IN IN - Kristy Kelley, 27, Boonville, 15 Aug 2014 #1

[steelman]

The big question still remains: Did she leave her cell phone behind on purpose, or did she leave it behind by accident ?

I'm sure if there were any texts or incoming calls made during the last hour she was in the bar, the cops would be all over it by now. Since nothing has been mentioned, I have to assume that there was nothing of note left behind on her phone.

Theory 1
If this was an abduction, the only real way I could see it happening would be if she saw someone she knew walking down the dark street, stopped to ask if they needed a ride, and possibly took a detour to get this individual home. Much to her surprise, the individual attacked her (maybe he was drunk) and demanded to be taken wherever. So where is the car ? Wherever he hid it. Garage, storage shed, barn, a grove of trees, under a big tarp in the back yard ?
The fact that she didn't have her phone with her, might be the luckiest thing that ever happened to this perp., since they can't even track her final pings at this point. Maybe the reason this happened was because she DIDN'T have a phone, and once the perp. realized it, she became a victim.

Theory 2

She left the phone behind deliberately to insure that she could not be tracked. A lot of people are not technically proficient, and might not know if a cell phone could be tracked if it was in sleep mode, if the "off" button had been activated, or if the battery was still in it. Someone that was worried about that, might just leave the entire phone behind. Why would she abandon the phone and run off ? Your guess is as good as mine. People do it all the time though.
I'd be interested to know if she knew anything about the Jennifer Huston case, or if she followed the story along as it was playing out. I remember thinking to myself after they found her, that there may be copy-cats out there that decide to do the same thing.

Keep in mind, there is no activity on her ATM withdrawals, credit cards, or bank accounts. Unlikely she is traveling.

Just to take a stab in the dark, I think it is someone local, somebody she knew and encountered that night after she passed the camera.
I admit it's a small window of opportunity, but none of us know who the perp is or what type of planning may have been involved.
This may have also just been a crime of opportunity, as stated in theory 1 above.

 

[alreetlike]

I'm pleased they're sticking with it "possibly" being her car caught on camera and not ruling anything out based on that evidence. I still get angry when I think about how it was "definitely" Terrilynn Monette's car turning left on Marconi.

 

[IndianaMom]

I read somewhere that her phone was found by a worker in the bar the next morning. The phone was found up on a shelf in the bathroom. The worker did not do anything about the phone. They didn't know who it belonged to and figured it was just forgotten and someone would be in to pick it up later. They didn't think much about it, but when Kristy didn't show up for work the word started spreading around town that she was missing. When the workers at the bar heard Kristy was missing they called Kristy's parents about the phone. The parents came to the bar and got the phone.

Just pointing this out and not saying this is related to Kristy, but I believe that a sex offender lives about a block away from Kristy's parents. And I believe another sex offender is the husband of one of Kristy's coworkers. (I am sorry if this is too much info.)

About the Tastee Freeze closing time. Someone mentioned it closes at 10 and Kristy drove by 20 mintues later. I believe she actually drove by sometime around 1:30 AM. So it was over 3 hours after closing time.

I noticed that there was a go fund me account set up to collect money for a reward fund. They collected a little over $1000 and then announced that they were closing the account and going to send refunds or use the money for printing fliers. They said they didn't want it to interfere with the investigation. I am just curious of the reasons they might decide not to offer a reward. I have thought of a few reasons, but it is all just speculation. I wondered if it was common or if anyone knew why a family might decide not to offer a reward in a missing persons case.

 

[jessarox]

2. Without sleuthing him, what was the nature of her current relationship with the father of her children?

All I could find was that they have been divorced for about a year. No idea how long they were married but their oldest child is around 7 according to the local newspaper birth records.

 

[jessarox]

Keep in mind, there is no activity on her ATM withdrawals, credit cards, or bank accounts. Unlikely she is traveling.

I'm kind of new at this so I apologize if this is a dumb question but what about PayPal (or other similar online banks) accounts? Would the police know whether someone had one? If not, it's possible she had one with a debit card attached and has been using that, right? I'm just thinking it's possible she sold something big (like maybe an old wedding or engagement ring?) on eBay, got the money deposited into PayPal, and ran.

