Found Deceased CO - Joseph Keller, 18, Antonito, 23 July 2015 - #1

[neesaki]

That's just my opinion and since I'm friends of the families I think it has a little more weight then someone who doesn't even know it was very well established that all 3 arrived, had lunch, chopped wood. Many employees and visitors saw Joe. There is private pictures of them at the ranch. So that leaves accident or foul play. Since no dogs picked up his scent after a certain point in the road leads us to believe that's where a kidnapping occurred. And if you want to research April LaJune and Angela Sandoval which has a discussion thread here on websleuths, you might rethink the drug cartel theory.

I had just asked this very question in a post, then saw your post so deleted mine. Thank you. I have no trouble believing that something like this happened. Do you know if local LE knows any of the people that might have connections to the cartel in that area, have they investigated this angle? TIA

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Both boys took 3 lie detector tests and passed. Hmm maybe you should do some sleuthing and go up tithe search box here on this site and put in the name Angela Sandoval then get back to me about drugs not a plausible explanation. The majority in his hometown believes this is what most likely happened.

I DID search Angelica Sanchez (not Angela). She was a witness slotted to testify an a case involving drugs. I don't think that is anything like the theory that drugs were being air dropped in a tourist area and a runner happened along it (but there were no other people who saw a helicopter and no news articles mentioning it if I recall).

Of course the majority in his hometown think something strange is happening because 1). rumors fly fast and 2). they are not happy with the lack of results they've received. The sheriff has been deemed incapable by Joe's own hometown sheriff. Of course Joe's hometown wants to vilify both Antonito's sheriff and CO as well.

If no foul play happened, of course the boys passed their polygraphs. They would also pass their polygraphs if Joe was on his own and hurt himself and fell out of sight because they had no knowledge about where he went.

 

[Mamamerced]

Respectfully Ceci, I don't see any similarities between the Sandoval and Keller cases.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Ceci, thanks for the answer to my question about the lie detector tests. Do you, by any chance know who administered the tests: private or LE?
I will read about the Sandoval case tonight.

It has been a busy day for me, and I have to get going again here in a couple of minutes, but the polygraphs were administered by Bradley County Sheriff's Office -where Joe and his friends are from- upon Joe's friends' return to TN. I will post the source later this evening. I have leave and pick my son and his friend up from soccer practice now!

 

[Sutton]

Joe may have gotten altitude sickness and gotten lost on some trail. That's a real possibility.

But I think there may have been some drug running in that area and Joe was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. If this is the case, it would explain a lot of things that happened (how and why he just disappeared, it would fit with his friend's story, why local LE wasn't eager to search, some of the animosity between the local sheriff and the sheriff from Joe's hometown).

Drug runners usually try to avoid people, but who knows what happened. Maybe Joe walked up on something, maybe someone involved was out of control, it could be anything. He's been missing for 9 months, how can it hurt to discuss this possibility?

 

[Mamamerced]

Both boys took 3 lie detector tests and passed. Hmm maybe you should do some sleuthing and go up tithe search box here on this site and put in the name Angela Sandoval then get back to me about drugs not a plausible explanation. The majority in his hometown believes this is what most likely happened.

Can you clarify a bit more about the tests?
Did 2 boys take 3 LD tests each? Do you know if the tests were administered by different experts? I'm curious why the boys had to repeat the test.

 

[Mamamerced]

Where I live (mendocino County, CA.) the big cartel grows are way off the beaten path. However, many people grow smaller amounts for medical marijuana in their own gardens and close to the hwy and homes. And, many others like to "harvest" those grows for themselves. If they are discovered they are often shot and killed. This happens not infrequently. The prevailing caveat around here is to NOT take walks during growing season. Just a few weeks ago, one grower was killed and one harvester seriously injured by gunshot roughly 1/4 mile from the highway that takes unsuspecting tourists through the wine country and to the coast. The thief had a cell phone, and reception, so was rescued by the local sheriff and deputies. So, yes, it is quite possible Joe inadvertently happened upon a grow and wasn't warmly received. I just don't think it's necessarily cartel/organized gang related.
Here's the link to the local newspaper article: http://theava.com/archives/53625

