Found Deceased MA - Kim Kelly-Oberhauser, 56, Lowell, 18 Jan 2021
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Spider92
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You didn't confuse me. I tend to get confused really well on my own. My brain is still struggling with the concept that rivers can actually flow south to north. Seems like the Merrimack flows south for about 50 miles then turns northeast. Anyways, in the cases I've followed, finding a body once it enters a river or ocean rests a lot on chance.
Not to sidetrack this thread, but when you see a river flowing from south to north, you are looking at a physical map. If you look at a topographical map, you can see elevation.You didn't confuse me. I tend to get confused really well on my own. My brain is still struggling with the concept that rivers can actually flow south to north. Seems like the Merrimack flows south for about 50 miles then turns northeast. Anyways, in the cases I've followed, finding a body once it enters a river or ocean rests a lot on chance.
The elevation in Nashua NH is 151 feet above sea level. In Lowell, it's 107 feet. then it flows to sea level which is 0 feet. So, water still flows downhill.
The reason that river flows so fast, is because the mouth is so wide that with the water rushing into the mouth, it picks up speed when the river narrows, due to the pressure behind it.
Chelly
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USGS Current Conditions for USGS 01100000 MERRIMACK RIVER BL CONCORD RIVER AT LOWELL, MA
I've been googling the recent flow of Merrimack River in Lowell. Most of the data makes my eyes cross and glaze over. The above link helpful, but I won't attempt to translate the data.
I've been googling the recent flow of Merrimack River in Lowell. Most of the data makes my eyes cross and glaze over. The above link helpful, but I won't attempt to translate the data.
If you click on the city, this will give you the exact elevation for that area.
Merrimack River topographic map, elevation, relief
Genealogy lady
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Here are a few things I have been pondering:
1. Why was Kim going out that night?
*She wouldn't have been going back to work unless the police called about a door open (in which case they would have known where she was headed) and she would have definately had her dog and phone with her then.
2. Why didn't she have her phone and dog with her?
*Did she go out just to get something out of her car and something happened?
*Did something cause her car alarm to go off?
3. How was she dressed?
*Did she have a coat on or was she dressed as if she was just running out to her car and back?
4. When did the damage happen to her car?
* Was it in the parking lot of the apartment and caused her alarm to set off?
* Did someone hit her to cause her to pull over?
*Did the damage happen when the car went into the river?
5. What gear was the car in? Drive, neutral or reverse..each of these would suggest something different.
6. Did the security footage show anyone else in the parking lot that might have seen something?
Today is 3 weeks since Kim went missing. I'm sure everything is being done to find her but I know how hard it is to find a missing person in the winter.
1. Why was Kim going out that night?
*She wouldn't have been going back to work unless the police called about a door open (in which case they would have known where she was headed) and she would have definately had her dog and phone with her then.
2. Why didn't she have her phone and dog with her?
*Did she go out just to get something out of her car and something happened?
*Did something cause her car alarm to go off?
3. How was she dressed?
*Did she have a coat on or was she dressed as if she was just running out to her car and back?
4. When did the damage happen to her car?
* Was it in the parking lot of the apartment and caused her alarm to set off?
* Did someone hit her to cause her to pull over?
*Did the damage happen when the car went into the river?
5. What gear was the car in? Drive, neutral or reverse..each of these would suggest something different.
6. Did the security footage show anyone else in the parking lot that might have seen something?
Today is 3 weeks since Kim went missing. I'm sure everything is being done to find her but I know how hard it is to find a missing person in the winter.
Spider92
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All great questions. I assume that LE has answers to many of them but they don't seem to be sharing much yet.
Those are all great questions. What I think could narrow it down is this.
Where's the purse?
Did they find the purse in the house? If they did, that tells me this was deliberate. The reason I think that is because don't most women carry their remote start/key fob in their purse? If the answer is yes, then she had to have taken that out of her purse to get into/start her car, leaving the purse behind intentionally.
Perhaps the same would hold true if she was hit in the parking lot, the alarm went off, and she grabbed the fob from her purse and ran out of the house to shut the alarm off, however, why did those side airbags deploy? I doubt a light scrape along the side from another car would have set them off, but I may be wrong. I'm thinking the sudden impact from the car hitting the water from the side did that, but again, it's all a guess to me. If the car went in the river and was airborne for only a few feet, then the car rolled to the side, and then hit the water. that may explain it.
If they didn't find the purse in the house, or in the car. I'm leaning towards a robbery, or she left the scene willingly to disappear.
If they found the purse in the vehicle, once again, I believe this was an accident, and she's in the water.
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Genealogy lady
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Just a note about the key/fob..I have the same year car and I don't have to take the key out of my purse to get into the car or start it. I just have to touch the handle to unlock it and it is keyless start. Also, we have found that as long as I am only a couple of feet from the car anyone can unlock the doors and start the car.
Just to add to my above post....
IMO, LE never though this was an accident from the start. Not one rescue boat launched. Not one scuba diver that I am aware of. Not one follow up from any local news channels. I've never seen this in my entire life. There's always been some type of update reporting where rescue workers are searching, and when they call off a search, etc.
IMO, LE has never thought this was an abduction. Not one plea from family members asking for her safe return. Not one report from local news during a follow up report where "Police are asking anyone that was in the area of such and such to contact them with any information." Not one press conference with the Lowell police spokesman.
This narrows it down for me anyway. Either they know she left on her own free will, or they have a suspect in mind, and are so sure about him/her that they are only zeroed in on that person.
Once again, all a guess.
IMO, LE never though this was an accident from the start. Not one rescue boat launched. Not one scuba diver that I am aware of. Not one follow up from any local news channels. I've never seen this in my entire life. There's always been some type of update reporting where rescue workers are searching, and when they call off a search, etc.
