Found Deceased TN - Veronica Machen Casciato, 48, Claiborne County, 6 April 2017

[TrashPossum]

I agree the path from where she was last seen to where her car was found doesn't make sense. I haven't looked back in the thread but I thought the trip she was going to take to Asheville was supposed to be the following weekend and not the weekend immediately following her disappearance.

The only scenarios that could account for her car at Eagle Gap are:

1. Suicide

2. Killed there but then the killer has a long walk in either direction out of there absent someone picking up a hitchhiker or the killer lives not too far away or had someone come pick them up or follow.

3. Killed elsewhere and the car driven there and dumped but then the killer has a long walk in either direction out of there absent someone picking up a hitchhiker or the killer lives not too far away or had someone come pick them up or follow

Her last known location was a gas station. I would be curious how much gas, if any, she purchased. I also would like to know what, if anything, Veronica had said to any fellow students or staff in the day or days prior and who she had been in contact with via phone calls/messages in the days prior to her disappearance. I know the theory of her picking up hitchhikers comes from her husband and that is always possible but I would like to know if all other bases have been covered before heading down the random stranger path.

I am rather surprised that considering the distance traveled that LE was not able to come up with any surveillance camera footage elsewhere along potential routes that show her car (maybe LE does have that) and particularly the fact that there is only one way to Eagle Gap via Tellico Plains (traveling east) and only one way in there traveling from the west which takes you quite a bit out of the way to be able to come that way which means if there are any surveillance cameras along to way through Tellico Plains LE should at least know if her car passed by. It seems that, if nothing else, LE should be able to piece some of the route Veronica's car must have traveled to limit the possibilities.

Oh, I am not quite sure then. Thank you for pointing that out to me. Perhaps her trip to Asheville was supposed to be the following weekend. That would make more sense, as her daughter probably would have been the first to notice that she was missing. A spontaneous trip to Tellico Plains still just seems so far out of the way - especially when there’s an abundance of nature all around LMU and the surrounding areas. And if she was going to travel that far, then why not just go to Cosby to visit her husband?

I feel sorry for him. I couldn’t imagine if my wife were to disappear, and then having people be suspicious of me on top of all of the sheer terror and unimaginable grief. Still, one can’t help but wonder.


I’m not sure that the law enforcement in Tellico would have noticed her car, unless they had pulled her over. The town is incredibly small and only had one or two stop lights the last time I was there. The cops tend to stay fairly preoccupied with the drug problem in the area. It’s also somewhat of a low key tourist hotspot, so a passerby wouldn’t be very memorable in my opinion. Surely the investigators would have asked local gas station and restaurant employees if they saw her or the vehicle, and if not, it seems that they would have said something after the news broke. I realize that her card would have shown a purchase, but maybe she had spare change on hand, or was with someone, or used the restroom without purchasing anything.


There’s been such limited coverage and seemingly little progress on this that I can’t help from wondering if the investigators have fumbled and dropped the ball on this one. It would indeed be nice to know if all of the other bases have been covered. I do know that a thorough search of her social media accounts and presumably her internet history came up empty.

I am generally of the mind that the remains of suicide victims are usually located, even if takes a bit of time. I know that her family said Veronica dealt with anxiety, and that hardly seems like a reason to kill herself. She had a pretty fulfilling life and was on her way to securing a career that she was passionate about. If she was at Eagle Gap, I don’t think she was there for long.

I recently viewed the Facebook page Veronica’s sister made in support of finding her, Friends of Veronica Casciato, and apparently there have been alleged sighting of Veronica, but there was no way to verify them as true. The post also did not clarify if it was recently or around the time of her disappearance.


It’s peculair that so many folks turn up missing in national parks, especially around the Cherokee National Forest. Either way, I’m at a loss. I hope she is found soon.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Oh, I am not quite sure then. Thank you for pointing that out to me. Perhaps her trip to Asheville was supposed to be the following weekend. That would make more sense, as her daughter probably would have been the first to notice that she was missing. A spontaneous trip to Tellico Plains still just seems so far out of the way - especially when there’s an abundance of nature all around LMU and the surrounding areas. And if she was going to travel that far, then why not just go to Cosby to visit her husband?

