TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #3

[curiousc]

(Whoops! I hit Columbo's post instead of yours confused! Sorry about that to both....:blushing

If Gail called her sister or family and wanted to come home, she would have all the support of LE, the media, and WS if they stated they needed privacy. MOST people would respect that. Granted there would be the few and the nutballs, ...who prolly haven't picked up one flyer and just wanted to be "@". She'd hopefully ignore them and see them for what they were. There are so many people out there who would support her and pass no judgement. Life is full of problems....for all of us...and they can be handled...appropriately. IMO

There was a case I followed awhile back about a woman, Mary Beth Smith, who vanished from a religious conference. Her husband was the pastor of a church in their hometown. She even left her kids. I could swear the husband made her disappear.

It turns out that she did in fact leave and she was found in NY.

After the media reported she was found and she went back home, they pretty much left her alone and I've heard nothing about her since. Even LE supported her.

Often there are times when people do leave for whatever reason, and to them it's a big reason. I hope that is the case with Gail because I don't want to hear another husband has committed a crime against his wife.

 

[Snowbunny]

Hello Confused,

I was just looking at Gail's credentials again... This woman got through many years of University, she has been the Scientific Director, Medical Liaison for 8 years at a major drug corporation. She has been Clinical Pharmacy Director and Clinical Assistant Professor for 5 years, nearly 6.

This woman's past tells me she is a woman of courage and ability. She has held positions of authority in areas that take real "know how" to deal with the tough office/company politics, decision making and so on... She has lived with a man who appears to have a strong will, based upon his present position, since marriage which seems to have been about 15 years? She has purchased properties and managed large financial amounts.

Somehow I feel that this is not a woman that couldn't easily and with great confidence face off with anything that might confront her in the event that she did actually leave and stay away of her own volition for whatever purpose, not the least of which might have been to protect her own and/or her children's lives.

I would love to have Gail get the opportunity to return. I'm not sure that will happen. I "hope," but I somehow don't think that she left when she did and intended to stay away when she left. The facts do not "smack" of a woman who did all of the planning of which we are now aware (and we are aware of so little of what she did along planning lines) and then just flippantly left for a breather.

Confused, how well did you know Gail? Over what length of time, was it an up close and personal relationship over time? Did she ever confide in you or was your relationship with her a more social, not real "heart to heart" kinda thing? Can you enlighten us?

With all due respect, I hate to say this but it doesn't matter how educated one is or the positions of power one has held in life, when it comes to matters of the heart and family. People that are use to being in control of everything tend to fall harder when things spin out of control because they are not use to dealing with it. I've seen it happen time and time again.

 

[hollyblue]

Last map....promise..for awhile. EPA map showing all the waterways....look at all the creeks.......:http://www.city-data.com/w8/bgm22384.gif

 

[believe09]

Last map....promise..for awhile. EPA map showing all the waterways....look at all the creeks.......:http://www.city-data.com/w8/bgm22384.gif

Thanks holly! I wonder about sections of waterways that are deep enough to hold the Jeep...there are several reasons that the Jeep could have ended up in one, even if she were voluntary missing.

 

[Columbo]

Last map....promise..for awhile. EPA map showing all the waterways....look at all the creeks.......:http://www.city-data.com/w8/bgm22384.gif

Ay yi yi--creeks all over the place! I've never seen so many..

 

[hollyblue]

Thanks holly! I wonder about sections of waterways that are deep enough to hold the Jeep...there are several reasons that the Jeep could have ended up in one, even if she were voluntary missing.

That's a problem. I've read the TN River is on avg only 11 ft, but that's still deep enough to hide a jeep. Having grown up in a mining region, I know there can be "strip cuts" filled after the mining and they can be up to 75-100' deep. I learned to swim in one. Not to mention drop offs within them because of the big rocks and the terrain in general...and yes, sink holes that you might come across when driving on old dirt roads or cowpaths if you venture out with a jeep.

ETA: I remember a case of two teen girls out jolly riding in their SUV one night and took a dirt road and then off it on a farm. They found them in the farm's pond which was water for the cows.

 

[believe09]

That's a problem. I've read the TN River is on avg only 11 ft, but that's still deep enough to hide a jeep. Having grown up in a mining region, I know there can be "strip cuts" filled after the mining and they can be up to 75-100' deep. I learned to swim in one. Not to mention drop offs within them because of the big rocks and the terrain in general...and yes, sink holes that you might come across when driving on old dirt roads or cowpaths if you venture out with a jeep.