 

[texasgirl2]

About the Tastee Freeze closing time. Someone mentioned it closes at 10 and Kristy drove by 20 mintues later. I believe she actually drove by sometime around 1:30 AM. So it was over 3 hours after closing time.

The 20 minutes later thing if I recall, is about the video of Kristy's car (or should I say...possibly her car) going by a second time, 20 minutes after she went by the first time. Not 20 minutes after the TF closes.

 

[cluciano63]

For some reason, I thought she was returning to her mom's to pick up her kids, as I read she and her parents did not live more than a mile or two apart. But now, I can't recall where I read that. I know they went to their father after she went missing...is it certain they were already with him?

 

[texasgirl2]

Welcome to Websleuths IndianaMom!!

 

[texasgirl2]

For some reason, I thought she was returning to her mom's to pick up her kids, as I read she and her parents did not live more than a mile or two apart. But now, I can't recall where I read that. I know they went to their father after she went missing...is it certain they were already with him?

I read this as well. I think it was somewhere in the first news reports of her disappearance.

 

[IndianaMom]

My apologies if any of my questions have been asked and answered already:

1. Did Kristy's vehicle have a tracking device?
2. Without sleuthing him, what was the nature of her current relationship with the father of her children?

There was no GPS or tracking device in her vehicle. This is just another random fact about her vehicle. I read that she had an accident sometime in the past in her vehicle and the airbag deployed. She never got a new steering wheel after the accident and taped up the slit where the airbag deployed. There was also some dashboard damage.

I have read that Kristy and the father of the children recently divorced but were possibly trying to work things out.

 

[jessarox]

For some reason, I thought she was returning to her mom's to pick up her kids, as I read she and her parents did not live more than a mile or two apart. But now, I can't recall where I read that. I know they went to their father after she went missing...is it certain they were already with him?

If their arrangement is like other joint custody agreements in the area, the kids were probably there on Thursday night and she would pick them back up on Sunday night.

 

[IndianaMom]

The 20 minutes later thing if I recall, is about the video of Kristy's car (or should I say...possibly her car) going by a second time, 20 minutes after she went by the first time. Not 20 minutes after the TF closes.

Thank you for the clarification. And thank you for the welcome! I have read here for a very long time and finally decided to register.

 

[foxtrotromeo]

For some reason, I thought she was returning to her mom's to pick up her kids, as I read she and her parents did not live more than a mile or two apart. But now, I can't recall where I read that. I know they went to their father after she went missing...is it certain they were already with him?

It was said that it was the fathers weekend to have the kids. Remember, this wasn't the weekend yet. This all occurred Thursday night/Friday morning.

 

[IndianaMom]

For some reason, I thought she was returning to her mom's to pick up her kids, as I read she and her parents did not live more than a mile or two apart. But now, I can't recall where I read that. I know they went to their father after she went missing...is it certain they were already with him?

This is what I thought too. The first few days I remember reading that the children were at the Grandparents house (Kristy's parents) that night that Kristy disappeared. Kristy lived with her parents and was expected to be home after going out with friends. She had to work at 7 AM and needed to sleep before work. When they realized Kristy was missing the next day they took the kids to to Father's house which I believe is extremely close by. They didn't want to worry the kids so they had didn't tell them for a couple of days.

 

[ThinkThinkThink]

Something that isn't quite clear: Did Kristy live with her parents or did she have her own place? We are not going to know the addresses or anything but the likely/possible places she might have gone after she left the VFW (assuming she left on her own free will) are very relevant to the investigation.

The vehicle that was videoed driving east on Rt 62 is very likely Kiristy's Xterra. Where might she be going and where did she spend the 20 minutes? (again assuming she was acting on her own free will). Back to the VFW to collect her phone would be a good bet but, when she found it was closed, then where? (Where did the friend/bartender live?). At this point, considering everywhere she might have gone, i.e. whom she might have paid a late night visit and check all along those roadways.

Finding the car is the key to the whole case. If she was abducted, there limited means by which an abductor can make a car "disappear". While a vehicle traveling a cruising speed can travel quite a ways and be propelled into deep water, it is much harder to get a driverless car into water where it won't be found. There are limited places where this might work (reservoirs with steep slops, piers with road access ect.) These sort of places need to be checked. Most of these places are fairly remote and the abductor would then have to deal with the problem of getting back to his own car or home. Two people could do the abduction but that is most unusual. If the car turns up 100 miles or more from Boonville, a whole lot of different possibilities open up.

