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

[Satchie]

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.

The article further states

Michael Rust vanished from his isolated home in the Rio Grande National Forest. According to the Valley Courier newspaper, the Saguache County sheriff immediately asked the CBI for assistance.

However, Rust was last heard from by a friend whom he phoned to explain that he had just come home to find someone had broken into his cabin and he was going to try to follow their tire tracks. He had a gun, which may have been stolen by the thieves. During the search, there was bloody clothing found which was sent to the CBI for testing.

I'm sure if any clothing or other physical evidence had been found indicating a crime against Joe, that would have been sent to CBI.

 

[Sutton]

I just read Angelica Sandoval's thread.

Brief summary: A gang member broke into Angelica's apartment and brutally robbed her at gun point. She was scheduled to testify against him, but she was abducted a few days before. Angelica has not been seen since this time. The DA had to drop the charges against the accused because Angelica was not available to testify. (My description doesn't do her justice, this article is short-ish but good: http://www.examiner.com/missing-per...-vanishes-family-friends-say-she-was-abducted)

Articles describe the man who broke into her apartment, as well as other gang members, as brazen and unnecessarily brutal. They know how to control and manipulate LE . They have shown a willingness to silence witnesses at all costs. And they are capable of quickly and silently abducting someone and making them disappear.

These men are time-bombs. They are terrorists.

There is no direct connection to Joe's disappearance. But if there is drug trafficking in that area, then they are probably involved.

If Joe saw anything or just crossed their path, he didn't stand a chance.

Joe could have gotten lost and injured. I'm not ruling that out. But I think some type of criminal encounter is a real possibility.

 

[Treelights]

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.

Thank You!
My thoughts exactly.
If there was an illegal grow in the area, with all of those searchers searching, I would have thought they would have found those.
Marijuana is legal in Colorado. I don't know the limit of plants a person can grown personally.

I just don't get why Joe would decide to make his own trail, unless he got lost.
I wonder if they will find his body eventually. Altitude sickness.

I got dizzy several weeks ago in Cripple Creek. Different altitude than Colorado Springs.

IMOO.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

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.

I agree. I said it before several pages ago that there is no visibility through a pine forest more than maybe 10-20 feet ahead. It is rocky and hilly and fairly thick in spots. He had expressed interest in the rock formations just north of the ranch and honestly I think he may have seen a foot path and thought he might scout it out for they boys to hike later. IMO he went and found a steep embankment and fell.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

I just read Angelica Sandoval's thread.

Brief summary: A gang member broke into Angelica's apartment and brutally robbed her at gun point. She was scheduled to testify against him, but she was abducted a few days before. Angelica has not been seen since this time. The DA had to drop the charges against the accused because Angelica was not available to testify. (My description doesn't do her justice, this article is short-ish but good: http://www.examiner.com/missing-per...-vanishes-family-friends-say-she-was-abducted)

Articles describe the man who broke into her apartment, as well as other gang members, as brazen and unnecessarily brutal. They know how to control and manipulate LE . They have shown a willingness to silence witnesses at all costs. And they are capable of quickly and silently abducting someone and making them disappear.

These men are time-bombs. They are terrorists.

There is no direct connection to Joe's disappearance. But if there is drug trafficking in that area, then they are probably involved.

If Joe saw anything or just crossed their path, he didn't stand a chance.

Joe could have gotten lost and injured. I'm not ruling that out. But I think some type of criminal encounter is a real possibility.

Angelica was abducted in Alamosa CO, which is more than an hour away from the Rainbow Trout Ranch. It's like saying somebody near me was abducted and something happened 60 miles away and just assuming they were connected. Of course there is a possibility, but...

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Thank You!
My thoughts exactly.
If there was an illegal grow in the area, with all of those searchers searching, I would have thought they would have found those.
Marijuana is legal in Colorado. I don't know the limit of plants a person can grown personally.

I just don't get why Joe would decide to make his own trail, unless he got lost.
I wonder if they will find his body eventually. Altitude sickness.

I got dizzy several weeks ago in Cripple Creek. Different altitude than Colorado Springs.

IMOO.

I think the limit is one plant per person and the seeds have to be purchased from a dispensary.

 

[Mamamerced]

I know I'm late to the table, but I doubt his disappearance is due to his stumbling upon a drug grow. With all the searches the patch likely would have been found and the body with it if that were the case. Doubtful a grower would leave the patch to hide a body. Moo

 

[Sutton]

I don't think think the implication is marijuana.

 

[Treelights]

I think the limit is one plant per person and the seeds have to be purchased from a dispensary.

http://norml.org/laws/item/colorado-penalties

"Cultivation
6 plants or fewer*
* By persons 21 years of age or older."

"Cultivation
There is no penalty in Colorado for persons who privately cultivate up to 6 marijuana plants, with no more than 3 being mature."

 

[Treelights]

I don't think think the implication is marijuana.

Post #953 is about marijuana.

Perhaps the tune was changed to marijuana…



I don't think this is about drugs at all though, even though some might.

IMOO.

 

[ceci]

The Keller family hopes that Joe had an accident and that someone will recover his remains so they can have closure.
When I try to explain why our Sheriffs office is leaning towards foul play seems to get twisted and misconstrued. Angelica Sandavol is just an EXAMPLE of gang related crimes and cover ups in that area, it's many things. And after a certain point most of us, who actually knows the whole story not bits, has concluded that the Sheriff Galvez has treated the Keller's very badly and has been unprofessional. Or maybe he takes kickbacks so he's protecting his own interests. We are confused at the behavior of a Man in Blue.