I feel sorry for him. I couldn’t imagine if my wife were to disappear, and then having people be suspicious of me on top of all of the sheer terror and unimaginable grief. Still, one can’t help but wonder.


I’m not sure that the law enforcement in Tellico would have noticed her car, unless they had pulled her over. The town is incredibly small and only had one or two stop lights the last time I was there. The cops tend to stay fairly preoccupied with the drug problem in the area. It’s also somewhat of a low key tourist hotspot, so a passerby wouldn’t be very memorable in my opinion. Surely the investigators would have asked local gas station and restaurant employees if they saw her or the vehicle, and if not, it seems that they would have said something after the news broke. I realize that her card would have shown a purchase, but maybe she had spare change on hand, or was with someone, or used the restroom without purchasing anything.


There’s been such limited coverage and seemingly little progress on this that I can’t help from wondering if the investigators have fumbled and dropped the ball on this one. It would indeed be nice to know if all of the other bases have been covered. I do know that a thorough search of her social media accounts and presumably her internet history came up empty.

I am generally of the mind that the remains of suicide victims are usually located, even if takes a bit of time. I know that her family said Veronica dealt with anxiety, and that hardly seems like a reason to kill herself. She had a pretty fulfilling life and was on her way to securing a career that she was passionate about. If she was at Eagle Gap, I don’t think she was there for long.

I recently viewed the Facebook page Veronica’s sister made in support of finding her, Friends of Veronica Casciato, and apparently there have been alleged sighting of Veronica, but there was no way to verify them as true. The post also did not clarify if it was recently or around the time of her disappearance.


It’s peculair that so many folks turn up missing in national parks, especially around the Cherokee National Forest. Either way, I’m at a loss. I hope she is found soon.

I have been hopeful that LE was able to get location records of a cell phone if Veronica had one with her. If she had a phone cell tower records could be obtained for cell towers along the way her phone traveled. LE would also be able to determine if any other phones also were connected to the same towers at the same or nearly the same time along the way or near to where her car was found. This would allow them to know if someone else (or just another phone) was travelling in Veronica's car or someone following Veronica's car.

It also isn't clear if there was a GPS unit in the car though I am pretty sure that 2010 Toyota Corollas have them for use with a navigation system. If it did have one and it was functioning those units usually store some location history going back in time. How much is stored I don't know but it is possible it could have been recovered. If it did have it LE could have an approximate (or possibly exact) time that her vehicle arrived where it was found parked.

I have to think that since LE did put in some efforts searching where her car was found that they believe she is somewhere in that area. But LE really hasn't offered much of anything in terms of what they know of her movements or the movement of her car.

Her car was processed by TBI so if there were other fingerprints in the vehicle or if areas where fingerprints should be were wiped they would know. Also, there has been no mention of what was found in the vehicle in terms of any items belonging to Veronica.

I wish there was more information available.

 

[Rockfarmer]

TBI investigating unidentified remains found in Polk County. I don't know what to hope for. TBI investigating body found on Polk County mountain - WDEF

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

A little more info here:

“A TBI spokesperson tells Channel 3, human remains were found around 1:00 pm in a wooded area on Oswald Road on Benton Mountain.

Officials say the remains were found in a tarp by two hunters.

The name of the victim has not been released.

The TBI says the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and Cleveland Police Department are also helping with the ongoing investigation.”

UPDATE: TBI, Polk Co. Sheriff investigating discovery of human remains found by hunters

 

[Timekeeper65]

Thanks inmyhumbleopinion! I definitely lost track of this case. Not far from me so I’m really interested in knowing who the victim is. I signed up for Alert Me so I can get follow up news on this story.

 

[GraceG]

There is a little more detail in this article as to the location of the remains. If I'm reading google maps correctly it's not all that far from where the car went missing - but farther than any ground searches likely would have gone. Wrapped in a tarp means unlikely suicide. I'm leaning towards her husband's theory that she offered someone in trouble a ride and they harmed her and left the car and just hitchhiked out. I do hope the family gets closure. Hunters discover skeletal remains on Benton Mountain in Polk County

 

[MissMYB]

Very sad story.

 

[chimpface]

I might be mistaken but the discrepancy between her last being seen and the car being "left" where it was leads to two options IMO.