 

[Mamamerced]

I

Where I live (mendocino County, CA.) the big cartel grows are way off the beaten path. However, many people grow smaller amounts for medical marijuana in their own gardens and close to the hwy and homes. And, many others like to "harvest" those grows for themselves. If they are discovered they are often shot and killed. This happens not infrequently. The prevailing caveat around here is to NOT take walks during growing season. Just a few weeks ago, one grower was killed and one harvester seriously injured by gunshot roughly 1/4 mile from the highway that takes unsuspecting tourists through the wine country and to the coast. The thief had a cell phone, and reception, so was rescued by the local sheriff and deputies. So, yes, it is quite possible Joe inadvertently happened upon a grow and wasn't warmly received. I just don't think it's necessarily cartel/organized gang related.
Here's the link to the local newspaper article: http://theava.com/archives/53625

Oops....the article was from a few weeks ago; the shooting occurred in late September 2015.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Ceci, thanks for the answer to my question about the lie detector tests. Do you, by any chance know who administered the tests: private or LE?
I will read about the Sandoval case tonight.

My sincere apologies: I spoke too soon in saying it was the Bradley Co. Sheriff's Office that administered the polygraphs: What I should have said was that it was the Bradley Co. Sheriff Eric Watson who first confirmed that the two friends had "volunteered to take polygraphs and easily passed."

Sheriff Watson also told the (Chattanooga) Times Free Press, "texts and voicemails on their phones showed no hint of any disputes." So, based on this information, my assumption was that the polygraphs were conducted by his office, but the possibility exists that they were administered through another investigative agency.

Here is the link: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...en-joe-kellers-missing-perscase-stirs/324311/

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Do you know who reported the black van in the vicinity or if more than one person saw it?

I do not recall hearing who reported the black van, but according to the Conejos County Sheriff's Office, "The report that we received on the black van that was in the Lodge area where Joe Keller disappeared is not the same van that had attempted to kidnap a teenager from Colorado Springs. The description of the two vans was not the same." This was posted on the Conejos County Sheriff's Office's FB page, and was in fact "shared" by the Find Joe Keller FB page as well: https://www.facebook.com/FindJoeKeller/posts/932164246847405

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I, unlike so many Websleuths, did not follow this case from the beginning. I learned about it today from the mother of another crime victim. I spent all evening reading through the thread, so many of the facts were not absorbed; rather they are very blurred for me. But, this is a very intriguing case and I am all over the Imagination Map; I flit too easily from one possible scenario to another.
Has it been confirmed that the two other young men took and passed polygraphs?
Do you know if the sheriff's dept. did a thorough (or any) examination of the buildings at the resort?
I'll stop with those two questions for now.

Respectfully BBM. I am not sure how extensively the buildings at the ranch were searched. I would be interested in finding out how whether and/or how thoroughly any structures in the general area have been examined.

 

[ceci]

The boys took a test administered by Conejo County. Another test was done in Bradley Co. The last test was given by Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They passed all three tests. They volunteered and gave up their cell phones. Not involved PERIOD.

Joe either had an accident or was a victim of foul play. I do not have that answer but I do know what Neal feels happened, he now hopes for the best but expects the worst.

 

[ceci]

A marijuana garden is very interesting. So let me change my words from gang/cartel to unsavory characters.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

That's just my opinion and since I'm friends of the families I think it has a little more weight then someone who doesn't even know it was very well established that all 3 arrived, had lunch, chopped wood. Many employees and visitors saw Joe. There is private pictures of them at the ranch. So that leaves accident or foul play. Since no dogs picked up his scent after a certain point in the road leads us to believe that's where a kidnapping occurred. And if you want to research April LaJune and Angela Sandoval which has a discussion thread here on websleuths, you might rethink the drug cartel theory.

Ceci, I am so sorry that your friends are having to go through this. I feel so very bad for Joe's family in particular. I hope that they are holding up under the circumstances. They are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I do feel it is very likely he decided to explore and he fell and will be found one day. Dogs lose scent all of the time without explanation. In the back of my mind I do wonder about foul play, but it just seems if something like that were going to happen, it would have happened before they got to the family ranch. Before then it was just the three of them. There were so many people at the ranch, why chance that?

