PA PA - Janet Walsh 70, last seen @church, missed date w/daughter, veh missing, Shaler Twp, 20 Jan 2020

[cutter99]

Was just thinking about Janet today. Hope she is found soon!

 

[Kimkimba]

I really lean towards her being in water. Adventures with Purpose just found someone in Delco, PA that had been missing for almost 20 years. I think they said the guy had went into diabetic shock so he was disoriented.

I just feel like when people go missing with their car it’s either foul play or submerged in water.

 

[annpats]

I'm definitely for the submerged in water theory for this lady.
However, not many deep bodies of water near her home.
She couldn't have gone far as she was expecting her daughter for a meal (the ingredients were on the countertop) and she left her cellphone at home.

Had she driven into one of the major rivers she surely would have been seen.
If she drove off a bridge or a pontoon at a harbour or boating area, she would have been seen. Tyres tracks would have been left in the snow.

She went missing during the daytime in a large city. People would have been about.

A quick look on Google maps reveals no other large bodies of water. No lakes etc.

So, to make the submerged water theory fit, she needed to have gone into a deep part of a river near a rural-ish area.

MOO.

 

[cutter99]

So what about an e-mail campaign to Adventures With Purpose about Janet’s case? If a bunch of us e-mail them maybe they’ll take it up?

 

[CCJD]

So what about an e-mail campaign to Adventures With Purpose about Janet’s case? If a bunch of us e-mail them maybe they’ll take it up?

See attached from Pennsylvania Cold Case Discussion on FB (it's public and will come up in a search but MODs delete this post if inappropriate)

https://www.facebook.com/page/103458741690969/search/?q=Janet%20Walsh

 

[cutter99]

Okay, so they have already been looking.

Oh dear, where is this poor woman?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Just came upon this case. I find it puzzling she disappeared with ingredients out, preparing to cook, knowing the comfort of a visit with a daughter was upcoming. I lean toward an unintentional car accident. Maybe she was exhausted, or drowsy from cold medication, or any number of things.

Did she need an ingredient that would require a specialty store further away than her regular grocery store?
Yet the odds seem against entering water without being seen.

I feel for her family. Hopefully answers come this year.

 

[SassySquatch]

Since the church was so close to her house I was trying to figure out where else she might have gone. Do we know if her husband was buried near by? I looked at his obituary but there’s not much information there.

 

[CCJD]

Since the church was so close to her house I was trying to figure out where else she might have gone. Do we know if her husband was buried near by? I looked at his obituary but there’s not much information there.

Findagrave has her husband buried at St Mary's Cemetery in Sharpsburg, 2-3 miles from her home. They have the family living in Etna, rather than Shaler (Etna borders Shaler to the south). While I've found errors in Findagrave in the past, there's an actual picture of the headstone, and the photo of Thomas is the same one used in his obituary, so I'm assuming it's the correct cemetery.

Thomas W. “Hoss” Walsh (1947-2019) - Find a Grave...

Tom Walsh was a friendly, funny and loyal individual. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, attended The Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He entered the U. S. Marine Corps in 1969, was stationed in Camps Lejeune, NC, Camp Pendelton, CA, and Camp Hansen, Okinawa. Following his...

www.findagrave.com

Dolores Drive to St Mary's Church Cemetery

goo.gl

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazette/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-w-walsh&pid=194376243&fhid=9809

 

[Look4theHelpers]

Adventures with Purpose posted a video on June 4th about Janet Walsh. I can't access it at this time because it's a Member's Only video.
AWP Janet Walsh

In the description, it states that Janet's husband took his own life 60 days before she went missing. I knew he had passed recently before she went missing, but didn't know the circumstances. The family fears she took her own life as well.

 

[bettyboop]

Has everyone heard of the YouTube channel Adventures with Purpose? They have made the news a lot lately, but just in case you haven't seen them, they are a group of scuba divers who just solved their 17th missing person case since starting in 2019. It's actually shocking how many times police and family have a strong suspicion of the body of water that someone's car may be in, but the red tape and costs of authorities searching is just immense. It seems like law enforcement really welcomes them because they work together but are able to expedite the process. Anyway, I was just watching another video from Chaos Divers. They were in Steubenville counting car upon car in the river bottom there. All of those cars just sitting, and they may never be brought up. A lot may be stolen and ditched, but some may not. I never realized how common it is or that people can go into rivers and lakes in metropolitan areas and still not be looked for.

@Gameman , I LOVE Adventures with Purpose!! I also subscribe to their YOUTUBE channel. If they can help, that would be wonderful! JMO MOO edit to add I just read @Look4theHelpers post above. Her family believes she might have taken her own life. Her poor daughter

 

[Gameman]

Since the church was so close to her house I was trying to figure out where else she might have gone. Do we know if her husband was buried near by? I looked at his obituary but there’s not much information there.

He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Sharpsburg. Coincidentally, that's the same cemetery Sister Cathy Cesnik is buried in (for anyone who has watched The Keepers). It's also very much a straight shot from her home down Mt Royal Blvd to Route 8 to the cemetery. For nearly all of that journey, there is positively nowhere for her to go off the road and no body of water bigger than a shallow creek. Most property is someone's front yard or a business' parking lot.

Does anyone here have knowledge of the psychology around suicide? For example, I understand that most suicides never involve a note, yet that it is a common belief most people have. So, while it does seem strange that she would leave dinner ingredients out, I'm curious about how common it is that a suicide is impulsive. My impression has always been that it's something one plans, but that could just be another fact that is the opposite of reality.

