NC NC - Sara Graham, 18, Fairmont, 4 February 2015 - #1

[Traceyrita]

50 shades of Sierra Lamar, as others have mentioned. I feel that someone knew her routine, and harmed this little lady. I hope I'm wrong. IMO

 

[Yvettea]

If there were an altercation at home, wouldn't it be a lot more risqué to stage the vehicle than to simply arrive home and find a body?

Something tells me Cricket did not have a body in mind. My opinion only of course.

 

[Yvettea]

50 shades of Sierra Lamar, as others have mentioned. I feel that someone knew her routine, and harmed this little lady. I hope I'm wrong. IMO

It would be good to know her routine. From the beginning the press has not even reported a route to work saying only she left home on Centerville Church Road. I assumed they meant she followed Centerville Church Road to its logical conclusion at Walmart. That required assumptions on my part.

Now today in this latest article they say this:

The area around where Graham’s vehicle was found and her possible routes of travel — from her home on Centerville Church Road in Fairmont to her job, and from where her car was found to Interstate 95 — have been combed multiple times.

Apparently her father and stepmom did not know her routine. This makes it difficult to understand what may have happened that day since they not know her routine. What has been searched? Have surveillance tapes been looked at? Who has been questioned? Why would the Sheriff now hope she may have left with a friend?

ETA: Even the color of the van was not reported though someone may have remembered seeing it that morning if only it had been accurately reported.

 

[cuffem]

Everything points to the car being staged. I don't think she ever left the house. My guess is her bio mom and her did not get along so she moved to Dad's as soon as she turned 18 thinking it would be perfect. When she had to follow the rules and deal with a Step parent she may have been very disappointed. Maybe there was an altercation at home? The vehicle placement seems too convenient to me. JMO

Who are you accusing here?

 

[Yvettea]

It's not enough to simply discuss this crime; a young woman needs help. Sara Graham was reported missing two weeks and two days ago and it seems as if nothing has been done to help her. I don't want false hope or empty reassurances; I want to know that something is being done. Tonight I've tried to contact someone who may know something about this case. At least I hope they will. I hope they will tell me if they know any reason to believe that Sara is okay. That's what I need to know; that Sara's life is not in danger, that she is happy and healthy, and she is where she chooses to be. Anything less will not be enough.

It just occurred to me that I came close to getting what I wanted today. No, I didn't get in contact with anyone. But this afternoon this is what the sheriff is reported to have said:

Sealey said he and others involved in the search are “hoping and praying” Graham is unharmed.


“We’re hoping that she’s left with friends and just hasn’t told anybody,” he said.

Really, it's one of the more remarkable things I've ever seen attributed to a sheriff. Hopefulness.

 

[GigTu]

All of the "running off" theories sound so nice. I wish. But I highly doubt it.

1) I still think it's highly plausible though, that this is some sort of revenge act. 2) But let's face it, most crimes occur between people who know each other. Which places the eye of Sauron squarely on the home Sara was living in.

Thanks for finally saying "something might have happened at home." I've been thinking it all along. It's been mildly hinted at, but no one has dared to 'go there'. There's about 1000 scenarios that could be played out here, but because both parents work in LE and had plenty of resources to produce a really good scenario/alibi, my guess would be that if something did happen at home, it occurred spontaneously, even accidentally. Who knows?

This is why I asked earlier, who besides the parents was last to actually hear her voice before 6:30 a.m. that day? I think that should be the last known sighting. Not 6:30 a.m. before work. Money says her vest shows up somewhere. Waaaaay too convenient, considering the staged van location. I have a sinking feeling mention of the vest is also staged.

1) and 2) are the two scenarios I feel most strongly about. 2) being the lead runner, as it makes the most sense, common compared to being abducted, and the appearance of being staged in a place no possible cameras would capture its route at any point.

If there was a phone ping, I wouldn't put too much stock into it. Anyone could have traveled with the phone, to seal the staged MP.

All jmo. Having said all that, I also hope she just ran away because she wasn't happy and didn't want a confrontation. But why not take any of her stuff? So weird.

 

[GigTu]

May have traveled out of state??? That's a new one.

What possible information would cause them to include that?

 

[Yvettea]

All of the "running off" theories sound so nice. . .

All jmo.

Do you know about the past corruption in the sheriffs department?

 

[Yvettea]

What possible information would cause them to include that?

A very good question and one that obviously wasn't answered.

 

[GigTu]

Do you know about the past corruption in the sheriffs department?

I edited my post while you were quoting me, if that matters. I had second thoughts about how harsh it sounded.

Anyway, I saw mention of it but I didn't read up on it. I think every PD has corruption, as does every government agency in general. I don't think it's going to help us find Sara unless her parents were involved and had a similar past experience with another child.

What specifically would I be looking for that would help me make sense of Sara's disappearance?

 

[Yvettea]

What specifically would I be looking for that would help me make sense of Sara's disappearance?

It's all speculation on my part how it would affect this case. But I believe 26 dept. employees went away, did time for crimes that were uncovered during a six-year long investigation. The current sheriff survived the investigation and was appointed in 2004 to the position he still holds but not before he reassigned several deputies who worked under him, only one of which was ever prosecuted.

What that would have to do with the deputy and his wife, who is a juvenile detective, is also speculative. I suppose it could be perceived that they turned on others they worked with, I really don't know. Anyway, they are both survivors in a department that lost many people who may hold grudges. The corruption of course was money related, big-time.

