CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #3

[AngelWings444]

Thought this day would never end. I was hoping to come home this thread in another forum, located! :frown: I am only on page 6, watching the interview with the family. Just wanted to say, I feel so horrible for the father! He is clearly distraught. In the beginning, I made a remark about him going to work, I apologize. He is truly in immense pain. Incredibly sad. Back to catching up. Praying when I am finished, Jessica is home safe and sound. lease:

 

[Seek&Find]

I'm a long-time lurker, but rare poster here on WS.

Just my two cents on parental behavior when a child goes missing - from my own personal experience: My little boy "ran away" when he was three. Literally, put on his tennis shoes with his pajamas on and took off out the back door. Had he not inadvertently slammed the back door and caused the motion sensor lights on the back of the house to go off, I'd have not known for a long time, possibly hours. All I had heard was the door slam. I searched the house. Then the back yard. Then the front yard. He was gone and I had no idea what had just happened - if someone had come in and taken him, etc. It was 9:30 on a winter night and freezing outside.

I was HYSTERICAL. I called 911 and my conversation with them alternated between continued hysteria and forced calmness as I tried my best to give them information while making sense of what had just happened, with the operator repeatedly requesting that I "calm down". As if. Fortunately, my scenario ended happily with my child miraculously unharmed - even though he had ran three blocks out of our subdivision and down the side of a very busy street before a mother with her baby spotted him and called 911 at the exact time I was on the phone with them... (hence, one of the *few* 911 success stories).

Anything could have happened to my child that night and in all statistical likelihood, I would have faced the same scrutiny and judgment that so many of these families face when the unthinkable occurs.

All that to say, if you have never experienced what it is like to have a child completely, inexplicably MISSING - then please do not cast judgment on what you think a mother or father should look like, speak like, or act like.

I experienced a half hour of horror and cannot fathom the tremendous amount of pressure there is from authorities to "hold it together" for the sake of disseminating information combined with the utter terror and shock.

Jumping off this post, been there. A few years ago, when my son was smaller, we had a new dog. We got up early to walk the dog and hubby left for work before I could get my shower in. There were a couple men working on landscaping outside our home for our community, so before I got in the shower, I made sure to remind my son not to answer the door, unlock the door, open the door for anyone. He knew these rules and readily restated them. I ran up, jumped in for a very fast shower. The minute I got out, I opened my door an inch and asked if he and the dog were doing ok. I was meet with heavy silence. I could feel it in the air something was very wrong. I threw on my robe, ran into his room next to mine. No one. I raced down the stairs and halfway down I can see the front door standing wide open. I'm screaming his name at this point, racing through our little house, into the yard. He and the dog are gone. The neighborhood's silent. The landscapers are gone. I almost threw up with dread as I raced back into the house, crying and praying, grab my phone and dial 911 as I run back out the front door in only my robe, still yelling his name while talking to 911. I left the front door wide open as I ran down the street. I get to the intersection, and see a teen girl and boy walking toward me with my son and the dog in tow. Thank God those two teens happened to be at the little park by our house on a weekday morning. Apparently, my son saw the men leave, was curious about what they'd changed, opened the door to peek, the new dog sprinted out the door, my son chased him, then thought he should catch him so he didn't get in trouble, and chased the dog as it ran further into the community. The two teens saw him chasing the dog, stopped him, caught the dog, and were helping him find home again. I can still viscerally remember the terror.

That said, I'll never know what Shefner and her family went through. But sometimes, for those who've followed cases, something may be filed away as a Hm. It's not an indictment or even a statement that any of us know for certain what's happened. No one can until the child is found and the investigation complete. Not directed to quoted poster: it would be nice if we could discuss and disagree over information and its interpretation rather than try to tell each other how to post or what's acceptable to think about a case.

All of us here want Jessica found, safe & soon. That's why we are here investing time in her case. So, I hope we'll work together toward that end. Moo

 

[Bodhi]

I'm a long-time lurker, but rare poster here on WS.

Just my two cents on parental behavior when a child goes missing - from my own personal experience: My little boy "ran away" when he was three. Literally, put on his tennis shoes with his pajamas on and took off out the back door. Had he not inadvertently slammed the back door and caused the motion sensor lights on the back of the house to go off, I'd have not known for a long time, possibly hours. All I had heard was the door slam. I searched the house. Then the back yard. Then the front yard. He was gone and I had no idea what had just happened - if someone had come in and taken him, etc. It was 9:30 on a winter night and freezing outside.