 

[cutter99]

I have experienced the suicides of two men in my life- my grandfather and a friend.

In both instances, their deaths were very much planned. My grandfather visited my family the day before his death- a visit that was very unusual. He planned to make it look like he was leaving the house to go to work the day he killed himself. He walked out of the house to the garage like he was going to get in his car and leave. My grandmother realized after a period of time that she did not hear his car start and leave. She found him dead in the garage as a result of hanging. My grandmother always claimed there was no note.

My friend that committed suicide was suffering from a very painful form of terminal cancer. His death was extremely well planned, to the point of where he died and was found- in a place where law enforcement could easily find him, but his family and the general public had no access to. He left a long note, 7-8 pages, with instructions on how to handle everything pertaining to his death and estate. He was a kind and considerate man in life, and made sure to take care of those he loved through his death.

I tend to think every suicide is it’s each individual situation. I think younger people tend to make much more impulsive, rash decisions when considering suicide.

Had Janet been considered suicidal? Was she being treated for depression? Had her family noticed any warning signs?

 

[WingsOverTX]

Adventures with Purpose posted a video on June 4th about Janet Walsh. I can't access it at this time because it's a Member's Only video.
AWP Janet Walsh

In the description, it states that Janet's husband took his own life 60 days before she went missing. I knew he had passed recently before she went missing, but didn't know the circumstances. The family fears she took her own life as well.

AWP is the only source I have seen stating JW's husband committed suicide. I would prefer further verification (at least one more source) before running with that as a theory in Janet's disappearance.

Her daughter & son-in-law saw her Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. They arrived for dinner at 5 p.m. on Jan. 20 & called her mother's friends after not finding her home. Police were notified that evening.

I wonder if LE tried to get any video of her vehicle traveling near her home on Jan. 20. Her house is near a busy street.

We really don't have a lot of details. Media accounts I've seen are not very detailed about search efforts.

I also wonder about phone forensics. Nothing has been made public about that, as far as I've seen. Who did she last speak with?

Have Janet's friends & coworkers been interviewed? What were their thought and theories?

I'm glad interest in this case has picked up here.

We need more details from family & friends! I wish someone with personal knowledge would join this discussion to offer details about her state of mind and the search efforts.

If her husband did die from suicide, that had to be traumatic. Who was helping her navigate her grief journey? What was the impact on her finances? Was she thinking of making any changes in her life?

Is there a place she might visit to feel closer to her husband?

#BringJanetHome

MOO

 

[Look4theHelpers]

AWP is the only source I have seen stating JW's husband committed suicide. I would prefer further verification (at least one more source) before running with that as a theory in Janet's disappearance.

Her daughter & son-in-law saw her Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. They arrived for dinner at 5 p.m. on Jan. 20 & called her mother's friends after not finding her home. Police were notified that evening.

I wonder if LE tried to get any video of her vehicle traveling near her home on Jan. 20. Her house is near a busy street.

We really don't have a lot of details. Media accounts I've seen are not very detailed about search efforts.

I also wonder about phone forensics. Nothing has been made public about that, as far as I've seen. Who did she last speak with?

Have Janet's friends & coworkers been interviewed? What were their thought and theories?

I'm glad interest in this case has picked up here.

We need more details from family & friends! I wish someone with personal knowledge would join this discussion to offer details about her state of mind and the search efforts.

If her husband did die from suicide, that had to be traumatic. Who was helping her navigate her grief journey? What was the impact on her finances? Was she thinking of making any changes in her life?

Is there a place she might visit to feel closer to her husband?

#BringJanetHome

MOO

Agreed on so many points. I wish there was more information out there.

Last night after discovering the video I started to watch episodes of AWP. They typically talk with friends and family about the facts around the disappearance and that's included in their video's. Hopefully the video is open to the public soon. I feel like we will gain some insight and information previously unknown.

JMO

 

[Gameman]

I agree @Look4theHelpers. Adventures With Purpose has always appeared to be extremely sensitive to the families. They likely would never have said it was suicide unless they had spoken to the family and the family also said it was okay to release that information. They seems like great people.
@cutter99 Thanks for your insight on suicides in general. It's such a horrible thing for those left behind. I'm sorry.
One thing that I've heard in the past is that knowing someone who has completed suicide is an increased risk factor for people that may be considering it for themselves.

 

[WingsOverTX]

I wish we had a VI to contribute to this discussion to try to understand JW's state of mind more at the time of her disappearance.

So many matters have to be handled after a death & there can be financial and other challenges that occur with the loss of a spouse.

Both Janet & her husband seem to have been actively involved in giving back to the community & their church through volunteering and contributing to causes they supported from his obit & looking online. I imagine they are missed greatly & it has created a void in their community.

I hope WS can help in the effort to find out what happened to Janet & reunite her with her family, even if she has passed.

#BringJanetHome

MOO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[WingsOverTX]

Thank you for sharing this.

I am VERY surprised to hear AWP declare her disappearance in January 2020 was a suicide (as well as her husband's death in November 2019). I have not seen that stated anywhere else. Could that be why there were no volunteer-lead efforts although LE has searched the water?

AWP seems to believe she & her car are in the Allegheny River & that there are 9 access points where she could have driven into the water triangulated from her home address.

If true, how tragic for her friends and family. I hope at some point she will be found so she can be laid to rest with her husband. I still find it odd that LE has not corroborated suicide as even a suspicion. Did she leave a note? Does her only child, a daughter, agree suicide in the river is the most likely outcome?

I am not comfortable with only one source releasing this information. MOO

#BringJanetHome

 

[imstilla.grandma]

dbm