GA GA - Brian Wehrle, 39, Carrollton, 23 Sept 2009

[cluciano63]

As per the family, if Brian went out between 2 am and 8 am it would have been a 5 minute trip to either a store or an eatery. He was in Carrollton so if he was on his 5 minute trek and had an emergency, he would have been less than 5 mins from home.

I'm sure his body would have been found by daylight at the latest if he had a medical emergency in Carrollton.

I agree-unless he met with foul play locally and very quickly AND was buried very well or body taken elsewhere and hidden...he should have been found. Had it been stated that he was going to have to return to work, I thought that the finances were not a big factor? I don't recall reading that. Unlikely, but possible that he picked up someone hitchhiking that day I supposed but that only explains why he missed the meeting if the person turned out to be one with bad intent and forced him to drive away from town...i just can't think of a scenario that was not brought forward...

 

[webrocket]

I agree-unless he met with foul play locally and very quickly AND was buried very well or body taken elsewhere and hidden...he should have been found. Had it been stated that he was going to have to return to work, I thought that the finances were not a big factor? I don't recall reading that. Unlikely, but possible that he picked up someone hitchhiking that day I supposed but that only explains why he missed the meeting if the person turned out to be one with bad intent and forced him to drive away from town...i just can't think of a scenario that was not brought forward...

I'm not sure who would be hitchhiking at that hour and I really doubt Brian would have picked anyone up. If you read the feedback from the family (by way of dreamweaver) I got the impression Brian did not warm up to strangers, notwithstanding the 'interesting people' he supposedly met at Taco Bell.

 

[dreamweaver]

I received a pm from family of Brian W.

No response to oil change sticker question or if he kept mileage records.

Family info: quote:
" Brian was not fed up with his life, yes he did love his nieces and nephews; out of 22 of them only 4 are under the age of 16, so in sum they were adults not to mention all the adult interaction he had from his sisters, partner and friends. "

quote: " He was still in charge of my grandmothers care but was not caring for her. Caring for her did create lots of stress for him but like I have already said when things became too much he said so. So she was no longer in his physical care."

The statement from family says that his grandmother is in an adult foster care situation (my paraphrasing) and
that Brian and everyone else in the family were very happy with this.
He went to Carollton frequently, not just for her care. He visited family ALOT and is very close to them.

quote from pm:
"Jeff had been retired for a couple of years. Brian was seeking employment casually but was not in a big hurry because he enjoyed his life style the way it was. "

quote:
"Brian was very much a night owl and it would not be out of character for him to run to the store at 2, 3, 4, or 5 in the morning, even if he had an appointment at 9.
No news from the GBI yet. "

 

[dreamweaver]

I agree-unless he met with foul play locally and very quickly AND was buried very well or body taken elsewhere and hidden...he should have been found. Had it been stated that he was going to have to return to work, I thought that the finances were not a big factor? I don't recall reading that. Unlikely, but possible that he picked up someone hitchhiking that day I supposed but that only explains why he missed the meeting if the person turned out to be one with bad intent and forced him to drive away from town...i just can't think of a scenario that was not brought forward...

IMO: Brian ran into trouble.
Was it a hitchhiker or someone who wanted his car at 3am at Walmart parking lot?
It just seems unlikely that Brian would stop for a hitchhiker and
how many people are going to commander an old car with plastic on a broken window?
How many people would stop to rob a guy whose car didn't really look like he had much money?

I disregarded the medical problem theory also.
He would have been found by now. Who would take his car in that case?

And from what family says, he did not have a financial need to return to work. He thought about it going back to work, but had not acted on it.

There is no earthly reason for him to be missing, but he is.

 

[carbuff]

As per the family, if Brian went out between 2 am and 8 am it would have been a 5 minute trip to either a store or an eatery. He was in Carrollton so if he was on his 5 minute trek and had an emergency, he would have been less than 5 mins from home.

I'm sure his body would have been found by daylight at the latest if he had a medical emergency in Carrollton.

Unless he decided that while he was out, he'd stop somewhere else to pick up something else, maybe stop for gas? Or Walmart didn't have the map he wanted so he decided to try another store. Especially if it was in the morning while he was on his way to the meeting.

