MO - Yvonne Lowers, 51: Springfield death mystifies authorities, Jan 2011

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They will doubtfully release anything to you or even press right now as investigation is still ongoing. They will claim it is part of "ongoing investigation".

It doesn't hurt to try and file one though. All they can do is deny it.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Press/information/topic.aspx?topic=how_to_FOIA

an overview of FIOA requests and lots of facts about who can obtain one, how, and the process.
 
tlcox said:
They will doubtfully release anything to you or even press right now as investigation is still ongoing. They will claim it is part of "ongoing investigation".

It doesn't hurt to try and file one though. All they can do is deny it.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Press/information/topic.aspx?topic=how_to_FOIA

an overview of FIOA requests and lots of facts about who can obtain one, how, and the process.
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So apparently state and federal is completely different, I am kind of glad this is state and not federal. My understanding of it is that they cannot use "ongoing investigation" with the Freedom of Information Act. Since they only have to release what they have and can do so in rough form.

At this point, I am ready for the denial. It has been sent to the City Attorney, which is the one that deals with local FOIA requests and the Chief of Police. It will definitely be interesting to see what they have to say for themselves, if anything. Only the morning can tell now.
 
I am eager to see what you find out from the police. We seem to be reading more amd more stories of police departments doing a haphazard job of investigating. This disturbes me. Why don't people take pride in doing their best anymore?
 
TGIRecovered said:
I am eager to see what you find out from the police. We seem to be reading more amd more stories of police departments doing a haphazard job of investigating. This disturbes me. Why don't people take pride in doing their best anymore?
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I don't think this is everywhere. I like to think that my local police, all those in Polk County, FL, do their best or at least try to. I can't say that our crime rates have been any better than anyone else lately but they at least communicate with us.

If the case is the Police Department, I will make sure that it changes. I also will not stop there. I think it takes the public to take the pride in their cities in order to hold their Police at the level that we expect.
 
I heard from the Chief of Police today and was told that I should be getting the reports from the City Attorney soon.

I guess only time can tell.
 
Really sorry to hear about this tragic loss of what sounds like a lovely woman.

FWIW, I also Google Mapped directions (specifying 'on foot') from the home address given in one of the linked news reports (http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-story-body-identified-01112011,0,7760758.story ) to the warehouse area in which Yvonne was found.

If Yvonne was heading away from home in the direction of where she was found, it seems to make sense that, as someone quoted earlier, nobody fitting the 'robe' description was seen by staff at the Fast & Friendly that night - the F&F is about a block further on from where she was found. If that *was* Yvonne's route, my gut feeling would be that, sadly, she didn't make it quite that far before succumbing to cold and probable disorientation.

One other thing that struck me, looking at that route - it looks very much like she was headed towards work (the Guaranty Bank at the corner of Fort Ave and Battlefield, as the news report tells us). She was found pretty much exactly halfway there, heading very much in the direction I'd imagine she drove every day. Two vague thoughts on this:

1) Could this apparent following of such a familiar route indicate some sort of 'auto-pilot' state of mind, perhaps caused by a medical emergency, sleep abnormality or toxic reaction, resulting in extreme confusion/disorientation?

2) Alternatively - and I hope less likely, but worth a thought - Yvonne did of course work for a bank. Might somebody (wrongly, I'm sure) assume she had access to large sums of money at work, and attempt to forcibly exploit that link? Of all the compass directions a person might travel away from her home in the freezing cold at an unusual hour and inappropriately dressed, it seems just too much of a coincidence that she was found midway along a route heading pretty much directly for her place of employment.

(Further random thought - could it be that she'd actually been walking in the *other* direction, towards home FROM the direction of work, rather than vice versa? Seems she'd have been out in the cold for almost the exact same amount of time either way - the area she was found is literally almost the exact midway point. Of course, if she'd been walking in this direction and had been lucid at the time, it seems much more likely she'd have stopped somewhere for help much sooner. Still, maybe worth considering?)

She sounds such a sensible and smart and capable woman, there's basically no way she would have been where she was had she left the house a) of her own accord AND b) in a clear state of mind. One of these two variables was off and holds the answer, that much seems pretty certain.

All MOO, of course. Once again, so sorry for the family (and the community's, I'll wager) sad loss. Best wishes to those who knew Yvonne in getting to the bottom of this and achieving a degree of peace of mind.
 
greykid said:
Really sorry to hear about this tragic loss of what sounds like a lovely woman.

FWIW, I also Google Mapped directions (specifying 'on foot') from the home address given in one of the linked news reports (http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-story-body-identified-01112011,0,7760758.story ) to the warehouse area in which Yvonne was found.

If Yvonne was heading away from home in the direction of where she was found, it seems to make sense that, as someone quoted earlier, nobody fitting the 'robe' description was seen by staff at the Fast & Friendly that night - the F&F is about a block further on from where she was found. If that *was* Yvonne's route, my gut feeling would be that, sadly, she didn't make it quite that far before succumbing to cold and probable disorientation.

