TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #13
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ThoughtFox
Expecting the Unexpected
I started to write a post nearly identical to this yesterday, so thank you! :seeya:
Anyone who lives in Chattanooga and who has ever been to Signal Mountain knows the odds are probably astronomical of someone driving off that cliff in broad daylight on a Saturday with no witnesses whatsoever. True, the road has no guard rail, but it is far from the most dangerous road on the mountain because it is flat and straight. It is not isolated. It is not curvy - even the Sheriff pointed that out.
The odds seem even greater that no one would mention to police that they found tracks leading to the edge of the Brow while a woman is missing and it's on the news every night for months, not to mention the searches done by locals who met at the local grocery store on the mountain.
There's a good reason that LE is calling this a "freak accident" because someone would have to try really hard to drive off there and disappear without drawing attention in the daylight hours.
My understanding is Gail had hired a PI to confirm her suspicions about MP having an affair..I highly suspect with the information she was given it would not have been an easy task for Matt P to get his way in a court of Law...
SMPD had been called to the residence on several occasions
SMPD gave Gail a number to a safe house on the 29th of April but she went to her lake house in Alabama with her children, however for some unknown reason she left early the next morning and returned to Signal Mtn.
We also know Gail requested the SMPD meet her at her home when she arrived there on the 30th of April but for some unknown reason that didn't happen. Gail also suspected someone one was following her. . She dropped off her children at the residence and was never heard from again, that is, until her jeep was located on the side of Signal Mtn. on December 1, 2011..
We are NOW being told her cell phone showed a drop in elevation at approximatly 23 minutes after she left her residence.. I am not very knowledgeable about pings and such from a cell phone but reception on Signal Mtn is not very good to say the least. Fact of the matter when my daughter is at her husband’s parent’s home on Signal Mtn neither of them are able to receive or make calls from their cell phones. They have to use the land line at the residence…. My brother and sister-n-law attempted to call me three time on Christmas Eve when coming down the “W” Road and all three calls were dropped.
Personally, I have several problems with exact cell-phone location information especially in that area. Also, we need to take into consideration this was right after the storms went through Chattanooga and the surrounding areas on the 27th of April.. We had crews in here from all over the US helping to restore power and phone service..
I realize most people may not know enough to figure out a clever way to use a cell phone as an alibi, but my understanding is Matt P is extremely tech savvy... thus IMHO Matt P. is certainly capable of manipulating the exact location of a cell phone. IMHO Gail’s phone could have been taken from her and driven off the mtn. to show loss of elevation..
Also, IMHO and from what I have read, as of late, precise “triangulation” tracking of a cell phone’s location (in real time, as opposed to after the fact) is needed in order to conclude a cell phone is exactly where it is believed to have been. Such triangulation requires law enforcement to access the real time activities of several towers in that area in order to reach a proper conclusion as to what may have really happened concerning her phone and WHY loss of elevation occurred 23 minutes after she left the residence. Like I have stated before, in all reality, I could leave Gail’s residence and drive to the Georgia State line in 23 minutes.
Most of us here have also read MP had been giving Gail ultimatums..IIRC… Both ultimatums were given to Gail on a Friday... Two weeks in a row… IMHO Matt P wanted Gail home on that Saturday for a reason and unfortunately for Gail the real reason was not a good one…JMHO..
ETA.. I suspect God and he only knows what he told her to get her to come home as early as she did and then at some point tell SMPD they weren't needed at the residence IF indeed she really did... JMHO
I have more, I'll add it later...JMHO...
SMPD had been called to the residence on several occasions
SMPD gave Gail a number to a safe house on the 29th of April but she went to her lake house in Alabama with her children, however for some unknown reason she left early the next morning and returned to Signal Mtn.
We also know Gail requested the SMPD meet her at her home when she arrived there on the 30th of April but for some unknown reason that didn't happen. Gail also suspected someone one was following her. . She dropped off her children at the residence and was never heard from again, that is, until her jeep was located on the side of Signal Mtn. on December 1, 2011..
We are NOW being told her cell phone showed a drop in elevation at approximatly 23 minutes after she left her residence.. I am not very knowledgeable about pings and such from a cell phone but reception on Signal Mtn is not very good to say the least. Fact of the matter when my daughter is at her husband’s parent’s home on Signal Mtn neither of them are able to receive or make calls from their cell phones. They have to use the land line at the residence…. My brother and sister-n-law attempted to call me three time on Christmas Eve when coming down the “W” Road and all three calls were dropped.
