GUILTY OR - Whitney Heichel, 21, Gresham, 16 Oct 2012 #1

[Desdemona]

The location of the phone or who might live in that apt building might just lead somewhere.

FWIW, behind that apartment complex is a wooded area, an open area/golf course, a park, and an entertainment complex called McMenamin's.

Google map: http://bit.ly/ThVeNo

IIRC, captions on a pic or two in Whitney's FB albums indicated they were snapped at McMenamin's. There are other McMenamin's locations in Portland proper, but I believe the one near where the phone was found is closest to WH's neighborhood.

McMenamin's Edgefield
http://www.mcmenamins.com/Edgefield


Also, lots of outdoor pics of the two of them in her FB albums, taken at what appear to be a park or parks.

 

[surrogatemom]

Sorry, but I've kind of gotten lost about the gas issue. Have we determined that drivers CANNOT pump their own gas?? This article says that "Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states in the country where drivers can be fined up to a thousand dollars for pumping their own gas." http://www.kval.com/news/consumertips/121933899.html That article was written a year and a half ago.

SOO, if her card was used at gas stations, wouldn't she/he/whoever was in the car have HAD to have close-up contact with an attendent?

Oregonians cannot pump their own gas. You hand over your debit/credit card (or cash). Very few stations require you to go in and pay now, and only Costco stations (that I know of) require you to get out and input your PIN #.

The person who used her card could have easily done so without HER needing to speak with the attendant. My husband has used my card without me even being in the vehicle. The attendants don't look at the name on the card, they just swipe it through, put in what you want and pump the gas.

 

[maureen718]

I live in Portland and I really like not having to pump my own gas. I don't have to get out of the car in the rain (which is about 9 months out of the year) and don't have to worry about kids being left in the car or my purse or anything. Just hand your gas card to the attendant and he gives it right back. I have never noticed any unusually sketchy attendants. The gas station we frequent has older, middle aged guys who are really nice and friendly. It is really no different from the kind of people who work as oil changers at Jiffy Lube or cashiers at the convenience store. Just regular guys who for whatever reason, like pumping gas. We need them and are happy they are there.

wahoo yes we are!!! they are willing to stand in rain and snow and even lightning geez (I seen a kid or two and I warned them, I'm not in that big of a hurry!) and if you don't want them to know who you are pay cash, they always take it and then transaction is quicker :giggle:

 

[krey]

Oregonians cannot pump their own gas. You hand over your debit/credit card (or cash). Very few stations require you to go in and pay now, and only Costco stations (that I know of) require you to get out and input your PIN #.

The person who used her card could have easily done so without HER needing to speak with the attendant. My husband has used my card without me even being in the vehicle. The attendants don't look at the name on the card, they just swipe it through, put in what you want and pump the gas.

The attendents would still surely notice if there was a woman in distress in the passenger seat. It just seems awfully risky for a perp to drive up to get gas, when an attendent would have to come to the vehicle window. Why would one take such a risk? Unless he had the car and she was no longer in it.

I know that it was reported that an attendent saw the car and said the driver was acting hurried and suspicious, with Whitney sitting in the passenger seat (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ing-frantic-search-underway-article-1.1185800) although I don't know if that was ever confirmed, or a false lead, or what.

I'm just wondering, what are the chances that she was in that vehicle, perp driving, attendent coming up to the car window, and she didn't reach out for help or try to jump out of the car? Just doesn't make sense.

Could it be that she ran off with someone (a guy), and they were in it together, but he was acting "hurried and suspicious" because they were faking an adbuction, <modsnip>

Just speculating.........

 

[surrogatemom]

The attendents would still surely notice if there was a woman in distress in the passenger seat. It just seems awfully risky for a perp to drive up to get gas, when an attendent would have to come to the vehicle window. Why would one take such a risk? Unless he had the car and she was no longer in it.

I know that it was reported that an attendent saw the car and said the driver was acting hurried and suspicious, with Whitney sitting in the passenger seat (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ing-frantic-search-underway-article-1.1185800) although I don't know if that was ever confirmed, or a false lead, or what.

I'm just wondering, what are the chances that she was in that vehicle, perp driving, attendent coming up to the car window, and she didn't reach out for help or try to jump out of the car? Just doesn't make sense.

Could it be that she ran off with someone (a guy), and they were in it together, but he was acting "hurried and suspicious" because they were faking an adbuction, <modsnip>

Just speculating.........

My thinking is this.. he promised her something. "If you shut up, I'll let you go once we get money out of the ATM in awhile" or something like that. Or it was a threat, where he said he'd shoot her if she said a word. She was trying to be "good" and not get hurt, thinking she'd get away or he'd let her get away eventually. I mean, those scenarios have happened many times in the past. :-/

The LE saying they aren't sure if this is a criminal case yet (I forget their exact wording) is what makes me wonder. Overall I feel she was taken against her will, but a small part of me wonders.. maybe so the chance of her still being alive is a good possibility.

