NY NY - Colin Gillis, 18, Tupper Lake, 11 March 2012

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Count me in. We need to bring Colin home!
 
Kadence said:
SunsetGirl - where are you? We need your obsessing about Colin's case and need you on Team Colin!
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Awwww ... I feel so honored to be missed. Don't worry - I'm still totally obsessing! I really had to get some work done though (end of year payroll taxes -W2s, 1099s and a workman's comp audit all due by Jan 31st). Too poor to hire a payroll service.
 
Kadence said:
SunsetGirl - where are you? We need your obsessing about Colin's case and need you on Team Colin!
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Yes! I want to be on team Colin! What can I do?

Just a random thought: I came across an obscure comment re: Colin on a Facebook post a while back that troubled me. I haven't found it again (lesson learned to keep notes) ... I get the impression that at the time this happened, a lot of 'rumors' were circulating by the kids (which is logical with social media & teenagers). Once the days passed & it became questionable that Colin would be found alive I wouldn't be surprised if the kids all suddenly became silent. It seems so likely that the kids at the party all know SOMETHING and maybe are too scared to say anything. Code of silence.
 
ckean said:
I believe the police are conducting an investigation into the participants at the party.
I know they tried to ping his phone and could not locate it.
The items they found do not include a shoe.
Colin is a good kid who went to an underage party. Not a great choice but no reason to judge him based on that single choice.
There are so many missing pieces, the family has a facebook page trying to piece things together. http://www.facebook.com/#!/colingillissearchupdates
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This was on page 2, post #45 ... followed by ckean's 2nd post (#47) where he/she states "I am close friends with Colin's girlfriend's family."

I tend to believe that his RED sneaker was probably not one of the items found on the side of the road (Rte 3).

How easy misinformation could have made its way into news reports early on in the height of the massive search efforts (hundreds of people involved - think of the children's game of 'telephone') ... I'll admit, I heard it on our local news too and immediately thought he must have been hit by a car if his shoe was found on the side of the road. Since that was retracted from all news reports and it was stated time and again that 'there was NO evidence of his being hit by a car or foul play' - I find it believable that it really wasn't his shoe found.

The only item officially identified was his identification (I believe a driver's permit but it may have been a driver's license), whatever else was found has not been disclosed to the general public.
 
Still obsessing ... I've printed out Colin's WS thread so I can re-read each post, check links & make notes. I'm curious what you all think of my shoe theory (see previous post from the middle of the night - who needs sleep?) ... would LOVE it if LE or a family member would confirm either way 'No, it was not a shoe' or 'Yes, it was Colin's shoe'.
 
Where is everyone? I've drained myself emotionally spending many many hours thinking about Colin and his family. This whole thing is so unbelievably sad - I can't imagine anyone having to endure losing a loved one without knowing where they are or what happened! If any of Colin's family reads this - I am so, so sorry for what you've had to go through! May you find answers soon so you can have some peace! I know that many of us here on Websleuths think about you and him daily and keep all of you in our prayers.
 
I'm curious - has anyone messaged on FB or other means to invite some family of his here to be a verified insider?

I only have a fake non-legit Facebook so I would come off shady.

And obviously I don't know if they would want to. I just would hope they would see our eagerness to help and maybe want to help us too. It's so possible we can solve this. But we need some facts or we are just speculating. (Which is okay, but I would love to KNOW we are on the right foot.)

Maybe if the family doesn't want to join they would at least answer a few questions.

Has anyone tried a really nice outreach to any family?
 
SunsetGirl-

I too think maybe his shoe wasn't found. But maybe **advertiser censored* shoe was found and was mistakenly identified as his early on.

It's weird, but I see a shoe on the side of the road all the time while traveling. I always ask my husband how a shoe ends up on the side of the road. Do people throw one shoe out a window? Do people stop and pee in a ditch and leave a shoe? It legitimately never seems plausible why a single shoe is on the side of the road, but I have seen it time and time again. I'm in my twenties and have lived in small towns and large cities and I have seen it everywhere. I'm sure I'm not alone.

So maybe a shoe was found but it wasn't even his. I think that could be VERY possible.
 
By the way, I would love to help formulate a message or email to his family if we have a way to reach out on Facebook or otherwise. If anyone wants to bounce around ideas, I think we should. There's nothing to lose at this point. That would be a huge blessing if we could get some information clarified. All we want is to piece together Colin's case so the family can have some answers. That's all that matters to us. If someone wants to spearhead that, I would love to help. I know many others would, too.
 
Nugget said:
I'm curious - has anyone messaged on FB or other means to invite some family of his here to be a verified insider?

Maybe if the family doesn't want to join they would at least answer a few questions.

Has anyone tried a really nice outreach to any family?
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I haven't but I have thought about it and yet I hesitate. I did once before for someone else's thread - I thought with compassion & tact but I don't think it was well received. I do get that these families must be constantly bombarded with suggestions & so many total strangers offering words of support, it must be exhausting/overwhelming. Maybe some take comfort in knowing their missing loved one is being discussed & analyzed by this online community. I hope.
 
