PA PA - Toni Sharpless, 29, Gladwyne, 23 Aug 2009

[Murkywaters]

Has there been anything "new" written in local papers? I can't seem to find any recent articles about Toni. This case needs to stay in the media.

[video=youtube;gd3xoKpo0pM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd3xoKpo0pM&t=880s[/video]

This is a recent interview of PI Eileen Law and Toni's mother. While the police determined the letter was a prank, Eileen believes it is credible. One thing that stood out to me in the interview was that Eileen stated the letter also contained Toni's private cell phone number. This has never been released until now. So, not only did that letter include Toni's VIN number which had never been released, but also her private cell phone number. I don't think it was a prank, i think someone was trying to tell Eileen something.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Thank you �� Going to watch now.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

There is just something about Eileen Law that bothers me. I can't really place it and mean no direspect, but she just comes of odd to me. Just in that interview when she talked about Brenda Heist and the man who recognized himself in the age progression photo she had her facts wrong. I believe Heist was only missing 11 years and the man from Philly, Steve Carter, was abducted at the age of 6 months and adopted from an orphanage at the age of 4. Then the letter and fake North Dakota sheriff. What do they have to do with each other? She made it sound like the police think it's the same prankster. And it very well could be, but I hope she is doing all she says she is with this case. Again, I don't know her and may be way off on my observations.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

8th Anniversary quickly approaching. Can't believe it has been that long. I registered here because of Toni.

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Hopefully we can get some discussion going on here next week

 

[Missing Budweiser]

A little more than 8 years ago. This would be the 8th year weekend from her disappearance. So sad. What happened to you, Toni?

 

[Missing Budweiser]

Not even a new article that I can find.....smh

 

[sony12]

Just watched this episode off of Disappeared. Mixing alcohol and possible drugs while taking medication for a mental health issue is never a good combination. Hard to say what happened to her. Her friends likely didn't have anything to do with the disappearance but at the same time they were very poor influences on Toni.

Anybody who knows that a person is mentally unstable and is on medication for it yet still takes them out on the town and encourages them to act carelessly is no friend at all. To be honest I am surprised they bothered to give so much interview time to Crystal during that episode for those reasons.

 

[pugsley]

http://www.courierpostonline.com/st...-skull-found-camden-riverfront-park/98696490/

Remains found in Camden , anyone one have any updates on this? Toni's car was last traced in Camden,NJ.

 

[turanna25]

http://www.courierpostonline.com/st...-skull-found-camden-riverfront-park/98696490/

If this ends up being her then we’re left wondering how she got there and what happened to her car..

 

[janewall]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/p...te-park-police-seek-to-identify-20180226.html

Artist sketches resemble Toni. People on PA State Police Facebook page have commented. It's not been mentioned here though, or on the corresponding WS thread for the Ridley Creek State Park remains. (https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...Park-Jan-16&highlight=ridley+creek+state+park) The jewelry and winter garments do not match the description of what Toni was last seen wearing, but if she had lived for several months (or years) after her disappearance, a change of seasonal clothing wouldn't be unusual. I don't recall any mention whether Toni was wearing any jewelry or not.

I'm from the western suburbs of Philadelphia, and familiar with the areas where Toni spent her last known hours. This park is a few miles south of her most likely routes home from Gladwyne, but it is well within the radius of what the search range has been (roughly Lancaster PA, east along either I76 or US30 towards Gladwyne PA, and then into Philadelphia and Camden NJ - a distance of a good 72 to 84 miles depending on the route taken, per Google Maps.) The main park entrance is on a major state highway (route 3) that runs west out of Philadelphia and connects directly to routes heading into Downingtown and her home in West Brandywine Twp. If something caused Toni to go off her expected route, and she was either lost/disoriented or fell into the hands of a predator, she could well have found herself in the vicinity of the park while trying to find her way home. Or in the case of foul play it may have been viewed as a good disposal site by the perpetrator - a wooded location fairly central to the sightings range.

I hope this isn't Toni, but I found the physical resemblance striking, and the uncertainty about both the remains' date of death and Toni's unknown fate leads me to think it may be. I'm glad the State Police have been notified about it, and I hope they're doing a forensic comparison in very short order.

This is my first post in a couple of years, and first on this thread. I hope I'm following proper etiquette. If not, feel free to edit my post or ask me to edit it. Thanks.

 

[Murkywaters]

Thanks for the post janewall, I do see the resemblance to Toni. Hopefully we'll see soon if it's a match or not.

 

[janewall]

Okay, her sister's FB says that Toni's dental records do not match the Ridley Creek remains.

These two mysterious unsolved cases so close to home are haunting me.

 

[cutter99]

Okay, her sister's FB says that Toni's dental records do not match the Ridley Creek remains.

These two mysterious unsolved cases so close to home are haunting me.

Check out Chelsea Ricker’s thread here. I see a strong resemblance between her and the unidentifiable woman in Ridley Creek Park!

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...PA-Chelsea-Ricker-24-Philadelphia-19-Feb-2012

 

[Rob774]

Bumping for Toni... from a local in the area.

 

[Trackergd]

It is indeed a small world. A new employee at my company is Toni's sister. I introduced myself and my affiliation to this website. You cannot put a price on first hand information.

 

[Trackergd]

I am wondering if there are one or more Xerox copies of the anonymous letter and where the original is. Hard to believe that the chain of custody was not maintained. To establish the credibility of the letter, the writing and paper should be examined against that of Eileen Law (and any staff). Finding no commonality would boost both Eileen's credibility and that of the letter. Regarding the chain of custody of the letter, it either smacks of poor evidence management or cover up. The FBI should have been curious about that. If the car went to a chop shop and it can be determined which one, spreading some cash around might get tongues wagging. Most folks working in junk and scrap yards don't make all that much money.

 

[Murkywaters]

The letter was shown in this news segment from 2016.

Here are some screenshots of the handwriting.

 

[Trackergd]

Very interesting. A forensic document examiner should have no issue with this one. I can see some unique letter formation from the pictures.

 

[JnRyan]

"The Trail Went Cold" podcast covers Toni's case: The Trail Went Cold – Episode 131 – Toni Lee Sharpless

I've heard several of the episodes by Robin Warder and they have seemed to be well researched. That said, I've heard some info here that I had not heard before. I did not know about the anonymous letter. I did a Google search for news articles and the articles that mention the anonymous letter state that the VIN# of Toni's vehicle is in the letter, but the podcast says only the last 5 digits were provided by the writer. Also the letter supposedly provided Toni's cell phone # per the podcast.

Robin Warder also brings up something I had not heard before and that is that the license reader in Camden could read plate numbers, but may have not been able to identify the state? I had not heard that before either.

If Warder's info is good, especially about the license plate reader, it introduces a theory that HER car was not seen in Camden NJ, but someone else's.

Now that I heard about the anonymous letter, I wonder if someone could contact the state dept of motor vehicles with license plate # - it is provided on the Charley Project - and get the VIN#. This would almost have to be someone with authorized access to such records. LE? Someone employed at the DMV? Do car dealerships have access to that information? On that last point, when a dealership takes a car in a trade-in how do they determine the buyer is the registered owner and do they hold the title or an auto loan entity? IOW, who all has access to the records. Of course, by the time this letter is sent the registration is probably expired so would the license still be in the DMV records?