), or for some other undisclosed reason.

I think that is why LE's request for public assistance has been so perfunctory. (I am surprised that they haven't asked for people seeing a fancy red truck on Monday. People notice fancy red trucks. And they are less common than dark passenger cars, even in Colorado.) They came up with a similar scenario to the above and are just waiting on forensics to be completed, including analysis on cell phone records. Ethically, they see no reason to point to any person in particular before they can bring charges, but they did reassure the public that there is no heightened risk to children in the area.

It's hard to believe that, after the coverage of the Kelsey Berreth murder trials a few months previously, that anyone would carry a cell phone while committing a premeditated crime, but not everyone follows the news. And it's possible that some just don't understand the details of how cell phones and cell towers work. I know that there was speculation at the time of the trial that the jury would find the technical details too hard to understand.

 

[Honey_West]

Good morning fellow WSers!
Who’s here for Gannon?!

 

[303gmf]

Locals know this:
It’s like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Garden of the Gods, and that’s just on like a Tuesday mid morning. Seriously, throngs of tourists from all over the globe, all heavenly armed with cameras. My kids and I volunteer at the living history ranch adjacent to it. I’m probably hyperbolizing a tad, but a person could more easily have disposed of a body in a mall food court than in a parking lot at Garden of the Gods. Even harder to believe it could remain hidden there for any period of time even if someone managed to do the impossible and stash one there in the first place.

Agree!
Recently read a Gazette article estimating over 6 million visitors last year.

 

[Momof4RN]

@Lambseatoats most of what I have seen where an “accidental” child abuse results in death or near death of a child has been in the infant and toddler populations. The numbers are staggering particularly during the Holiday season.
With an 11 year old child it would have to be a blow to the head or abdomen. Or some sort of severe punishment like making a child bathe in boiling hot water.
In Gannon’s case I think it’s extremely unlikely that his death (if he is dead) was the result of an accident. The details we know or think we know appear to be intentional actions. Starting with he was kept home from school. An accidental death from child abuse would be more likely to occur in his home and not out in public running errands.
So either TS took him somewhere with the intent to kill him, she had already killed him at home accidentally and what we saw on video was a different day, or she accidentally killed him upon returning, or he’s not dead. I still don’t feel I have enough facts to make a sound determination on any of the above.
But here’s some info I thought you might find interesting/helpful.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/fatality.pdf

 

[COSCitizen]

Some random thoughts.

If you go to google street view and look at the gate on 105 where they were intensively searching, I wonder if that gate is locked, or if someone could open it, drive in, and close it behind them. OR, any one of several other gates I've seen. Like on Noe rd. off of 105 before you get to S. Greenland Acres rd. there are two lanes that go off to the left up along the wood line, easily visible from google earth.

carry on!

In my experience, farm gates are not customarily locked. It is a nuisance keeping track of the keys, and the locks take a real beating in the weather after a few years. I locked one of our gates when we lived in the country, the one that was directly on the public road, but gave it up after a few years.

 

[girlhasnoname]

http://www.nobodycases.com/no_body2.pdf

According to this website which tracks criminal prosecution in cases where there wasn't a body, the conviction rate can be as high as 86%, which is actually higher than the rate of all murder cases (70%).

Through January 5, 2019 (523 trials) (50 states, DC, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands); (Approximately 67 dismissals, mistrials, acquittals or reversals on appeal for conviction rate of approximately 86%, conviction for all murder cases is 70% according to Bureau of Justice Statistics); (Approximately 31 death penalty cases); (91% of cases involve male defendants with 58% of the victims being female); (at least 52% (268 cases) were domestic violence cases, generally a man killing a woman); (17% (90 cases) had victims under 18 years old, generally children of defendants)1

 

[Inthedetails]

'Morning, all. Let today be the day we're waiting for.

My current thought is he will be found in a manmade place, not a natural place. Garbage, culvert, shaft, etc. And my hunch is the location will be closer to home than where she eventually drove that day - maybe even in the opposite direction.

My current theory is subject to change at any moment as it's just a hunch.

jmo

 

[Love Never Fails]

He is not a young adult. He is a child.

I think poster was speaking of stepmom as young adult.

