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

[GrainneDhu]

Your child is gone....you are actively searching.....praying and hoping....
Would you say, "We are a strong family and we will get through this"

Even IF you get through it, you will NEVER get over it. But what does that have to do with things at this point?

My heart screams, "Where is my little girl? Please, if you have her, let her go. Just let her go. I don't know if she's cold or hungry...or if she's hurt somewhere. Without my baby, my life is over...so please, please let her come home to me."

I would want to remind my hypothetical child that I am strong and I will fight and keep on fighting. I'd figure that there would be a good chance my child would be feeling weak and hopeless, so I'd want to send the message that there is someone strong fighting for them.

There was just one part of the raw footage that seemed rehearsed to me and that was the part where Sarah asked people to send in any tip, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem. I'm sure she meant it from her heart but it seemed a little more polished than her other statements. I have a feeling LE asked her to be sure to make that point in the interview.

 

[Kaliste]

I thought the mom watched her daughter walk down the street until she went out of sight. Maybe that was her usual pattern but on that Friday she just closed the door after j walked out??

Any clarification on this?

TIA.

I'm also confused.

 

[bhamgal]

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.

 

[Seek&Find]

I thought the mom watched her daughter walk down the street until she went out of sight. Maybe that was her usual pattern but on that Friday she just closed the door after j walked out??

Any clarification on this?

TIA.

I haven't seen anything beyond this, yet.

Jessica Ridgeway's mother stood in front of their home at 10768 Moore St. Friday morning and watched until her daughter was out of sight on her way to Witt Elementary School, 10255 W. 104th Drive, [Westminster police spokeswoman Cheri] Spottke said. That was around 8:30 a.m.

Denver Post, 10/6

(more good pics of search terrain here)

ETA: please note this is the old misreported address. Correct one is 10786.

I was hoping to try to find the video of exactly what Spottke said, given the drama from misreporting earlier, but haven't had a chance to look yet. :websleuther:

 

[GrainneDhu]

On NG, now.

Well, actually, the show went to a commercial, but NG will be back to misinform (...oops, I mean inform) in a minute or so.

Your post made me wish for a "Made Me Laugh Out Loud" button!

 

[Cubby]

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:
[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8435406&postcount=543"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - ACTIVE SEARCH CO - AMBER ALERT: Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #3[/ame]



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?

 

[SmoothOperator]

TRANSCRIPT PART 2 OF 3 OF FAMILY INTERVIEW

Reporter-
Dad, when did you first learn of Jessica's missing?

Dad-
I got a phone call at work. LE called work looking for me and I was just getting off I called my grandmother while on my way home she said LE trying to reach me its something with Jessica.

Reporter-
How hard was it to be far away?

Dad-
It was by far the worst thing Ive ever been through..still is.

Reporter-
In this situation was there anything you wanna do but cant do?

Dad-
Dont know where to start.. Dont know what to do.. I just wanna find my daughter and bring her back home.

Reporter-
Is there a range of emotions?

Dad-
Its hard.. Extremely hard

Reporter-
Dad, where were you Sunday when you learned that her water bottle and backpack had been found?

Dad-
At work I got a call about the backpack and water bottle and I just told my boss I gotta leave. There were other guys working and they told me to get outta there they would do the work and I have just been lost ever since.

Reporter-
Mom, what was your reaction to the backpack and water bottle being found?

Mom-
I felt a sliver of hope.. I figured that if something really bad had happened to her that her backpack wouldn't have been there in plain sight.

Female family member-
It was something to grasp hope she's still with us.

Reporter-
Mom, did you see the backpack and it was Jessica's.

Mom-
Yes, Ive seen pictures of it. It was Jessica's.. The officer over the phone asked me to describe her backpack and water bottle. I had to make sure I was sitting down before they showed me the picture.. I just knew it was Jessica's and it was.. It was exactly how I had described it to the officer. I would have fallen down if Id not already been sitting.
<snip>

Sorry I cant finish second half right this minute as real life is unfortunately calling..will finish the remainder later this evening when I've got a little more time to finish it and post it

 

[Bodhi]

I also caught a mistake on NG tonight. Reporter said the man saw the backpack when he left at 6:45 pm. When actually what has been reported is that it wasn't there at 6:45 PM but was there around midnight when he returned home. IIRC

Jax, the MSM reports I read that quoted the man saying that he did not notice a backpack when he left home at 6:45. That doesn't mean it wasn't there. It could have been and he didn't notice it. When he returned home hous later, he and his wife noticed a backpack there for the first time.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Big long shot but how far away is IA (lyric/Lizzy)

CO (jessica)

And WY <modsnip>

I can't remember the mileage but I drove from Waterloo to Denver several years ago. It was 19 driving hours.

