TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden, believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #30

[houndstooth]

Why do you think he didn't commute to the school? :waitasec:

Because someone called the school.
They were told his major course requirements were not offered at the Parsons
satellite campus.

It's slightly under a 2 hour commute one way.
Do you think it likely he commuted up to 4 hours a day?

Much of the work to complete the course as a senior was clinical though, thus his work at two nursing homes, we are told.

 

[Darcyline]

I am ok with considering some outside options about this case, but I cannot make Clint fit as the sole person that caused something bad to happen just because of the timeline. Holly was alive and well at 730. Police showed up at 8. Calls were being made to 911 even before that. That is less than 30 minutes to kill her, drag her body somewhere that no one can find it, and then rush back to the house, and pretend to just be waking up before calling his mom and the neighbor showing up. If we add in the scream we have an even shorter timeline. I mean, if you think about killing an adult person and then having to drag the body off somewhere that timeline is insanely short. So, if he had help maybe? We can expand the timeline if we say the at least the Mom and Drew were in on it too and the calls made to them by "Holly" at 730 weren't really her. Maybe even the neighbor. So, now we have a LOT of people that have to be in on killing her and hiding her body and then covering it up. What motive do Clint, the mom, Drew, and possibly the neighbor have to do that?
It is possible she didn't go in the woods because I do think a car or truck was probably there somehow. I still think it is bizarro world that they sat around for a few hours "deciding what to do" while Holly was supposedly in the woods with a creepy man. But, even if I admit that is bizarro world I am not sure how to alter the plot so it does make sense. The entire community being in on it?

 

[cocomod]

After having spent days trying to get the definitive answer to this, it should state, Tennesee Technology Center, which shares the parking lot with the UT-Martin at Parsons (a sub-sub center).

So saith the UT Martin spokesman, who did not acknowledge that Clint WAS a student at UT Martin, but perhaps it is because he was an online student.
It is very unlikely he made a commute to the school itself.

I asked the question about college because on of Karen Swift Johnson's boys went to UT Martin. The name jumped out at me because I thought that Holly went to the same school. Even though it seems unlikely, maybe it is possible that there is a connection.

 

[~n/t~]

I asked the question about college because on of Karen Swift Johnson's boys went to UT Martin. The name jumped out at me because I thought that Holly went to the same school. Even though it seems unlikely, maybe it is possible that there is a connection.

That's very interesting!

 

[~n/t~]

I am ok with considering some outside options about this case, but I cannot make Clint fit as the sole person that caused something bad to happen just because of the timeline. Holly was alive and well at 730. Police showed up at 8. Calls were being made to 911 even before that. That is less than 30 minutes to kill her, drag her body somewhere that no one can find it, and then rush back to the house, and pretend to just be waking up before calling his mom and the neighbor showing up. If we add in the scream we have an even shorter timeline. I mean, if you think about killing an adult person and then having to drag the body off somewhere that timeline is insanely short. So, if he had help maybe? We can expand the timeline if we say the at least the Mom and Drew were in on it too and the calls made to them by "Holly" at 730 weren't really her. Maybe even the neighbor. So, now we have a LOT of people that have to be in on killing her and hiding her body and then covering it up. What motive do Clint, the mom, Drew, and possibly the neighbor have to do that?
It is possible she didn't go in the woods because I do think a car or truck was probably there somehow. I still think it is bizarro world that they sat around for a few hours "deciding what to do" while Holly was supposedly in the woods with a creepy man. But, even if I admit that is bizarro world I am not sure how to alter the plot so it does make sense. The entire community being in on it?

The timeline makes no sense. There is no way Karen made it home in 5 minutes or less.

 

[Karen Anne RN]

http://www.wikihow.com/Thwart-an-Abduction-Attempt

Steps to thwart an abduction attempt.

Especially look at #6 Make a Scene
Whether it would have made a difference for Holly since she lived in the country, I don't know, but hopefully it will make a difference for someone that reads this article.

bbm

For $9 - $20 you can get a Personal Alarm.

In the form of a keychain, or one that looks like a "beeper," (on your belt or jeans..)

They both have a short cord. All you have to do is yank the cord off, and they will scream at 130 decibels. One of them cannot be broken by stomping on it, and it will continue to scream that alarm for up to 2 hours, or until the 2 pieces are put back together. Can be heard up to a mile away.

Some pervs might not be intimidated by this, but there are likely many who feel that the last thing they want is attention in their direction.

Women are being snatched off college campuses right and left, off hiking trails, store parking lots, right out in the open.