I was HYSTERICAL. I called 911 and my conversation with them alternated between continued hysteria and forced calmness as I tried my best to give them information while making sense of what had just happened, with the operator repeatedly requesting that I "calm down". As if. Fortunately, my scenario ended happily with my child miraculously unharmed - even though he had ran three blocks out of our subdivision and down the side of a very busy street before a mother with her baby spotted him and called 911 at the exact time I was on the phone with them... (hence, one of the *few* 911 success stories).

Anything could have happened to my child that night and in all statistical likelihood, I would have faced the same scrutiny and judgment that so many of these families face when the unthinkable occurs.

All that to say, if you have never experienced what it is like to have a child completely, inexplicably MISSING - then please do not cast judgment on what you think a mother or father should look like, speak like, or act like.

I experienced a half hour of horror and cannot fathom the tremendous amount of pressure there is from authorities to "hold it together" for the sake of disseminating information combined with the utter terror and shock.

I agree, bhamgal! I'm glad your scare had a happy ending.

I think most families have similar stories that they can laugh about years later. In ours, it's a nephew who was (and still is) tall and thin. When he was 2, he got up early one day. My sister couldn't find him. The back door was ajar; they lived on a busy street. The police were on the way when he finally popped out from his "hiding place" next to the tall kitchen trash can. She'd looked in the pantry, but he was so thin she didn't see him.

Fortunately, for most of us, scares like that become family anecdotes. I can't imagine how I would behave and how my behavior would be perceived if I were in Jessica's mother's place.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

The FBI has arrived at the home of Ridgeway’s mother and will be escorting her to the Westminster Police Department. There, the family will record their first public statement.
We’ll have it for you as soon as we get it.

http://kdvr.com/2012/10/08/live-blog-search-continues-for-jessica-ridgeway/

omg I finally after all these years learned how to post an image without a link!!!

Coldpizza..Congratulations!

:yourock:

 

[SuziQ]

Sorry to quote myself. Just adding another thought......

The following is speculation and theory only.

According to all msm reports, Jessica went missing within blocks of her home. 3 blocks was the walk from her home to the park, iirc. That phone call letting someone know Jessica was walking out the door could have given someone a heads up on when to grab her within that short walk. That's where my bet's going at this point.

ITA. The timeline and the distance sure makes you wonder about this.

and.....

Has anyone heard anything at all today about whether Jessica has a cellphone? It's driving me crazy not knowing this.

 

[DorothyC]

In reference to the mom's comment: "She does everything on her own because she wants to make herself look like she is a grownup. She wants to be a teenager before she’s a teenager."

I have no computer speakers so have not heard the interview, I have just read it. My interpretation was Jessica was asking for more responsibility. I have a just turned 10 yr old but one that is a grade behind Jessica. I think there is a big difference in what kind of responsibilities kids are willing to take on between 4th and 5th. I don't find it at all unusual a 5th grader would want to start doing more things for themself rather than having a parent do it for them.

Hi, Cubby. Oh, I meant it seemed like an negative statement to me, which I find unusual, given the context of a parent and a missing daughter. The placement of the sentence in this story just surprised me. I too have a near 10 year-old. Again, I can't hear the tone, but going by words alone (per statement analysis), the statement seems unexpected - I don't know if that's something I would say, if my almost-10 year old went missing, regardless of how true it is. Now, if no one were missing and I was just chatting with other parents and joking about how quickly these kids today seem to want to grow up, that's a different story. And maybe that's how she meant it, just not where I expected it.

Ah, I see Gabby66 has another interpretation, which I always appreciate reading. Yeah, unexpected. (does not mean guilty, obviously, just maybe a different motivation for saying things than I'd expected).

[not sure it's clear, but I am Not intending to judge the parents.]

 

[gliving]

Well then who is the witness, I wonder.

Maybe it's a Gladys Kravitz type who doesn't everyone to know she's nosy.

Sorry, I needed a little levity.

 

[aust amateur slueth]

Sorry to quote myself. Just adding another thought......

The following is speculation and theory only.

According to all msm reports, Jessica went missing within blocks of her home. 3 blocks was the walk from her home to the park, iirc. That phone call letting someone know Jessica was walking out the door could have given someone a heads up on when to grab her within that short walk. That's where my bet's going at this point.

it's not 3 blocks from her house to the park, it's a few houses.

