GUILTY MT - Sherry Arnold, 43, Sidney, 7 Jan 2012 - #1

[JeannaT]

I realize this is a bit off the wall, but I wonder if she could have been hit by one of the trucks and instead of calling ambulance etc. he/they just pulled her in the vehicle and took off.
They wouldn't want to waste time doing all the reports and interviews especially if the driver was to blame.

I don't think that's "off the wall" at all. I think at this point, that seems most likely what happened to her. And it DOES happen - I've heard it before and actually I think that's probably what happened to Rachel Cooke. So yeah, I agree with you.

The part I don't understand is the shoe. I'd like to know what kind of shoe, exactly, it is. Because I can't even take off my jogging shoes except to unlace them and remove them with my hands - I can't pull them off using one foot against the other the way you can remove looser shoes.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I don't think that's "off the wall" at all. I think at this point, that seems most likely what happened to her. And it DOES happen - I've heard it before and actually I think that's probably what happened to Rachel Cooke. So yeah, I agree with you.

The part I don't understand is the shoe. I'd like to know what kind of shoe, exactly, it is. Because I can't even take off my jogging shoes except to unlace them and remove them with my hands - I can't pull them off using one foot against the other the way you can remove looser shoes.

I can't help wondering if the "shoe" is a red herring. If Sherry was accustomed to running at the same time along the same route most mornings, someone could have tossed the shoe beside the road to make it look like Ms. Arnold had done her usual run that morning. jmo

 

[Wanting2Help]

Boilly do you know how Sherry would have responded to a person stopping for directions? or a for a vehicle "broken" down on the side of the road? Would she have gone up to a vehicle and tried to help?


I think if a mountain lion or other animal had attacked you would see blood. If she has been seen outside of the house that morning, I personally am thinking more towards an abduction or being hit by a vehicle. Is there a lot of truck traffic that time of the morning on a weekend?

I wonder if the shoe was untied? damaged at all? Scuff marks in the dirt?

Has anyone looked to see if there are registered sex offenders in the area?

 

[bdawk20]

I don't think that's "off the wall" at all. I think at this point, that seems most likely what happened to her. And it DOES happen - I've heard it before and actually I think that's probably what happened to Rachel Cooke. So yeah, I agree with you.

The part I don't understand is the shoe. I'd like to know what kind of shoe, exactly, it is. Because I can't even take off my jogging shoes except to unlace them and remove them with my hands - I can't pull them off using one foot against the other the way you can remove looser shoes.

There's a picture of the shoe in this link, although it only shows the bottom.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/sidney-authorities-recover-shoe-of-missing-teacher/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/1/

 

[bdawk20]

Boilly do you know how Sherry would have responded to a person stopping for directions? or a for a vehicle "broken" down on the side of the road? Would she have gone up to a vehicle and tried to help?


I think if a mountain lion or other animal had attacked you would see blood. If she has been seen outside of the house that morning, I personally am thinking more towards an abduction or being hit by a vehicle. Is there a lot of truck traffic that time of the morning on a weekend?

I wonder if the shoe was untied? damaged at all? Scuff marks in the dirt?

Has anyone looked to see if there are registered sex offenders in the area?

I agree about the animal attack and the probability that there would have been blood. I posted a link above that has a picture of the bottom of the shoe she was wearing, but I can't figure out why they wouldn't release a picture of the part of the shoe that would be most recognizable if someone were to find the other one. I also haven't seen anywhere where they have released the brand, color or size, and the picture of the tread doesn't give any indication.

 

[BrownRice]

I know her scent wasn't found after the shoe's location, but was it found before then? If the dog's located her scent up until then, I'll go with the abduction theory.

I'm a runner and can't imagine a scenario where I'd lose my shoe. It's pretty snug and tied tightly.

Does she run with an iPhone or Garmin Forerunner or any other GPS? Many runners use these (I do) so I wonder if they can track her that way.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

There's a picture of the shoe in this link, although it only shows the bottom.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/sidney-authorities-recover-shoe-of-missing-teacher/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/1/

From article linked above: Sherry Arnold went for a jog Saturday morning at about 6:30 and has not returned home. She is described as 5'10" tall, 140 lbs. with black hair. She was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt with a white stripe, red nylon pants with black leggings.