Personally, I have several problems with exact cell-phone location information especially in that area. Also, we need to take into consideration this was right after the storms went through Chattanooga and the surrounding areas on the 27th of April.. We had crews in here from all over the US helping to restore power and phone service..
I realize most people may not know enough to figure out a clever way to use a cell phone as an alibi, but my understanding is Matt P is extremely tech savvy... thus IMHO Matt P. is certainly capable of manipulating the exact location of a cell phone. IMHO Gail’s phone could have been taken from her and driven off the mtn. to show loss of elevation..
Also, IMHO and from what I have read, as of late, precise “triangulation” tracking of a cell phone’s location (in real time, as opposed to after the fact) is needed in order to conclude a cell phone is exactly where it is believed to have been. Such triangulation requires law enforcement to access the real time activities of several towers in that area in order to reach a proper conclusion as to what may have really happened concerning her phone and WHY loss of elevation occurred 23 minutes after she left the residence. Like I have stated before, in all reality, I could leave Gail’s residence and drive to the Georgia State line in 23 minutes.
Most of us here have also read MP had been giving Gail ultimatums..IIRC… Both ultimatums were given to Gail on a Friday... Two weeks in a row… IMHO Matt P wanted Gail home on that Saturday for a reason and unfortunately for Gail the real reason was not a good one…JMHO..
ETA.. I suspect God and he only knows what he told her to get her to come home as early as she did and then at some point tell SMPD they weren't needed at the residence IF indeed she really did... JMHO
I have more, I'll add it later...JMHO...
East Brow will take you to the "W" however the "W" was closed that day. Problem as I see it... Was Gail even aware of this fact since she was out of town on the 29th. Another thing even IF it was announced on the 29th that the "W" would be closed on Saturday the 30th many people in the area did not have power to even listen to the radio or watch TV in order to know what was going on in regards to road closings...We lost power at out home on the 27th and it was not restored until Wednesday May 3rd.IIRC more than 100,000 homes were without power after the storms came through. JMHO...
ETA.. We had a hellova mess in the immediate area eventhough we did not have it as bad as other places such as Ringgold, Georgia and the Collegedale- Appison areas.. Not to mention Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the devastation there...It was a nightmare for most of everyone..JMHO
Matt P would have known it was closed though....
Shelby1
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I'm glad someone else feels the way I do about this.
She also tweeted something like "oh it figures I would be on vacation when Gail is found" or something like that. It really rubbed me the wrong way.
In ordinary conditions with no road closed, where would East Brow to W road lead to? Where was Gail trying to get to? Was this a logical way to get off the mountain from her home on Signal Mt?
It is possible she wasn't paying close attention to road closure info, because she was spending time at the lake house, but I'm just wondering about her destination after dropping off the kids.
Did Gail generally wear her seat belt? Was it unusual that she didn't wear her seatbelt?
Where was the convenience store that she stopped at after she dropped off the children? If authorities know that she had gone to the store, did they find out what she purchased?*
Where was the convenience store that she stopped at after she dropped off the children? If authorities know that she had gone to the store, did they find out what she purchased?*
EllaMae
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I agree with you. I think it was a tragic accident also, at this point.
When I was going through a divorce under circumstances similar to Gail's, I had a wreck due to my distraction and emotional upheaval. I just have a feeling that Gail was in the same state of mind that day as I was when I had my accident, and that she also made an error in judgement as she was driving. Luckily my accident was minor, no one was hurt, and damage was minimal. I wish it had been the same for Gail.
I just don't think the time frame and the evidence as it stands now support her being run off the road.
East Brow would take her to the"W" which goes down the mtn to Mountain Creek Road... Matt P's mother lives on Mountain Creek Road just a hop skip and a jump from the "W" Road...You can see the Mountain Creek apartments when you exit the "W".JMHO
Everyone I have spoken to who knew her claims she did wear her seat belt and buckled up religiously...Thus far the ONLY person I have heard who has claimed she never wore her seat belt is one of the three people who lawyered up immediately...JMHO..
stillwatersc
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I agree that it looks like a true accident. The locals say this is not an isolated road. If this was staged, certainly the 'murderer' would find a place that was very isolated, not somewhere with a high probability of witnesses. Also we live on a straight road and there have been several accidents here, one fatal, where people just ran off the side of the road for no apparent reason. I suspect dodging an animal could have caused the car to swerve out of control.
