Missing 8 mo Pregnant Marine Maria Frances Lauterbach- NC #11

[FMRUSMC]

From CNN website:

Also on January 11, Laurean boarded a bus departing Raleigh for Houston, which would make the tip of a possible sighting around that time in Shreveport, Louisiana, erroneous, the source said.
Laurean arrived in Houston before 5 p.m. January 12, a Saturday, the source said, adding that authorities have evidence that he made it to a bus station there.
In Houston, Laurean mailed two more letters to his wife and bought a bus ticket costing about $170 from the Tornado Bus Company to San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
The bus driver told authorities that Laurean identified himself as Armando Ramirez, the source said. Laurean probably arrived in Guadalajara Sunday, the source said.
The source said Laurean received wire money transfers from Western Union before he left Houston, but would not say from whom.

A local Houston station showed a captured shot of both letters on the news for about ten seconds on Jan 15 I have now confirmed with my wife. The second letter was postmarked somewhere around Jan 14. This could have been mailed anytime between Jan 12 after say 1700 til Mon afternoon at 1700. The second letter was intercepted by local LE (possibly FBI) in Houston they also reported.

 

[kathyn2]

I hate to sound pessimistic but I think this case is going to fade out of the news soon because Laurean got away and he is always 10 steps away from these keystone cops. They haven't even sent anyone down into mexico yet and Laurean has been there over a week now. In fact, he could probably use one of his cousins ID's and come back into the US and live just fine here. Shave his head, grow a beard or something. Do you know how many guys that look like him that we have living in San Diego? lol I hope I am wrong but I don't think they will get this guy. As dumb as he is, he is smarter than LE in NC.

 

[kathyn2]

I belong to Maria L's sister's Myspace page and she announced this tonite:

MARIA AND HER BABY'S VIEWING WILL BE FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008 FROM 4-8PM AND THEIR FUNERAL WILL BE ON SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2008 AT 10AM

BOTH THE VIEWING AND THE FUNERAL WILL BE HELD AT ST. CHRISTOPHER CHURCH IN VANDALIA OHIO
---------------------------------------

I have to say I didn't think the body would be in condition for a viewing. I wonder if this is what she meant?

 

[peace9274]

FYI...

I just Googled "Laurean in Mexico".

Out of approx 16,800 results for the search,
WebSleuths.com came up # 3 on the list!!!

Listed as:

Laurean in Mexico - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
Laurean in Mexico The Murder of Maria Lauterbach - pregnant Marine.

www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58637 - 114k - Similar pages

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58637

Not even CNN, FOX, nor Greta were # 1 or # 2.

:woohoo: WTG, Websleuths !!!!!! :woohoo:



:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[FMRUSMC]

I belong to Maria L's sister's Myspace page and she announced this tonite:

MARIA AND HER BABY'S VIEWING WILL BE FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008 FROM 4-8PM AND THEIR FUNERAL WILL BE ON SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2008 AT 10AM

BOTH THE VIEWING AND THE FUNERAL WILL BE HELD AT ST. CHRISTOPHER CHURCH IN VANDALIA OHIO
---------------------------------------

I have to say I didn't think the body would be in condition for a viewing. I wonder if this is what she meant?

thanks so very much k2 - this info is not on the USMC site yet - I am now going there to let them all know

 

[Seven]

He must've had a fake ID. He told the bus driver, going into Mexico, that his name was Armando Ramirez (the same name as his cousin).
I still wonder how the CNN reporter knew about Ramirez, the liquor store, and why he was the only one who showed up at that cousin's liquor store!
Oh yeah, didn't the reporter go to the town hall, obtain a copy of Laurean's birth certif and from there was able to get some other family info?

Yes, he did! You could tell Nancy was biting her tongue to keep the words "keystone cops" from coming out on national TV......

"..... GRACE: . . . Harris, thank you for being with us. What`s the latest?

..... WHITBECK: Well, Nancy, people are kind of reeling at the news today that a cousin of Corporal Laurean actually confirmed having seen him last week. We spoke to Mexican law enforcement authorities just a while ago and asked them if they were launching any special investigations.
..... They were asking us for information. They said that they had no information as to the whereabouts of this individual and they also reiterated that the federal law enforcement agency in Mexico had not received an official request of help from the U.S., which contradicts what the U.S. embassy has been telling us here in that U.S. and Mexican law are working together trying to find this individual. . . .

