GUILTY Turkey - Sarai Sierra, 33, NY woman murdered, Istanbul, 21 Jan 2013 - #1

[GinaSeikwa]

Ok well if she indeed stayed 3 days in A'dam and was just passing through Munich then this changes things for me. Would she be able to fly directly to A'dam yet have a stopover only on the return leg? Would have to check KLM, LH and TA schedules to see. The staying in A'dam would make things more innocuous for me seeing as she had acquaintances there. The 3 days in MUC had me scratching my head.

 

[nursebeeme]

also Ryan air

 

[Orgona]

Only between Schengen EU countries.

Yes, you are right. You can't go to the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania without passport within the EU.

 

[Orgona]

also Ryan air

I don't think Ryan air flyes to/from Istanbul?

 

[GinaSeikwa]

also Ryan air

Yes but Ryanair and any of the other budget airlines wouldn't fly into IST but rather SAW. I thought I saw video footage of her returning from MUC through IST.

 

[Stormy415]

No, skype is a separate application and a phone company will not be able to see what transpires on it. As far as I know Skype is very secretive and has set up their entity in a country where they do not have release any information to anyone.

Thanks!

Perhaps that is the reason Skype was used.
Geez, I hope she's OK and just got caught up in an online romance. lease:

 

[GinaSeikwa]

New Yorker Sarai Sierra's photo at İstanbul Atatürk Airport when she returned from the Netherlands was released by İstanbul Police Department. Sierra has been missing since Jan. 21.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-305747-tracing-missing-new-yorkers-steps-online.html

Arriving into IST from the NETHERLANDS it says. Maybe they meant MUC??

 

[necco]

(Forgive me, I don't know how to quote multiple posts)

Someone said that drugs would not be smuggled by air between Amsterdam and Turkey because you could drive without hitting a border. Amsterdam is in the EU. Amsterdam is within the Schengen passport area. Turkey is in neither. And there is a wide swath of non-Schengen countries before you get to Turkey. There would be border checks for vehicles.
(Schengen is an international agreement that eliminates border crossings in participating countries because basically they trust the other Area countries immigration checks when entering them.) Schengen Area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just bringing this forward because people are asking about passport checks at borders.

 

[lucky181]

Yes but Ryanair and any of the other budget airlines wouldn't fly into IST but rather SAW. I thought I saw video footage of her returning from MUC through IST.

That video footage released yesterday was her at the airport leaving Istanbul and going to Amsterdam. I'm not sure if they've released any other ones.

 

[lucky181]

Not sure what is correct. I don't think any airport makes you go through security when returning from a flight.

the video captured by a security camera shows the moment when Sierra was entering the airport for a trip to Amsterdam from Istanbul.

http://www.primerahora.com/difundennuevovideodesaraisierraenaeropuertodeamsterdam-784176.html

 

[GinaSeikwa]

That video footage released yesterday was her at the airport leaving Istanbul and going to Amsterdam. I'm not sure if they've released any other ones.

Confusing as the video footage states she is arriving back into IST from her side trip. Since she was departing/arriving from IST rather than SAW then we can eliminate any of the budget carriers which means that she likely had a layover in MUC both coming and going to AMS. So then she stayed 5 days in AMS considering MUC was just a short stopover both ways? In any case her passport would be stamped in MUC twice (once for each stopover) as well as in AMS as she was traveling on a non EU (American)passport.

 

[prima.facie]

No, skype is a separate application and a phone company will not be able to see what transpires on it. As far as I know Skype is very secretive and has set up their entity in a country where they do not have release any information to anyone.

You are correct, Skype is it's own application....However, it is not super secret/private anymore...Skype is owned by MICROSOFT so it is not set up in some foreign country. It is American owned/run.

Also, the intel community has now been trying to get access to Skype....which IMO opinion, means they have it already (they are just looking for legal means)...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/12/nsa_offers_billions_for_skype_pwnage/

http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

http://www.mediaite.com/online/fede...igence-gathering-to-skype-other-social-media/

http://www.thegurureview.net/aroundnet-category/is-skype-transparent-enough.html

 

[prima.facie]

I wonder how poplar Skype is in Turkey or whether they have their own version of such a site. I say that because the phone being on Skype might mean it was her who used it. Like if it was the English version of Skype - it would seem it was her who used it bc if a random turkey person found the phone and then coincidentally went on Skype, it would seem odd if they too went to English version; a Turkish person would have used the Turkish version. This is all assuming that the English version is what was used.

Also, was it just a coincidence that the phone used Skype and that was a site she frequented? Seems too convenient, would a random person finding it go to Skype as soon as they get the phone? Seems odd

The phone would not be on Skype...it is an APP just like any other APP (games, maps, messaging).... Skype is also international....it is for phones, PCs, tablets...http://beta.skype.com/en/

 

[necco]

Confusing as the video footage states she is arriving back into IST from her side trip. Since she was departing/arriving from IST rather than SAW then we can eliminate any of the budget carriers which means that she likely had a layover in MUC both coming and going to AMS. So then she stayed 5 days in AMS considering MUC was just a short stopover both ways? In any case her passport would be stamped in MUC twice (once for each stopover) as well as in AMS as she was traveling on a non EU (American)passport.