 

[OwlMom]

That comment stood out to me too but I got a different "take" on it. To me, it sounds as though she was offering an excuse for Jessica doing everything on her own. I see nothing wrong with Jessica awaking to her own alarm and making her own snacks. At 10, she's not a baby and it's not like Mom wasn't there to supervise. It just seems awkward to me that she wanted to STRESS that Jessica "wanted" to do things this way - as though she felt people would judge her as a mom for allowing it.....and then to STRESS that Jessica has always been well cared for and should come home and continue to be well cared for. As everyone has said, there is no way we know what we'd say or do. These things just sounded odd to me.

My take is that she already feels horrible about missing the phone call from the school and is afraid that her explanation of how Jessica does most of the stuff in the morning to get herself ready might make it seem like she is uncaring or uninvolved.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Someone asked about "trash" day. Trash day is Monday and most residents put there trash out on Sunday night - the night after the backpack was found. As far as I know there was no request not to put trash out or to do anything any different than usual that evening.

Also, as to a possible explanation as to the location of the backpack. If you were driving from the area of Jessica's home to the mountains North and West of Boulder and wanted to get to Highway 36 you would drive right past the neighborhood that the backpack was found in. In fact, the street that it was found on is the last right turn as you head North that is not a commercial area or a main street (i.e somewhat isolated). So, if you wanted to dump the backpack before getting to the highway this is the street you would turn on - throw it out the window - turn around and head to the highway. Obviously if it didn't show up until late Saturday night it doesn't explain the 24+ hour gap. Also, it was extremely cold and wet on Saturday during the day so I'm sure LE knows more about the condition of the backpack as this may relate to timing but I just want to make the point that the location might not be as random as some might think.

Thanks and :welcome: Stealth!

 

[hollyblue]

A huge thank you to SmoothOperator for posting a partial transcript - first half of the 33 minute family interview.

From that post (upthread, I'll try to find it again and link here)


ETA: link to SmoothOperator's 1st post with the 1st half of the transcript:
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - ACTIVE SEARCH CO - AMBER ALERT: Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #3



Mom-
It was like any other morning. I got home at 7:30, her alarm went off at 7:45..she had wanted her own alrm clock so she could wake up to her alarm..she goes downstairs to watch TV, eats her granola bar, goes back upstairs and gets dressed, and then we peeled oranges for her snack at school, and made her water bottle. She gets on her coats, she calls her friend to make sure they're walking and gonna meet her friend that morning and her friend was walking. And I watched her walk out the door and thats the last time I saw her..and we need her to walk through that door.

I'm sure LE can verify this call pretty quickly. I'm especially interested in the friends reaction/actions when Jessica did not show minutes after calling to confirm they were walking. does this friend have their own cell phone? Did the friend try to call back and see where Jessica was?

I have a feeling more can be gleaned from these friends that were supposed to walk with Jessica that morning.

I think LE knows more than they are making public.......

Were all the friends Jessica was supposed to walk with on time for school Friday?

I can guarantee the red bolded part is incorrect...and missing some. I posted verbatim what she said after her mention of the coats, but also know she mentioned about getting dressed before the coats. You can search my posts for the night...and I believe GranDhu has a transcription of the same...that she posted before mine.

We don't know if the other kids made on time. Never mentioned.

 

[Cashew]

"blocks" are VERY small in that neighborhood

 

[Catchy kitty]

Where are all the sleuthers?

 

[OwlMom]

It is three blocks. The original address posted in the media had the last two numbers transposed.

 

[Seek&Find]

9News outside Westminster PD. Unfortunately, no new developments to report, they say. DeLozier recapping interview with clips.

 

[gam]

My take is that she already feels horrible about missing the phone call from the school and is afraid that her explanation of how Jessica does most of the stuff in the morning to get herself ready might make it seem like she is uncaring or uninvolved.

Not to mention feeling horrible about not walking her child or driving her child to school.

I have read comments from others on the net, of them making mom out to be bad for not seeing the child to school. Perhaps mom has to.

Also since I have a single mom living under my roof, who often works midnights, this thought came to me "maybe mom fell asleep and didn't even see her leave for school". I know my daughter after working midnights will sit down in the chair waiting for that last 10 minutes to walk her child to the bus stop and she falls asleep. She is so hard to wake up to after working midnights. It got so bad that I told her to get off that shift, she now only picks up a midnight from time to time. If I was not here, I could see my 8 year old grandson trying to wake her, and when he couldn't, he would just walk down to the bus stop by himself. Maybe this happened.