I agree that it seems odd somebody didn't find him, but it seems even less likely that he would just walk off.

 

[dreamweaver]

What stands out to me is that Brian knew lots of people in the neighborhood.
He is seen by a long time neighbor in the garage at his family's house at
2:00am.

He would think nothing of taking off to Walmart in the middle of the night.
He would jump in the car and run down to his favorite eating place.

THEORY ONLY: MAYBE.
Maybe, and this is maybe only, because I am just reaching here, as nothing else seems to add up:
maybe Brian walked to a neighbor's house?
maybe he was thinking of borrowing
tools for the car or stopping in to say hi?
maybe he saw a light on at a neighbor's house.
maybe he thought, someone's up, maybe they want some company?
maybe it is someone he has known forever?

then, that maybe neighbor hears noises, goes out with a gun,
it goes off, accidentally or otherwise and then the neighbor
sees that it is Brian.
neighbor does not want to call the police, panics,
hides or buries Brian's body,
or
takes Brian back to his car,
then stashes the car in an old garage or a barn,
then steals a license plate 3 weeks later
and 2 weeks after that, dumps the car in Chattanooga, TN.

Possible?

 

[webrocket]

I don't know what else to say. The family refuses to accept the possibility of a voluntary departure. Jeff stated in an article is was a possibility, but the family made it seem like he was saying that to throw LE a bone.

I'm not advocating the voluntary departure to make anyone in the family upset. I do so because I think the likelihood of the other scenarios are VERY remote. They portray a guy who has medical disabilities and what I would consider to be an unfair share of family elder care burdens to be as happy as a clam.

Unfortunately, this thread has not caught a fraction of the attention as some of the others and that there are a relatively few number of people posting here. Of those of us who are posting here, can you provide any feedback on this?

Am I alone in thinking that his life, from strictly an objective standpoint, stunk?

 

[carbuff]

So much depends on what kind of man he was. Many people enjoy caring for others and having primary responsibility like that. And it sounds like he didn't have any problem with saying when something was too much for him. I agree his world wasn't all sunshine and roses, but I don't see any sign he wasn't coping, y'know?

 

[webrocket]

question for the family. Assuming Brian was the victim of a crime between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. in Carrollton, did they check with the local police to see if there were any violent crimes at those same hours of the day involving a victim who was driving his or her own car?

If there were others, then there might be a pattern. If there were no others then it is unlikely that Brian was the first.

 

[cluciano63]

I agree that it might appear that Brian had a crummy life-but on the other hand, the family said his health was not keeping him from working right now and it seems to me that he did not have to work, that money was not a problem. And it is true some people like being involved in elder care, etc. and if he was not physically having to care for his grandmother (mother?) then that would probably not be an issue. But I do agree that it is certainly possible he left on his own, just because people DO and their loved ones will never believe it.
The scenario about the neighbor/shooting by mistake is out there, but not impossible. Not sure how close houses are together and if shot would have been heard, etc...
I think foul play came about at some point, what i am not sure of, is whether it took place in Carrollton or had Brian left town on his own and then met up with trouble...hence his car later in TN...

 

[dreamweaver]

I don't know what else to say. The family refuses to accept the possibility of a voluntary departure. Jeff stated in an article is was a possibility, but the family made it seem like he was saying that to throw LE a bone.

I'm not advocating the voluntary departure to make anyone in the family upset. I do so because I think the likelihood of the other scenarios are VERY remote. They portray a guy who has medical disabilities and what I would consider to be an unfair share of family elder care burdens to be as happy as a clam.

Unfortunately, this thread has not caught a fraction of the attention as some of the others and that there are a relatively few number of people posting here. Of those of us who are posting here, can you provide any feedback on this?

Am I alone in thinking that his life, from strictly an objective standpoint, stunk?

I do not think his life stunk.
I think he has a great family, many siblings, their spouses, neices and nephews, a partner of 13 years, friends, a job skill he enjoyed. His mom is still living and he could enjoy his time with her.

To me, it seems he enjoyed helping his mom and he was glad that Jeffrey's mom came to live with them after her loss.
It looks to me like they had enough financial cushion to have two homes and travel to family gatherings and just enjoy life.
He had his medical problems under control.