..... GRACE: The family says you guys were the first ones to approach them about a sighting of the fugitive Marine wanted for rape and murder. You guys are the first ones to speak to them?

..... WHITBECK: That`s correct, Nancy. That`s what they told us. We spent two or three days working on this . . . -- producer Mirea Lopez(ph) from our bureau in Mexico City first approached this by trying to get a copy of his birth certificate. She was able to do that quite easy here in Guadalajara. She went to the city hall, asked for a copy of his birthday certificate with his name, last names, add the information from FBI Web site, and with that birthday certificate, we were able to find the addresses that eventually led us to this liquor store. It`s not rocket science. "

http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1932529&postcount=9

complete transcript @ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/22/ng.01.html

It's not rocket science! :behindbar

 

[peace9274]

I belong to Maria L's sister's Myspace page and she announced this tonite:

MARIA AND HER BABY'S VIEWING WILL BE FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008 FROM 4-8PM AND THEIR FUNERAL WILL BE ON SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2008 AT 10AM

BOTH THE VIEWING AND THE FUNERAL WILL BE HELD AT ST. CHRISTOPHER CHURCH IN VANDALIA OHIO
---------------------------------------

I have to say I didn't think the body would be in condition for a viewing. I wonder if this is what she meant?

Thank you, Kathyn2, for the information about Maria's and her baby's service.

My condolences to Maria's sister and to her friends and, especially, to the rest of her family.

 

[FlowerChild]

I belong to Maria L's sister's Myspace page and she announced this tonite:

MARIA AND HER BABY'S VIEWING WILL BE FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008 FROM 4-8PM AND THEIR FUNERAL WILL BE ON SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2008 AT 10AM

BOTH THE VIEWING AND THE FUNERAL WILL BE HELD AT ST. CHRISTOPHER CHURCH IN VANDALIA OHIO
---------------------------------------

I have to say I didn't think the body would be in condition for a viewing. I wonder if this is what she meant?

I am sure she meant to say "the family will be receiving", "the visitation" or "Maria and her baby's wake". It's probably that her sis isn't versed in funeral terminology - and she SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE. So sad to have to make that announcement at her age for her sister...

I can assure you that even if Maria and the baby hadn't been burned, after 25 days buried in the ground, she/they would NOT be "viewable". They will have photos I am sure and even a video - to me, much better than a viewing anyway. Maria should be remembered as the beautiful, vibrant, athletic, sweet young woman she was, NOT what made her into.

My Opinion

 

[peace9274]

Yes, he did!

"....... producer Mirea Lopez(ph) .... went to the city hall, asked for a copy of his birthday certificate ..... we were able to find the addresses that eventually led us to this liquor store. It`s not rocket science. "[/B]


It's not rocket science! :behindbar

Un-friggin'-believable, isn't it?

OK. With that dancin' in my head, I'm off to bed.
5:30 AM comes all too soon after I lay my head down to sleep.

Sweet dreams to all...
and thanx for all the excellent sleuthing and info on this case.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I wish the Dog would just go into Mexico and get . I am sure the Dog and his entourage would have no problems.. (besides legal ones lol)

 

[FlowerChild]

Yes, he did! You could tell Nancy was biting her tongue to keep the words "keystone cops" from coming out on national TV......

"..... GRACE: . . . Harris, thank you for being with us. What`s the latest?

..... WHITBECK: Well, Nancy, people are kind of reeling at the news today that a cousin of Corporal Laurean actually confirmed having seen him last week. We spoke to Mexican law enforcement authorities just a while ago and asked them if they were launching any special investigations.
..... They were asking us for information. They said that they had no information as to the whereabouts of this individual and they also reiterated that the federal law enforcement agency in Mexico had not received an official request of help from the U.S., which contradicts what the U.S. embassy has been telling us here in that U.S. and Mexican law are working together trying to find this individual. . . .

..... GRACE: The family says you guys were the first ones to approach them about a sighting of the fugitive Marine wanted for rape and murder. You guys are the first ones to speak to them?

