GUILTY UK - Rebecca Watts, 16, Bristol, 19 Feb 2015 #1

[NatalieLouiseXx]

Somehow, I missed the detail about her coming home at 8:00 am (Thursday?). Do we know if she was home the evening before for her brother's birthday? Did she pack a bag on Wednesday, the night prior to her disappearance, and leave it somewhere? Do we have any information about where Rebecca was on Wednesday night?

Dad said she stayed at a friends on Wednesday night.

 

[NatalieLouiseXx]

My heart is breaking for Rebecca. It doesn't look good for her right now, and they are paying so much attention to the house and car. Why would they be taking samples from the family car if they believe she has been abducted, run away or taken her own life. I really don't know what to make of the laptop at the moment, might not even be hers and could have been placed there as a prank if the public were aware that searches were going to take place there today.

I can't see someone putting a laptop that's working in a public park as a prank (assuming the laptop is working & not broken) be a bit of a silly thing to do & laptops generally aren't cheap. JMO.

Just seems like a coincidence that the family organises a search & all of a sudden a laptop is found. All JMO

 

[greengables]

Somehow, I missed the detail about her coming home at 8:00 am (Thursday?). Do we know if she was home the evening before for her brother's birthday? Did she pack a bag on Wednesday, the night prior to her disappearance, and leave it somewhere? Do we have any information about where Rebecca was on Wednesday night?

The brother's birthday was the same day she went missing (Thursday), she apparently stayed at a friends on Wednesday night (don't know if this has been confirmed by police) and supposedly returned home on Thursday morning at 8am (If my daughter stayed the night at a friends during school holidays, there is no way she would have been home that early, but maybe the friend had to go out). Good point about an overnight bag, she may have just taken that with her if she left, it would be unusual to carry a laptop, tablet and phone in your hand when walking, without some sort of bag.

 

[skibaboo]

Thanks for this! Is the park area marked as Vassels Park on the map? I'm terrible with maps and can't see it.

No it's labelled Oldbury Court Estate on google maps, but according to google it's the same place. (on the map it's the top blue icon to the north, approx 2 miles north of Becky's street)

 

[musicaljoke]

I have a question for those who live near Rebecca. Is it normal for a father to call a grown daughter his "baby girl"? I know that the term of endearment is used in some places, particularly the Southern USA, but it's not used where I live, unless the father refers to a babe in arms. After that, the child/teen/adult is referred to as his "daughter". Calling a grown teenager your "baby girl" around here would result in some curious looks.

Is it common language in the UK?

 

[NatalieLouiseXx]

It is common language I would say. Especially as it's his only daughter.

 

[greengables]

I have a question for those who live near Rebecca. Is it normal for a father to call a grown daughter his "baby girl"? I know that the term of endearment is used in some places, particularly the Southern USA, but it's not used where I live, unless the father refers to a babe in arms. After that, the child/teen/adult is referred to as his "daughter". Calling a grown teenager your "baby girl" around here would result in some curious looks.

Is it common language in the UK?

I'm not from that area, but I still call my 21 year old my baby girl, she is the only girl I have out of 4 children.

 

[Lola68]

I know all cases are different but it makes me wonder when police allow the public to search, just going by my friend who is still missing, the police wouldn't allow family to organize a search as the public could compromise the police searches, such as trample down tracks or displace evidence. I believe with the Mikaeel Kular case the police allowed the public to search as they knew very early on he did not simply walk out the door on his own. JMO

I totally agree. I think it's something closer to home (and she may not have even left the house). Judging by the amount of activity at the house, I think the police have a strong suspicion of what happened and who might be involved, but they don't have enough evidence to charge them. Possibly hoping to catch them out somehow.

 

[YidArmyRach]

Wonder if any of the other items are mysteriously found there...

And I wonder if the laptop has had its contents erased?

 

[Lola68]

No Rach, I feel the same. Maybe we're jaded or maybe we're right lol

Me too. I've had a bad feeling about this from the start - too reminiscent of Tia Sharpe...

 

[fryingpan]

And I wonder if the laptop has had its contents erased?

Anything erased on a computer can be recovered. Now if they found the laptop without a hard drive then that would be a different story.

 

[musicaljoke]

What was the weather like Wednesday night? If I was terrified to spend the night in my own home (because of a possible party, drinking, unsavoury friends) and too shy to call the women's shelter or find another accommodations, then I might sleep somewhere "safe" ... like behind the porch wall of the library (to make up an example), and then come home again as soon as I figured people were up again.

 

[knowthings]

Her Brother hasn't said much at all, wouldn't you think he would be begging for people to help find her, he seems to be distancing himself from the Family and nobody mentions him, odd I think!! His only Sister and you would think he would be begging for help and pleading for her to come home....unless he knows she is'nt!

 

[fryingpan]

Her Brother hasn't said much at all, wouldn't you think he would be begging for people to help find her, he seems to be distancing himself from the Family and nobody mentions him, odd I think!!

Maybe he's shy too?

 

[YidArmyRach]

Anything erased on a computer can be recovered. Now if they found the laptop without a hard drive then that would be a different story.

Yes, but would someone who isn't so tech-savvy know that? My parents would probably think that once something is deleted, its gone forever. Lots of things seem to say "cover up" to me, and someone who isn't very sophisticated with forensic matters, might think that a laptop with deleted content won't give anything away. Perhaps like someone might think menstrual blood can be mistaken for spilled blood. MOO

 

[MissGhost]

Yes I think it's normal. It's pretty emotive but it's not particularly odd.

 

[MissGhost]

Yes mine too but this Father is what...in his 40s? I'm in my 40s and am more savvy than some younger than me.

 

[skibaboo]

Home and to the north the park (red marker) The 2 yellow markers are the 2 car parks where I believe searchers met, going from photos and tweets.

Link

 

[leep]

Anything erased on a computer can be recovered. Now if they found the laptop without a hard drive then that would be a different story.

Not if you know what you're doing with the right software you can overwrite the deleted data making the data unrecoverable.

 

[YidArmyRach]

I know all cases are different but it makes me wonder when police allow the public to search, just going by my friend who is still missing, the police wouldn't allow family to organize a search as the public could compromise the police searches, such as trample down tracks or displace evidence. I believe with the Mikaeel Kular case the police allowed the public to search as they knew very early on he did not simply walk out the door on his own. JMO

Perhaps the police are happy to have a search focussed on an area they are not interested in, and probably a fair distance away from areas they are searching. It keeps people occupied and feeling like they are helping, keeps the media away from the police work, and means the police's work stays out of the public focus. Perhaps they have deliberately directed people in the wrong direction, to keep them away from areas they want to keep clean and secret for now?