Mexico Mexico - Jenny Chen, 26, Oaxaca, 11 April 2016 #4

[southlanecherry]

To clarify the usage of the Chinese app WeChat -
There really isn't anything mysterious about this App. It basically works the same way like Whatsapp. To register for an account on WeChat, you need to link it to a phone number. However, you do not need to have another person's phone number in order to add them to your WeChat. You can either add by using their username or by scanning their QR code. I have lots of people on my WeChat and I don't have their phone numbers.

If JR also has WeChat (which I assume he does since he lived in China for years) Jenny did not need to buy a sim/phone card in Mexico to communicate with him. With stable wifi, she would be able to make video call (ie. facetime) or voice call to him. When I travel nowadays, I never buy phone cards to make calls anymore since WIFI is so prevalent and calling via a chat app is zero cost.

So why did Jenny purchase a phone? The only possible explanation I can think of is to contact someone in Mexico. It makes sense to buy a phone locally if you want to make cheap local calls, right? Also, is it possible that she was preemptively preparing to switch phones, ditching her old phone so no one could find her?

Yes, I hope we learn more about the nature of the exchange this new witness from Feb 2017 had with Jenny. And how this person came to bring this information to JR.

As for Jenny's not sharing a new phone number with JR, here's a link, which is in Spanish:
http://www.nvinoticias.com/nota/8660/esposo-busca-china-desaparecida

The part about the phone:
"El misterio del teléfono
Al llegar a territorio mexicano, la mujer que trabajó como cajera y luego se tomó un año sabático, compró un teléfono celular, pero no le dio el número a su esposo y únicamente se comunicaba con él vía redes sociales cuando encontraba conexiones wi-fi."

Translation, through Google Translate:
The Mystery of the Phone
"Upon arriving in Mexican territory, the woman who worked as a cashier and then took a sabbatical, bought a cell phone, but did not give the number to her husband and only communicated with him via social networks when he found wi-fi connections."

Also, here's a link to my own post from about a year ago with some info gleaned from JR's postings on HFJ, and my own questioning of Jenny's use of WeChat. Claudius later explained a bit to me that via WeChat one can do messaging and calls through the Internet. Perhaps you can further expand our knowledge of its usage. Would you guess that that is primarily how Jenny communicated to JR and others? Would she have needed a Mexico phone or SIM card in order to use WeChat to communicate with JR or her family and friends in the US, China? Is there a phone number attached to a WeChat account?
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...axaca-11-April-2016-2&p=12846156#post12846156

 

[Lilibet]

To clarify the usage of the Chinese app WeChat -
There really isn't anything mysterious about this App. It basically works the same way like Whatsapp. To register for an account on WeChat, you need to link it to a phone number. However, you do not need to have another person's phone number in order to add them to your WeChat. You can either add by using their username or by scanning their QR code. I have lots of people on my WeChat and I don't have their phone numbers.

If JR also has WeChat (which I assume he does since he lived in China for years) Jenny did not need to buy a sim/phone card in Mexico to communicate with him. With stable wifi, she would be able to make video call (ie. facetime) or voice call to him. When I travel nowadays, I never buy phone cards to make calls anymore since WIFI is so prevalent and calling via a chat app is zero cost.

So why did Jenny purchase a phone? The only possible explanation I can think of is to contact someone in Mexico. It makes sense to buy a phone locally if you want to make cheap local calls, right? Also, is it possible that she was preemptively preparing to switch phones, ditching her old phone so no one could find her?

BBM

Thanks cherry. So would you say that when JR said “she called her mother every day” he meant that Jenny used a chat app, not a phone? I always assumed she used the phone to call her mother, but what you say makes sense.

“She was having a great time,” he said, mentioning her frequent photo updates on social media. “She called her mother every day and she talked to her friends in China. No one has heard from her since April 11. Everyone’s calling me, worried.”

http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/04/27/jenny-chen-missing-seattle-mexico/50514

A phone would be useful within Mexico, perhaps to contact her couchsurfing hosts or in emergencies. Or if she didn’t give the number to JR or to her family, she could disappear. But personally, I think she just didn’t want JR to be able to contact her directly on his terms and timeframe. It’s harder to ignore a ringing phone than it is to ignore a message online. This way she retained her power and autonomy in the relationship. JMO

 

[slowpoke]

BBM

Thanks cherry. So would you say that when JR said “she called her mother every day” he meant that Jenny used a chat app, not a phone? I always assumed she used the phone to call her mother, but what you say makes sense.

