Three frequently repeated things that are bugging me on the Facebook page:
1. 'Dogs didn't find him, therefore he isn't there.' And other similar claims that a lack of information means something.
2. Desperate grasps at forming/identifying a pattern on insufficient or no commonalities: the rumor that 25 years ago or whatever another guy disappeared from the same ranch; attempts to link all the missing persons cases in the state together into some grand conspiracy; the Missing 411 stuff (which may be too big to discuss in detail here, but strikes me [opinionopinionopinion] as nonsense); etc.
3. The basic claim that underlies everything the FB page is up to: "Somebody must know something." That's just plain not necessarily true. Subsidiary (sort of) to this is the tone of how somebody is holding out on them or somebody needs to do something for them. I am genuinely sorry for their loss which is probably permanent. And I can understand a lot of emotional bias shaping words and actions in the situation. But, there are no clues whatsoever. Bringing in more or different investigators to follow up on nothing might be comforting, but I don't think it will advance the cause of solving what has been, essentially, a cold case from the first moment.
Has it been two months already?
I, for one, am utterly unoffended. I agree in almost every point. I don't think a new, full search is justified, as the original search was carried out in keeping with standard search and rescue protocols and then some. Everything that statistically works has been thrown at this quest already. So, now it's more down to time and luck. If there were any new clue or information to be followed, that would be one thing, but a new search would be a repeat of what has already been done, unless somebody wants to get into 19th century mine survey stuff or searching waaaayyy downstream in the river.
-RSBM-
By the way, I would be STUNNED to learn that the Conejos County Sheriff's Dept. has anyone on staff who is trained to administer a polygraph examination. I would be not quite as surprised, but still surprised to learn that Sheriff Galvez suggested that anyone take a polygraph examination, especially in the early stages of the Lowlander Didn't Return from Exertion in the Woods investigation. It would be nice to see coverage that specifies the circumstances of the suggestion and decision to take polygraphs.
I am about to make a wild guess, based on nothing. Here it is: CG and CF did polygraphs in Tennessee, under the guidance of attorneys and the Tennessee sheriff, not at all at the request of Sheriff Galvez. Yes, there are cases like Joe's in Colorado and around "the vast wilderness of the American West" that remain open for a long time. The missing guy and the circumstances of his being missing are not unusual _for a missing guy case_. The things that set this situation apart are (1) (possibly) the delayed response of the authorities, although if they get the call after dark it may make sense to convene at non-emergency speeds and begin the search at first light; (2) the friends/family reaction that went kind of suddenly from "we're looking for this lost guy" with helpful volunteers and search organizations and worry to "somebody did something to him and that somebody wasn't us" and they cleared off back to Tennessee and poisoned the well of potential leads with their harass-the-Colorado-sheriff-o-thon. That's weird, IMO. Pretty much, exactly this, by you:
"It's just that I have had a nagging feeling from the very beginning that somehow there is foul play involved. Thus my question about, as you perfectly described, "the circumstances of the suggestion and decision to take polygraphs." To me, decision as to whether to take a polygraph would require most serious consideration and most certainly consultation with an attorney(s) even if I had absolutely nothing to hide. It would be a huge deal to me. It just seems to me (and the reality may be far different) that the sheriff in TN, some of those posting on the FJK FB page and even some of the administrators are being rather casual (not sure if that's the right word ...) about it, and I just get this impression of "Of course, they passed" or "Why would you even ask?" And this bothers me. To be fair, I don't know these young men personally. They appear to be decent individuals, and I have no reason to believe otherwise."
I have wondered, again, just because...and without any specific knowledge, if the search of the La Jara reservoir was because sometimes when people get disoriented, they follow water. Generally, they walk downstream, but it's not unheard of for people to walk upstream. It would have been a crazy long walk, though, to get all the way to the reservoir from near the ranch. So, yeah, I'd like to hear an official account of why that was chosen as a search area.I'd also love to find the video to which you refer. Can you provide a link to it on youtube? OR maybe I should just go find it, too.