How sad is it when we feel like we need to take our Glocks with us to the backyard to water the rose bushes.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

yes thats my point. I mentioned that once or twice over the last 6 months and was met with skepticism from people saying oh no Clint never went out with a gun, etc. But it was right there in the first reports... A HUGE problem with online news is that stuff just vanishes. pages are taken down, links go bad, or a story is updated so it has the same url but different content.

The initial reports were that this was a home invasion, Clint had seen his sister being taken away, and that he had gotten a gun and tried to pursue them. That makes a whole lot more sense than the gobbley gook phone tag shadows in the garage stuff we got fed later on.

,,,and Carla, I think those first reports were more accurate than we are led to believe. It would not surprise me to find out that the authorities worked with the Bobo's and came up with an "new" story to give the public. Although I am not sure why, there must be a reason.

For me, the "cover story" is a real possibility because:
>Karen's comment about " if people knew the whole story" with regards to Clint.
> The reason their story changes each time it is told. The truth doesn't change.
>....and most importantly, How can the authorities defend their lack of "urgency" to do everything possible in keeping Holly's disappearance front and center?

Let's face it if it were "your" daughter, and she was taken from your home, would you allow this silence to continue for eight months, if you thought there was a chance your daughter were "alive". Doubt it! TIME and the release of information is imperative in seeking help from "the public" in an abduction.
The only explanation I can come up with for the way this case is being handled is familial compliance with the authorities for whatever reason? Everything seems too Quiet for the urgency of a "kidnapping"
Remember , it's not like a "missing person" where the victim never came home----Holly was "taken by someone" her brother described as a " 6 ft. male,200lbs."
Wouldn't you think you would be out there everyday with ANY ounce of information you could convey to the public? Not have your only witness, as well as family members,friends, LE,etc say Nothing for those crucial first day's---let alone 3 months.
It would be pretty irresponsible for authorities to "sit" on information when a "victims life" hangs in the balance. Let's hope they have "their" reasons.
:twocents:

 

[Carla Lashelle]

,,,and Carla, I think those first reports were more accurate than we are led to believe. It would not surprise me to find out that the authorities worked with the Bobo's and came up with an "new" story to give the public. Although I am not sure why, there must be a reason.

For me, the "cover story" is a real possibility because:
>Karen's comment about " if people knew the whole story" with regards to Clint.
> The reason their story changes each time it is told. The truth doesn't change.
>....and most importantly, How can the authorities defend their lack of "urgency" to do everything possible in keeping Holly's disappearance front and center?

Let's face it if it were "your" daughter, and she was taken from your home, would you allow this silence to continue for eight months, if you thought there was a chance your daughter were "alive". Doubt it! TIME and the release of information is imperative in seeking help from "the public" in an abduction.
The only explanation I can come up with for the way this case is being handled is familial compliance with the authorities for whatever reason? Everything seems too Quiet for the urgency of a "kidnapping"
Remember , it's not like a "missing person" where the victim never came home----Holly was "taken by someone" her brother described as a " 6 ft. male,200lbs."
Wouldn't you think you would be out there everyday with ANY ounce of information you could convey to the public? Not have your only witness, as well as family members,friends, LE,etc say Nothing for those crucial first day's---let alone 3 months.
It would be pretty irresponsible for authorities to "sit" on information when a "victims life" hangs in the balance. Let's hope they have "their" reasons.
:twocents:

I agree... this simplified, convoluted story has been concocted (or is whats left when all the good stuff is edited out by LE). Everyone involved has to know more than what is being let on. Now, I don't have a problem with that per se and thats the norm in a lot of cases. But it does make things frustrating. I can sense too the family is frustrated. Perhaps they went along with this early on but then lost faith in the local Barney Fife police to handle it properly.

 

[Eileen730]

I asked the question about college because on of Karen Swift Johnson's boys went to UT Martin. The name jumped out at me because I thought that Holly went to the same school. Even though it seems unlikely, maybe it is possible that there is a connection.

I thought Clint was the UT Martin student and Holly went to the tec school on the ut martin satellite campus. JMO

 

[cfreyja23]

It is possible she didn't go in the woods because I do think a car or truck was probably there somehow. I still think it is bizarro world that they sat around for a few hours "deciding what to do" while Holly was supposedly in the woods with a creepy man. But, even if I admit that is bizarro world I am not sure how to alter the plot so it does make sense. The entire community being in on it?