Wyoming, I'm not sure. I've been there but I flew.

 

[Seek&Find]

From KDVR:

link accurately reflected in posts here first and here.

At approximately 2:30 in mom's video at 9News here, mom actually says:

"I make sure that, you know, she's gonna meet her friend cuz it is snowing, and you know, she..she makes...sh, her friend says yes, I am walking too and I watch her walk out the door and I shut the door."

So, yes, the reporter butchered what should have been a direct, exact quote, given the quotation marks, or he should've left out the quotation marks so it'd be clear it was a (very poor) paraphrase. Some were speculating earlier that mom was referencing a female friend here. IMO, mom's referring to J (the boy with whom mom says Jessica "made a plan at 8:30 they were gonna meet every morning" at ~3:40 on linked video) and the "she" mom referred to above was Jessica.

Moo

Thanks to SmoothOperator for putting all that work into a transcript! I wonder if we heard different versions of the interview or one was edited, or something? :waitasec: According to the 9News link in quoted post at 2:30 in that video, mom never mentions a call.

 

[Merical2]

You know, I'm going to butt in here just for a second. I tend to do more reading than posting but I recall that in the Sierra Lamar case, her parents behavior/odd comments/discrepancies (all of which had a good number of us wondering if they were guilty of something) only to find out they were being coached by LE about what NOT to say, what information not to provide to the public so when they did come out and speak, people thought they were lying and guilty when they were simply following the directions given them. Perhaps, the same is true in this case? I believe these parents are victims, too.

 

[the couger]

I may have included data that wasn't discussed though---I'm tired and sad and it can get mixed up. Mod can delete anything I jumped the gun on...I gotta drive now, back at a computer soon.

When dissecting the "mom's" interview, I hope each and every poster keeps this in mind. Can you imagine how tired and confused she has to be after her daughter going missing.
God shower down your love and strength to this family and bring Jessica home safe.

 

[bkcrt]

About a mile away from 107th ave and Moore st is a RSO born 1958 6' 180 lbs with blonde or strawberry hair!

A RSO killed my friend Mickey. They are never rehabilitated.

Are you speaking of RSO DRC? I have been wondering about him for a few days. Not sure if I can say on here.....he has a gunsmith business. If he goes to gun shows he has opportunity to travel to a lot of states. I know it sounds "out there" but I have been looking up gun shows and missing kids the last couple of days when I can. Something to think about.

 

[iamnotagolem]

It is 12.5 hrs from Westminster CO to Evansdale IA

It is 8 hrs from Westminster CO to Cody WY

IMO, those are easy peasy drives (it's 26 hrs back "home" for me) I consider anything under 16 hours a one day trip with two toddlers

 

[i.b.nora]

Smooth Operator has done a good job with the interview, however, her version of the morning events is not precisely what was said, although it does capture the general flavor. Here is precisely what was said:

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

Sarah Ridgeway:&#8220;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&#8217;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.&#8221;

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

 

[SailorMoon]

Crime in Italy - another precious child missing. Wth??? I see I'm pages behind on this one. What's ya'll's take on it? Parents involved - stranger abduction??? I read where the mother worked nights and slept through the phone calls from the school that she wasn't there. It also said she never arrived to meet her friends. I too would like to know more about the calls to her friends. How far of a walk was it? Said they met in a park?? Wow...off catch up. (((well, bed most likely)) Hoping this has a good outcome. But geeeze - so many just vanish these days.

 

[cakegirl0905]

These are all attempted abduction stories from the Boulder Daily Camera. I'm having a hard time finding the incidents I was talking about, but look at the first story. It was just a couple of weeks ago, and the guy was driving a red truck, just like the tween who was approached at the bustop in my neighborhood about a year or so ago:

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_21597...earch-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com


http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-...earch-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com


http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_12951090?IADID=Search-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com

 

[DorothyC]

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)

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.

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.

 

[gliving]

The backpack in plain site on the sidewalk doesn't mean the perp placed it there. A neighbor could have found it in their dumpster. A quick look inside would tell them it wasn't trash, so they set it one the sidewalk in plain view in case it was a neighbor kid's pack that happened to be thrown in their trash.

Or someone could have found it in the bushes - etc and set it out on the sidewalk hoping the owner would find it.

There's no way to know the perp actually placed it there. I don't think it happened that way. LE won't say yet. moo

 

[SailorMoon]

My 10 year old son wanted an alarm clock this year as well. So sad.