ThoughtFox
Expecting the Unexpected
I'm not sure if E. Brow is the most direct way to the W Road from her house.
As Emeraldgem has said, while the Mountain wasn't directly hit by the tornadoes, the rest of the county was still in absolute chaos that weekend. Cellphone service was a mess, so I'm not sure how accurate the records are for that particular day or those towers. That's why from the beginning this whole thing has made no sense to me.
Most people were being told to stay at home because of fallen trees and powerlines. My only connection to the outside world even on Saturday was a small transistor radio. We were cooking on a grill for five days and didn't get electricity back until Sunday night. This winter as we have been driving around between Ringgold, GA, and Apison, TN, it still looks like an atomic bomb went off and the scars will be there for years.
Gail was apparently one of the few people burning up the road that day and she managed to drive to Wetumpka, AL, and back within 24 hours without incident, then came home and drove off a cliff. What is wrong with this picture? She is one of the few people killed that week in Hamilton County who didn't die from a tornado.
ETA: I will always wonder why SM police didn't encourage Gail to stay home on Friday. All first responders knew that Alabama had been one of the hardest hit states when the tornadoes came through, and Wetumpka was actually torn up too. But once she was there, why did she come right back the next day unless her husband called her with some ultimatum and made her come back? We will never know what he said to her in that last phone call either. I think the pressure on this poor woman was enormous and none of this had to happen.
As Emeraldgem has said, while the Mountain wasn't directly hit by the tornadoes, the rest of the county was still in absolute chaos that weekend. Cellphone service was a mess, so I'm not sure how accurate the records are for that particular day or those towers. That's why from the beginning this whole thing has made no sense to me.
Most people were being told to stay at home because of fallen trees and powerlines. My only connection to the outside world even on Saturday was a small transistor radio. We were cooking on a grill for five days and didn't get electricity back until Sunday night. This winter as we have been driving around between Ringgold, GA, and Apison, TN, it still looks like an atomic bomb went off and the scars will be there for years.
Gail was apparently one of the few people burning up the road that day and she managed to drive to Wetumpka, AL, and back within 24 hours without incident, then came home and drove off a cliff. What is wrong with this picture? She is one of the few people killed that week in Hamilton County who didn't die from a tornado.
ETA: I will always wonder why SM police didn't encourage Gail to stay home on Friday. All first responders knew that Alabama had been one of the hardest hit states when the tornadoes came through, and Wetumpka was actually torn up too. But once she was there, why did she come right back the next day unless her husband called her with some ultimatum and made her come back? We will never know what he said to her in that last phone call either. I think the pressure on this poor woman was enormous and none of this had to happen.
EllaMae
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Stress is cumulative. What Gail had been through in the past 24 hours would've been taking it's toll by the time she left her home on Signal Mountain. She may not have slept very much, given the circumstances, and I have no doubt that she was exhausted both mentally and physically. The fact that she had been driving for a great portion of those 24 hours, and also caring for 2 children without much of a break only adds to the probability of an accident taking place.
IMHO.. That is exactly what Matt P would like for us to believe, however I'm not believing Gail or that jeep went off the mountain 23 minutes after she left her residence on Ridgerock..
Last I heard there is a woman who is still claimming she saw Gail's
jeep and Gail with another woman on Big Fork Road late Saturday afternoon...JMHO..
I wonder if there was a huge tree branch or some other debris in the road she had to avoid, which caused her accident. Someone had to eventually remove it. Perhaps, someone living in the homes on that road remember if there were obstructions on the road from the storms?
Good point, but there are people from the area on this thread. Since no one had any idea what happened to Gail until recently, maybe someone recalls debris on the roads in that area. This revelation could be recent, since we now know that Gail had gone off East Brow's bluff. I didn't know she was driving around after tornadoes hit the area. News to me.
I took a drive a couple days ago in the area.
I agree that an animal (or debris, or road conditions- all combined maybe?) and a swerve to avoid, could be the way this accident might have happened.
I still can't get my head around the trajectory, unless the vehicle was traveling at such a high speed that the jeep flipped immediately ? to impact end first and was hung up on foliage and then fell again, giving the change in altitude.
Prayers for Gail's loved ones.
It must be such a sad holiday season for them.
Did anyone notice on the Google maps IF there were any large trees in the immediate vicinity of that stretch of road.. To my knowledge no one has mentioned any debris being in the road in that particular area..I would also think IF there were any work crews in the immediate area they would have been aware of Gail's jeep going off the mountain...JMHO
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