..... WHITBECK: That`s correct, Nancy. That`s what they told us. We spent two or three days working on this . . . -- producer Mirea Lopez(ph) from our bureau in Mexico City first approached this by trying to get a copy of his birth certificate. She was able to do that quite easy here in Guadalajara. She went to the city hall, asked for a copy of his birthday certificate with his name, last names, add the information from FBI Web site, and with that birthday certificate, we were able to find the addresses that eventually led us to this liquor store. It`s not rocket science. "

http://websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1932529&postcount=9

complete transcript @ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/22/ng.01.html

It's not rocket science! :behindbar

Just as I suspected, was using the "Private Bus Companies" that provide service to migrant workers, immigrants and visiting relatives from South America and Mexico to the US - NOT Greyhound or Trailways. Those bus lines are 5 steps DOWN from Greyhound or Trailways - old buses, slower service with more stops in smaller towns, stations are located in strip centers or gas stations in the "hispanic" neighborhoods, and they do not always travel by highway. The passengers, drivers and agents all speak spanish, in many cases only a few (drivers primarily) even speak any english at all. In many places passengers just wait in a parking lot for the bus and pay the driver for their ticket in cash - and the driver writes the tickets by hand for each person.

You are not going to find many non-hispanic people who even KNOW about these bus lines and where they pick up passengers. It isn't exactly a "secret" but more that it's considered something that isn't talked about to those outside the community. I could take you to a couple of the larger ones here in DFW, but there are literally dozens of them and some don't even have a listed address or phone number, all word of mouth and referrals. Texas LE is very familiar with these sorts of companies and they are much more prevalent here and in AZ and CA BUT they do go all over the US. I wonder if NC even has a division of LE that handles these sorts of operations? It may be that in the Jacksonville area LE has NEVER had to work this type of case with a hispanic fugitive who had means to get across the country on such buses and would blend in with EVERY OTHER PASSENGER.

CL rode into Mexico hiding in plain sight - as I said, it isn't hard to get into Mexico, if you don't plan to go back OUT. The border agents on the Mexican side are not trying to restrict or even check MEXICANS coming into Mexico. CL went right by without so much as a glance - and we now know that Mexico ISN'T even LOOKING for .

Poor Maria, she can't get a break even in death. It's a horrible black comedy of errors that just keeps getting blacker and more absurd by the day. Can no-one get a handle on this manhunt??? I had the bus thing figured out within 24 hours - why didn't LE???

:furious::furious::furious:

My Opinion

 

[Seven]

Just as I suspected, was using the "Private Bus Companies" that provide service to migrant workers, immigrants and visiting relatives from South America and Mexico to the US - NOT Greyhound or Trailways. Those bus lines are 5 steps DOWN from Greyhound or Trailways - old buses, slower service with more stops in smaller towns, stations are located in strip centers or gas stations in the "hispanic" neighborhoods, and they do not always travel by highway. The passengers, drivers and agents all speak spanish, in many cases only a few (drivers primarily) even speak any english at all. In many places passengers just wait in a parking lot for the bus and pay the driver for their ticket in cash - and the driver writes the tickets by hand for each person.

You are not going to find many non-hispanic people who even KNOW about these bus lines and where they pick up passengers. It isn't exactly a "secret" but more that it's considered something that isn't talked about to those outside the community. I could take you to a couple of the larger ones here in DFW, but there are literally dozens of them and some don't even have a listed address or phone number, all word of mouth and referrals. Texas LE is very familiar with these sorts of companies and they are much more prevalent here and in AZ and CA BUT they do go all over the US. I wonder if NC even has a division of LE that handles these sorts of operations? It may be that in the Jacksonville area LE has NEVER had to work this type of case with a hispanic fugitive who had means to get across the country on such buses and would blend in with EVERY OTHER PASSENGER. . . .

Wow ....... I knew there was an underground economy going on, but I had no idea it was this bad. I guess you've been dealing w/it for a long time in Texas. This is just one more reason it's not a good thing.

That same reporter who talked to CL's cousin told Nancy:
". . . Juan Antonio Ramos (Cesar's cousin) told CNN Laurean visited him at his liquor store near Guadalajara a week ago.
..... Harris Whitbeck: Cesar Armando, the one who lives in the United States, came to see you here?
..... Juan Ramos: Yes, just a few days ago, last week.
..... Harris Whitbeck: And what did he tell you?
..... Juan Ramos: Just, Hi, I`m just passing by. He told me he was here with some buddies for a few days, and you know, it`s not the first time he`s come by to visit, say hi to the family. . . ."

hmmmmmmm....... I really would like to know who CL's "buddies" are (that is if his cousin was telling the truth) ........ Sounds to me as if CL took full advantage of the month between 12/14 and 01/11 to come up with a detailed plan.

