TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden, believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #20

[ensht]

Sadly I no longer believe this case is going anywhere fast. Maybe that's by design, maybe they are following protocol because they know who did this or who has her. But I'm starting to doubt that too.

As others have said I hope the case is that they are still sitting on someone because if they aren't the national public has moved on and if the case has extended outside of central TN - out of sight out of mind.

As far as the Bobo's are concerned I think they're staying quiet because that is what LE is telling them to do. If it's a personal thing which many have seemed to suspect from day one better to diffuse the situation through silence.

I really hope and I guess I still believe when we look back on this case we'll see they had someone under their thumb the entire time and were trying to not make a bad situation worse. But at week 3, I have a very hard time believing this hasn't gone from an abduction case, to a homicide.

 

[Yellow Rose]

Yes, I thought it quite ODD that Whitney Duncan just completely STOPPED all talk of HB after the "find" that Sunday and all chatter from LE stopped at same time (if you can even call is chatter from LE, {I for one am being a tad sarcastic me thinks}). Searches by public stopped. Everything related to HB stopped on that day. Sorta makes you stop and wonder.......

 

[ensht]

Yes, I thought it quite ODD that Whitney Duncan just completely STOPPED all talk of HB after the "find" that Sunday and all chatter from LE stopped at same time (if you can even call is chatter from LE, {I for one am being a tad sarcastic me thinks}). Searches by public stopped. Everything related to HB stopped on that day. Sorta makes you stop and wonder.......

Whatever they found that day changed the focus of this investigation. The quote from Helms about focusing on a suspect or narrowing on a suspect.....

I know the weather has been bad but there is no talk now of volunteer searches at all. They were called out that day, found something(s) and then that's been it. You'd think if they were hot on a new trail it would be all hands on deck.

I half wonder if they had conclusive proof from that day of one thing or another....that she was alive somewhere, or that she was no longer with us. Sadly I believe it was the latter.

I still hope each day that this will end well, but it's just a lot of days now.

 

[Yellow Rose]

For all intents and purposes, all info ceased to exist from that day forward. Do any of the locals know if the house is still being "guarded"? Has anyone come up with any theories on this? Are they guarding it from the media or from the perp, or both? I don't honestly believe they are guarding it from the perp (s). Why in the world would someone come back and commit another crime?

 

[maskedwoman]

Trapped in a meeting today, I was noodling (again!) about the deafening silence from LE on this case and other recent cases, such as Kyron's. And I began to wonder if we might have a a certain high profile case in Florida, and the daily forays into uncharted bizarreness, to thank for LE being reluctant to have tooo much media focus on other cases.

Can anyone point to a case since Caylee's disappearance where LE didn't turn into a black hole - except for the bodies found in Long Island. I tend to discount that one since the police commissioner apparently got fired for saying too much to the media.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/2...y-serial-killer-probe-reportedly-ousted-post/

Looking forward to your thoughts,

 

[MsFacetious]

....respectfully snipped by me.

YES, BUT.....if I were a person who absolutely had NOTHING to do with this disappearance, and had been mistakenly identified as someone Clint thought he saw with Holly that morning, I WOULD NOT BE OFFENDED AND WOULD RELISH THE CHANCE TO HELP FURTHER THIS CASE ALONG BY PROVING I WAS ELSEWHERE. oops sorry for the shouting..... I just feel very strongly that in this situation it is not because of the chance of FALSELY accusing someone of involvement, but most likely because it is a POSITIVE ID, but eyewitness accounts can be torn apart so easily that LE has to have alot more than that to make an arrest.

That is great if you CAN prove where you were. But what if you were asleep and only your spouse could verify it? Or you were driving and you were alone?

A couple of people were cleared in Elizabeth Smart's case with airtight alibis such as being hospitalized. But if you have the misfortune of being home asleep instead of in jail or surgery... you may just be screwed.

Even if they believe they are SURE they know who took Holly... I am SO grateful they are not naming the person. I hope that they are also not discounting other leads. I do not want to see a repeat of Elizabeth where Holly has to be missing twice as long because of screw ups.