“She was having a great time,” he said, mentioning her frequent photo updates on social media. “She called her mother every day and she talked to her friends in China. No one has heard from her since April 11. Everyone’s calling me, worried.”

http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/04/27/jenny-chen-missing-seattle-mexico/50514

A phone would be useful within Mexico, perhaps to contact her couchsurfing hosts or in emergencies. Or if she didn’t give the number to JR or to her family, she could disappear. But personally, I think she just didn’t want JR to be able to contact her directly on his terms and timeframe. It’s harder to ignore a ringing phone than it is to ignore a message online. This way she retained her power and autonomy in the relationship. JMO

I agree with your thoughts on SLcherry's post. So it seems surprising if none of her couchsurfer hosts would have had her purchased Mexico phone's number, if it was for local calls. Kinda of odd, too, she would tell JR she bought a phone yet not share the number to it at the same time. I mean, if she wanted him not to call her on it, why even tell him about the phone in the first place?

SLcherry, with WeChat, is there an online access to one's account to be able to view a record of calls and other activity, similar to a phone's record on a monthly bill?

 

[GigTu]

Wifi is probably not available out in "the wild", whereas cell coverage might be. I can see why she'd also want a phone. What I don't get is why she withheld the phone number from JR. THAT is very telling.

I have trouble believing Jenny disappeared purposefully, only because she has made no contact with her family nor friends. I hope that at some point the friend from Wenzhou contacts SLC and tells her everything she knows. Between all of us, we could possibly at least find out if Jenny is alive somewhere. If so, we need to keep out of her business if she is safe, and that might be important to reiterate to the 'friend' in effort to get her support in determining Jenny's status.

As a side note... what odds does everyone give that Jenny is alive in MC? I say 10%.

 

[southlanecherry]

Yes, exactly, Lilibet. Who still buy phone cards nowadays when there is free apps like whatsapp and wechat available? People just facetime or video call.

BBM

Thanks cherry. So would you say that when JR said “she called her mother every day” he meant that Jenny used a chat app, not a phone? I always assumed she used the phone to call her mother, but what you say makes sense.

“She was having a great time,” he said, mentioning her frequent photo updates on social media. “She called her mother every day and she talked to her friends in China. No one has heard from her since April 11. Everyone’s calling me, worried.”

http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/04/27/jenny-chen-missing-seattle-mexico/50514

A phone would be useful within Mexico, perhaps to contact her couchsurfing hosts or in emergencies. Or if she didn’t give the number to JR or to her family, she could disappear. But personally, I think she just didn’t want JR to be able to contact her directly on his terms and timeframe. It’s harder to ignore a ringing phone than it is to ignore a message online. This way she retained her power and autonomy in the relationship. JMO

 

[southlanecherry]

Yes, exactly, Lilibet. Who still buy phone cards nowadays when there is free apps like whatsapp and wechat available? People just facetime or video call.

BBM

Thanks cherry. So would you say that when JR said “she called her mother every day” he meant that Jenny used a chat app, not a phone? I always assumed she used the phone to call her mother, but what you say makes sense.

“She was having a great time,” he said, mentioning her frequent photo updates on social media. “She called her mother every day and she talked to her friends in China. No one has heard from her since April 11. Everyone’s calling me, worried.”

http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/04/27/jenny-chen-missing-seattle-mexico/50514

A phone would be useful within Mexico, perhaps to contact her couchsurfing hosts or in emergencies. Or if she didn’t give the number to JR or to her family, she could disappear. But personally, I think she just didn’t want JR to be able to contact her directly on his terms and timeframe. It’s harder to ignore a ringing phone than it is to ignore a message online. This way she retained her power and autonomy in the relationship. JMO

 

[southlanecherry]

slowpoke, I looked up the links you gave me. They are nothing of importance unfortunately.

The link from GigTu is a basically an online forum where people post discussions about all sort of topics. This particular page is not even made by Jenny. It was made by someone else and the topic of the thread is called jennycqd which is her weibo username. It makes sense that it was made on April 29, some time after Jenny's disappearance. For some reason it did not gather any attention. But I have seen plenty of forum threads about her disappearance. The general tone is not very positive and sympathetic.

The link from Dexter is a some kind of sub page under a WenZhou (Jenny's hometown) real estate info page. The main website shows the buy/sale info of houses in the city of WenZhou. And this is just a blog page connected to the main website where users can write blogs (about buy and selling property and interest I assume). This is Jenny's page. It has her phone number, but I doubt it is still in use because this page was made in 2010.