 

[Fireflize]

Someone mentioned earlier that Garden of the Gods would have been too busy Saturday to stash the body but what if the original plan had been the "Oooh, look Gannon! Whoops!" of pushing him off a precipice. There are fatalities most years when people climb where they shouldn't. "I turned my back for just a minute ...." There are several trails with steep drops in which the chances of survival are slight. However, I checked my calendar and that Saturday was a glorious winter day and even the locals would have been wanting to get outside and go to the park. It would have been tremendously frustrating when even a person willing to take insane risks couldn't get clear enough of the crowds to implement the plan. If there were marks from physical abuse, the person administering them might have decided that a fall would conceal the marks.

Whether or not the father approved of corporal punishment, bruising would be a bridge too far for most parents. Not to mention if Child Protection Services became involved.

So Monday, Gannon is reportedly not well enough to go to school. The person recalls an isolated spot not too far from home accessible by the truck and comes up with the runaway plan. The person throws a shovel in the back (we might get stuck and have to dig out!) and off they go. I won't speculate what happened when they reached the isolated spot. On the way home, the shovel gets thrown into the body of water that was being searched. (There are so many tools in the garage the shovel will never be missed!)

Once back at the house Gannon's cell phone has the search keyed in and his running away is announced a few hours later.

I think LE knew something was hinky even before receiving RD's video. Maybe it was the speed with which the flyers were produced, maybe because the household Ring didn't show him leaving the front door (leading to the weird gate emphasis), or for some other undisclosed reason.

I think that is why LE's request for public assistance has been so perfunctory. (I am surprised that they haven't asked for people seeing a fancy red truck on Monday. People notice fancy red trucks. And they are less common than dark passenger cars, even in Colorado.) They came up with a similar scenario to the above and are just waiting on forensics to be completed, including analysis on cell phone records. Ethically, they see no reason to point to any person in particular before they can bring charges, but they did reassure the public that there is no heightened risk to children in the area.

It's hard to believe that, after the coverage of the Kelsey Berreth murder trials a few months previously, that anyone would carry a cell phone while committing a premeditated crime, but not everyone follows the news. And it's possible that some just don't understand the details of how cell phones and cell towers work. I know that there was speculation at the time of the trial that the jury would find the technical details too hard to understand.

Great summary. You hit it out of the ballpark.

 

[Inthedetails]

@Lambseatoats most of what I have seen where an “accidental” child abuse results in death or near death of a child has been in the infant and toddler populations. The numbers are staggering particularly during the Holiday season.
With an 11 year old child it would have to be a blow to the head or abdomen. Or some sort of severe punishment like making a child bathe in boiling hot water.
In Gannon’s case I think it’s extremely unlikely that his death (if he is dead) was the result of an accident. The details we know or think we know appear to be intentional actions. Starting with he was kept home from school. An accidental death from child abuse would be more likely to occur in his home and not out in public running errands.
So either TS took him somewhere with the intent to kill him, she had already killed him at home accidentally and what we saw on video was a different day, or she accidentally killed him upon returning, or he’s not dead. I still don’t feel I have enough facts to make a sound determination on any of the above.
But here’s some info I thought you might find interesting/helpful.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/fatality.pdf

I would add a sub-category to your list - took him away from the home with the intention of leaving him to die (which is still murder, of course). The ugly thought I keep having is that she could have bound him and left him.

jmo

 

[zencompass]

Good morning @Honey_West,

I'm Here for Gannon !

In my opinion, when it is quiet from the L.E., they are tremendously busy in the background as their "parallel investigations " continue to acquire, scrutinize and sort the evidence.

I still believe that we'll be astounded at the evidence amassed, data and otherwise, that this investigative team presents at the trial.

Information and communication continues to flow between the District Attorney's office and this outstanding law enforcement team. Their goal, of course, is to have abundant and solid evidence towards building their case. And I believe they will do this. I absolutely do.