IMO, LE has never thought this was an abduction. Not one plea from family members asking for her safe return. Not one report from local news during a follow up report where "Police are asking anyone that was in the area of such and such to contact them with any information." Not one press conference with the Lowell police spokesman.
This narrows it down for me anyway. Either they know she left on her own free will, or they have a suspect in mind, and are so sure about him/her that they are only zeroed in on that person.
Once again, all a guess.
Right, but you have to have the fob in your purse close by right? I doubt you could touch the handle and have it open if the fob was in your house, and you certainly would't be able to start the car from a distance.
Agree?
MoeInVA
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Not sure make and model under discussion?
My car I can do remote start and/or unlock from far, inside house. The full capabilities of starting the engine require me to push on the brake though. Agree keys in house are too far to open doors on approach.
Yes, "remote starts" can work up to 80 feet from the vehicle., and yes once the vehicle is started you can drive away without the fob but if you start the car using the remote, and don't have the fob, the car will shut off after 25 minutes. Once you shut the car off, you need the fob to restart.
Would she have left without the Smart Key knowing she would not have been shutting off the car til she got back home? Was she planning on running the car for less than 25 minutes? I think it's fair to say that if she started the car, she planned on going someplace, and I think she had the Smart Key/fob with her.
Genealogy Girl was making reference her "Smart Key" and you'd have to be within 3 feet from the car with the fob to be able to unlock the doors by touching the handles.
Time stamp @ 1.00
You make a good point though. It's possible Kelly could have unlocked the door and started her car from inside of the house using the remote, and the remote may not have been in her purse. The question I have is why? It was in the 40's that day and at 11 pm it was 32. Cold for many, but for a longtime resident of New England?
I don't think she would have started the car from inside the house if someone hit it in the parking lot, but again, I'm guessing.
Seems the first question regarding the SUV would be: where did it go into the river? Maybe it went in very close to the location where it was found. But it also could have gone in at a location upriver. Local CCTV and digital evidence from the SUV might help answer this question.
But if it did go in upriver, how far upriver? In order to estimate this, it seems one would need to know several variables:
How close was the SUV to the riverbank when it was found (was it in the shallows, only a few feet under the surface - or was it 60 feet or more out into the river)?
If the SUV was found very close to the bank, it seems it would have almost had to have gone into the river somewhere close to that same location. At least it doesn't seem likely that it could have gone in just west of the long diagonal boat ramp/dock that juts out into the river at the Lowell Boathouse - otherwise it would have had to have drifted out around the end of the ramp/dock and then turned almost immediately back towards the shore.
What distance would an SUV likely float (or be carried by the current) downstream in the Merrimack River? I'm sure that this could only estimated by first knowing several variables: the direction of the current, the curvature/path of the river, whether the vehicle's windows, doors, and/or moon roof were open or closed, and the flow rate and depth of the river at the time the vehicle entered the water.
Does anyone know how close the vehicle was to the bank when it was found? And does anyone have any educated guesses on the float time / distance question? Where did whatever occurred, occur?
Jmo
But if it did go in upriver, how far upriver? In order to estimate this, it seems one would need to know several variables:
How close was the SUV to the riverbank when it was found (was it in the shallows, only a few feet under the surface - or was it 60 feet or more out into the river)?
If the SUV was found very close to the bank, it seems it would have almost had to have gone into the river somewhere close to that same location. At least it doesn't seem likely that it could have gone in just west of the long diagonal boat ramp/dock that juts out into the river at the Lowell Boathouse - otherwise it would have had to have drifted out around the end of the ramp/dock and then turned almost immediately back towards the shore.
What distance would an SUV likely float (or be carried by the current) downstream in the Merrimack River? I'm sure that this could only estimated by first knowing several variables: the direction of the current, the curvature/path of the river, whether the vehicle's windows, doors, and/or moon roof were open or closed, and the flow rate and depth of the river at the time the vehicle entered the water.
Does anyone know how close the vehicle was to the bank when it was found? And does anyone have any educated guesses on the float time / distance question? Where did whatever occurred, occur?
Jmo
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What I am challenged with is:
-No media coverage on this case.
-Lack of inclusive investigation amongst all the agencies:
Lowell Police
Tyngsboro Police
State Police
DA office
- No family outreach for Kim’s safe return
(Husband, Son and Daughter-in-Law)
You are correct that there was minimum search and rescue done at the time the SUV was pulled out of water. I wish we knew what she was wearing when she left her apartment. Did she have a coat and her purse. Who called or texted her at 10:30 ish that night.
I am still puzzled as to how and where the car entered the Merrimack. But, more puzzled that more hasn’t been done.
When was she reported missing?
BTW, Public Record Kim filed for divorce on 12/21/20.
-No media coverage on this case.
-Lack of inclusive investigation amongst all the agencies:
Lowell Police
Tyngsboro Police
State Police
DA office
- No family outreach for Kim’s safe return
(Husband, Son and Daughter-in-Law)
You are correct that there was minimum search and rescue done at the time the SUV was pulled out of water. I wish we knew what she was wearing when she left her apartment. Did she have a coat and her purse. Who called or texted her at 10:30 ish that night.
I am still puzzled as to how and where the car entered the Merrimack. But, more puzzled that more hasn’t been done.
When was she reported missing?
BTW, Public Record Kim filed for divorce on 12/21/20.
Chelly
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.....and no divers searching the river when, and after, her SUV was recovered.
Justwantohelp
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Spider92
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Hello and thank you for the picture!
Chelly
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Hi @Justwantohelp . Welcome to Websleuths. Yes, it is very odd no one is talking about Kim. She has been missing nearly four-weeks. No statements from police, family, friends. No news reports.