SunsetGirl said:
I haven't but I have thought about it and yet I hesitate. I did once before for someone else's thread - I thought with compassion & tact but I don't think it was well received. I do get that these families must be constantly bombarded with suggestions & so many total strangers offering words of support, it must be exhausting/overwhelming. Maybe some take comfort in knowing their missing loved one is being discussed & analyzed by this online community. I hope.
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It's been almost two years. I don't think Colin has been forgotten, but he's not in the news (that I know of) and so many others have unfortunately gone missing since and are focused on. It unfortunately happens and we see it here on WS too. Of course the cases with hot leads are more additive in many cases because we feel the case is going to be solved quicker. I guess what I'm saying is, maybe his family has been bombarded when this was fresher in people's minds. Maybe we wouldn't be white noise if we reached out. I will pray about this and see if I still feel the same. I just feel we need someone here to breathe new life and insight so we know if our hunches are correct. We have had people more local to the area swing by and I bet we could get more on this case if we could give them some good leads to chase. Our WS family is awesome.
 
Nugget said:
It's been almost two years. I don't think Colin has been forgotten, but he's not in the news (that I know of) and so many others have unfortunately gone missing since and are focused on.... I just feel we need someone here to breathe new life and insight so we know if our hunches are correct. We have had people more local to the area swing by and I bet we could get more on this case if we could give them some good leads to chase. Our WS family is awesome.
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Thank you for your positive thoughts. It boggles my mind how anyone's life continues on when a person is missing. I know I would scour the internet & read every single comment made about my missing loved one in hopes it would shed light. That would be at night. Daylight hours would be for canvassing the earth!

I get the impression that Colin's family has been doing that too!
 
SunsetGirl said:
Thank you for your positive thoughts. It boggles my mind how anyone's life continues on when a person is missing. I know I would scour the internet & read every single comment made about my missing loved one in hopes it would shed light. That would be at night. Daylight hours would be for canvassing the earth!



I get the impression that Colin's family has been doing that too!
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Absolutely. I know they are warriors for Colin. Heck, they probably have seen WS pop up on their google searches. It would be hard to miss. I hope they understand we have empathy for the families of the missing and it genuinely hurts our hearts to know loved ones can go lost forever.

This case haunts me. And so do many many many others. I know we all have cases we connect with and take on as a personal mission. I would love to do more for Colin.

We need to brainstorm and divide and conquer. I guess first thing is getting a solid list of who is willing to help. Then we need to probably divide up parts of the last night he was seen (or some other way, I don't care how) so we can try to dissect this into itty bitty pieces. Maybe we will figure out more that way.

Of course this is JMO and I'm open to other ways to do this. Just trying to get our brain juices flowin'! :)
 
So true about random shoes on the side of the road (?!?)

My wife , SunsetGirl (we use our trail hiking 'handles' online), has been obsessing Colins case and discussing it with me for quite some time... she finally urged me to join WS. She often asks for my input in regards to the outdoors.... just a little background about me, I've spent the majority of my life in the wilds of the woods and mountains, both in work and play (my father a forestry graduate from Paul Smiths, nearby to Tupper Lake).

It does appear that a truly massive search effort has been done by many dedicated individuals. No doubt we would have joined in if we were closer...
I am curious about the "Mt Matumbla Road".... my searching seems to indicate that this is a gated road? This is why I'm intrigued (please don't mind my ramble here):
1. Very close to the exact area Colins was last seen
2. Gateway to massive logging & wild areas, including hunting and hiking as well as snowmobiling (but I believe this has been recently closed to public use?)
3. Extremely remote with excellent access to extremely remote areas with natural disturbance (commercial logging) and water, bogs, & swamps.

Growing up in a similar small community in here in northern Vermont (& spending time in remote forest areas with large scale commercial logging in New Hampshire & Maine), several things become "local knowledge" such as perfect 'party sites', sites to "get into trouble" as teenagers, or sites where one could simply "disappear"- whether they wanted to or not, or even worse, hide a body.

Do Colins peers have a "history" in this area? Could be something worth looking at??
 
An examination of the area Colins was last seen on Google Earth, specifically NORTH of Rte 3 ("Mt Matumbla" area) reveals a VAST area that one with a basic knowledge of the region (partying, hunting, snowmobiling, hiking) could easily hide a body, especially under cover of darkness. Unfortunately, it's a VAST area to search... However, if the road was GATED, probably nothing is there. Still?
 
Nugget said:
It's weird, but I see a shoe on the side of the road all the time while traveling. I always ask my husband how a shoe ends up on the side of the road. Do people throw one shoe out a window? Do people stop and pee in a ditch and leave a shoe? It legitimately never seems plausible why a single shoe is on the side of the road, but I have seen it time and time again. I'm in my twenties and have lived in small towns and large cities and I have seen it everywhere. I'm sure I'm not alone.
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Thanks for making me laugh. You are so right. What is up with lone discarded shoes on the sides of roads? That could be its own thread here!
 
SunsetGirl said:
Thanks for making me laugh. You are so right. What is up with lone discarded shoes on the sides of roads? That could be its own thread here!
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I would love to talk to anyone who knowingly has discarded a single shoe! Tell us why!! :tantrum::floorlaugh:
 
From 2013

Since the young man went missing, police, family, friends and strangers have searched thousand of acres — they were only able to turn up some of his personal effects on Setting Pole Dam Road. More than 300 volunteers searched for days with the aid of state police helicopters and K-9 units, state forest rangers, and Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks.

“This is never a closed case; it’s always an open case and we will always investigate it,” Mr. Heggelke said.

The family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Colin Gillis’s safe return.

Anyone with information about him or his current whereabouts can call state police in Ray Brook at (518) 897-2000.
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http://www.mpcourier.com/article/20130312/DCO01/703129876

BBM - I'm sure this article has already been posted.... Along with this and from what the searchers I knew said, I'm leaning toward the shoe being found.
 
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