I agree that it's difficult with the timeline to believe the brother was involved, unless that entire part of the timeline was a lie and he did something to her immediately after his parents left (FWIW, I don't believe he was involved at all).
I think a local was involved, who the family knows, and I suspect that the family's public appearances were made solely to lead this person to either confess or make a mistake, NOT to create public awareness. I believe the sticker campaign was started solely to throw this person off as well. I think he's got Holly on his land, but LE does not have probable cause to search yet, and does not have a voluntary DNA sample. I think LE has it narrowed done to several persons of interest, and I think they know that releasing that info to the public now would have a very detrimental effect on the case.

 

[wishuwerehere]

,,,and Carla, I think those first reports were more accurate than we are led to believe. It would not surprise me to find out that the authorities worked with the Bobo's and came up with an "new" story to give the public. Although I am not sure why, there must be a reason.

For me, the "cover story" is a real possibility because:
>Karen's comment about " if people knew the whole story" with regards to Clint.
> The reason their story changes each time it is told. The truth doesn't change.
>....and most importantly, How can the authorities defend their lack of "urgency" to do everything possible in keeping Holly's disappearance front and center?

Let's face it if it were "your" daughter, and she was taken from your home, would you allow this silence to continue for eight months, if you thought there was a chance your daughter were "alive". Doubt it! TIME and the release of information is imperative in seeking help from "the public" in an abduction.
The only explanation I can come up with for the way this case is being handled is familial compliance with the authorities for whatever reason? Everything seems too Quiet for the urgency of a "kidnapping"
Remember , it's not like a "missing person" where the victim never came home----Holly was "taken by someone" her brother described as a " 6 ft. male,200lbs."
Wouldn't you think you would be out there everyday with ANY ounce of information you could convey to the public? Not have your only witness, as well as family members,friends, LE,etc say Nothing for those crucial first day's---let alone 3 months.
It would be pretty irresponsible for authorities to "sit" on information when a "victims life" hangs in the balance. Let's hope they have "their" reasons.
:twocents:

Your reasoning about a “cover story” makes sense. It would, imo, explain why a lot about this case doesn’t fit.

However, I’m not ready to sign on to the theory that LE has changed the story of the abduction so as to “wait” for the perp to mess up and/or confess.

Can you (or anyone here on WS) point to a case or cases where LE has put out a false story re the abduction of someone, and the family of the victim was complicit with the “story”, and LE concluded the investigation to a successful end? If so, please let me know because I would like to compare that case(s) to Holly’s case. TIA

 

[Mustang Sally]

I believe this to be an abduction for the OBVIOUS reasons:

1) the FBI says so
2) local LE says so
3) the family says so
4) Holly is still missing so shes not hiding in the garage like Balloon Boy
5) Holly's blood was found at the home
6) Holly's lunch bag was found miles away from the home
(how did it get there Clint couldn't have done it, Drew couldn't have done it...)
7) Neighbors heard screams and came to the Bobo house (if it were not an abduction
then who was screaming and where did the screaming person go)
8) Other evidence WAS found in various locations.
9) Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no
known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything(
10) The family's earnest attempts to find Holly. If she were hiding out with her Cousin
Holly's mom wouldn't have quit her job and Clint would not have quit school to search
11) The Bobo's still have the support of their close knit community. I doubt they could
fool that many people this long and someone would have come forward to say so by
now...

I will say the story of what happened is murky and convoluted at best. I admit that. But I do think its a genuine abduction. Always have.

A SIMPLE THANKS Was not enough!!!..

My heart breaks for the MANY Families of the Missing boys, girls, men and women in America Today...

Who is taking the lives of the UNUSUALLLY Hign Numbers of the Missing?

What is being done to solve the MANY Cold Cases?

When will the families have closure for their Loss of a Loved One?

Where are the murders hiding their victims..So Sad??

Why ARE the MISSING PEOPLE in America not given the Law Enfourcement time to solve their cases?

How do these terrible things keep happening to so MANY wonderful people?

Dear God ..Please Bring Home the Many Missing Children and Adults..their families Need Some Closure!

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

Your reasoning about a “cover story” makes sense. It would, imo, explain why a lot about this case doesn’t fit.

However, I’m not ready to sign on to the theory that LE has changed the story of the abduction so as to “wait” for the perp to mess up and/or confess

....and neither am I. In an abduction case there doesn't seem to be any room for "a wait and see" mentality. Every minute you wait is one minute closer to an unfortunate outcome for the victim. I think Le and the family, in the days immediately following the abduction, may have known something that led them to believe this may have been the route to take. However I fear this may no longer be the case. I have to believe you find the victim first--make your case later.....but that is just me...I hope I am very wrong.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I believe this to be an abduction for the OBVIOUS reasons:

1) the FBI says so
2) local LE says so
3) the family says so
4) Holly is still missing so shes not hiding in the garage like Balloon Boy
5) Holly's blood was found at the home
6) Holly's lunch bag was found miles away from the home
(how did it get there Clint couldn't have done it, Drew couldn't have done it...)
7) Neighbors heard screams and came to the Bobo house (if it were not an abduction
then who was screaming and where did the screaming person go)
8) Other evidence WAS found in various locations.
9) Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no
known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything(
10) The family's earnest attempts to find Holly. If she were hiding out with her Cousin
Holly's mom wouldn't have quit her job and Clint would not have quit school to search
11) The Bobo's still have the support of their close knit community. I doubt they could
fool that many people this long and someone would have come forward to say so by
now...

