TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden, believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #24

[docwho3]

Also:
There seems to be a fair resemblance to her cousin (the singer)
& it has made me wonder if the missing Holly was truly the target
or could someone have been looking for her cousin Whitney?

I wonder about it because of the resemblance but also because of
the victim having a high profile relative.
Any time you have a victim who has a relative that is famous or
well known to the public it would seem prudent to look carefully to
be able to rule out any sort of connection.

Not at all saying it was a publicity stunt but it would seem to be
good to rule out any possible celebrity stalker sort of scenario.

Note: This is my least favorite possibility at all, at this time,
but it does need to be thought of just to be sure all
bases are covered.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I wonder how often these dirtbags use a stun gun. It's important to stay as far away from these guys as possible, given the range of these weapons.

What you call a "stun gun" is more like a police Tazer gun... hand held pistol that shoots wires/darts some distance to stick in a target so they can be zapped.

The good old fashioned "stun gun" does not shoot anything you press it into someone and squeeze the handle. I found this picture online as a general reference. They are powered by just a 9v battery. Basically you would just come up behind someone and press it into their side or back and give them a little zap to show you mean business. A little shock would not drop someone but a big one would.

http://pricedinchina.com/images/products/detail/Chinagrabber_Electric_Stun_Gun_ESG1600_01.jpg

This is essentially what I zapped myself with. It was not pleasant and it was probably about the shortest shock you could get since I dropped the stun gun. Note to self: stun guns do not work on bugs and they will arc back and shock your fingers...

It would be a very good "come along" type weapon. If you really mashed it into someone and gave them a good zap it would be quite incapacitiating. I believe Jonbenet Ramsey's body had burns from what was belived to be a stun gun's metal poles.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

You know, I just had a completely random thought (and i apologize if this has been brought up before.. have been away for the most part and am catching up) but were foot prints found leaving the garage into the woods? scuff marks? and if so, what size were anyfootprints found? what kind of tread? TIA advance for anyone who can answer this for me.

No such evidence has ever been made public or described although it is aparently known where Holly and the man did enter the woods.

 

[Patience]

We have spoken some about the possibilities in this case.....Here is one I've heard mentioned but didn't include in my scenarios.

Check out this article:
http://ktar.com/category/local-news...rug-cartels-also-involved-in-sex-trafficking/

I do think it is a very strong possibility that Holly was taken for the purpose of sex trafficking.

From the above noted article. Thanks Shefner.

He said a family might pay $100,000 ransom, but the kidnap victim can be worth much more in the sex market.

"This person can be held in captivity, they can be filmed doing sex acts, they can be sold on the Internet throughout the world and make 10 times that amount of money. So why would they return the person to their family?"
There are cases where Americans have been targeted by the cartels, which will pay an untold amount of money for what they want, Barker said.
"A young girl with a certain complexion -- blond hair, blue eyes -- or twins. That will dramatically increase the value of the potential victim."Kidnappings for the sex trade are not limited to Mexico, Barker said.

 

[grandmaj]

Links from MSM sources or don't bring the rumors here please. TOS Thanks.

 

[MLE]

Our dog will bark at my husband if he comes at me the wrong way.

He does it now just to mess with the dog. :innocent:

Same thing with the kids. If you tickle one and they yell like they are NOT having fun... the dog will get MAD.

If it was obvious to the dog that Holly was not happy, not okay... I don't think it would have mattered WHO it was. I know MY dog would have barked no matter who it was, if she perceived I was in danger.

What I'm saying is the dog barking increases the chances the perp is a stranger. While some dogs will bark at anyone, a lot of dogs tend to bark more at people with whom they're unfamiliar. For example, some dogs will bark at the mailman every time. Others will no longer at the mailman after they become familiar with him. Dogs who are spoiled pets tend to be the ones who bark at strangers.