Actually, her passport would have been stamped in Munich on her way to Amsterdam, but not Amsterdam. On her way back to Istanbul, it would have only been stamped in Istanbul. You get stamped in the first Schengen country you enter and again when you reach a country outside of Schengen. (It annoys the heck out of me because I always want my passport stamped in my final destination, but always end up with a stamp from where ever I had a layover.)

 

[lucky181]

Confusing as the video footage states she is arriving back into IST from her side trip. Since she was departing/arriving from IST rather than SAW then we can eliminate any of the budget carriers which means that she likely had a layover in MUC both coming and going to AMS. So then she stayed 5 days in AMS considering MUC was just a short stopover both ways? In any case her passport would be stamped in MUC twice (once for each stopover) as well as in AMS as she was traveling on a non EU (American)passport.

But she is taking her shoes off and going through security. Isn't that only for people who are departing on flights and not returning?

 

[Orgona]

There is also Transavia and Pegasus airlines who are offering budget flights from/to Istanbul. Both fly to Amsterdam(Schiphol), but transavia does not fly from munich as far as I can see. Their tickets are really cheap, so even if they had to buy 3 one way tickets, it would still be really cheap. I forgot about them when I first was thinking about this.

transavia
pegasusairlines

 

[GinaSeikwa]

Confusing as the video footage states she is arriving back into IST from her side trip. Since she was departing/arriving from IST rather than SAW then we can eliminate any of the budget carriers which means that she likely had a layover in MUC both coming and going to AMS. So then she stayed 5 days in AMS considering MUC was just a short stopover both ways? In any case her passport would be stamped in MUC twice (once for each stopover) as well as in AMS as she was traveling on a non EU (American)passport.

You are probably right and it is probably not 100 percent consistent. I was curious and went to check my old passport from my trip to IST and I remembered that I had to buy a visa sticker upon arrival in IST and that when departing on LH to MUC my passport was stamped by passport control 3 times. Once upon arrival, once when I left the sterile area to get something to eat and came back and the next day when I was bumped from my original flight and had to sleep at the airport overnight so I have 3 stamps from MUC within a 24 hour period.
I just looked at the video of her at IST and it is almost like 2 videos spliced together. In the last few seconds when she is wearing her coat and hat she is clearly ARRIVING from the aircraft walking up the stairs from the bridge or bus airside. I don't get it!

 

[GinaSeikwa]

There is also Transavia and Pegasus airlines who are offering budget flights from/to Istanbul. Both fly to Amsterdam(Schiphol), but transavia does not fly from munich as far as I can see. Their tickets are really cheap, so even if they had to buy 3 one way tickets, it would still be really cheap. I forgot about them when I first was thinking about this.

transavia
pegasusairlines

They do but not from IST (Ataturk) where she was filmed but rather from the secondary Istanbul airport (SAW).

 

[ami]

Totally agree. Her friend has said that is a street smart New Yorker. This is not street smart at all. If I didn't know how old she was I would be guessing that she is a teenager. I was quite alarmed when I read that she slept on the couch of a man that she met in Amsterdam. That is beyond reckless. I think everyone should be forced to see the movie "Hostel" before travelling abroad. It will knock some senses into them.

There are entire websites devoted to couch surfing, to renting apartments from complete strangers, to volunteering on someone's farm in exchange for room & board, in their home. I've rented my house out on airbnb - no one put me through a background check. This is so common there are entire business models that revolve around it. I know there are people who wouldn't be comfortable doing this, but tens of thousands of people are and do this safely every year. Not teenagers - grown men and women, retirees, families.

I agree that a single woman sleeping on a guy's couch could be really reckless. However that seemed to have worked out just fine for her. Meeting someone at a crowded public bridge would normally be a much safer endeavor, but this seems to be the jumping off point for what happened to her.

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I'm still a little shaky on the Jan 20 and Jan 21 distinctions.

So Taylan was saying that she messaged him on the 20th and they met and did some photography or whatever - this was the date of the "are you wireless" message from him. Also the date of the mall lunch alone. Possibly the date she was seen being followed. Also the date that her landlord last saw her.

And then she wanted to meet Taylan again on the 21st but he didn't get the message? Also the date she messaged her sister and the IG A'dam friend. Also the date she was captured on video at the Bridge at 1230om. And the 21st is still being reported as the date she was supposed to leave (arriving in the US on the 22nd)?

 

[KivaSupporter]

Actually, her passport would have been stamped in Munich on her way to Amsterdam, but not Amsterdam. On her way back to Istanbul, it would have only been stamped in Istanbul. You get stamped in the first Schengen country you enter and again when you reach a country outside of Schengen. (It annoys the heck out of me because I always want my passport stamped in my final destination, but always end up with a stamp from where ever I had a layover.)

Just curious. Are you a citizen of an EU country?

I am a US citizen and I travel very frequently, especially to EU, which includes Munich. My US passport has always been stamped in Munich, even though I was connecting to a flight to another European country, where it was stamped again. I have travelled in the past six months. Did this change?

No offense. Not trying to say you are wrong. Just curious.

Thanks.