Respectfully snipped by me for space. I don't believe that there was any pre-planning involved. I suspect that either something unexpected happened, someone was taken by surprise, or perhaps Joe misread something or someone.

 

[Mamamerced]

Thanks to all of you WS who answered my questions, thoughtfully and thoroughly. It helps bring the vague into better focus. The fact that those young men took 3 LD tests from 3 different sources certainly clears any suspicions of their possible involvement from my mind.
Ceci, do the Kellers have any substantive information leading them to suspect a drug connection? Or is it a calculated "hunch"? I would think the searchers would have come upon evidence of a "garden", if there was one near the route Joe took in that time frame, if the search was thorough. I hope foul play wasn't involved even if it can't be ruled out.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

The boys took a test administered by Conejo County. Another test was done in Bradley Co. The last test was given by Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They passed all three tests. They volunteered and gave up their cell phones. Not involved PERIOD.

Joe either had an accident or was a victim of foul play. I do not have that answer but I do know what Neal feels happened, he now hopes for the best but expects the worst.

Respectfully BBM. According to an article by The Times Free press from January 25th, a CBI spokesperson is quoted as saying, "We were never invited by [Galvez], and we were not involved in his investigation — and we are not involved now." The article also states, "In October Keller's father, Neal, flew to Colorado to plead with Conejos County commissioners to persuade Galvez to call the CBI," as well as "Galvez attended the commission meeting and told commissioners the CBI had been contacted," followed by "Medina (the CBI spokesperson) refuted that." Could you possibly shed light on what may be going on here?

Here is the link to the article I am referring to: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...could-bones-found-colorado-be-kellers/346394/

 

[Mamamerced]

Respectfully BBM. According to an article by The Times Free press from January 25th, a CBI spokesperson is quoted as saying, "We were never invited by [Galvez], and we were not involved in his investigation — and we are not involved now." The article also states, "In October Keller's father, Neal, flew to Colorado to plead with Conejos County commissioners to persuade Galvez to call the CBI," as well as "Galvez attended the commission meeting and told commissioners the CBI had been contacted," followed by "Medina (the CBI spokesperson) refuted that." Could you possibly shed light on what may be going on here?

Here is the link to the article I am referring to: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...could-bones-found-colorado-be-kellers/346394/

Well, that's an odd article. It was published on Jan 25, but the info about CBI not being contacted was on Oct 15. What happened in between?
And what in the world does this sentence mean: "A 2009 disappearance appears to have been handled in the way the Keller family sought."
Very little integrity left in msm/journalism. Can't rely on the reporting for facts.

 

[neesaki]

Respectfully BBM. According to an article by The Times Free press from January 25th, a CBI spokesperson is quoted as saying, "We were never invited by [Galvez], and we were not involved in his investigation — and we are not involved now." The article also states, "In October Keller's father, Neal, flew to Colorado to plead with Conejos County commissioners to persuade Galvez to call the CBI," as well as "Galvez attended the commission meeting and told commissioners the CBI had been contacted," followed by "Medina (the CBI spokesperson) refuted that." Could you possibly shed light on what may be going on here?

Here is the link to the article I am referring to: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...could-bones-found-colorado-be-kellers/346394/

Thanks for bringing this up, I've had questions about all of this as well.

 

[Satchie]

Of course the majority in his hometown think something strange is happening because 1). rumors fly fast and 2). they are not happy with the lack of results they've received. The sheriff has been deemed incapable by Joe's own hometown sheriff. Of course Joe's hometown wants to vilify both Antonito's sheriff and CO as well. .

I think it's also difficult for urban people to realize the inherent dangers of the mountains/wilderness, especially for young men who didn't grow up there. They can be overconfident and get excited about doing something without realizing the risk. Urban people also underestimate how hard it is to find a person in such a wild landscape, it's not like an urban park.

I think the lack of any trace of him is more a sign that he went off the road than anything else. For me, alien abduction is as likely as any other kind of abduction.