FYI everyone, I will be traveling for the next month. I will check in whenever I can but probably won't be able to keep up with this everything. If anything needs to be translated, please send me a direct message or a link to the particular post. It will save me lots of time of going through posts. Thanks!

Southlanecherry , there's a couple of sites a couple of our WS posters brought here before for our attention, and I'd be interested to hear your input on them (if you wouldn't mind). They are in Chinese.

GigTu posted:
http://www.wzfc.net/space/sell.aspx?u=jennycqd&uid=37420

There is phone information on here for Jenny. Might this info be useful?

And DexterMorgan posted:
https://tieba.baidu.com/mo/q/m?word...=16842752&lp=6093&sub4=进吧&pn=0&

He noted that there's a date of 4/29/16 on the account, which appears to be the opening date. We felt this could be very significant, as this is AFTER the date we've been told (4/11/16), for the date she went missing.

Any insight you can give? What are these sites, and what might they tell us that could be useful in finding Jenny?

 

[KaaBoom]

Wifi is probably not available out in "the wild", whereas cell coverage might be. I can see why she'd also want a phone. What I don't get is why she withheld the phone number from JR. THAT is very telling.

I have trouble believing Jenny disappeared purposefully, only because she has made no contact with her family nor friends. I hope that at some point the friend from Wenzhou contacts SLC and tells her everything she knows. Between all of us, we could possibly at least find out if Jenny is alive somewhere. If so, we need to keep out of her business if she is safe, and that might be important to reiterate to the 'friend' in effort to get her support in determining Jenny's status.

As a side note... what odds does everyone give that Jenny is alive in MC? I say 10%.

What evidence is there that Jenny is not currently in contact with her family and friends? Have any of her family or friends, recently claimed that they still can't contact her? Why does her family and friends seem not to be concerned with Jenny's whereabouts?

It seems hard to believe that her family was concerned enough about Jenny to fly all the way to Mexico, when she disappeared. But then they just forgot about her, after that. No followups, no nothing.

 

[rosesfromangels]

What evidence is there that Jenny is not currently in contact with her family and friends? Have any of her family or friends, recently claimed that they still can't contact her? Why does her family and friends seem not to be concerned with Jenny's whereabouts?

It seems hard to believe that her family was concerned enough about Jenny to fly all the way to Mexico, when she disappeared. But then they just forgot about her, after that. No followups, no nothing.

Exactly. Doesn't add up, unless of course, they know she is alive and well.

 

[Lilibet]

What evidence is there that Jenny is not currently in contact with her family and friends? Have any of her family or friends, recently claimed that they still can't contact her? Why does her family and friends seem not to be concerned with Jenny's whereabouts?

It seems hard to believe that her family was concerned enough about Jenny to fly all the way to Mexico, when she disappeared. But then they just forgot about her, after that. No followups, no nothing.

Exactly. Doesn't add up, unless of course, they know she is alive and well.

BBM

Yes, we have no way of knowing that Jenny hasn’t been in touch with her family, except that she had been silent even before they came to Mexico. Given her almost daily calls to her Mom, that’s significant to me.

But I’m not sure that their silence necessarily has to mean that they are no longer concerned about her because they know she is alive and well. Cherry’s post from the last thread gives other valid possibilities for her family’s silence IMO. And, as is true of some families of the missing in the U.S., it’s possible they just trust LE (and JR?) to handle it and don’t have the inner ability to strongly advocate for Jenny. Stephanie Warner’s family is a case in point, for the most part.
JMO

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...axaca-11-April-2016-3&p=13622520#post13622520

 

[webant]

For me, the following posts by Websleuths member southlanecherry are convincing circumstantial evidence. If truthful and accurate, then Jenny’s family has had no contact from her since she disappeared.

Thread 3 Post 1221 southlanecherry:
https://www.weibo.com/jennycqd?is_all=1#1505476965478
Feb 5th was Jenny Chen's birthday. On her weibo there is an automatic system update alerting her followers of her birthday. Some new comments appeared under this post. One of the commenters was a close friend of hers. She has left three messages. On Feb 5th, she wrote that she thought that Jenny was back but only to find that this post was a system update. She said they grew up together and were very close, but she was sad that Jenny didn't even tell her where she was going. They had made a promise to go to North Pole together in 2019. On June 20th, she wrote that she was leaving Europe in 6 months. She said Jenny meant to come visit her in Europe but it never happened. She planned to go to the States and visit Seattle. On July 4th, she posted again saying the she has returned to Wenzhou (Jenny's hometown) and couldn't stop reminiscing the time when they went swimming in the summers.