I never bait dogs just to get a response, because it serves no purpose and could result in a "boy who cried wolf" effect. But when I was a kid, we had a good watchdog and I was playing in the snow one day and my face was wrapped up because of the cold temperature. He apparently didn't recognize me because he barked pretty viciously and also urinated on the porch. I think we scared each other. When I spoke to him and he recognized my voice, he calmed down.

 

[MLE]

I suspect a knife was used because of the blood left behind (at least
some of which might have been from the abductor because thrusting with
a knife can cause a knife to slip and result in the perp being cut on the
hand holding the knife.) I suspect he poked her with the knife quite hard
and fast but that is all just guessing.

I think he probably rushed her, put his hand over her mouth (since Clint heard the dog but not Holly), and threatened her with the knife, cutting her to emphasize how dangerous he was and to make it clear that he had no qualms about cutting her again if she didn't comply with his demand to go into the woods with him.

 

[MLE]

I do think it is a very strong possibility that Holly was taken for the purpose of sex trafficking.

From the above noted article. Thanks Shefner.

He said a family might pay $100,000 ransom, but the kidnap victim can be worth much more in the sex market.

"This person can be held in captivity, they can be filmed doing sex acts, they can be sold on the Internet throughout the world and make 10 times that amount of money. So why would they return the person to their family?"
There are cases where Americans have been targeted by the cartels, which will pay an untold amount of money for what they want, Barker said.
"A young girl with a certain complexion -- blond hair, blue eyes -- or twins. That will dramatically increase the value of the potential victim."Kidnappings for the sex trade are not limited to Mexico, Barker said.

Due to the vast number of women who are trafficked, it's definitely a possibility that shouldn't be glibly disregarded.

I watched this show on CNBC the other night:

[video=youtube;idBkJPwVn24]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idBkJPwVn24[/video]

Young women with blonde hair and blue eyes are considered much more valuable, and most of the white women I've seen in Asia standing around in red light districts or propositioning guys in front of those massage parlors in indoor shopping malls are blonde haired and blue eyed.

I think this is going to be a growing problem because of how much money there is in China now and how there are 32,000,000 more men in China than there are women. And it's not just China, it's like that throughout Asia.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I suppose I would not totally discount anything but trafficking is probably at the absolute bottom of my list of potential probabilities for a number of reasons.

One would be who Holly was or was not. It would be much easier to snatch a blonde girl who was a runaway, who worked as a hooker, who worked in a strip club, who was a party girl, etc. A small town girl who sang in her local church would be pretty much under the radar I would think.

And in a related vein it would be the manner of the abduction. I doubt trafficers would find this obscure girl living in a small town, go to the trouble to stake her out at school and home, etc. I don't think they would want to risk the huge man hunt, reward, etc.

Im not saying Holly would be an attractive target but rather they could get essentially the same thing a whole lot easier somewhere else.

As for some sort of ransom kidnapping, real genuine kindappings for money are rare in the USA.

Due to the vast number of women who are trafficked, it's definitely a possibility that shouldn't be glibly disregarded.

I watched this show on CNBC the other night:

YouTube - ‪Crime Inc.: Human Trafficking Trade [NBC: 5-11-2011]‬‏

Young women with blonde hair and blue eyes are considered much more valuable, and most of the white women I've seen in Asia standing around in red light districts or propositioning guys in front of those massage parlors in indoor shopping malls are blonde haired and blue eyed.

I think this is going to be a growing problem because of how much money there is in China now and how there are 32,000,000 more men in China than there are women. And it's not just China, it's like that throughout Asia.

 

[mountainguy777]

Something happened on/around easter that flipped the off switch on everything. We may never know.

Reward money, news shows, local media, and country singing cousin all stopped on a dime.

One of the strangest cases I've seen.

 

[burbqueen]

amen to that mountain guy! this case belongs in bizzaro land. IMO this one wont be solved anytime soon.

 

[MLE]

I suppose I would not totally discount anything but trafficking is probably at the absolute bottom of my list of potential probabilities for a number of reasons.

