Found Safe TN - Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas, 15, Maury County, 13 March 2017 #13 *Arrest*

[Ozarka]

^^ I think the rogue was used as a trade for a car which would blend in, complete with legal license plates.
Something like an old police cruiser ( Crown vic) with low miles. To a chop shop the Rogue would easily be worth such a car plus some cash.

nearby city recently auctioned off their fleet thru sealed bids. I know a person who scored 2 police cruisers, all white, with less than 100k miles for 200.00. For both of them.

The city I work for recently auctioned ours off for cash in hand. I'm trying to get my hands on a list of the buyers.

 

[shifferbrainz]

I'm saying any car, even one reported as stolen is a safer ride for TC than his Rogue, at this point. Do you guys realize how many stolen vehicles and plates there are out there? How many vehicles are on a watch list?

Put it this way. Let's pretend you own 2 cars- a silver Rogue and another , brand and make doesn't matter. You are in a hurry and need to make an appointment with no delay. Which car are you going to drive across Tennessee today?

 

[Blythe]

Something just occurred to me about that. There's been speculation that he's been putting out a false trail of disinformation. Could that bag have been left behind intentionally? Perhaps it was meant to be found by the police/family, but instead someone stole it?

There might have been some (false) clues in the bag as to where they were going - travel brochures or maps, for example.

Interesting thought. Where I live we report unattended backpacks. If we "see something, we say something".
Do we know if ET or TC picked it up? Was there another note in it? Or was ET leaving it there purposely?

 

[killarney rose]

Didn't someone say early on that TC obtained a $4,500 loan on the Rogue? If so, he can't sell or trade it because he doesn't have the title, the title loan people do.

 

[Kapua]

I'm saying any car, even one reported as stolen is a safer ride for TC than his Rogue, at this point. Do you guys realize how many stolen vehicles and plates there are out there? How many vehicles are on a watch list?

Put it this way. Let's pretend you own 2 cars- a silver Rogue and another , brand and make doesn't matter. You are in a hurry and need to make an appointment with no delay. Which car are you going to drive across Tennessee today?

Totally possible.

But... where is the Rogue?

 

[MsPooh]

Didn't someone say early on that TC obtained a $4,500 loan on the Rogue? If so, he can't sell or trade it because he doesn't have the title, the title loan people do.

There are other ways it could be sold, with no title.

 

[shifferbrainz]

There are other ways it could be sold, with no title.

exactly.
People are hung up on the fact he could not have "legally" sold ( or traded) the rogue. Which may be true. So what?

It might shock you, but you can't legally take a 15 year old student out of state without parental permission either.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

There are other ways it could be sold, with no title.

Agreed. You could sell the car for cash--less than blue book to make it attractive--and sign over the title to any private buyer. They wouldn't realize they had purchased a stolen car unless they had seen news reports. What if he sold it 1-2 days later in a state that hasn't had an Amber Alert? How long would it take that buyer to realize they had a stolen vehicle in your minds?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[midtoe47]

Had to take a break from this but wanted to forward something amazing I just saw on Youtube. Britain's Got Talent haa a People Missing Choir. They have all lost someone in their family or are a volunteers for the cause and have pictures of their missing loved ones streaming behind them. What a great idea this would be. Don't think I can link it here. but easy to find. It was just posted yesterday.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[Jax49]

Ok so I'm still new to all of this stuff (WS). If you don't mind me asking what does BBM stand for? I've figured out most of the abbreviations, but can NOT figure out what BBM stands for. :blonde moment: 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Try this link.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?276298-Websleuths-Lingo

 

[Kapua]

exactly.
People are hung up on the fact he could not have "legally" sold ( or traded) the rogue. Which may be true. So what?

It might shock you, but you can't legally take a 15 year old student out of state without parental permission either.

I'm more hung up on "then where is the Rogue and what are they using for transportation now?"

He certainly could have purchased another vehicle. Then what? ET doesn't drive. He would have had to ditch the vehicle near wherever he bought the other vehicle, or take a taxi or bus, exposing him them to at least one other individual who can ID them.

Maybe he got lucky, and the Rogue was stolen and chopped. Or stolen, driven, and the thief hasn't been caught - yet.

The bottom line for me is that he needs a car or needs to live near public transportation or a grocery store. Either he's driving the Rogue, driving a vehicle not registered to him, or they are walking, or taking public transportation. IMHO.
:cow:

 

[Deleted member 155000]

I'm more hung up on "then where is the Rogue and what are they using for transportation now?"

He certainly could have purchased another vehicle. Then what? ET doesn't drive. He would have had to ditch the vehicle near wherever he bought the other vehicle, or take a taxi or bus, exposing him them to at least one other individual who can ID them.