I will say the story of what happened is murky and convoluted at best. I admit that. But I do think its a genuine abduction. Always have.

Thanks for this! Yes, I think there are things that we do not know....but there just isn't any reason for me to think that Holly's family somehow conspired to harm or hide her....a girl who from all accounts was very much loved. And your point about the timeline is very true. I know some people really want Clint to be guilty of something, but the timeline just doesn't fit.

 

[Wonless]

This new missing women is very interesting...
Striking similarity in type, except age..
Same curcumstances..seemingly, that is women alone at or near residence in the early morning hours..
Physical Distance..
No appearent motive, save the Husband, who by all reports is still close with her dispite the breakup.

I wish we could get some insight into the husband a bit, if we could rule him out for sure, I would think the proability that the two cases are related go way up.

 

[telemag]

I believe this to be an abduction for the OBVIOUS reasons:

1) the FBI says so
2) local LE says so
3) the family says so
4) Holly is still missing so shes not hiding in the garage like Balloon Boy
5) Holly's blood was found at the home
6) Holly's lunch bag was found miles away from the home
(how did it get there Clint couldn't have done it, Drew couldn't have done it...)
7) Neighbors heard screams and came to the Bobo house (if it were not an abduction
then who was screaming and where did the screaming person go)
8) Other evidence WAS found in various locations.
9) Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no
known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything(
10) The family's earnest attempts to find Holly. If she were hiding out with her Cousin
Holly's mom wouldn't have quit her job and Clint would not have quit school to search
11) The Bobo's still have the support of their close knit community. I doubt they could
fool that many people this long and someone would have come forward to say so by
now...

I will say the story of what happened is murky and convoluted at best. I admit that. But I do think its a genuine abduction. Always have.

Carla all some good points, but I am not so sure that anything about this case is obvious. I think the one thing that we do know FOR SURE is that Holly is missing. I would like to know why the FBI and Le think it is an abduction. Are there assumptions based soley on the only eye witness? Lets assume just for a moment that no one saw Holly leaving her house. OK so maybe LE would have still gotten the tracking dogs on the case. According to what I have read the dogs did not track Holly into the woods. If no one had seen Holly walking into the woods that morning would the woods have been searched after the dogs showed no interest and if not then most likely the lunch box would never have been found.

From what I have read a small amount of Holly's blood had been found. Does anyone know if luminal had been used to detect any more blood? If so did they check the house?

Carla you stated "Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything" How could anyone know for sure that the family or a boyfriend current or not had some type of argument with Holly? Would anyone even admit to that even if it had nothing to do with her being missing? As far as Karen quitting her job I have no idea why she would do that. Did she actually quit or go on leave? I know that the family supposedly have made a lot of money selling shirts and I think wrist bands (not so sure about that).

I have no idea what happened to Holly. Unfortunately I believe she is long gone as in dead. Maybe there was some kind of accident and someone panicked who knows. The one thing that does not sit well with me and never did is how could those dogs not have tracked a bleeding girl into the woods???? There are other things too, but this one to me is a gaping hole in the whole Holly was last seen quietly walking into the woods story.

 

[cfreyja23]

I disagree, RUKidding. Cases go cold all the time because LE has a good suspect but can't get the right evidence for arrest or enough probable cause for a search warrant. While I may have gone a little "out there" with the fake story idea, I certainly think that LE could have a suspect without making an arrest and is asking the family to say certain things. Time may be of the essence, but probable cause is probable cause. If a local kidnapped her and hid her body on their land somewhere a helicopter couldn't see in plain view, it's entirely possible LE suspects this and can't do much about it.

 

[goldiegirl]

This new missing women is very interesting...
Striking similarity in type, except age..
Same curcumstances..seemingly, that is women alone at or near residence in the early morning hours..
Physical Distance..
No appearent motive, save the Husband, who by all reports is still close with her dispite the breakup.

I wish we could get some insight into the husband a bit, if we could rule him out for sure, I would think the proability that the two cases are related go way up.