JMO.

 

[krey]

My thinking is this.. he promised her something. "If you shut up, I'll let you go once we get money out of the ATM in awhile" or something like that. Or it was a threat, where he said he'd shoot her if she said a word. She was trying to be "good" and not get hurt, thinking she'd get away or he'd let her get away eventually. I mean, those scenarios have happened many times in the past. :-/

The LE saying they aren't sure if this is a criminal case yet (I forget their exact wording) is what makes me wonder. Overall I feel she was taken against her will, but a small part of me wonders.. maybe so the chance of her still being alive is a good possibility.

JMO.

Yes, that makes sense, what you said in your first paragraph. I think the reason my mind went to her running off was because of LE's statements about not knowing if a crime had even been committed. My ears picked up on that when they said it, and my mind hasn't let it go. I guess, too, I've just seen so very many many MANY cases in the news where the person has faked their own disappearance for whatever reason.

 

[Annie1004]

What if the passenger was NOT Whitney, but a female who may have looked like her? I don't get the stopping at two gas stations, nor the two-plus-hour timeframe between 6:45 am and 9:15 am when her vehicle showed up at the first station. Very hinky, especially since a perp would normally lay low and get-the-heck-outta-Dodge instead of hang around the area where the abduction/vehicle theft occurred. Makes no sense at all.

 

[Annie1004]

At least LE is holding two pressers a day, and trying to keep the public informed. Weird that the videos aren't being released yet, unless it's because there are a lot of tapes to review. Hopefully, LE is on to the perp or has a good idea who it is....

 

[krey]

I don't get stopping at numerous gas stations either. At first I thought that maybe the perp (before I thought she might have run off) was trying to fill the tank up, but kept getting nervous and panicky and didn't want to sit at one gas station for too long, so he would get a little here and a little there. That was my first thought.

Look at this from one article, though:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ing-frantic-search-underway-article-1.1185800

Friends and family, meanwhile, circulated an online poster claiming that &#8220;several transactions&#8221; were made on Whitney's debit card after her disappearance, including at ATM machines and three different gas stations.

If transactions were made at ATM machines, LE should by now have very clear images of whoever was using that card. If there was a man using it (or anyone other than Whitney herself), it seems like they would have put out a sketch by now, or something. I can see that maybe Whitney used the card, with maybe someone threatening her in the background, out of view of the camera.

I don't know. JUST STRANGE!!

 

[YidArmyRach]

Neither. ALL of them are dangerous. My children have never slept over at even a family member's home. I'm THAT particular.

However, I was sexually abused as a child by a respected neighbor, and I'll go to the ends of the earth to protect my children from the same, so my perceptions are skewed.

Sorry, but you seriously believe that all men are dangerous? That's terribly sad, and probably offensive to 99.5% of the men in the world.

Not being snarky, but you may be putting your child in more danger by instilling this fear into her. What if she needs help one day - and she has been told that all men are dangerous. She could end up in an even worse position and possible more at risk, if she is afraid to talk to anyone.

I agree that children need to know about stranger danger, but I can't believe you won't let your daughter sleep in a bedroom a year after it has been decorated by men who were contracted to do it, in case they come back to get her. Have you told her that is why she can't have her bedroom? That sounds more like paranoia than personal safety to me. Not being horrible, it just sounds like you are scaring yourself far more than you need to. I do understand your reasons, I really do.

 

[miabellamoure]

Although I do not think for a minute that the disappearance of Whitney is similar to this case, I can't help but think that she reminds me of Laci Peterson.

 

[aust amateur slueth]

What if the passenger was NOT Whitney, but a female who may have looked like her? I don't get the stopping at two gas stations, nor the two-plus-hour timeframe between 6:45 am and 9:15 am when her vehicle showed up at the first station. Very hinky, especially since a perp would normally lay low and get-the-heck-outta-Dodge instead of hang around the area where the abduction/vehicle theft occurred. Makes no sense at all.

have we heard if the passenger was awake and alert? is it possible that it was Whitney and she was unconscious or dead? if the perp is seen on video they could say they were with her for some of the morning and when they last saw her she was okay?

in the 2 1/2 hours timeframe she could have been taken to a house?

as always IMO

 

[krey]

Looks like there's still several of us up and awake. Is anyone else listening to the police scanner?? I've got it on in the background.

 

[peace9274]

Yes, that makes sense, what you said in your first paragraph. I think the reason my mind went to her running off was because of LE's statements about not knowing if a crime had even been committed. My ears picked up on that when they said it, and my mind hasn't let it go. I guess, too, I've just seen so very many many MANY cases in the news where the person has faked their own disappearance for whatever reason.