There is always the possibility of suicide or just taking a "runner". Sometimes the families of Missing Persons withhold critical information. In a small town like Boonville, it would probably be harder to hide that sort of thing. The key is finding the car.

I so hope this does not turn out like the Jennifer Huston case. I see "familiar faces" on here from that case, and I am so glad to see ya!

The Huston case was, for me, such a struggle with my heart and mind. My mind did see that case as a potential suicide, but my heart fought it all the way...I kept clinging onto hope that there was some sort of car accident and she would be found in time...

Despite my mind going to the "suicide" scenario in THAT (Huston) case as most likely, it still was such a punch in the gut when she was found. My heart wasn't ready for that. So I can relate, TEXASGIRL2!

But here I am again...the facts of this case, of course, are very different...so I am taking it all in...and still holding out hope. Because I guess it is just in my DNA to do that.

 

[Topcat]

You would think that cellphone would have been ringing off the hook from friends/family looking for her.

 

[texasgirl2]

Hi ThinkThinkThink! Glad to have another WSer that followed the Jennifer Huston case. Let's hope this one is completely different & we can all celebrate Kristy's safe return! I think it says something about all of us though....we have to move on, and we find a way to do so. But it sure isn't easy to forget some of those tough cases!

 

[cluciano63]

This is what I thought too. The first few days I remember reading that the children were at the Grandparents house (Kristy's parents) that night that Kristy disappeared. Kristy lived with her parents and was expected to be home after going out with friends. She had to work at 7 AM and needed to sleep before work. When they realized Kristy was missing the next day they took the kids to to Father's house which I believe is extremely close by. They didn't want to worry the kids so they had didn't tell them for a couple of days.

Did she live with her Mom? I thought her mom said Kristy was due to come to her house...not like due to come home. I thought Kristy lived a mile or two away from mother.

 

[88keys]

I'm kind of new at this so I apologize if this is a dumb question but what about PayPal (or other similar online banks) accounts? Would the police know whether someone had one? If not, it's possible she had one with a debit card attached and has been using that, right? I'm just thinking it's possible she sold something big (like maybe an old wedding or engagement ring?) on eBay, got the money deposited into PayPal, and ran.

Paypal is not a bank account in itself. Paypal is attached to your regular bank account and/or credit card. It is possible that there would be money in her PayPal account, but investigators should still be able to find it. If she transferred money from her bank acct to her paypal, there would be a record of it on both accounts.

If this was an abduction, the only real way I could see it happening would be if she saw someone she knew walking down the dark street, stopped to ask if they needed a ride, and possibly took a detour to get this individual home. Much to her surprise, the individual attacked her (maybe he was drunk) and demanded to be taken wherever.

That is EXACTLY what I have been thinking about this afternoon. People keep talking about a stranger or perp abduction, but those kinds of abductions are not really that common. Plus this is a very small town with no real active nightlife. At 1:30 in the morning, there's not really anyone around. It would be a HUGE coincidence for a bad person to just happen to be by the VFW when she left or came back. Especially since the VFW was most likely already closed- if you're looking for a victim, why hang around a closed, empty establishment in a tiny town? A perp would have much better luck in Evansville, which is only 20 minutes away.

I think it is much more likely that, if she was abducted, it was by someone she knows. Like Steelman says, maybe she gave someone a ride. Or maybe she got a call while she was still at the bar and that's why she left so suddenly- to go to wherever this person was. She could have decided to go to the bathroom before she left and that's where she accidentally left the phone.

To me, those are the two most likely options. She either had a car accident after she left and hasn't been found yet, or she picked up a local who turned out to be violent. Or she got a call and went to meet someone. I assume the police have checked the last calls/texts/etc on the phone?

 

[88keys]

Locals- If you take the Boonville exit off of I64 and come south towards town, you pass a HUGE...coal mine? Quarry? Gravel pit? What is that thing? Do you think it might be a good place to hide a car?