ETA: I remember a case of two teen girls out jolly riding in their SUV one night and took a dirt road and then off it on a farm. They found them in the farm's pond which was water for the cows.

Thanks again -hasnt the river been at an all time high with all of the storms and the excessive run off?

 

[believe09]

I would like to know if a current in one of the waterways could move the Jeep from it's access point. If we take into consideration both AL and TN near where she was.

 

[Pearl*]

Exactly. Plenty of 12-year-old kids babysit for a few hours and no one freaks out about it. This "she left them alone without supervision" is just one of a list of things Matt has exaggerated, IMO.

* "Left the kids without supervision" really means left a 12-year-old and 9-year-old at home for approximately 10 minutes.

* "Changed the PINs on marital assets" really means changed the PINs on her personal retirement accounts.

* "The Jeep has been spotted a few times" really means there have been people calling in with sightings of Jeeps that resemble Gail's but weren't actually hers.

* Matt says in the press conference that he's continuing to look and has done everything he can, while people close to Gail say he has done almost nothing.

* Matt says Gail disappears all the time because of psychiatric issues, while friends and law enforcement have no evidence of any such psychiatric problems; in fact, Susie Button says "it's not uncommon for Palmgren to spend days away from home, but she has never left family or friends to wonder where she is."

I don't want to dismiss anyone's theory straight off, of course. I just can't really take the "left them without supervision" seriously given everything else Matt has said to the media and given the ages of the kids.

I would have to add that:

* "psychiatric issues" appears to mean taking antidepressants, possibly related to being married to him;

* several medications/multiple medications, or however it was worded... could reasonably mean had to try different ones to find the right fit, as is common; and

* "paranoia" probably means she figured out she was being followed, but it is more to his benefit to present that she THINKS she is being followed and is delusional.

Whatever medications she was taking--if any--appear to have done a fine job controlling whatever symptoms she had, if any. Everyone who knows her besides her husband says she's perfectly sane and very smart, with sound judgment. Her actions indicate pre-planning and wise decision-making consistent with the circumstances it appears she was dealing with. And her history shows her to be a devoted mother who would not have disappeared voluntarily without her children, especially for this long. Plus, no contact despite Mother's Day weekend? Not a reasonable theory in my book.

 

[Snowbunny]

Thanks holly! I wonder about sections of waterways that are deep enough to hold the Jeep...there are several reasons that the Jeep could have ended up in one, even if she were voluntary missing.

I'm not so much familiar with lakes and rivers around Chattanooga but I can tell you there are lakes located on top of a mountains outside of Knoxville they cannot find the bottom. So I'm sure there are plenty in the Chattanooga area as well.

 

[fireflylink]

I've been up Roberts Mill Road a couple of times this week and do not see any evidence of a vehicle leaving the road. IMO, I also think that it would be fairly evident if a vehicle left the road. Even if it went over the guard rail there would be trees, branches, something disturbed.

The search this weekend is not an "official" grid search or anything like that. I think it is to check all the streets on the mountain to make sure no one has missed her car anywhere. People with jeeps, ATVs, and horses are encouraged to check trails.

As far as trails go, a lot of people on the mountain are active. People often hike, ride ATVs, mountain bike, etc daily.

Hi all. I am new to site and have been thinking and praying with all of you for several days. I am a local and have been passing out flyers from the FB site and driving the SM roads before and after work.

I have to agree that a vehicle leaving the road on Roberts Mill should leave some foliage destroyed and do not see much this week (I have been up and down the W and Roberts Mill just about every day for the past few weeks). However, in the days following the storm there was much less greenery, kudzu, etc. It has become significantly more dense in the past week of so.

The weekend Gail went missing, any damage to the few side areas would have not been thought of as anything but storm debris.

Even with the guard rails, there ARE a few parts on both the W and Roberts Mill where a 4WD vehicle could certainly get around it if need be.

 

[hollyblue]

Thanks again -hasnt the river been at an all time high with all of the storms and the excessive run off?

We need the locals to let us know if there has been any flooding in the area, I know the Nashville area was hit hard in the recent past, and Memphis and towns along the Mississippi are holding their own....or trying to at this time. Poor Mud Island.