Thread 4 Post 41 southlanecherry:
(image of Chinese text attached)
I have just dug a little deeper into Jenny's friend's weibo. Apparently I should have done this in the beginning when I saw her comment. I'm so bad at this. I should have been more diligent. Translation: "@jennycqd My new roommate just went to Mexico for vacation, he said he had a blast. I thought of you again. Are you okay? I went to see your dad when I went back to China, it was only a short visit. They went to look for you but didn't find you. When I have the chance, I will help you find the people you are looking for, I will take a look at them on your behalf. Maybe I will return home next year. Maybe the year after next. But this is a crowded world, I don't really have faith. I hope it is all well with you, no matter where you are, please be happy." This post was made on September 4th.

 

[KaaBoom]

BBM

Yes, we have no way of knowing that Jenny hasn’t been in touch with her family, except that she had been silent even before they came to Mexico. Given her almost daily calls to her Mom, that’s significant to me.

But I’m not sure that their silence necessarily has to mean that they are no longer concerned about her because they know she is alive and well. Cherry’s post from the last thread gives other valid possibilities for her family’s silence IMO. And, as is true of some families of the missing in the U.S., it’s possible they just trust LE (and JR?) to handle it and don’t have the inner ability to strongly advocate for Jenny. Stephanie Warner’s family is a case in point, for the most part.
JMO

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...axaca-11-April-2016-3&p=13622520#post13622520

First JR was not and is not now handling anything, except internet stalking of random people. It was Jenny's parents who were in Mexico talking with authorities, while JR was getting busted in a prostitution sting in Seattle. I think it safe to say Jenny's parents are not trusting JR, as a matter of fact, I don't think they are even talking to him. As far as them trusting Mexican LE, we know that. They said they had trust in the Mexican authorities.

The reports sounded to me like the typical end of a missing person's case. Just like hundreds of cases here in the US. Where the police announced that they have located the missing person. They are alive and well, and they have put them in touch with their families. No addition information will be released for privacy reasons. That's the point where WS threads are usually marked Found Safe. But for some reason this thread is still going a year and a half after it was reported that Jenny was found alive and well and continuing to travel in Mexico. I guess people don't want to trust the Mexican and Chinese news media. So I think this thread is going to be in limbo indefinitely, unless Jenny decides to surface and go public. Which I doubt she is going to do.

 

[Robert321]

My wife and I traveled in southern Mexico. Chiapas and Oaxaca. I speak Spanish, but we were birdwatching and generally avoided people. We were stopped by Federal Police and they asked what we were doing. We saw the local Police in big pickups. They did not bother us. We went through an Indian village and they had chosen a new Queen. We donated money to them, as they requested and they let us past. We never had any trouble because we stayed together.

What I find shocking is the fact that Jenny went hitching alone in a Mexican state well known to be pretty lawless and full of well armed drug cartels.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[webant]

First JR was not and is not now handling anything, except internet stalking of random people. It was Jenny's parents who were in Mexico talking with authorities, while JR was getting busted in a prostitution sting in Seattle. I think it safe to say Jenny's parents are not trusting JR, as a matter of fact, I don't think they are even talking to him. As far as them trusting Mexican LE, we know that. They said they had trust in the Mexican authorities.

The reports sounded to me like the typical end of a missing person's case. Just like hundreds of cases here in the US. Where the police announced that they have located the missing person. They are alive and well, and they have put them in touch with their families. No addition information will be released for privacy reasons. That's the point where WS threads are usually marked Found Safe. But for some reason this thread is still going a year and a half after it was reported that Jenny was found alive and well and continuing to travel in Mexico. I guess people don't want to trust the Mexican and Chinese news media. So I think this thread is going to be in limbo indefinitely, unless Jenny decides to surface and go public. Which I doubt she is going to do.

Except that is not what happened in this case. Jenny was not located by LE and Jenny’s family was not put in touch with Jenny; they were only told that she was 'reportedly' still traveling.

If Jenny were not trying to hide, but traveling normally, Mexican LE would have been able to locate her in less than a week and put her in touch with her family, before they returned to China.

