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IIRC, there was a 70 + yr old man that lived across the street from the spot where Gail's jeep allegedly went off the cliff. It was discussed upthread that this homeowner had put (or had someone else place) the boulders (including the missing flat bear-shaped boulder) along E Brow across from his home. Past the boulders was a wide expanse of lawn and then a hedge before the cliff edge.
It was reported that this neighbor did see tire tracks leading to the edge of the cliff...why no report?
According to posts I have read on here, E Brow is fairly heavily traveled?! Therefore, why didn't neighbors or other people traveling along the road report to LE damaged lawn and hedges as well as possibly paint scraped boulders, etc since the community knew a SM woman was missing...or maybe someone did report some irregularities but it wasn't followed up on?!
In fact, why didn't anyone see the jeep go off the cliff during the middle of a clear day or, at the very least hear the horriffic noise it must have made, esp if it involved metal on rock. Or did someone see it happen? Did someone hear it happen? If so, did they report what they heard to LE right away? If not, why not?
Is there a reasonable explanation why she was on East Brow Rd.? Did it lead anywhere in particular? I'm not from the area. I'm just wondering why she was on that road in the first place.
One thing that I have learned from all of this is that Callie Starnes is the absolute worst reporter I have ever seen. She has miss quoted, sensationalized, and gotten facts wrong. I am appalled that she used Gail's disappearance as a springboard to her "promotion". (That was stated on FB at one point, and seems to be the case). I will never trust a report that she does as fact, and have stopped watching channel 3 because of her shoddy work.
thanks for pointing out that Janice Atkinson didn't actually say that. Too many would read the previous comment and believe, as it was presented, that she stated those words. There is a huge difference when the reporter adds their own words...
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
Wow, haven't been here in a while.
I can see the bluffs from my house...how bleak and sad they look now that I know about Gail...
I honestly believe it was a tragic accident, brought on by driver error...we all know how poorly we drive when extremely upset...perhaps she dropped her phone, her purse, coffee - who knows - drifted into the other lane, overcompensated, lost control...and the accident took a form that you couldn't replicate if you tried. I just don't think that the 23 minute time frame on a bright sunny afternoon on a public road was a scenario in which to coordinate such a plot and pull it off perfectly in the manner in which it happened...an accident is much more likely.
One thing I do hope, (that I haven't heard mentioned) is that when Gail was preparing for a possible relocation etc, that she changed her will & insurance policy to benefit her children with a trustee to manage the funds in place until they are adults. Since Matt is the surviving parent, he will benefit anyway somewhat, but at least he wouldn't get the funds in bulk.
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?*
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.
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.
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.
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.
I would believe that we do not have any idea of the folks who came forward with sitings or information from within the timeline, unless they took to the media. JMVHO.
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.