IMO: I say all this, because I am the type of person who would live the kind of life that Brian does.
And I have done so.

IMHO: Brian met with foul play, somehow, somewhere.

 

[cluciano63]

i was just mentioning the possibility that brian initially left on his own but then met with foul play...
i truly believe he did NOT leave intentionally as i just don't think he would leave all of these loved ones up in the air like this...
but unfortunately, people do go away on their own sometimes, and then run into trouble they can't handle...it is just a theory, not my personal opinion...as in Maura Murray; she DID go away on her own but
i don't think anyone believes she is still off unharmed, on her own...

 

[webrocket]

I assume by now LE did a thorough sweep of the LeSabre. Did they find anything that might have been out of the ordinary? We obviously know about the change of plates but did they at least look for fingerprints? Hair? Any microscopic traces of blood?

We do know that someone else was using the car about a month or so before it was found in Chattanooga. It is odd to me that whatever Brian left behind was still there - a book, a receipt and a container of change.

 

[dreamweaver]

Per family on FB pm, GBI has not completed the tests on the car.
Or as the pm says,
" Spoke with the GBI today and they are still trying to find the case! "


I wrote back, asking what does that mean, the paperwork is missing or the car?

 

[webrocket]

Per family on FB pm, GBI has not completed the tests on the car.
Or as the pm says,
" Spoke with the GBI today and they are still trying to find the case! "


I wrote back, asking what does that mean, the paperwork is missing or the car?

I thought they checked out the vehicle when it was found in Chattanooga then returned to the family. I'm not 100% sure but I thought I read that the GBI wanted to take a second look at the car. Not bright from a chain of evidence standpoint and it makes you wonder what they did or did not do with the car the first time.

I get the impression, and I could be wrong, that the family just seems to accept whatever at face value. For instance at various times these unfolded:

- Brian said he was thinking of buying a topographical map so they assume he bought it.
- They assumed Brian ran into a flooded road;
- they thought maybe it was a medical emergency;
- when the car was found they assumed it was foul play as did the police;
- They were frustrated that LE did not ask WalMart to turn over surveillance tapes;
- They assumed that the GBI was taking a second look at the vehicle;
- they say they are frustrated with Chattanooga police for not questioning people int he area about the car.

A few answers have come about and now they asked a few questions.

given the condition of the vehicle, it was not caught in a flood;
there was NO sign of any struggle in the vehicle and everything was intact;
if Brian went out that morning it would only have been a 5 minute trip so it is not likely he had a medical emergency that close to home and business establishments where he might have gotten help;
they inquired and found out from WalMart that they never sold a map that night;
upon following up with GBI they hear that they are trying to 'find the case'?

I don't know who had the checklist that helped find Robert Hall's submerged vehicle, but perhaps if someone posted it here, at least the family might be able to look over a list see what they have done, what they have not done, and what items to follow up with.

For what it is worth, and I am not trashing LE, but they do not like to spend time on missing adults, especially men, and if given a simple way to close a file they will. So for them finding the LeSabre with stolen TN plates was a nice way for them to say "he must have met with foul play" without doing a thing to figure out what that foul play was or who did it.

 

[dreamweaver]

Brian's car was checked out when found in Chattanooga. I do not know
how thorough a job was done.
But GBI agreed recently that a forensic team would go over the car.
No news today about the GBI tests.

I think LE and family are hoping that there is some kind of forensic evidence that would point to who drove the car, which might lead to some answers about what happened to Brian W
Right now, there is not much to go on.

 

[dreamweaver]

I thought they checked out the vehicle when it was found in Chattanooga then returned to the family. I'm not 100% sure but I thought I read that the GBI wanted to take a second look at the car. Not bright from a chain of evidence standpoint and it makes you wonder what they did or did not do with the car the first time.

I get the impression, and I could be wrong, that the family just seems to accept whatever at face value. For instance at various times these unfolded:

- Brian said he was thinking of buying a topographical map so they assume he bought it.
- They assumed Brian ran into a flooded road;
- they thought maybe it was a medical emergency;
- when the car was found they assumed it was foul play as did the police;
- They were frustrated that LE did not ask WalMart to turn over surveillance tapes;
- They assumed that the GBI was taking a second look at the vehicle;
- they say they are frustrated with Chattanooga police for not questioning people int he area about the car.