:furious: grrrrrrr :behindbar and do not collect 200 pesos!

 

[Seven]

I wish the Dog would just go into Mexico and get . I am sure the Dog and his entourage would have no problems.. (besides legal ones lol)

You got that right ...... his last legal one in Mexico was a beotch ....... Still, I've been wishing the same thing for a couple weeks. I have no doubt in my mind Dog might have already found him if they'd let him. If he could find a millionaire (Luster) down there, he could find a guy who's not so rich.

Some poet said "Once bitten, twice shy," and I imagine that's the way Dog feels, like, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Yep and you know I think it is just crap! Here it is we have people (Dog) who are willing and definately able to get this guy...Yet due to stupid issues he isn't allowed. It makes no sense to me. When someone such as Laurean is been looked for let him be hunted with no strings attached!! And I also think it's crap that Laurean gets to chose his own punishment. He knew good and well if he went to Mexico they couldn't give him the DP once caught & brought back. He sure didn't give Maria a choice did he?!

You got that right ...... his last legal one in Mexico was a beotch ....... Still, I've been wishing the same thing for a couple weeks. I have no doubt in my mind Dog might have already found him if they'd let him. If he could find a millionaire (Luster) down there, he could find a guy who's not so rich.

Some poet said "Once bitten, twice shy," and I imagine that's the way Dog feels, like, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

 

[peace9274]

I just woke up thinking about this and, of course, had to get up to tell about it!

If LE and/or the MC had been as smart as the reporters were and had done the same things they did......
(gone to Guadalajara's Town Hall to obtain ' birth certificate, etc)

.... and then had agents staked out at several of the relatives' homes/places of business,
would be back in the US right now. :behindbar


And I wouldn't be losing sleep over this case. GRRRRR :furious:

 

[peace9274]

Just as I suspected, .....

CL rode into Mexico hiding in plain sight.....

I had the bus thing figured out within 24 hours - why didn't LE???

:furious::furious::furious:

My Opinion

I agree, FlowerChild.

As soon as I heard about the bus ticket, I just knew (and posted it) that the bus ticket
wasn't meant for anyone to stay in El Paso, regardless of whether the plan was for Maria
to use it and meet up later with Laurean in Mexico...
...... or if the plan was for Christina and their daughter to both go and later meet up with him.

I, too, know how easy it is to get into Mexico!

Do toddlers ride the bus free of charge, if the child sits on her parent's lap?
Do bus co's require that a toddler has a paid seat of her own?
Do they require child car seats?

If the ticket were purchased for Christina to leave on the 15th, why didn't she leave then?
Maybe she decided she didn't want to leave her husband just yet, holding on to the ticket,
hoping she'd use it later, to leave closer to the time that Laurean would be leaving.

Then... they realized that "their plan failed" (for Christina to flee, also), after the media
began reporting that Maria was missing, and when they realized that LE was moving in closer,
and when LE began asking Laurean to come in for questioning.

As time went on and the was hitting the fan... it just got more and more risky for Christina
and her daughter to leave and to travel via the bus. Or any means of traveling, for that matter.

If this sounds too far fetched... blame it on my sleeplessness.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Peace~I understand where your coming from believe me! I go to bed at night and think about it, dream about it, wake up with it on my mind.. I am just shocked at the nerve of this guy. To dig the hole to take her money to MURDER her and her baby..what was going on in his mind? Normal people just can't do stuff like this.

I just woke up thinking and, of course, had to get up and tell it!

If LE or the MC had been as smart as the reporters were and had done the same things they did...... gone to Guadalajara's Town Hall and obtained ' birth certificate, etc....... and then had an agent staked out at several of the relatives' homes/places of business, would be back in the US right now. :behindbar

And I wouldn't be losing sleep over this case. GRRRRR :furious:

 

[Seven]

Yep and you know I think it is just crap! Here it is we have people (Dog) who are willing and definately able to get this guy...Yet due to stupid issues he isn't allowed. It makes no sense to me. When someone such as Laurean is been looked for let him be hunted with no strings attached!! And I also think it's crap that Laurean gets to chose his own punishment. He knew good and well if he went to Mexico they couldn't give him the DP once caught & brought back. He sure didn't give Maria a choice did he?!