Which new missing woman? Thanks!

 

[Suthrnqt]

Carla all some good points, but I am not so sure that anything about this case is obvious. I think the one thing that we do know FOR SURE is that Holly is missing. I would like to know why the FBI and Le think it is an abduction. Are there assumptions based soley on the only eye witness? Lets assume just for a moment that no one saw Holly leaving her house. OK so maybe LE would have still gotten the tracking dogs on the case. According to what I have read the dogs did not track Holly into the woods. If no one had seen Holly walking into the woods that morning would the woods have been searched after the dogs showed no interest and if not then most likely the lunch box would never have been found.

From what I have read a small amount of Holly's blood had been found. Does anyone know if luminal had been used to detect any more blood? If so did they check the house?

Carla you stated "Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything" How could anyone know for sure that the family or a boyfriend current or not had some type of argument with Holly? Would anyone even admit to that even if it had nothing to do with her being missing? As far as Karen quitting her job I have no idea why she would do that. Did she actually quit or go on leave? I know that the family supposedly have made a lot of money selling shirts and I think wrist bands (not so sure about that).

I have no idea what happened to Holly. Unfortunately I believe she is long gone as in dead. Maybe there was some kind of accident and someone panicked who knows. The one thing that does not sit well with me and never did is how could those dogs not have tracked a bleeding girl into the woods???? There are other things too, but this one to me is a gaping hole in the whole Holly was last seen quietly walking into the woods story.

BBM

I also believe she is dead. Perhaps some type of hunting accident ?? IDK I just know the story and timeline don't make sense.

Also, I am not a professional anything, but the dogs not being able to track a bleeding girl into the woods has always sounded off to me, too. If an abduction occured like Clint states, then why weren't the dogs able to lead LE to Holly? :maddening:

 

[Carla Lashelle]

Carla all some good points, but I am not so sure that anything about this case is obvious. I think the one thing that we do know FOR SURE is that Holly is missing. I would like to know why the FBI and Le think it is an abduction. Are there assumptions based soley on the only eye witness? Lets assume just for a moment that no one saw Holly leaving her house. OK so maybe LE would have still gotten the tracking dogs on the case. According to what I have read the dogs did not track Holly into the woods. If no one had seen Holly walking into the woods that morning would the woods have been searched after the dogs showed no interest and if not then most likely the lunch box would never have been found.

From what I have read a small amount of Holly's blood had been found. Does anyone know if luminal had been used to detect any more blood? If so did they check the house?

Carla you stated "Zero known reason for this not to be an abduction (no known family arguements, no known abusive ex boyfriend, no known disgruntled ex employee, no known anything" How could anyone know for sure that the family or a boyfriend current or not had some type of argument with Holly? Would anyone even admit to that even if it had nothing to do with her being missing? As far as Karen quitting her job I have no idea why she would do that. Did she actually quit or go on leave? I know that the family supposedly have made a lot of money selling shirts and I think wrist bands (not so sure about that).

I have no idea what happened to Holly. Unfortunately I believe she is long gone as in dead. Maybe there was some kind of accident and someone panicked who knows. The one thing that does not sit well with me and never did is how could those dogs not have tracked a bleeding girl into the woods???? There are other things too, but this one to me is a gaping hole in the whole Holly was last seen quietly walking into the woods story.

Even if no one saw Holly walking into the woods there were the screams, 911 calls, blood found at the home, evidence found in multiple locations in the community...

Yes apparently Karen quit her job rather than going on leave.

I still maintain the dogs did not follow a scent into the woods because Holly and the suspect did not travel any distance into the woods. I think perhaps they entered the tree line and then quickly got into a vehicle of some sort. The statement that the dogs did not follow a scent comes from a talking head on a news show and is not definitive by any means. As I mentioned before our local sheriff had quit using tracking dogs citing evidence that they just are not effective and cost effective and that much time had been wasted in trying to get the dogs to a crime scene and then having them not being able to do anything anyway.

I don't think the family got rich making tee shirts versus what they could make at their jobs.

In many cases we do know about the famous abusive ex boyfriend, creepy neighbor, or someone who has a grudge against the family or a motive for a crime. In this case we do not have any of those suspects. There is no genuine evidence of any ex boyfriend who wanted to hurt Holly, for example. Actually it seems she and Drew had been a couple for a while, so any ex would have had to be from some time back. If such a person did exist I cant see why there would be zero mention of him at all anywhere by anyone. Same for anyone the family would know that could have a motive. Dana, Karen and Drew certainly have not implied they had an idea as to who did this. If they did know they wouldnt waste their time doing random things like handing out flyers.