 

[GigTu]

It's all speculation on my part how it would affect this case. But I believe 26 dept. employees went away, did time for crimes that were uncovered during a six-year long investigation. The current sheriff survived the investigation and was appointed in 2004 to the position he still holds but not before he reassigned several deputies who worked under him, only one of which was ever prosecuted.

What that would have to do with the deputy and his wife, who is a juvenile detective, is also speculative. I suppose it could be perceived that they turned on others they worked with, I really don't know. Anyway, they are both survivors in a department that lost many people who may hold grudges. The corruption of course was money related, big-time.

I have a counter for all of that. I'm just trying to be realistic, it's jmo, and I admit that every single thing in the world has outlying circumstances that don't fall into my tightly boxed descriptions.

Corruption is usually about love, money, or power - or any combination of the three. I don't even need to read one article to know all 3 are involved on different levels. It's the government!

LE personnel typically get real hard in a short time. You gotta to survive. And grudges are no surprise, since it's a natural human condition.

Still, any of those fall into the revenge category. Why take her and not the wife or some other loved one? Did daddy talk fondly of Sara to his fellow officers? Maybe he put her on a pedestal and that's what made her the target.

Or maybe he put her on a pedestal at home, and other family living in the home became jealous.

So many possibilities.

 

[FindHG]

May have traveled out of state??? That's a new one.

What possible information would cause them to include that?

Could she have become friendly with a trucker or new friend and made an ill-considered decision to take a ride with them, thinking she'd be safe and be back in time to get her car before it became an issue there? It sounds like she was expected for work at 7 am, so wouldn't she have called in sick or something to not raise alarms as well, if she took off willingly? Do you think she would have picked that spot to park her car on her own for the purpose of taking off?

I still don't get the sense, if that were the case, she would stay out of touch with all she knew out of her own free will. At that age, to be cut off from all your family, friends, touchstones whatnot, doesn't seem very probable to me.

 

[Eileen730]

We have a young lady that came from a military Mom and a Law Enforcement Dad.
Not so sure how much freedom she had.
she left moms for a reason and maybe being with Dad wasn't all that great either.

I think she left on her own, does not want to be found.
I feel she left that vehicle there herself that's why it was locked!

JMO

 

[Aeronomy]

I wish we knew what time the van was first spotted at the location (before it was first called in). Did LE go to media asking for information from anyone who may have seen the van parked there prior to noon or did anyone come forward about seeing it? Why in the world would they not have given a description of the van and ask from the beginning?

 

[FindHG]

I wish we knew what time the van was first spotted at the location (before it was first called in). Did LE go to media asking for information from anyone who may have seen the van parked there prior to noon or did anyone come forward about seeing it? Why in the world would they not have given a description of the van and ask from the beginning?

"The sheriff's office got a call around noon in reference to a suspicious vehicle." from here

"Around 12:15 pm, deputies received a phone call about a suspicious vehicle, Sealey said." later, from here

"The Chevrolet Astro was located on East McDonald Road near Chicken Road after it was called in as a suspicious vehicle." from here

They may have, but I see what you mean. It was also reported that LE setup roadblocks and canvased drivers in the area, stopping them to see if they had seen anything, IIRC.

 

[Topcat]

I think what makes motive in this case sketchy is the fact we don't know Sara's personality, what was going on in her life,why the move away from her mother,etc. This all can be unrelated of course to her disappearance, if indeed an abduction took place. The location of her vehicle in the wheat field by the tree line sways me to think abduction. BUT the fact that that particular road is less traveled makes me think an abduction was premeditated. Motive...stalker? Revenge against her father and or stepmother? Jealousy? At home,at Walmart?..The van was not well hidden,was it driven across the field ( that would draw attention I would think) or was it just off the road? Just thinking out loud here..An abduction I feel would be done as quick as possible especially if it only involved one perp,no wasting time accosting the victim then restraining followed by moving the van ( not in that particular order). If an abduction, the perp would know her routine/vehicle and wait for her. We don't know if LE had set up roadblocks to question drivers/homeowners along her route ,do we?

 

[GigTu]

I think what makes motive in this case sketchy is the fact we don't know Sara's personality, what was going on in her life,why the move away from her mother,etc. This all can be unrelated of course to her disappearance, if indeed an abduction took place. The location of her vehicle in the wheat field by the tree line sways me to think abduction. BUT the fact that that particular road is less traveled makes me think an abduction was premeditated. Motive...stalker? Revenge against her father and or stepmother? Jealousy? At home,at Walmart?..The van was not well hidden,was it driven across the field ( that would draw attention I would think) or was it just off the road? Just thinking out loud here..An abduction I feel would be done as quick as possible especially if it only involved one perp,no wasting time accosting the victim then restraining followed by moving the van ( not in that particular order). If an abduction, the perp would know her routine/vehicle and wait for her. We don't know if LE had set up roadblocks to question drivers/homeowners along her route ,do we?

BBM
I think the 'actual' location of the van has not been vetted, and that's very important.

If it was 100' off the road, way up deep at the tree line, well that's super weird. If it was 10' off the road where the treeline meets the road, and just tucked high up so it was 'out of the way' of traffic, well that paints a different picture.

In my mind, I'm envisioning the 100' super weird scenario. Nut job stuff by an abductor dumping the van.

If it was 10' and just out of the way, it feels more like a family matter, planted ... staged to look like a run away situation.

 

[margarita25]

If she voluntarily left, I think she might have taken some personal belongings with her. So far, I have not seen any indications of this?

 

[margarita25]

I agree with HG, that the van was likely locked to buy time, or as carbuff mentioned, it automatically locked. Also, sometimes one can hit the lock button out of habit, as I often do. IMO the car being being locked is not a huge indicator of anything in this case.