Especially if the family isn't going to be battling. If Elizabeth's family had just sat back and let law enforcement investigate... I don't know if or when Elizabeth would have been found or how many other girls would have been taken.


For those not familiar with details of Elizabeth Smart's case:

Richard Ricci who had burglarized the Smart home had no problem with doing everything he could to clear himself in Elizabeth Smart's abduction.

It didn't matter that he had an alibi, it wasn't good enough.
It didn't matter that his alibi passed a polygraph about his whereabouts that night.
It didn't matter that he passed a polygraph test after the first was inconclusive.
It didn't matter that he gave DNA, his vehicle and 26 hours of questioning.
It didn't matter that Elizabeth's sibling who witnessed the abduction immediately said that isn't the guy that took my sister.

The police locked in on him, decided he did it, decided he killed her and that was that.
He died two months after her disappearance, in jail for drinking a beer on probation. Everyone felt that they would never find Elizabeth, that her location died with him.
Police said he was the top suspect and there was not even a close second.

Despite Elizabeth's sister remembering the real suspect's name 4 months after her abduction and the family identifying him, getting pictures and information... Richard Ricci remained a suspect.
Police refused to publicize the information about the man Elizabeth's sister said took her.
There was many things pointing to this man as a suspect, including history of sexual abuse of girls and being in the area at the time of the abduction.

Police would do nothing except claim they were investigating.
The Mayor even expressed concern in a letter about their tunnel vision.

The Smart family after 4 months of getting no help from law enforcement... finally with the help of an FBI Agent that had been working very closely with them, got the case on America's Most Wanted 8 months after her abduction.

That FBI Agent was promptly removed from the case and ordered not to have contact with the family.

After the show aired, people called in tips directly to local police saying they had seen Elizabeth with this man and police didn't call them back.

When police did answer they were often dismissed and told that police already had the man who took Elizabeth.

People actually went straight to the Smart family to make sure they got information.

Within the month Elizabeth was found alive with the man her sister said took her, 9 months after her abduction.
The same man police refused to name as a suspect or help publicize... so the family had to do so after Elizabeth's abduction.

Only THEN was Richard Ricci cleared of Elizabeth's abduction.

The sad thing is... that is just the tip of the iceberg. At least it didn't cost Elizabeth her life... only a few months of it.
I really hope that LE in Holly's case is doing a better job.

 

[TxLady2]

Thank you, shefner. :sunshine:

Phew, finally caught up on the posts from last evening, and this morning.

I have the same frustations that most of you have with the lack of information, wrong information, no pressers, the family's seclusion, and the un- answered questions by LE to even the most basic questions.

However, it took me until the 29th to put together what I thought/think could be a plausible theory for why all this has been happening (or not happening). Keep in mind this is IMO, which is based on nothing but reading comments made by other posters and forums all over the internet. So, here goes.

The POI(s) (if there is more than one) may not be a wealthy person but may be a person in a position of power/influence/highly respected in the community, etc. They could be wealthy, but in a town as small as Darden, your position in the community may be more important than your wealth.

This person would have a job that would allow him to be unaccounted for, for long periods of time. Someone like a contracter, a farmer, a cop, a pastor, a landscaper, etc. Any kind of profession that would allow someone to be un-accounted for, for just a few hours would have had an opportunity. This person may have also slipped themselves into the investigation and the search without seeming out of place because of who they are. This, would put them in the perfect position to throw off suspicion, and stay informed about the investigation itself.

If the POI is a young person, all of the above still applies, but instead of applying to the POI directly it applies to his parents, who are aware and protecting him. For the reasons I just noted I've finally been able to at least justify why we have heard basically nothing substantial about this case from LE.

In justifying the family's silence (which IMO, is atypical of these kinds of cases), I assume that is due in part, if not in whole at the encouragement of LE (see part 1).

Which brings me to the part 2 of my theory...

Clint's initial statement was that he saw a person who he believed to be Holly's boyfriend leading her into the woods.

What IF after some hard thinking, further recollection, and maybe even him just putting a few things together for himself, they (he and the family, and now LE) have realized they know exactly who it is, but because of WHO it is they are recluctant to release this information until they can either A.) Prove it, or B.) he messes up and makes a mistake.