 

[Footwarrior]

it's not 3 blocks from her house to the park, it's a few houses.

It's about 500 ft. from Jessica's house to Chelsea Park.

 

[RoseTree]

I'm sure attempted bus stop abductions happen even more often than reflected by statistics because most go unreported. In some cases, there may not be any physical contact between the child and the potential abductor, who tries to verbally lure the child into his vehicle.

When I was in high school, back in the '70's, I caught the bus 2-3 blocks from home and several other students waited at the same bus stop. I remember one morning I was there alone - I must have been early - and the weather was cold, maybe snowing some. A man stopped in front of the bus stop (on a busy city street) and offered me a ride. I just told him "no thank you" and he drove away. Maybe he had good intentions; I guess I gave him the benefit of the doubt and didn't tell anyone at the time.

Sometime later, though, the subject came up - there may have been a local abduction and my mother warned me about accepting rides from strangers. I probably mentioned it to her because I felt I had handled the situation well. But, my mother was furious at me for not telling her about the incident at the time. I now understand why. If the man who offered me a ride were a predator, reporting the incident could potentially have prevented someone else from becoming a victim.

Even when children experience an abduction attempt, they often don't fully realize the seriousness of the situation. I'm sure KG, for instance, knew not to accept rides from strangers. But, children are so trusting; more really needs to be done to educate children about the risk.

Thats odd that you mention it, because that same thing happened to me on the way, while walking there. A man stopped and asked to give me a ride, I gave a persuasive "no", and the man moved on.

I've wondered, looking back, how innocent that was and I've thanked my lucky stars for good training.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I don't usually do transcriptions because I am hopelessly slow at it. BUT, the shortened versions of what the Mom said don't satisfy me, so since I now have a computer that actually has sound that works, I listened to the interview myself and transcribed the following:

From:
http://kdvr.com/2012/10/09/family-of-jessica-ridgeway-makes-first-public-statement/

Full Video: Family of Jessica Ridgeway makes first public statement
Posted on: 3:40 pm, October 9, 2012, by Will C. Holden, updated on: 04:01pm, October 9, 2012


Jessica Ridgeway’s mother talking about the morning her daughter went missing:

Sarah Ridgeway: This year, her friend J_____, his brother went to Middle School and so they made a plan, at 8:30, they were gonna meet every morning and walk up to the school and every afternoon she's walked with, I mean since the end of third grade she's walked home with all of the kids in the school. Well, not ALL the kids in the school, but all the kids in our neighborhood, there's a whole group of them that walk home. So, its been too quiet on the street too, I don't like that, I want the kids to be able to go out and play and be safe again.


Question: Take me back to last Friday morning, you know, the morning she left, was it a morning like any other morning?

Sarah Ridgeway: “It was any other morning. I came home and you know, her alarm goes off at 7:45. She wanted an alarm clock so she could get up on her own. So, her alarm clock goes off and she comes down, and she watches TV, and she eats her granola bar, goes up and gets dressed, comes down and we peel oranges for her snack at school. She fills up her water bottle. She does everything on her own because she wants to make herself look like she is a grownup. She wants to be a teenager before she’s a teenager. And, so, you know she gets ready and she gets dressed and she gets on her coats and I make sure she is going to meet her friend, because it is snowing, and her friend says 'yes, I am walking too' and I watch her walk out the door and I shut the door and that's the last time I saw her and I want her to come walking back through that door. We need her to walk back through that door.”

Thanks, i.b. nora! That is great! :great:

 

[GrainneDhu]

Hmm, does anyone else know how to do statement analysis? It's concerning that she starts the description in past tense, and ends it in past tense (appropriate), but the middle part describing Jessica's actions is all present tense -why the change?

I haven't seen any words of comfort being offered to Jessica by mom, but I may not have seen/heard it. I was surprised that it sounded like mom was talking about her own strength, as opposed to speaking to Jessica or the possible abductor. I dunno.

I posted a transcript of the raw footage from when the interviewer asked Sarah if she had a message for Jessica earlier in this thread.

Yes, in my opinion, Sarah offered messages of hope, strength and love to her daughter.