GUILTY IN - Alma Del Real, 22, South Bend, 12 April 2015

[cluciano63]

This has now been too long to effectively release who she left with, what she was doing in the final minutes, who was there with her, what condition she left in.

Now, if this information comes out, other patrons of the place will be saying, wait, was that the night we were there too? When did we leave? It sounds like the family isn't 100% sure she was dropped off - as in, she was not dropped off by a really reliable long time female friend - so it's really time to get details out. IMHO.

Agree that is taking way too long for LE to address the public, if in fact they need help. Memories fade quckly. Sometimes LE takes their secrecy too far and it hurts the victim. If she is not alive, sooner she is found the better, for obvious reasons, but also for evidentiary purposes, cause of death, etc. I hope LE knows what they are doing here. Jmo

 

[bessie]

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Investigators working the case are getting information being passed via friends and relatives of Alma. This information is being circulated by individuals posting to social media sites such as Facebook.

While we encourage dialog, much of this information could help the investigators pursuing the case. Please call us directly with any and all information, however trivial. Detective Jen Gobel is the lead investigator and can be reached at 574.235.7478.

Several pieces of helpful information that were discussed amongst Alma's friends via social media could have moved the investigation forward had police received the messages first-hand in a timely manner.

http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/SBPD-ask-for-publics-help-to-find-missing-woman-299710211.html

I have to bump this post. In fact, I'd like to plaster it in every thread on this board! Case after case, the mods battle with members repeating the rumors and gossip circulating on social media. When I look into it, I'm often appalled to find friends, and even close family members, openly blabbing sensitive information to the entire world, instead of reporting their knowledge to the authorities, and then proceeding to keep their mouths shut. Yet later, it seems everyone wants to blame LE when the situation doesn't end well.

I often wonder if people stop to consider that while they're running their mouths, the guilty party potentially is taking it all in, and covering his butt accordingly. Or that, as they tap away at their keyboards, the truth is being buried deeper and deeper beneath the pile of dung heaped upon it by each tweet and FB post it passes through. Meanwhile, a person is missing or dead, and LE is using up precious time chasing down information that should have been offered to them directly, BEFORE it was tainted. I just don't get it, and I never will.

End of rant. Sorry.

 

[PineyS]

I live/work in South Bend and whoever thinks it is not a high crime area is fooled. There are shootings/stabbings almost every day. There is a lot of gang activity

I am not saying this is what happened to this woman. Or that she is involved in any gangs, but South Bend does have a lot of crime

 

[colette]

I live/work in South Bend and whoever thinks it is not a high crime area is fooled. There are shootings/stabbings almost every day. There is a lot of gang activity

I am not saying this is what happened to this woman. Or that she is involved in any gangs, but South Bend does have a lot of crime

South Bend has always had crime as it is a travel spot between Chicago and Detroit. I know there are shootings just about everywhere at times. There was just one on Fairview, but this is not really a bad neighborhood IMO. I would consider that the west side has more crime. That is why the new gun shot sensors are located there. I think there are pockets of "bad actors" everywhere, but I am not fearful in the area where Alma lived. I personally think she was harmed by someone known to her.

I drove past her home today to see if she really had an apartment like her aunt said. The home looks like a family home but there is a side entrance near where her truck is parked, so could be an apartment.

Shot sensors: Police won't say where the system is installed, only that it covers a contiguous three-square-mile area. Recent alerts indicate it covers a significant portion of the city's west side.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/new...cle_9b073b9a-a200-11e3-a86e-0017a43b2370.html

 

[Treelights]

Alma's NamUs profile:

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/show/28374

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/case_report_html/28374

"She was then dropped off at her home by a male friend of hers around 0310 hours", per the NamUs link for her.

 

[monkey222]

Thank you for the new info. So she was dropped off at her house and last seen walking to the house. Just wondering how close her home entrance is from curb? Street or driveway where she was dropped? Is she in a house with apts? How close are homes or buildings? Alley? Hoping that videos emerge...

 

[monkey222]

Colette, thx for visual driving update. That area of Ewing is alot more isolated than I thought. I am guessing that past midnight the traffic is negligible. I am not feeling good about this. Either she never was dropped off, was dropped off and recollected or another car followed. The wooded area probably does not have foliage yet so that is a plus. Bar video...please....

 

[Annie1004]

I can't help thinking that LE has the information (especially who dropped Alma off) it needs to solve this disappearance or at least knows more than the public and family. LE is doing a disservice to Alma and her family by not communicating its progress UNLESS LE has nothing to go on. That would be scary, so I prefer to believe LE is actively on the case.

 

[monkey222]

In the NamUS link provided by Treelight..reports states that. ."He" told police he didn't assist her to house. So unless He, aka the friend, is anonymous, then logic predicts SBPD knows him. On SBPD twitter..they state they searched an area (paraphrased by me), followed by "No luck."

 

[ontheclock]

I live/work in South Bend and whoever thinks it is not a high crime area is fooled. There are shootings/stabbings almost every day. There is a lot of gang activity

I am not saying this is what happened to this woman. Or that she is involved in any gangs, but South Bend does have a lot of crime

I agree 100%. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and now live on the right side of the tracks (if there actually is one in South Bend). No wandering out after dark ANYWHERE unless by car or packing some heat. With that said, I fully believe this is an isolated case that doesn't involve a random stranger crime. I think LE silence is a huge clue that they are on the case and have a strong POI. I could be wrong, but the circumstances lead me to believe they know who the perp is. I hold on to hope she is still alive and may be found. Otherwise, I think it's just a matter of time, and the proper evidence for conviction. God, I hope I'm wrong.

