Well when you get the remains of your loved one back (they do not have them back as of this writing) and a celebration is planned for a week after those remains were found this is not a ( or perhaps is a) murder. Law enforcement and the Coroner have a tendency to hold onto remains if they are still investigating something. The cause of death is most likely Hypothermia ( or foul play) resulting from a manic episode which would be a good guess or from drug overdose. There has been no statement issued from the Richland County Sheriff’s office, we have not been informed of the content of that final text or even if the phone was used on December 23 or 24. We have no leads on any video footage obtained from video in and around the Town Pump and the Sheriff stated that they had received no clues but since the snow had melted they would conduct a search close to her last known location. The public has not been asked to help in any way since the remains were found. The toxicology will take several more weeks. I think the family will release a statement when those results are known and I think it is more likely a tragedy than a homicide. However if she indeed did have drugs in her system then we might hear from Law Enforcement again. Her father had the pulse on his daughter i believe, he mentioned he had a hard time getting her to take her mental health meds like most families dealing with mental health issues experience. When he also told us in that interview that she had recently began using drugs, i think his radar was turned on full force which is why the delay with reporting her missing had occurred. This time was different, he has acknowledged. While she had left without her phone before for various periods of time this was longer than her previous events. He brought her food and tended to her needs and gave her money out of
. The non driving and the lack of a job are further indicators that there was an issue ongoing. The lack of any firm commitment to Christmas was also an indicator. Him asking her to hug him as he left from seeing her for the very last time, tells me that he was really hurting inside and he actually needed the hug and reassurance that things were looking up. His deep commitment to Katelynn, his constant checking up on her and even finishing the handrail on Christmas Eve day were acts of love and wanting to let her know that she mattered… that she was loved…. And that he would do anything in the world, to help her, protect her, and listen to her. This family has been through a lot over the years, i assume, and had maybe had close calls before and worried this might happen at some point and that is why they kept close tabs on her. Her dad appeared to use every tool at his disposal to find his daughter but time just ran out, sadly. I know nothing more than anyone else but people emote when they speak and if we listen very carefully we can see cracks were no words are spoken. This case really haunts me because these stories are becoming to frequent. We have to find solutions that actually work, we need to help parents who need help with their young adults. All the love in the world could not save Katelynn but we have to keep looking for the answers or this will happen to another family and another and another and another and another!