Why is there no mention of her shoes in the description of her attire? If the shoes are significant, I don't understand why they are not included as part of what she was wearing when last seen :waitasec:

 

[bdawk20]

I know her scent wasn't found after the shoe's location, but was it found before then? If the dog's located her scent up until then, I'll go with the abduction theory.

I'm a runner and can't imagine a scenario where I'd lose my shoe. It's pretty snug and tied tightly.

Does she run with an iPhone or Garmin Forerunner or any other GPS? Many runners use these (I do) so I wonder if they can track her that way.

Good question....I wonder if she listens to music or anything with headphones when she runs. Seems unlikely you'd lose a running shoe but manage to hold onto an mp3 player or something.

 

[maggieo]

I take off my sneakers with the toe of my opposite foot all the time -- if she was being dragged off, it's possible she might have 1) struggled so hard the shoe came off (like if she was trying to get away and he grabbed her ankle), or 2) purposefully slipped the shoe off as a sign, or 3) she kicked the person who got angry, yanked the shoe off, and threw it.

I think it's a sign of a struggle no matter what. And for some reason, I suspect a stranger more than I usually do. I know these things are usually domestic... but somehow this feels different. But it's too early to tell, I guess.

Hoping today brings some news...

 

[taagean]

There's a picture of the shoe in this link, although it only shows the bottom.
http://www.ktvq.com/news/sidney-authorities-recover-shoe-of-missing-teacher/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/1/

There must be some reason they aren't showing the rest of the shoe, unless this isn't the actual shoe but one with the same tread pattern. Sherry's may have been a different colour or else there is evidence on it that would be giving something away.

I do wonder how it would have come off, unless it was tied very loosely or else she had enough time to pull it off herself to give LE a clue.

 

[taagean]

I take off my sneakers with the toe of my opposite foot all the time -- if she was being dragged off, it's possible she might have 1) struggled so hard the shoe came off (like if she was trying to get away and he grabbed her ankle), or 2) purposefully slipped the shoe off as a sign, or 3) she kicked the person who got angry, yanked the shoe off, and threw it.

I think it's a sign of a struggle no matter what. And for some reason, I suspect a stranger more than I usually do. I know these things are usually domestic... but somehow this feels different. But it's too early to tell, I guess.

Hoping today brings some news...

I agree with your post. Yours wasn't up at the time I typed mine.

 

[JeannaT]

]I take off my sneakers with the toe of my opposite foot all the time -- if she was being dragged off,[/B] it's possible she might have 1) struggled so hard the shoe came off (like if she was trying to get away and he grabbed her ankle), or 2) purposefully slipped the shoe off as a sign, or 3) she kicked the person who got angry, yanked the shoe off, and threw it.

I think it's a sign of a struggle no matter what. And for some reason, I suspect a stranger more than I usually do. I know these things are usually domestic... but somehow this feels different. But it's too early to tell, I guess.

Hoping today brings some news...

Do you jog in them? I've got sneaks too that I can remove with no trouble, but if I jogged in them they'd fall off, or at least wobble around enough to be hazardous.

 

[Darcyline]

If she was a serious runner then she would not have wanted shoes so loose you could get them off easily or with your other foot/toe. That can actually damage your feet, legs, and back. Once again, I mean if you are a serious regular runner. However, I guess we don't know what type of shoes she had or how snugly they fit even if she was a serious runner. She could have been wearing shoes that would not be advisable for regular runners.

It is suspicious to me though and this is why I love websleuths. I totally skimmed over the shoe detail at first without realizing that it is potentially a case-breaking clue. I hope LE sees it that way too!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I'm not a runner, but I have two pair of very good athletic shoes: One for aerobics/walking and a pair of cross-trainers that were recommended by staff at my former gym. I just put both pair on with socks, tied them as I would for any type of exercise (including riding my bike), and tried to remove them without untying. No way! They're laced all the way up to the tops of the shoes to insure ankle/foot support.