A few answers have come about and now they asked a few questions.

given the condition of the vehicle, it was not caught in a flood;
there was NO sign of any struggle in the vehicle and everything was intact;
if Brian went out that morning it would only have been a 5 minute trip so it is not likely he had a medical emergency that close to home and business establishments where he might have gotten help;
they inquired and found out from WalMart that they never sold a map that night;
upon following up with GBI they hear that they are trying to 'find the case'?

I don't know who had the checklist that helped find Robert Hall's submerged vehicle, but perhaps if someone posted it here, at least the family might be able to look over a list see what they have done, what they have not done, and what items to follow up with.

For what it is worth, and I am not trashing LE, but they do not like to spend time on missing adults, especially men, and if given a simple way to close a file they will. So for them finding the LeSabre with stolen TN plates was a nice way for them to say "he must have met with foul play" without doing a thing to figure out what that foul play was or who did it.

Per FB pm last night:
partial quote:
"Nobody assumed he bought a topographical map it was just something he had mentioned to all of us in the last conversations we had with him, so we knew he wanted one. Nobody assumed he must have went to Wal Mart it just happens to be one of the three places opened that late. Nobody assumed foul play and the investigators still aren't. We went with logical explanations first. The facts are that there was major flooding in the area and he had trouble with it earlier and expressed a desire to find another way home. Would you please ask him to stop victim blaming? This is very serious. We have tried all available news outlets and are getting ignored. We have tried gay advocacy groups but they say there is nothing they can do. We have tried to organize rallies and motivate involvement but the fact of the matter is is that people care about as little when it's an older white male as they do if he were a minority. The family has never assumed anything and have only tried to cooperate by answering questions while some posters to the web site have done nothing but assume hypocritically. We don't know what has happened and are finding little to no help. We are open to all possibilities but you have to accept that we know him best too."

From what I gather, family is increasingly frustrated by the lack of help from LE and the inability to get Brian's status out in the public more.

That does happen in some cases.

IMO, the frustration is clearly stated in the above FB pm.

I think we all want to help find Brian. It seems we may be stuck in the
same ...which way to go... syndrome as family and LE.

May the answers be presented to find Brian.

 

[webrocket]

It is not my intent to goad the family in any way. I am trying to spark some discussion here and for whatever reason the public does not get very interested in the disappearance of a gay white man from Atlanta.

Having said that, the source of some of my statements were in fact items that were in the press and even the video segment that had been posted on I think Fox.

Jeff was quoted (and I am paraphrasing) that he thought Brian got stuck in the flood and that he had worried that he might have drowned. Jeff was relieved to learn that he had not drowned. In the same video, the policeman from Carrollton said they were looking at it as foul play by virtue of the discovery of the stolen plates. I think, and I could be mistaken, that Jeff and Anita both assumed it was foul play.

There was an online news item from an Atlanta gay group. I did see the article but not one person commented on it.

As for the other all night places, did the family ask if they had any surveillance? It might be too late as this happened back in October.

 

[dreamweaver]

We do need discussion.
I am not sure why some missing person cases catch a lot of attention and some do not.

On a lot of the missing cases that are men, it seems there are a lot of locals and/or family posting.
Case in point: Robert Hall, missing, and found, sadly, deceased.

I wish I knew something else to do.
Ideas?

 

[cluciano63]

I think about Brian and this case every day...it really affects me for some reason as I think he has come to harm and it is unimaginable that his family might never know what happened to him. Even if he had wanted to go away at first (which i am not saying is the case) I certainly don't believe it is plausible to anyone that he has stayed away on his own this long, not to mention his car being in someone else' possesion w/ stolen plates. Of course there has been foul play, but of what type?
I wish one of the TV shows would do a profile of this case, it certainly is interesting enough and many people would be interested, I think. I am a middle-aged woman and I am heartbroken over it. I can't imagine what his family is going through anymore than the family of any person who goes missing. I hate that there are some cases that are seen to be "media-worthy" and splashed all over the place (although lucky for those families, I guess) and then so many others where you are on your own.
Is there anyone to contact to encourage more active investigation, or are they saying it is an open case and basically they are stuck? Anything to be done?