If this person is someone (or part of a family) who is influential or highly respected in the community I can completely understand why the Bobo's and LE are being so tight lipped. If they come out and name a POI and they turned out to be wrong, that tiny town would have strife among family, friends and neighbors for years to come. They definitely don't want to set up a Hatfield and McCoy situation, that's for sure.

If I were Clint, and I had come to realize who the person was that morning I would definitely think that it is in my, and my family's best interest to keep a lid on it (with the exception being LE). You for sure don't want to ring that bell, knowing you can't un-ring it.

Again, this is ALL JMO. And, it's the only thing that has kept me sane for the past couple of days. Now, if or when something happens to blow my theory out of the water, I'll be back to obsessively looking for news every 10 minutes. :banghead:

Good points.

I live in a very small community, but somehow I just can't wrap my head around a state agency letting something like power, influence and money stand in their way when upholding the law. I doubt that TBI is holding back information because some POI is wealthy or has power in the community. More like they don't want to tip the person off that they are on to him, or they believe he is still holding Holly hostage and they are not going to endanger her life. A rich family might be able to buy the local police off for a time, but not the state bureau of investigation, IMO.

LE very often doesn't name POI's or suspects early on. In some cases the public has not been given a clue until we watch the perp walk on the evening news. They do all the sleuthing while leaving us in the dark until they slap the handcuffs on them and escort them to the county jail. This case is really not all that unusual.

 

[atlat]

Yes, I thought it quite ODD that Whitney Duncan just completely STOPPED all talk of HB after the "find" that Sunday and all chatter from LE stopped at same time (if you can even call is chatter from LE, {I for one am being a tad sarcastic me thinks}). Searches by public stopped. Everything related to HB stopped on that day. Sorta makes you stop and wonder.......

Whitney didn't stop talking about Holly after the find. The find was Easter Sunday. The very next day, the 25th, Whitney tweeted things related to Holly four different times. This is one of the four. http://twitter.com/whitneyduncan/status/62565629919641601

 

[wfgodot]

Welcome to WS, atlat.

 

[BeanE]

Well we can always bump her up here. Lots of eyes read WS.

http://missingkids.com/missingkids/...NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

Has anyone found anything in MSM describing the specific type of camo the individual was wearing? I've been curious about that.

The only further description I've seen is a video interview of the sheriff where the reporter asks if the perp was in camo, and the sheriff replies, "yes, full camo". So that word "full" is the only descriptor I've seen/heard.

I'm thinking shirt, jacket, pants, boots, and gloves are pretty much a given, and then on his head, probably a hat, jacket hood, and/or ski mask. He probably did not wear a helmet, and he may have painted part or all of his face if he wasn't wearing a ski mask.

Since there was no hair description at all, I'm assuming he had on a hood, or a hat that fully covered his hair.

Since he was described as "white", I'm assuming he did not have on gloves, or did not have a ski mask or a fully painted face - some part of his skin that could be seen from the back had to be uncovered.

It's such a generic description of this guy.

 

[ensht]

Probable cause. They can't go kicking in doors unless they have what they need. Knowing who it is is one thing, being able to get a search warrant is another.

I believe the family is being kept out of the light for a specific reason and it probably has to do with who they think the perp is AND their hope that she was still alive somewhere.

 

[greengreen]

The only further description I've seen is a video interview of the sheriff where the reporter asks if the perp was in camo, and the sheriff replies, "yes, full camo". So that word "full" is the only descriptor I've seen/heard.

I'm thinking shirt, jacket, pants, boots, and gloves are pretty much a given, and then on his head, probably a hat, jacket hood, and/or ski mask. He probably did not wear a helmet, and he may have painted part or all of his face if he wasn't wearing a ski mask.

Since there was no hair description at all, I'm assuming he had on a hood, or a hat that fully covered his hair.

Since he was described as "white", I'm assuming he did not have on gloves, or did not have a ski mask or a fully painted face - some part of his skin that could be seen from the back had to be uncovered.

It's such a generic description of this guy.

Full camo here would not include a painted face or a ski mask. Since it is turkey seaon I would say he definitely could have had on a camo gaiter, possibly camo face mask, but you normally pull those off asap because it is warm here during season.