 

[KaaBoom]

For me, the following posts by Websleuths member southlanecherry are convincing circumstantial evidence. If truthful and accurate, then Jenny’s family has had no contact from her since she disappeared.

Thread 3 Post 1221 southlanecherry:
https://www.weibo.com/jennycqd?is_all=1#1505476965478
Feb 5th was Jenny Chen's birthday. On her weibo there is an automatic system update alerting her followers of her birthday. Some new comments appeared under this post. One of the commenters was a close friend of hers. She has left three messages. On Feb 5th, she wrote that she thought that Jenny was back but only to find that this post was a system update. She said they grew up together and were very close, but she was sad that Jenny didn't even tell her where she was going. They had made a promise to go to North Pole together in 2019. On June 20th, she wrote that she was leaving Europe in 6 months. She said Jenny meant to come visit her in Europe but it never happened. She planned to go to the States and visit Seattle. On July 4th, she posted again saying the she has returned to Wenzhou (Jenny's hometown) and couldn't stop reminiscing the time when they went swimming in the summers.

Thread 4 Post 41 southlanecherry:
(image of Chinese text attached)
I have just dug a little deeper into Jenny's friend's weibo. Apparently I should have done this in the beginning when I saw her comment. I'm so bad at this. I should have been more diligent. Translation: "@jennycqd My new roommate just went to Mexico for vacation, he said he had a blast. I thought of you again. Are you okay? I went to see your dad when I went back to China, it was only a short visit. They went to look for you but didn't find you. When I have the chance, I will help you find the people you are looking for, I will take a look at them on your behalf. Maybe I will return home next year. Maybe the year after next. But this is a crowded world, I don't really have faith. I hope it is all well with you, no matter where you are, please be happy." This post was made on September 4th.

OK, so one person who knows Jenny online hasn't been in touch with her. I don't think that proves anything. It doesn't even sound like they are particular close. Maybe Jenny is staying offline, and only contacting people close to her. I have known people who just completely drop off the internet, and don't respond to messages like that.

 

[GigTu]

The articles state the family was satisfied with the report that Jenny was still traveling. The family chose to drop it at that. YOu make a very good point, Kaaboom. This thread should have been marked "located safe". I think it is JR's continued searching that keeps the thread in the missing persons state.

 

[webant]

OK, so one person who knows Jenny online hasn't been in touch with her. I don't think that proves anything. It doesn't even sound like they are particular close. Maybe Jenny is staying offline, and only contacting people close to her. I have known people who just completely drop off the internet, and don't respond to messages like that.

To me, it looks like they are very close. They grew up together and the person states that they visited Jenny's Dad recently in Wenzhou. That looks like a close family friend to me.

 

[webant]

The articles state the family was satisfied with the report that Jenny was still traveling. The family chose to drop it at that. YOu make a very good point, Kaaboom. This thread should have been marked "located safe". I think it is JR's continued searching that keeps the thread in the missing persons state.

We don't know what Jenny's family "chose". LE has not located Jenny. No one has located Jenny.

The truck that reportedly picked Jenny up, was "sold" so that no forensic examination could be done. A "sold" vehicle should easily be located, but apparently this one was not.

 

[KaaBoom]

Except that is not what happened in this case. Jenny was not located by LE and Jenny’s family was not put in touch with Jenny; they were only told that she was 'reportedly' still traveling.

If Jenny were not trying to hide, but traveling normally, Mexican LE would have been able to locate her in less than a week and put her in touch with her family, before they returned to China.

I was wrong to say that they were put in touch. The police gave Jenny's parents information that proved that Jenny was still traveling in the southern part of Mexico. That makes it sound to me like the police did locate her. It could mean that a police officer contacted Jenny, and she indicated that she was OK and to tell her parents that she was fine, and wanted to continue on. Or it could mean that the police talked to a witness who had seen Jenny and indicated that Jenny had continued on.

 

[webant]

I was wrong to say that they were put in touch. The police gave Jenny's parents information that proved that Jenny was still traveling in the southern part of Mexico. That makes it sound to me like the police did locate her. It could mean that a police officer contacted Jenny, and she indicated that she was OK and to tell her parents that she was fine, and wanted to continue on. Or it could mean that the police talked to a witness who had seen Jenny and indicated that Jenny had continued on.

That is what was reported: nothing more than a 'witness' claiming to have seen Jenny traveling. Not a locating of Jenny by LE.

Jenny will be 'located' when there is irrefutable proof of it.