Sure didnt! :furious: But how typical of the self-centered, self-involved, self-important, selfish sociopath ...... Life is cheap when it's someone else's .......... but when it comes to the life of one of those waste-of-space cowards, suddenly life is so important.

And the sick, twisted injustice is that Mexico doesn't give quid-pro-quo ........ that's what Dog's problem was all about. If it had been the other way around and a Mexican bounty hunter had captured one of their criminals here and taken him south of the border, nothing would happen to that guy.

But that dam* Attorney General Gonzalez agreed, after being contacted personally by Mexican officials, to enforce Mexican law on U.S. soil. ...... Remember when Gonzalez sent LE over to Hawaii to arrest Dog? Normally, once he got back to American soil, he would not be extradited for that relatively minor infraction. Well, gonzalez got his: He resigned, and it couldnt happen to a nicer guy.

Meanwhile, Nancy had me laughing yesterday. For example:

"GRACE: Mike Brooks, can they screw the case up any more than they already have? The woman makes a rape claim. Real or not, he should have been the prime suspect at that juncture. They do nothing. I`m talking about the Onslow sheriffs, I`m talking about the Marines. You know what? Deal with it, Marine Corps.

Now, here we`ve got a CNN correspondent down there in Guadalajara, Harris Whitbeck, the Mexico City bureau chief, they`re the first people to speak to the guy that sights the defendant, the suspect there.

What else do they have to do? Should they just give him a first-class ticket to Europe?

MIKE BROOKS, FMR. D.C. POLICE DETECTIVE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Really, Nancy, first of all, I think we should swear Harris in and give him a gun and a badge and let him continue his investigation. He seems to be the only one doing anything."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/22/ng.01.html

I'd be laughing a lot louder if it wasn't so sad!

 

[peace9274]

Many years ago, there was a "nice" quiet young couple
in our nice quiet small town.
One day, the husband reported the wife missing.
For days on end, the towns-people helped search for her,
wondering what on Earth could've happened to her.

People were taking food, extra dinners they cooked, to the husband,
were sitting with him while he cried and talked about his beloved wife,
and walked with him on the searches for her.

The couple's neighbors were all asked by LE, if they had heard
or seen anything suspicious. It seemed no one had.

That is, until one of the neighbors reported that he thought
it kinda odd that the husband had been going outside late at night,
into the backyard, where he'd been digging, raking, mixing cement,
and eventually making what turned out to be a patio.

The husband had told the LE that he just couldn't sleep at night
and instead of lying awake, missing his wife, crying, worrying about
where she could be and thinking the worst.....

.... he said the only thing that he could do, to keep from going insane,
was to be physically busy, to be working hard at something that would
help keep his mind off of her.

Well, the LE got wise and they decided to dig up the newly laid patio.
And so, right then... voila! ... the search for the wife ended.

That case happened around the same time that Richard Crafts, a pilot...
who lived in a small, sleepy, little Connecticut town, right next to
the one I lived in... had murdered his wife, Helle, an airline stewardess
and a beautiful mother of 3 small children.

This case made national headlines after LE found pieces of Helle in
a woodchipper. Several books were written about that case.

Ever since those 2 murders, especially with them both being so close
to home, I've been hooked on true crime.
I'm really not as bad as I used to be.
I used to have 2 or 3 true crime books going at one time.

When a case comes along as bizarre as this one, the Missing Marine,
everyone around me or knows me, knows that I'll be up late reading about it,
talking about it, or writing about it... and that not much will be getting done, around here, by me,
until the case is solved!

But, at least now I know to not even start getting involved in every true crime that comes along, any more!!!!

 

[SeriouslySearching]

You have to remember that Cesar lived in Mexico as a teenager. He probably has tons of friends and we know he has family there. I would suspect the guys with him are old running buddies of his from growing up. Also, his cousin said he visited frequently...so keeping these ties would be normal...and will make finding him very difficult.

It is disturbing that he can move freely throughout Mexico and the only people with a lead on him are investigative reporters. (Sure makes our FBI and others look lame when they knew he would probably head home to Guadalajara because of family and friends!)