One would be who Holly was or was not. It would be much easier to snatch a blonde girl who was a runaway, who worked as a hooker, who worked in a strip club, who was a party girl, etc. A small town girl who sang in her local church would be pretty much under the radar I would think.

And in a related vein it would be the manner of the abduction. I doubt trafficers would find this obscure girl living in a small town, go to the trouble to stake her out at school and home, etc. I don't think they would want to risk the huge man hunt, reward, etc.

From what I've seen, women who get trafficked aren't trashy women at all. For example, I was in Istanbul, Turkey about a decade ago and went into a place to drink. There was a disco floor absolutely full of girls and I noticed one that I thought was just exceptionally beautiful. I took my eye off of her and didn't think anything else about her. But the people who ran the place must've noticed which one got my attention because moments after they seated me, they brought her over and sat her down in my booth. I didn't want to hire her or anything but since they sat her down beside of me, I talked with her and she was highly intelligent. She said she was from the Ukraine, but she spoke English very well. They overcharged me on my beers and her drink which I had to pay for, and I paid what they charged since this was obviously a mafia joint and I was in no mood to get beaten up. After the guy walked away from my table, she blushed and said she had nothing to do with how they overcharged and apologized about it. She was obviously a very decent girl in a very bad situation.

I could go on and on, but that anecdote just sticks out in my mind more than the rest.

There are tons of trafficked women in Singapore from various countries and most of them speak English very well. I just can't imagine runaways and strippers hitting the books with the dedication it takes to become skilled in a foreign language. These are obviously very well educated women. They stand outside of massage parlors in regular shopping malls in Chinatown and proposition guys in broad daylight as they walk by. It's the same way in Geylang district. This is all under the watchful eye of their pimp who normally sits nearby at a table sipping on tea or whatever. These women don't seem at all like the type that would be runaways or strippers.

Trafficked women have nothing in common with the dropouts and drug addicts we're accustomed to seeing hitting the street corners in the United States.

In post-911 America with so many cameras in urban areas, perhaps some traffickers would prefer to do their dirty deeds in rural areas where there's a lower risk of being caught on camera.

While I think it's far more likely that some guy who lives in or near Parsons kidnapped, raped, and murdered her, trafficking isn't something that can be counted out at this point. She fits the profile of someone who would be trafficked and it's because she's not trashy.

 

[cluciano63]

FWIW I do not believe Holly was trafficked.

I feel for the family, but I really can't think of anything to discuss on this case, without any new information. Every possible scenario, and in my opinion, some less than plausible ones, seem to have been hashed out. My own opinion is simply that LE is shocked they did not find her quickly and now are kind of stuck. I do not think they have a suspect.

 

[MLE]

One case it sort of reminds me of is the Molly Bish case that was featured on one of the Investigation Discovery shows a while back.

A hunter or someone found Bish's body in the woods years later, but I can't remember how far it was from where she disappeared, and if searchers had combed through that area during their searches or not.

 

[cluciano63]

One case it sort of reminds me of is the Molly Bish case that was featured on one of the Investigation Discovery shows a while back.

A hunter or someone found Bish's body in the woods years later, but I can't remember how far it was from where she disappeared, and if searchers had combed through that area during their searches or not.

I agree, it does appear similar to what happened to Molly. And she was not found for some years. Searchers did indeed search those very woods, if I remember correctly. Her murder remains unsolved, despite various POI's over the years.

 

[rossva]

Just curious as to why you think some one who worked in a strip club would be easier to "snatch" than some one that worked in a bank, or a dentist office, or anywhere else for that matter?

It would be much easier to snatch a blonde girl who was a runaway, who worked as a hooker, who worked in a strip club, who was a party girl, etc.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

Something happened on/around easter that flipped the off switch on everything. We may never know.

Reward money, news shows, local media, and country singing cousin all stopped on a dime.

One of the strangest cases I've seen.