 

[fireflylink]

So, I have a question that maybe someone could answer... If I am Gail, and I did leave to calm down, recharge, think things over, whatever reason, and now I am ready to come back and pickup with whatever life offers, how do I come back? What is going to happen to me, will I bombarded with media, web people who are looking for me etc. Have I done anything, i.e. leaving the kids at home alone, that the police are going to want to talk to me about.

The only reason that I bring this up is that I was reading earlier posts and someone mentioned that they had taken off during their marital problems and went camping, without anyone knowing. If Gail did something similar, and has any access to the media or computer, she may be feeling embarrassed or afraid to come back, not knowing what to expect. I know it would bother me. She can't really just pull up the driveway and expect no one to notice. It is going to cause a stir, even if she just calls her sister or the kids. Just something I have wondered about.

Confused, in response to your thoughts;

I hope that the Gails situation IS that she had to step back for a moment and re-group. And, that she would have access to the web. If so, she certainly can see that in addition to the fact that she has done nothing illegal, there are many family, friends and all the others here, on FB and in the community that want nothing more than for her to return safely to her family and children.

Sure, there would be the initial media and police questions to reply to. But I am sure if she made a phone call to her sister or even SB they would help in a return transition in any way they could. Assisted by those close to her, no matter what the reason if she did take a break...what a small price in exchange for the hugs, support and strength of her children and family.

 

[glorias]

Interesting stuff from a new article today: Arlene talks about a text and phone call from Gail just before she went missing, and Diane Nichols says law enforcement isn't telling them anything at all:

So far there have been no breaks in the case according to police and Nichols.

“(Police) are not telling us anything so not to compromise the case, which I can understand,” Nichols said. “But it’s very frustrating.”​

Also:

A friend of Gail Palmgren’s, Arlene Durham of Titus, said she received a text from her at 1:49 p.m. on April 29 saying, “Headed down...call say little.”

Durham said she called Palmgren and Palmgren asked if Durham could meet in Wetumpka.

“She asked me if we could go some place happy,” Durham said. “I could tell something was bothering her.”​

Whole article here:

http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/news/article_be9da4a6-832f-11e0-990c-001cc4c03286.html

(Edited to reword this, because I mis-stated something above.)

 

[ThePhantom]

What was this poor woman suffering from, or afraid of, I wonder

 

[Columbo]

Interesting stuff from a new article today: Arlene talks about a text and phone call from Gail just before she went missing, and Diane Nichols says law enforcement isn't telling them anything at all:

So far there have been no breaks in the case according to police and Nichols.

“(Police) are not telling us anything so not to compromise the case, which I can understand,” Nichols said. “But it’s very frustrating.”​

Also:

A friend of Gail Palmgren’s, Arlene Durham of Titus, said she received a text from her at 1:49 p.m. on April 29 saying, “Headed down...call say little.”

Durham said she called Palmgren and Palmgren asked if Durham could meet in Wetumpka.

“She asked me if we could go some place happy,” Durham said. “I could tell something was bothering her.”​

Whole article here:

http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/news/article_be9da4a6-832f-11e0-990c-001cc4c03286.html

(Edited to reword this, because I mis-stated something above.)

bolded by me.

Hmmmm...."call say little" --what could that mean?

 

[cloudajo]

Hmmmm...."call say little" --what could that mean?

Maybe asking her to call her, but she couldn't say what was going on because the kids were in the car?

 

[hollyblue]

Maybe asking her to call her, but she couldn't say what was going on because the kids were in the car?

Not to text?

 

[hollyblue]

I'm hoping this is good news for the investigation. Anyone think they are focusing between AL and TN?

“(Police) are not telling us anything so not to compromise the case, which I can understand,” Nichols said. “But it’s very frustrating.”

 

[TheDoormouse]

Hi all. I am new to site and have been thinking and praying with all of you for several days. I am a local and have been passing out flyers from the FB site and driving the SM roads before and after work....

Even with the guard rails, there ARE a few parts on both the W and Roberts Mill where a 4WD vehicle could certainly get around it if need be.

Snipped by me

What are these roads like? Is it heavily wooded, or more sparsely? Is it a high drop off the side, or barely? Whats at the bottom? Do people hike/fish/adventure in the area that a jeep would land in off the road?