 

[BeanE]

Some blood locations from various LE. They're all "on" or "in" the carport (lending support to Holly having encountered the perp in/at the carport, prolly at her car as the Sheriff surmised. MOO.)

- April 14 Midsouthnewz news article
The Decatur County Sheriff also revealed that investigators found blood in the carport

- April 18 CNN news article
Gwyn (Mark Gwyn, TBI Director) said Monday that DNA tests are being conducted to find out whose blood was found on the carport

- April 18 Commercial Appeal news article
Gwyn (Mark Gwyn, TBI Director) confirmed the presence of blood on Bobo’s carport

- April 19 News Channel 5 news article
Helm (Kristin Helm, TBI agent) said the crime lab is still analyzing blood found in a carport

- April 19 Fox News news article
A police source confirmed to FoxNews.com that a “small amount” of blood was found in the family’s carport

The URLs for the articles are linked on my timeline-in-progress page. I was too lazy to copy them over lol:
http://casesignal.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/holly-bobo-timeline/

 

[Carla Lashelle]

Full camo here would not include a painted face or a ski mask. Since it is turkey seaon I would say he definitely could have had on a camo gaiter, possibly camo face mask, but you normally pull those off asap because it is warm here during season.

I would say he probably did not have his face covered since he was being described as white.

 

[greengreen]

I would say he probably did not have his face covered since he was being described as white.

I'm thinking full camo in this situation would include a shirt and pants and maybe a cap. Probably nothing more.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I'm thinking full camo in this situation would include a shirt and pants and maybe a cap. Probably nothing more.

I agree and here in Florida in the city (Tampa) that is not unusual in the least. Even when I go fishin in the Gulf there are guys out there dressed like they would be hunting Elk or something.

 

[greengreen]

I have a lot of hot opinions regarding this case. I smell Hink all over up. Its like Hailey Dunn all over again. There is no way any LE would stop me from getting on TV and putting my kids case out there. Nope, no way.

There is something very wrong about this case. I cant put my finger on it, but its odd how so little info has been released.I understand that more info will compromise the investigation, but come on.

I think if they were given reason to believe that the situation would become worse by them speaking out, they are doing what is best based on the information they have. And no one knows what they would do in that exact situation because we don't know what is going on "behind closed doors".

 

[jabberwocky]

Well we can always bump her up here. Lots of eyes read WS.

http://missingkids.com/missingkids/...NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

Has anyone found anything in MSM describing the specific type of camo the individual was wearing? I've been curious about that.[

says full turkey camo in this article, according to a will nunley tweet
http://www.examiner.com/missing-per...eporter-jackets-jeans-courage-and-hope-needed

A source, Nunley tweeted, told him authorities say the victim appeared to have been “led” into the woods by a man wearing full “Turkey Camo.”

 

[YellowDog]

If this, by any chance, was someone that doesn't hunt, LE might be able to get some clues by checking the stores around there for recent purchases of camo clothing in a men's L or XL size. If CB could give the color combo of the camo, it could even narrow it down a bit. Just a thought. This guy might not be a hunter at all but wanted to blend into the woods.

 

[BeanE]

Well we can always bump her up here. Lots of eyes read WS.

http://missingkids.com/missingkids/...NCMA&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

Has anyone found anything in MSM describing the specific type of camo the individual was wearing? I've been curious about that.[

says full turkey camo in this article, according to a will nunley tweet
http://www.examiner.com/missing-per...eporter-jackets-jeans-courage-and-hope-needed

A source, Nunley tweeted, told him authorities say the victim appeared to have been “led” into the woods by a man wearing full “Turkey Camo.”

I just found an MSM source for that. An article I haven't seen before, containing a lot of Will Nunley's tweets. It's from WYCD radio:

Update 4/15/11 at 4:10 pm: Source: Victim appeared to be ‘led’ into the woods, by a man wearing full ‘Turkey Camo.’

http://wycd.radio.com/2011/04/19/co...ns-20-year-old-cousin-abducted/#ixzz1LEabmx78

Okay. What the heck is turkey camo?