Maybe he got lucky, and the Rogue was stolen and chopped. Or stolen, driven, and the thief hasn't been caught - yet.

The bottom line for me is that he needs a car or needs to live near public transportation or a grocery store. Either he's driving the Rogue, driving a vehicle not registered to him, or they are walking, or taking public transportation. IMHO.
:cow:

Or, and yes I understand this is less likely, he is driving a car that is registered to a different person...whose ID he is using.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MsMtOlympus]

Agreed. You could sell the car for cash--less than blue book to make it attractive--and sign over the title to any private buyer. They wouldn't realize they had purchased a stolen car unless they had seen news reports. What if he sold it 1-2 days later in a state that hasn't had an Amber Alert? How long would it take that buyer to realize they had a stolen vehicle in your minds?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My assumption was that the Rogue wasn't paid off yet hence no title. It's a 2015 model so even if he bought it used, there would still be quite a bit to finance IMO.

 

[shifferbrainz]

I'm more hung up on "then where is the Rogue and what are they using for transportation now?"

He certainly could have purchased another vehicle. Then what? ET doesn't drive. He would have had to ditch the vehicle near wherever he bought the other vehicle, or take a taxi or bus, exposing him them to at least one other individual who can ID them.

Maybe he got lucky, and the Rogue was stolen and chopped. Or stolen, driven, and the thief hasn't been caught - yet.

The bottom line for me is that he needs a car or needs to live near public transportation or a grocery store. Either he's driving the Rogue, driving a vehicle not registered to him, or they are walking, or taking public transportation. IMHO.
:cow:

OK, let's try it this way

Chop shop who sells a lot of body and crash repair parts to local body shops in a large city, also has several old auction cars which have plates on them. They do not want a title for a car they are going to piece out over time.

TC takes the rogue directly there, and exchanges it for some cash and a car with plates. The plates in the new old car might be expired, but they are not reported stolen. There is nothing attached to these plates to cause them to be looked for. There are literally thousands of cars out there driving around right now on expired plates and no insurance.
And literally thousands of chop shops who do business this way.

Right in plain sight, a low profile car that nobody is looking for. Who cares if the plates are no good, as long as you drive real good and draw no attention.

 

[Kapua]

Or, and yes I understand this is less likely, he is driving a car that is registered to a different person...whose ID he is using.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, I have been wondering what he plans to use for ID, and if he has gone as far as identity theft.

 

[Kapua]

OK, let's try it this way

Chop shop who sells a lot of body and crash repair parts to local body shops in a large city, also has several old auction cars which have plates on them. They do not want a title for a car they are going to piece out over time.

TC takes the rogue directly there, and exchanges it for some cash and a car with plates. The plates in the new old car might be expired, but they are not reported stolen. There is nothing attached to these plates to cause them to be looked for. There are literally thousands of cars out there driving around right now on expired plates and no insurance.
And literally thousands of chop shops who do business this way.

Right in plain sight, a low profile car that nobody is looking for. Who cares if the plates are no good, as long as you drive real good and draw no attention.

That makes sense and is totally possible.

But how does Mr. Middle America, a church-going middle-aged man who has never broken the law up until fairly recently find such an illegal operation, particularly with not a lot of time to shop around?

 

[stormymama]

The problem I have with the chop shop theory is that TC's type (50yo former respiratory therapist turned teacher) doesn't seem like it would be typical chop shop clientele. Would he even know how to wheel and deal with them? Seems like they would peg him for a cop or something. Just thinking out loud.

 

[MsMtOlympus]

I just looked up the Rogue's plate number (976-ZPT) in Tennessee public records. Not sure if we already established this fact but the plate expires 4/30/2017. Probably not relevant or going to make a difference one way or another but I wanted to know.

 

[Kapua]

I posted this before, but it bears repeating. I drove my current vehicle with paper plates for several (like 8 or 9) months, due to the dealership dropping the ball on getting me the current sticker. In CA, the paper plate goes over the real plate until the registration is transferred. My registration expires in May, and I purchased my used vehicle in May. The dealership renewed the registration, the DMV mailed the sticker to the dealership, and they shoved it in a drawer. I went over there twice to try and resolve the situation, and then decided, I will just renew as soon as I hear from the DMV. The dealership found the old sticker a week after I got my new sticker. LOL.

I realize that TN plates follow the owner, whereas CA plates follow the vehicle, but IMHO, it would be far, far easier just to put a paper plate over the real plate than it would be to find a chop shop and switch vehicles.

Changing the plate is easier than changing the car. IMHO. :cow:

 

[Kapua]

I just looked up the Rogue's plate number (976-ZPT) in Tennessee public records. Not sure if we already established this fact but the plate expires 4/30/2017. Probably not relevant or going to make a difference one way or another but I wanted to know.

Haha, that was brilliant! Good job!