 

[Noway]

I graduated from high school with Sherry and I’d like to tell what I know. Yes, she left for her run at 6:30. She was seen by a witness at 6:40-6:45 running by the post office so she did make it out of the house in the clothes as described. Her husband and two teenage children were at home. She ran her usual route. She is very structured and followed a routine every day including days off. She is very athletic being a long time runner and swimmer and the school’s volleyball coach. The truck route is a road that is directs large trucks (semi’s etc.) so they do not congest up the main roads through town. It runs in front of house and businesses but has no stop signs or traffic signals. The speed limit on this road is 25 mph. Sherry’s shoe was found in a field next to a church. It would have been on her route, on the truck route. There would be probably no more than 100 vehicles total on any Sidney roads at this time of day. There is an irrigation ditch next to the field where the shoe was found but it contains no water and there is no snow on the ground today or the day she went missing. The population of Sidney is @ 5K but has increased a bit in the last couple years because of an oil boom in neighboring North Dakota. Sidney is 10 miles from the North Dakota border and @ 60 miles to the Canadian border. Bears and mountain lions are rarely seen here and there is no evidence of an animal attack in the area where her shoe was found. Tracking dogs were brought in but did not go beyond the shoe. Speculation is that she was taken in a vehicle because of the dog’s response. It was still dark at 6:30 am. She did not take her phone with her. Her husband first called authorities around 9am when Sherry did not return. By 11:30 they had organized the first search party. Thank you for reading this and taking an interest in Sherry. We are desperate to find her.

Brought forward.

 

[maggieo]

Do you jog in them? I've got sneaks too that I can remove with no trouble, but if I jogged in them they'd fall off, or at least wobble around enough to be hazardous.

Yes, I do. I never thought about this before, but I have a wide foot, so I generally get shoes that are a half or even a whole size larger than what my official shoe size would be if I got them in wide-width. They are probably looser around the heel than most people's.

They stay on when I jog, though.

Could be that Sherry was taking her shoe off to get a rock out when she was ambushed, too.

 

[Noway]

According to LPM, on the FB page, she had no phone with her. There goes my hope that she still had it and they could GPS her.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-...68356530&set=o.310293542342409&type=3&theater

 

[Noway]

Wondering about her ex-husband and whether he lives in Montana too -- whether there were any issues between them. Same thing with the husband's ex-wife.

Link


eta
Also wondering if there was any trouble with a student/parent or other teacher.

 

[CatFancier]

FBI joins search for missing Montana teacher

http://www.cbsnews.com/8300-504083_162-504083.html

 

[Boilly]

I believe it was a Brooks running shoe. I haven't seen a picture of the shoe either, just a copy of the bottom which I think was used to help searchers on the weekend look for footprints. As far as stopping to help someone in distress, that's a possibility. As most people in small towns, and probably all areas, if someone stopped her for directions I think she would have assisted. She was not outside her comfort zone. However it would be unusual for her to be passed by much traffic at this time of day in this town. One thing to note is that the witness saw her running near the post office at 6:40-6:45. The post office is not far from where the shoe was found. If something happened in the area of the shoe it was within minutes of her being seen by the witness.

Another strange occurrence in Sidney this morning. Probably not related but I feel worth mentioning at this point. The Triangle Night Club was closed and under remodel by new owners. It was slated to open tomorrow. It burned to the ground this morning. This building is on the opposite side of town from where Sherry's shoe was found. It is an old building and probably had old wiring, electrical, etc. I am not sure where they were with the remodeling process but again, it had to be close to done since they were open to the public tomorrow. The town is really taxed right now.

I have also known Gary for many years and Sherry since grade school. I understand the speculation about the husband, I'm usually one of the first ones to consider them. But in this case I honestly do not think he was involved. Both Sherry and Gary are very involved in the school system. Gary a former teacher and now administrator for probably close to 30 years or more. You usually didn't see one without the other around town. Often walking or running together.