 

[Momof4RN]

I would add a sub-category to your list - took him away from the home with the intention of leaving him to die (which is still murder, of course). The ugly thought I keep having is that she could have bound him and left him.

jmo

Yes or that but still planned with intent and no accident. IMO

 

[303gmf]

One thing I’d like to say, and I mean it very gently to all of my new WS friends, not as a lecture, God forbid, but only to prevent disruption to the GS investigation, is this:

I don’t think it’s constructive for people, especially people in other states and localities, but to some extent even local sleuths, to call in tips for LE to search Such and Such Pit, or Whatchamacallit Mine Shaft, or over there at Lake Imawhahatchee (etc, etc) based purely on the fact that you’re sitting in front of a Google map and it looks like a deep hole, or it looks to you like a sparsely populated area, or maybe you just have a damn hunch. I understand the urge to help, but truly, you’ve seen the report where Sgt Mynatt (or was it Kirby?) lamented the barrage of unfounded tips! She was saying that it took hours sometimes to vet each one. Some ignorant turd (not anyone here, of course) literally told them they should check every trunk in the city. They have to respond in some way to the tip, at least thoroughly vet and write a report explaining the choice to disregard it. They should go where the investigation leads, and the investigation is best driven by REAL, relevant tips based on somebody actually seeing or knowing something. Not just, “Hey, I see a big cliff on this map atop Mt McScratchit and I could really see TS using her 4wd to access it and her man-arms to pitch GS off. Now begin arranging the SAR unit to deploy and waste valuable resources checking out my hunch for no other reason than it’s a hunch.” Or “They have dogs and I see a Tails-n-Turds Dog Park near FakeName Trail, now it must be searched,” even though what you don’t see is that FakeName Trail is in a damn shopping plaza or that Tails-n-Turds closed down last year after a tapeworm epidemic, or some such thing you couldn’t tell from the map. I mean, yes, it’d truly be nice to snap our fingers and have them search every hidey hole in the Western States, but you must acknowledge the impossibility. So if they only end up realistically searching a small percentage of them, let’s allow only real tips to direct which ones they search. Not random map hunches. I beg you to consider that between all those professional SAR type agencies listed in the updates as partnering in this search , THEY KNOW ALL THE LOCAL HOLES, CLIFFS, CULVERTS, PONDS, AND MINESHAFTS ALREADY. They are aware of them all. I’ll close this by acknowledging what a good-hearted bunch of people you all seem to be. I’ve never seen anything like it online. I also see that most of this talk is just harmless banter between sleuths. But I’ve seen several posts that seemed to suggest calling it in, or already had. All MOO.

Would hit the “love” this post button if one existed!
Bravo & thank you CF

 

[Rosiebones]

I think poster was speaking of stepmom as young adult.

Or step sister

 

[Momof4RN]

Medical neglect either alone or in combination with another maltreatment type was reported in 7.4 percent of fatalities. See exhibit 2 for additional information about fatalities by maltreatment type.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/fatality.pdf
One more thought...She could have miss self diagnosed. He could really have been deathly ill. She decided not to seek medical attention resulting in death and then coverup. Moo

 

[MamaOV]

This made me think. TS and AS must have made some friends as a couple over the time they have been in Colorado. I wonder if any of those friends have property that the red truck has been to and would not seem out of place if seen. I think he was left on private property, unknown to the owners because I think she left him in a place she was familiar with.
MOO MOO MOO

I feel like that would make it too easy to tie it to her if he was ever found there... IMO/MOO she’d leave him somewhere with no ties/link to her...

ETA: From what I’ve seen/heard (and not seen/heard) everywhere, I’d actually be surprised if they’ve made any friends as a couple in their relatively brief time in CO.

JMO, IMO, MOO, etc...

 

[Bravo]

Heading out of town shortly for a few hrs. Hoping for some news when I return.

 

[Kiranerys]

Okay
Dumpsters

Culverts

Ravines

Wells

Caves
anything else?

Drains,pipes etc? ( catching up so may have been covered,or be totally irrelevant to the terrain)

 

[JTR1973]

Woke up to yet another rainy dreary day in Georgia. Doesn't help my mood. :-(

Dealing with a friend's unexpected passing on Friday.
Another friend whose marriage is dissolving.
This sweet boy who haunts every thought of every day.

I am beat. Praying for news today. Despite what it may be. Every day he is missing, I have a tiny shred of hope that he is alive. But anguish that he may be afraid or in pain.

But every day he is missing is one more day of the unknown, of fear and questions.

Oh sweet boy. Where are you? What has happened to you?