BBM

I still can't get my mind off the LE statements at yesterday's 10 am presser that you mentioned above (BBM).
More than once, they refused to say that a crime was committed.

But after watching Clint (Whitney's husband) and Whitney's mother, and the very sad state they were in....
and because the mother used the past tense when referring to Whitney - and especially after the family
spokesman said: "I hope we catch whoever committed this horrible crime." ... I continue to think the family
has been told more about the case, and probably evidence found, than we are being told by LE.

 

[peace9274]

Looks like there's still several of us up and awake. Is anyone else listening to the police scanner??
I've got it on in the background.

I'm still here, wide awake! And checking every 10-15 minutes or so to see if there's anything new - new opinions,
theories, facts, suggestions, breaking news reports, etc. from our sleuths!

Anything interesting on the police scanner?

 

[krey]

BBM

I still can't get my mind off the LE statements at yesterday's 10 am presser that you mentioned above (BBM).
More than once, they refused to say that a crime was committed.

But after watching Clint (Whitney's husband) and Whitney's mother, and the very sad state they were in....
and because the mother used the past tense when referring to Whitney - and especially after the family
spokesman said: "I hope we catch whoever committed this horrible crime." ... I continue to think the family
has been told more about the case, and probably evidence found, than we are being told by LE.

Hmm. I only picked up on this case this evening (Thursday evening), so I missed any previous press conferences. I wonder if the family just refuses to believe that she would run off and leave her family and religion? Maybe anyone who would leave the religion is "dead" to the rest of the clan, prompting the past tense speech. Just thinking off the top of my head.

I think most families would probably insist that their family member would never run off and leave everything behind, that it would be totally out of character for them. Kara Alongi's mother recently said as much, before Kara turned up after having attempted to fake her own kidnapping. Everyone who knew Ivy Merck insisted that she would never ever allow family and friends to worry for 3 whole weeks, but she indeed did just that.

I could be way off base here, completely. It's just a gut feeling, based on what little I know.

 

[krey]

I'm still here, wide awake! And checking every 10-15 minutes or so to see if there's anything new - new opinions,
theories, facts, suggestions, breaking news reports, etc. from our sleuths!

Anything interesting on the police scanner?

I've only heard one thing that could possibly be connected. Sounds like they have all kinds of other things going on right now, with people acting rowdy in various ways!

It was so quick that I can't remember enough to repeat it ver batim. But they said something about search dogs, something about "everyone is awake", something about a hypothetical, and something about "two of the three". It could have been totally unrelated, but it sounded like they were trying to speak with vagueness about the Whitney case, knowing that people will be listening to the scanner.

SOO, that pretty much amounts to nothing, LOL.

 

[Public_Hysteria]

BBM

I still can't get my mind off the LE statements at yesterday's 10 am presser that you mentioned above (BBM).
More than once, they refused to say that a crime was committed.

But after watching Clint (Whitney's husband) and Whitney's mother, and the very sad state they were in....
and because the mother used the past tense when referring to Whitney - and especially after the family
spokesman said: "I hope we catch whoever committed this horrible crime." ... I continue to think the family
has been told more about the case, and probably evidence found, than we are being told by LE.

I can't help but feel the same, although I hope that I'm just reading too far into things, and the 'horrible crime' is Whitney's disappearance. I think that LE has far more information than they are letting on, and I truly hope they are much closer to solving this than it seems.

I know I'd be an absolute mess if anyone in my family vanished under suspicious circumstances such as these, so it's hard to say whether or not the reactions are due to additional information that we have not yet been filled in on.

MOO

Does anyone know if the finding of her apron/mobile phone/other belongings has been verified?

 

[Elainera]

Does anyone know if the finding of her apron/mobile phone/other belongings has been verified?

AFAIK nothing has been verified by LE. Re the cell they said it's "related" to the case, although from what the persons who found it said it seems pretty sure it's her phone. (text messages from her husband and other family members were on it)

 

[JustBecause]

I read that one of the gas stations was a Shell. Does anyone know if it had a convenience store in it? Most shells have some sort of mini mart. Maybe that is where the ATM card was used. Usually pumps have decent cameras..especially at a gas station that is so widespread and well known. An inside camera or internal 'parking lot' camera might be of lesser quality. If that's the case, they should be able to see what was purchased. They aren't going to stop for a Twinkie if they're in the middle of a crime. Also, its possible the girl seen was someone else. Someone's jealous girlfriend confusing whitney's kind nature for flirting. Just a thought..

I also think the reason there is no sketch or video feed, is because they have identified the people. If a customer was stalking her, her coworkers should be able to pick him out. I've had to do it in the pharmacy, and you'll be surprised how well you can name a blurry subject when needed.