I'm thinking river dump or wooded area. Ugh. What a beautiful woman. I hate these stories that revolve around bars and drop-offs. I knew another girl once that got kidnapped from outside a bar, she is very lucky to be alive. She survived rape and beatings and was able to make her way out of a house. She had no idea where she was and ran naked down an alley and hid behind a dumpster while her captors teased and tormented her. She made her way to a pay phone and called 911. She found a piece of cardboard to cover her naked body. Sad, but she made it.

 

[Inthedetails]

I agree 100%. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and now live on the right side of the tracks (if there actually is one in South Bend). No wandering out after dark ANYWHERE unless by car or packing some heat. With that said, I fully believe this is an isolated case that doesn't involve a random stranger crime. I think LE silence is a huge clue that they are on the case and have a strong POI. I could be wrong, but the circumstances lead me to believe they know who the perp is. I hold on to hope she is still alive and may be found. Otherwise, I think it's just a matter of time, and the proper evidence for conviction. God, I hope I'm wrong.

I'm thinking river dump or wooded area. Ugh. What a beautiful woman. I hate these stories that revolve around bars and drop-offs. I knew another girl once that got kidnapped from outside a bar, she is very lucky to be alive. She survived rape and beatings and was able to make her way out of a house. She had no idea where she was and ran naked down an alley and hid behind a dumpster while her captors teased and tormented her. She made her way to a pay phone and called 911. She found a piece of cardboard to cover her naked body. Sad, but she made it.

BBM

I agree. If they thought it was a stranger abduction, I think (hope) they would be more vocal about warning people in the area to be extra careful.

I'm hoping they are narrowing in on someone specific, but it sure would be helpful for many reasons to find her soon.

JMO

 

[colette]

Thank you for the new info. So she was dropped off at her house and last seen walking to the house. Just wondering how close her home entrance is from curb? Street or driveway where she was dropped? Is she in a house with apts? How close are homes or buildings? Alley? Hoping that videos emerge...

The home is on the corner and her entrance is very close to the side of the street where her truck is parked. If someone dropped her of she could be in the home in seconds. There is no home across the street anywhere close, the woods across the street have a big fence all the way down with a lot of vegetation on the fence for years. The rest of the homes are spaced apart like most normal single home dwellings in the area.

Another thing about crime in South Bend, I am well aware of it. I worked critical care/ ICU for 24 years followed by 6 years at night major recovery room in the trauma center South Bend Hospital. I worked every Friday night, I liked to call it the gun and knife club. I also owned a home for 20 years very close to her apartment. It is not that bad of an area.

 

[colette]

A couple news stories from local media last night. No clues, nothing found in searches. Her best friend started a go fund me for reward money.

http://www.fox28.com/story/28852817/2015/04/20/more-than-a-week-later-south-bend-woman-still-missing

Detectives say Alma's cell phone has been dead or turned off since the day she went missing, which is a major red flag for her family. Alma's aunt Susana Lagunas says her niece was always on her phone, either texting or checking her Facebook.

....some people fear coming forward because of their legal status. Police said they will not question a person's immigration status if that person is a victim or a witness.

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/missing-in-america/alma-del-real-n345076

 

[monkey222]

Thx Colette again home vicinity detail. Glad there is fencing across the street. I believe as well as this is no stranger abduction. I feel it is a perp that was at the bar, just my gut feeling.

 

[LostOldUserName]

I agree this is sounding like someone that knew her.

 

[Dushi]

Thx Colette again home vicinity detail. Glad there is fencing across the street. I believe as well as this is no stranger abduction. I feel it is a perp that was at the bar, just my gut feeling.

I would like to know more about the male friend that dropped her off.
I am assuming that someone saw her leave with him and thats how LE knows she left with a friend.
If that is so, then I would also assume everyone knows who he is.
It is possible they were followed and when the male friend left, she was abducted.
If someone knocked on her door immediately after she was dropped off, she could have thought it was the friend

Unlikely but a possibility
My money is on the friend at the moment
But how stupid it would be...

 

[lakaterine]

I would like to know more about the male friend that dropped her off.
I am assuming that someone saw her leave with him and thats how LE knows she left with a friend.
If that is so, then I would also assume everyone knows who he is.
It is possible they were followed and when the male friend left, she was abducted.
If someone knocked on her door immediately after she was dropped off, she could have thought it was the friend

Unlikely but a possibility
My money is on the friend at the moment
But how stupid it would be...

Have they actually confirmed that the friend that dropped her off was a male?

 

[Inthedetails]

Have they actually confirmed that the friend that dropped her off was a male?

From the link posted on page 3, it's on this missing person report:

"On 04-12-15 Alma Dereal was hanging out with friends at Rumbas Bar till the early morning hours. She was then dropped off at her home by a male friend of hers around 0310 hours. He informed police that he did not assist her into the house and last saw her walking towards the front of the house. Friends who were out with Dereal have reported that she appeared to be intoxicated that night. "

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/show/28374 (click on "Next Page" if you don't see this description. It's under the heading "Circumstances.")

 

[lakaterine]

Thanks I totally missed that!

I find it very unlikely that he would not have waited to make sure she got into her house safely, especially if the entrance is that close to the street. You don't just drop off a woman this late and just speed off as soon as she gets out of the car!!!

 

[lillygator]

no new news?