One other thing that struck me, looking at that route - it looks very much like she was headed towards work (the Guaranty Bank at the corner of Fort Ave and Battlefield, as the news report tells us). She was found pretty much exactly halfway there, heading very much in the direction I'd imagine she drove every day. Two vague thoughts on this:

1) Could this apparent following of such a familiar route indicate some sort of 'auto-pilot' state of mind, perhaps caused by a medical emergency, sleep abnormality or toxic reaction, resulting in extreme confusion/disorientation?

2) Alternatively - and I hope less likely, but worth a thought - Yvonne did of course work for a bank. Might somebody (wrongly, I'm sure) assume she had access to large sums of money at work, and attempt to forcibly exploit that link? Of all the compass directions a person might travel away from her home in the freezing cold at an unusual hour and inappropriately dressed, it seems just too much of a coincidence that she was found midway along a route heading pretty much directly for her place of employment.

(Further random thought - could it be that she'd actually been walking in the *other* direction, towards home FROM the direction of work, rather than vice versa? Seems she'd have been out in the cold for almost the exact same amount of time either way - the area she was found is literally almost the exact midway point. Of course, if she'd been walking in this direction and had been lucid at the time, it seems much more likely she'd have stopped somewhere for help much sooner. Still, maybe worth considering?)

She sounds such a sensible and smart and capable woman, there's basically no way she would have been where she was had she left the house a) of her own accord AND b) in a clear state of mind. One of these two variables was off and holds the answer, that much seems pretty certain.

All MOO, of course. Once again, so sorry for the family (and the community's, I'll wager) sad loss. Best wishes to those who knew Yvonne in getting to the bottom of this and achieving a degree of peace of mind.
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Thank you for your kind words. We, as her family, really do appreciate it. It's been kind of a rough day today as I have been looking into the Hypothermia angle with "Experts."

I will try my best to answer all your questions/concerns to the best of my ability.

I know on a Map that the Fast and Friendly might be a block away. However, I walked from where she was found to the gas station. It only takes a few minutes. It's actually kind of weird how close they are to each other.

As for question 1, this is the same question that we have asked ourselves time and time again. We of course won't know the answer to the toxic questions for weeks. We do know that she did not eat out anywhere that night, so the possibility of someone "slipping" something to her and then following her home is slim. There were no medications, prescribed nor over the counter, that were found in the home. There were no strange odors present at the home when the police started to go through the home. Also, since there was a small dog, I would have to think that the dog would have had some kind effect if anything had been "pipped" in.

As for question 2, yes where she was found was in between her house and job, but off, like you said about a block, the main road. However, this was also the general direction of town. Could have someone thought she had access to something? Sure. However, anyone that had worked with her, even enough to learn her name, knew that she did not. She worked Construction Loans. She was not a teller or a manager. She did not come into contact with everyday people at the bank. She had an office. However, if this was the case, they never made it to the bank. Those records are supposed to being researched.

If she had been walking from the Bank to Home, she would have been on the bank cameras. She was not.


Thanks for giving me something to answer!
 
I know most of the pictures have been taken off from the day that she died. However, if anyone finds any, can you send me a link? I think I may be on to something here.
 
Which pics are you referring to, infolowers? Ones from this thread, or external?

Thanks for the great reply above, cleared my understanding of one or two things there - particularly by pointing out the fact that cameras at the bank would (of course) have picked up any activity there had there been any.

So we're pretty much thinking Yvonne was walking in the direction of town at the moment? Sounds as though she was indeed spotted alone at some point by whoever called it in, which leads me to think she was probably alone when she set out, although brings me no closer to understanding why. Those toxicology reports are going to be key, it seems.

Ps, when I said 'a block' from F&F, I meant no more than a minute or two - it really is odd and sad to think how close to other people Yvonne must've been at that point. Thoughts with you at this difficult time, well done for dealing with that tough day today and seeing it through. Great job.
 
greykid said:
Which pics are you referring to, infolowers? Ones from this thread, or external?

Thanks for the great reply above, cleared my understanding of one or two things there - particularly by pointing out the fact that cameras at the bank would (of course) have picked up any activity there had there been any.

So we're pretty much thinking Yvonne was walking in the direction of town at the moment? Sounds as though she was indeed spotted alone at some point by whoever called it in, which leads me to think she was probably alone when she set out, although brings me no closer to understanding why. Those toxicology reports are going to be key, it seems.

Ps, when I said 'a block' from F&F, I meant no more than a minute or two - it really is odd and sad to think how close to other people Yvonne must've been at that point. Thoughts with you at this difficult time, well done for dealing with that tough day today and seeing it through. Great job.
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I am looking for any external pics, I think the only internal pic is from me. I am looking for anything from that scene. There were quite a few but I didn't save them.

We are not sure if she was actually spotted alone. That "someone" has yet to come forward. There were also several reports made that night about Check-Well Being. I do know that a different report was made concerning a person walking about but that description did not match Yvonne nor what she was wearing.