1. Car Jacked and disposed of (seems unlikely if she knew the area)
2. Someone she knew did this

How vocal has the husband been since she went missing? I got rid of Facebook (poison) a long time ago so I can't check unfortunately.

 

[Timekeeper65]

Someone went to a LOT of trouble when hiding these remains. Oswald Rd is off of highway 30, which in turn is off of the Ocoee Highway. Not far from the site of the white water rafting venue for the 1996 Olympics. Needle in a haystack - this would be it.

I’m really anxious to see who this is. I will post info as I receive it.

 

[Timekeeper65]

Body found in Polk County Monday, investigation underway

This article states “skeletal remains”...so been there a while.

 

[Rockfarmer]

Chimp, the "Friends of Veronica..." FB page has nothing about this. I don't think that is run by her husband, but by other family possibly.

 

[GraceG]

I might be mistaken but the discrepancy between her last being seen and the car being "left" where it was leads to two options IMO.

1. Car Jacked and disposed of (seems unlikely if she knew the area)
2. Someone she knew did this

How vocal has the husband been since she went missing? I got rid of Facebook (poison) a long time ago so I can't check unfortunately.

Husband made the remarks about her being "too trusting of people". He then gave her pets away and went silent. In watching the video of him I got a sense of Asperger's - so his lack of emotion might well not be from lack of care but simply not able to articulate it.

 

[MissMYB]

Husband made the remarks about her being "too trusting of people". He then gave her pets away and went silent. In watching the video of him I got a sense of Asperger's - so his lack of emotion might well not be from lack of care but simply not able to articulate it.

Having a child with mild Asperger's I can totally relate to the inability to articulate emotions.

 

[Friends of VC]

Hi Websleuths,
TBI informed family that the body found in Polk Co. is not Veronica. It has been almost a year since there has been any new information on the case, so there have been very few posts on the Facebook page. The page is run by a family member, not Veronica's husband. He doesn't currently use Facebook or follow the page. The family member who runs the page contacts him personally if there are messages for him, etc.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Hi Websleuths,
TBI informed family that the body found in Polk Co. is not Veronica. It has been almost a year since there has been any new information on the case, so there have been very few posts on the Facebook page. The page is run by a family member, not Veronica's husband. He doesn't currently use Facebook or follow the page. The family member who runs the page contacts him personally if there are messages for him, etc.

Thank you for the update! I have been hoping at the various anniversaries of her disappearance that some new information would be released by law enforcement. It may be the case that they really don't have any more to release.

Do you know if there was any attempt to search up in the area where Veronica was at the University? Has law enforcement shared whether they are confident that if Veronica's car ended up where it did in Eagle Gap that she was travelling with it? Perhaps that better question is whether law enforcement was able to trace any of her movements from cell phone location records? Or using Cell Tower records identified any phones in the proximity of Veronica that turned up in the Eagle Gap area?

 

[Friends of VC]

Thank you for the update! I have been hoping at the various anniversaries of her disappearance that some new information would be released by law enforcement. It may be the case that they really don't have any more to release.

Do you know if there was any attempt to search up in the area where Veronica was at the University? Has law enforcement shared whether they are confident that if Veronica's car ended up where it did in Eagle Gap that she was travelling with it? Perhaps that better question is whether law enforcement was able to trace any of her movements from cell phone location records? Or using Cell Tower records identified any phones in the proximity of Veronica that turned up in the Eagle Gap area?

Jethro4WS,
There is no evidence that anyone else drove the car. Cell phone records took a long time to get and didn't provide any new information. Search activity was conducted near the LMU and areas she frequented or drove near campus, but the search activity shifted to the forest after the car was found.

 

[Timekeeper65]

Thanks for checking in Friends of Veronica.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Jethro4WS,
There is no evidence that anyone else drove the car. Cell phone records took a long time to get and didn't provide any new information. Search activity was conducted near the LMU and areas she frequented or drove near campus, but the search activity shifted to the forest after the car was found.

Thank you.

 

[MissMYB]

Where are you Veronica?

 

[Rockfarmer]

OT: TBI is releasing information on the (not Veronica) remains we were discussing. Does anyone know if there is an Unidentified thread for him, or how to start it?