I think your "wild guess" is pretty much spot-on. As cited in post #731, Sheriff Watson is quoted as saying CG and CF "volunteered to take polygraphs and easily passed." My assumption is that a request was made by someone (usually LE) that they take polygraphs at which point they "volunteered to" do so (rather than for them to go to LE one day and ask, "Can we take a polygraph?" I mean, for what reason would anybody do that?). So now I am wondering who it was that felt the need to at least suggest to CG and CF to take polygraphs, and more importantly, what it was that prompted this person to feel that way.
Or perhaps it was reports such as the one below that convinced CG and CF to go forward with the polygraphs:
"However, the Bradley County sheriff said his office maintained communication with Colorado authorities via phone and NCIC, and continues following up leads locally into Keller’s activities before he left for Colorado with friends."
http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/coloradodeclinedhis-offerwatson,14882
Another thing that stood out to me in the above article is that it states, "... Bradley County investigators have sought and received the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in gathering and disseminating information." It was never clear to me as to whether Bradley Co. was successful in obtaining FBI's assistance, so this was good to know. Perhaps the case was/is handled in a way in which the CO authorities were to focus on the SAR efforts and their TN counterparts more of intelligence-gathering, in which case it would make sense for Sheriff Watson's office to administer the polygraphs, I guess. Who knows, maybe it was the FBI's idea to give CG and CF polygraphs (for whatever reason) .... Still, I just can't get over the peculiar (IMHO only) dynamic between the two sheriff's offices.
I think what you suggested as the possible reason for the delay in LE's arrival is entirely plausible. There were posts by some folks who were supposedly staying at RTR and a nearby camp ground at the time of Joe's disappearance (I say "supposedly" as the information is from FB = rumor per WS TOS). They appear to agree that there didn't seem to be a real sense of urgency on the part of LE at first, so that might have played a role as well.
As far as the sudden shift in the direction of the search/investigation ...: This is something that didn't even catch my attention until very recently; earlier this week, upon realizing that CG's FB page had been reactivated, I decided to go over his posts from the days following Joe's disappearance. The posts are very well written with lots of information and much attention to detail (missing somewhat noticeably: In what part of CO they are in). A little over a day after Joe disappeared, CG posted a status titled "MISSING PERSON." Accompanying the post are tree photos: The first one shows the shoes Joe was wearing, the second Joe's "build," and the third, his face. Over the next three days, CG posted five "updates," along with a few MSM articles reporting on the ongoing search for his lifelong friend far away from where they grew up together. From the totality perspective, the picture that is being painted as CG describes the events immediately following Joe's disappearance is that of a missing person's case, rather than a case of someone getting lost while running, becoming disoriented or getting sick - though according to a FJK FB page administrator, CG himself got sick and in fact vomited after the run. The current consensus among friends and family appears to be something similar to the picture CG was painting two months ago, but as to potential perpetrator(s), I don't think they have a single lead, and there is a reason for that.
In a case like this, anything is possible, it seems. However, some scenarios are more probable than others, and in my opinion, kidnapping is one of the least likely ones. CG disagrees:
[video=youtu;ugRaADu0-ME]http://youtu.be/ugRaADu0-ME[/video] (By the way, Caramel, this is the video I mentioned earlier. Nothing extraordinary. I very much subscribe to the "Everybody is different," as well as the "Each person reacts differently to each situation" school of thought, too, so I wouldn't expect someone to act a certain way in a certain circumstance, either. This sounds so silly, but ... I just get a certain vibe ...).
That video didn't even mention the third friend at all. Or did I miss it?
I never saw this video and now, wow has it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Broadcast mentions Colin and Joe's Family helped search. What about the other friend?
IMO...complete lack of emotion, aloof, indifference, callousness, I could go on but you would be blind not to see it.
"Someone happening to be driving by..." Perhaps someone who stayed behind and had keys to the car....?
wow