Thank you Sutton, Ceci

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Hi Ceci,

When I try to explain why our Sheriffs office is leaning towards foul play seems to get twisted and misconstrued. Angelica Sandavol is just an EXAMPLE of gang related crimes and cover ups in that area, it's many things.

Could you tell us the reason(s) why the Bradley Co. Sheriff is suspecting foul play?

 

[neesaki]

I agree. I said it before several pages ago that there is no visibility through a pine forest more than maybe 10-20 feet ahead. It is rocky and hilly and fairly thick in spots. He had expressed interest in the rock formations just north of the ranch and honestly I think he may have seen a foot path and thought he might scout it out for they boys to hike later. IMO he went and found a steep embankment and fell.

I've imagined this same scenario if Joe had been alone, which apparently he was. I guess what I'm thinking is that if Joe had been injured or fell on / off one of these trails, it seems that the searchers, knowing the area and the trails, would have found him. Unless there was a mountain lion attack, that might explain it, though even then it seems there would have been evidence of this. JMO

 

[iluvmua]

i was hoping they would have found him by now

 

[neesaki]

The Keller family hopes that Joe had an accident and that someone will recover his remains so they can have closure.
When I try to explain why our Sheriffs office is leaning towards foul play seems to get twisted and misconstrued. Angelica Sandavol is just an EXAMPLE of gang related crimes and cover ups in that area, it's many things. And after a certain point most of us, who actually knows the whole story not bits, has concluded that the Sheriff Galvez has treated the Keller's very badly and has been unprofessional. Or maybe he takes kickbacks so he's protecting his own interests. We are confused at the behavior of a Man in Blue.

Thank you Sutton, Ceci

This kind of scenario is what I've had suspicions about all along. Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[ceci]

Our Sheriff and community has been very generous with offers of help. To start guests stated that the police wasn't taking Joe's disappearance seriously. Very nonchalant. Next Sheriff Galvez refused to give permission for 3 drones to search. They was on standby for 3 days just waiting for his go ahead. Bradley Co offered to immediately send dogs, and a state of the art forensic mobile lab. We understood that Conejo Co was poor and didn't have the resources and wanted to help fray costs. After weeks past SG finally consented to let 2 detectives come to Colorado but wasn't cordial. The way he treated Neal, no sympathy. Saying he will not communicate no longer with the Keller's. It just seems the Sheriff has put up obstacles. He created a fb page with a false name and commented on Find Joe Keller some nasty comments. I'm sure there is many other things I'm not privy to. One last thing Joe is the 3rd person who simply vanished without a trace from the Rainbow and Trout Ranch.

But I reiterate, we all hope that Joe had an accident and this Spring will reveal the answer. I believe another search party is being organized. And to my knowledge Neal does not blame anyone, other than the lack of cooperation of law enforcement. The Keller's are victims and should be treated that way.

 

[ZooSleuth]

@ceci thanks for providing us with updates.

Who are the 2 people who disappeared from Rainbow Trout Ranch before Joe did? I couldn't find anybody besides Joe that disappeared from that area on namus.gov.

 

[Sutton]

CBI's involvement is confusing. Some of it is probably the media, but it seems like the sheriff wants the public to believe the CBI is involved, while CBI says they are not.

Even if Joe did die from an accident, local LE might not want huge search parties or drones in the area if there is anything shady going on. All JMO.

 

[ceci]

The Keller's just returned from Gulf port Florida. The Sheriff called hoping that Joe had been found and wanted the Keller's to go down. It wasn't Joe but the Sheriff was super kind. IDK how to link but the full story is on Find Joe Keller FB.

The details aren't clear on the other missing persons. One happened 20 yrs ago. A wealthy Texan man. His family ran into the same thing as far as no police cooperation. The other was an employee.

Neal attended a conference in Colorado about missing people in their state. Over 300 missing/unsolved people.

Please go to the FJK Fb page and share this latest posts. Thank you for the interest in finding Joe.

 

[scotto8647]

Update from the Find Joe Keller FB page:

UPDATE May 13, 2016:
The day has arrived - the end of a week of searching. And still no clues. The best we can say with growing confidence is that the likelihood of Joe being found within 2.9 miles of the Ranch is diminishing with each passing day. The experienced, dedicated searchers are sadden to have not found Joe - and we will pray again this day, "Dear Lord, where is Joe?"
Ten highly trained canines, 8 handlers, 11+ field support, and volunteers from the community s...earched for up to 8 hours daily. They combed through mountainous terrain, grassy meadows, river banks, down trails and roads with no sign of Joe. They kept in contact with the base with radios, returned to base to debrief and get assignments for the following day. David Francis, of the Jon Francis Foundation, along with Chuck and Janine Keuhn the Search Managers, have SAR down to a science. Using GPS on the dogs and/or handlers, they entered info into a computer program daily. The maps soon filled up with lines showing which ground had been covered. Nightly evaluation of maps led to search assignments for the following day.
Infinite thanks to Carolyn Koozer for arranging lodging, San Juan Mountain Church pastor Lynn and wife Tami for opening your church for meals, refreshment and encouragement, Conejos Canyon Community Chapel for more meals and fellowship and all the church members and community that opened you homes and hearts to Joe's family and friends in need and the SAR teams.
One of the ground search teams did find a sleeping bag, a tarp, some bug spray and a pot. Down the river a little ways they also found an old backpack.