Well the reward had already been set and once you get to $80,000 its hard to really boost it. If $80K doesnt make tongues wag, adding another $500 from Crimestoppers isnt going to help.

As to the searches, I think they had already been pretty much called off or were over by then. I think they actually called some people in that day to look again as no more searches had been scheduled before Sunday.

THe family didnt say much of anything after the first two or three days. Why is a mystery. Could be grief, shock, despair, being told not to...



BUT its certainly a real weird, convoluted case. Thats for sure.

 

[JenniferTx]

FWIW I do not believe Holly was trafficked.

I feel for the family, but I really can't think of anything to discuss on this case, without any new information. Every possible scenario, and in my opinion, some less than plausible ones, seem to have been hashed out. My own opinion is simply that LE is shocked they did not find her quickly and now are kind of stuck. I do not think they have a suspect.

I agree, I don't think that LE has a suspect yet. Very sad indeed.

 

[docwho3]

You know, I just had a completely random thought
(and i apologize if this has been brought up before.. have been away for
the most part and am catching up) but were foot prints found leaving the
garage into the woods? scuff marks? and if so, what size were
anyfootprints found? what kind of tread? TIA advance for anyone who can
answer this for me.

If such evidence exists (and I think it may well exist) then it is part of the
ongoing investigation and thus is probably not being released to the public at this time.

A recent quick websearch for 'Holly bobo' and 'footprint' failed to turn up
any article from MSM (Main Stream Media) about footprints in this case.
(I also tried 'Holly bobo' and 'foot print' , adding the space between the word foot and print.)

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I dont necessarily agree... but thats not a big deal. From my own experineces I do not think this is such an incident. My friends I. and O. are from the Ukraine (my background also) and were broght to the US to work and they dont think this is a trafficing case either. Nor do they think it is a revenge type crime agaisnt the family by some sort of crime organization or group of people.

I would not and did not all any trafficked person trashy and find that insulting myself.

I still do not think she meets the profile in any way at all except appearance.

But its still worth putting out there I guess. Its not like three is much else to chew on.

From what I've seen, women who get trafficked aren't trashy women at all. For example, I was in Istanbul, Turkey about a decade ago and went into a place to drink. There was a disco floor absolutely full of girls and I noticed one that I thought was just exceptionally beautiful. I took my eye off of her and didn't think anything else about her. But the people who ran the place must've noticed which one got my attention because moments after they seated me, they brought her over and sat her down in my booth. I didn't want to hire her or anything but since they sat her down beside of me, I talked with her and she was highly intelligent. She said she was from the Ukraine, but she spoke English very well. They overcharged me on my beers and her drink which I had to pay for, and I paid what they charged since this was obviously a mafia joint and I was in no mood to get beaten up. After the guy walked away from my table, she blushed and said she had nothing to do with how they overcharged and apologized about it. She was obviously a very decent girl in a very bad situation.

I could go on and on, but that anecdote just sticks out in my mind more than the rest.

There are tons of trafficked women in Singapore from various countries and most of them speak English very well. I just can't imagine runaways and strippers hitting the books with the dedication it takes to become skilled in a foreign language. These are obviously very well educated women. They stand outside of massage parlors in regular shopping malls in Chinatown and proposition guys in broad daylight as they walk by. It's the same way in Geylang district. This is all under the watchful eye of their pimp who normally sits nearby at a table sipping on tea or whatever. These women don't seem at all like the type that would be runaways or strippers.

Trafficked women have nothing in common with the dropouts and drug addicts we're accustomed to seeing hitting the street corners in the United States.

In post-911 America with so many cameras in urban areas, perhaps some traffickers would prefer to do their dirty deeds in rural areas where there's a lower risk of being caught on camera.

While I think it's far more likely that some guy who lives in or near Parsons kidnapped, raped, and murdered her, trafficking isn't something that can be counted out at this point. She fits the profile of someone who would be trafficked and it's because she's not trashy.