All I know about her direction is that it was the way towards town since she was found between her home and town. I wanted to clarify the "block" thing before someone took it the wrong way. Also across from the gas station there was a PD substation, how did none of them see anything?

Thanks for the compliments. I have to do this for myself and my family. We have some pretty young children involved here that are going to have questions and want answers later on. Not that we don't want answers as well. It's just no one wanders away, in a nightgown, with no shoes in -5 degree weather for no reason. -5 is in F, it's apparently about -20 in C.
 
Does anyone know if they have spoken with the Sexual Offenders in the area she lived and was found?

I don't remember if they said anything about that.

Thanks!
 
Blondie in Spokane said:
Has there been any news at all (I hope)?
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There has been no news and no leads. I spoke with the lady at the news station that did the news story on the 911 call and she could not get who the "someone" was out of the police.

I was hoping we would have the reports by yesterday but they weren't here. So I guess I will call the City Attorney in the morning and find out where they are.

Getting the information should not be as hard as getting the answers.
 
Well, I know a lot more about hypothermia! More than I would have ever thought I was going to be able to find out. It is amazing how much experts love to talk about their jobs!

So, we are coming up on Month One! Please if anyone knows anything or has heard anything, PLEASE let us know!
 
I don't want to belabor the issue of seizures but I don't believe that a seizure would show up on any autopsy. A stroke certainly would but a seizure passes unless the person dies of status epilepticus--a seizure that continues until death. A seizure is nothing more than an electrical mis-firing in the brain. There are telltale signs of recent seizure activity--a loss of bowel and bladder control, contusions from falling or convulsing, and almost always a terribly bitten tongue. Were there any signs like this?

There's also the very real possibility of a psycho-genic or non-epileptic seizure. These seizures are identical in severity to epileptic seizures but are triggered by a traumatic emotional response. A young woman froze to death in Medford, OR several years ago after having one and wondering out in the cold night. She was a sexual assault survivor.

Has there been a trauma in Yvonne's past? Any recent therapy? Was it an anniversary of a loss or an accident or a crime committed against her? Any phone calls, a visit or a film which could have triggered a traumatic memory?

Sadly, we're learning more and more each day about psychogenic seizures as soldiers and those with a history of sexual abuse often experience them. Neurologists are pretty much stumped as seizure meds typically don't help. As they are growing exponentially in frequency, I'm always amazed that people don't know what they are.

And thank you for the kind words. I'm holding my own. I've had to be moved to a small cottage in the country where there is perfect quiet as noises trigger my seizures. I have a small yard which is set up in a manner where I cannot "escape" unless I am completely lucid. I do not cook or bathe or go outside without assistance. My husband visits once a day. Strange medical disorders call for extreme creativity and a healthy dose of good humor.

One last question. Where was the little dog found? Please keep us posted. This mystery really saddens me.
 
I recently posted the following concerning the strange behavior and subsequent death of John Wheeler, the Washington DC official. I thought long and hard before I posted it as I don't want to compromise my child's confidentiality. However, I happen to know exactly how strange and confounding psycho-genic seizures can be as our young adult son suffered greatly from them. If you are interested in seeing if there's any commonalities with Yvonne's disappearance:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124283&page=11

It's Post #251

FWIW, another of our children who was raped as a child just suffered his first psycho-genic seizure. He's 23 and the rapes occurred when he was 8-9 years old. They are literally terrifying and totally out of character for the person experiencing them.
 
Infolowers--

I am sorry to hear about Yvonne. This must be so difficult-you are so brave to talk about this. A few questions came to mind:

1. Did she have a boyfriend or significant other-someone who may have placed a phone call to her?

2. Did she have children in the area, someone with a jeep that she may have gone to help?

3. They initial reports stated that she was nude from the waist down, but if she were wearing a nightgown, perhaps technically she was not "nude" but did not have under garments on? Initially I thought she may have been sexually assaulted, but the description of a robe or nightgown makes me think she was just dressed in bed clothes, not really "nude". Do you know if that is true?

4. You said she had a dog--the dog was found in the house?

5. Have you been able to get into her house? I wonder if you can do call return on her phone to see who her last call was from? (Usually *69) Or did she have caller ID?
 
LadyL said:
can anyone decipher what Robert is saying near the end of this video - something like "get off the road" ... ? I turned my speakers up full volume and I cannot hear the reporter's question nor his answer (he's upset & having trouble getting the words out ... poor guy)


http://www.kspr.com/videobeta/2b98c...out-the-moment-he-learned-of-his-wife-s-death
Click to expand...

She asks him, "What did you start to think when, you know, she wasn't here?"

He says, "There were all kinds of thoughts. (long pause). The first thing was (another long pause) to get (her?) off of the road. Although if she told me to get off of the road, that would kill me. She helped me put this together, and I can't do it."

?? :waitasec: I can't make head's or tail's of what that means.

ETA: He says "she was the emergency number." So, I'm taking that to mean that her boss at work was her emergency contact?

Also, the storm door was not locked. Yvonne did not have a key to the storm door.
 
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