GUILTY VA - Tina Smith, 41, slain, 12yo daughter abducted, Salem, 2 Dec 2010 - #2

[MomofBoys]

I live in central west Florida on the coast and it's forecasted to be 32 here tonight. That's darned cold for being so close to the water. If they do plan on camping, they better drive far, far west. I would think they'd be afraid to seek a homeless shelter or draw attention to themselves by spending all night in a Walmart or whatever. Hopefully it flushes them out when they get cold enough to do something stupid like use one of Tina's credit cards.

I work in hotels, and the fortunate thing is that a older guy checking in with a 12 year-old girl will draw attention. If a front desk agent works at it long enough, they can spot hinkiness before it gets out of the car. Customers might start to blend together for a cashier at a grocery store, but in most hotels you're forced to take ID, get personal information, interact about room types and rates--plenty of time for people to act hedgy and give themselves away as suspicious. People aren't as crafty as they think.

I think Brittany was probably complicit at the beginning, but the reality will probably set in fast. She'll realize the finality of what's happened to her mom. She'll miss her room and her friends and being warm and going to the fridge and reading Harry Potter or whatever else. It was probably all exciting and dangerous at first and she was likely angry at her mother. An anger fed by this guy with whom she was/is infatuated. I don't think this was a forcible abduction, but it might as well be by the end, I'm sure.

Sad. The FB posts really chill to the bone. Family says she was naive and she probably didn't believe it til the very end. Question is, what on earth did he/they say or do to make her so frightened?

 

[Japandaaa]

I've been working on the image in Photoshop, but it appears I can't make it any clearer. I learned in college ( I have a degree in Graphic Design and Computer Illustration ) that what we see on TV such as CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. is left to the pros. No one can really replace pixels that are lost in small surveillance cam pictures/videos ; so unfortunately it's hard to get somewhat of a decent picture.

I was noticing as I was zooming in and trying different filters, that it appears to be poles coming out of the back of the shopping cart towards JSE. They match up in Photoshop ( using the Magic Wand ) as if they are attached to whatever the big blue object is in the shopping cart. BS also seems to appear to have the edge of her shirt ( colors also matched up using the Magic Wand ) in her hand, which is a sign of nervousness. Also, when I enlarged the pic and judging by the pixel hex colors, there's something in the front of the shopping cart that appears to be green and yellow. I don't know if it is one object with the two colors or two separate objects.

 

[cluciano63]

I don't think they would check into a place where they both have to go to the desk...more likely to try roadside motels where you drive to your door. Every town has them on the outskirts, some probably don't even require ID. (Also, Brittany could probably pass for much older than she is...especially at a glance)

I wish the Amber Alert was more of a big deal...if only people in the immediate area are aware, that does not help much.

 

[SuziQ]

What about the west??? warm there???

Does JE known to do drugs of any kind?

From the reports I have seen everywhere but the extreme SW is below 40 to below freezing at night. Even Tucson has been below 40.

 

[Janeumayer]

Does anybody else think he could be trying to hide an injured hand from the security camera in the Walmart picture? Sorry, I don't know how to link the picture

From the angle of the pic, Im guessing it came from an ATM machine. JMO

 

[everyoneneedsavoice]

Forgive me if this has already been posted...I missed a lot today...I didn't realize she had called a friend scared of this creep...was this covered in one of today's pressers?

snipped>

Brittany Smith called her friend a few months ago, scared. The 12-year-old was afraid her mother's live-in boyfriend "would come over and take her away and hurt her mom," the friend, Rebecca Kilian, said Tuesday.

Brittany asked Rebecca, 13, to stay on the phone with her until her mom got home.

"She told me not to call the police," Rebecca said.

Brittany's mother, Tina Smith, was worried, too. On Thursday, the 41-year-old Roanoke County nurse posted this on her Facebook profile:

"If I should die before I wake God bless my friends. May I be remembered for my good heart and hopeless romantic ways."

And on Friday, the last day she was seen alive, Tina Smith posted this: "God please protect us from the evils of this world."

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/12/search-continues-va-girl-12-after-amber-alert-issued

 

[hollyblue]

I pray that Brittany realizes the situation she is in and manages to play along with him until she can get a chance to run. God keep her safe tonight!!

My fear is that he has frightened her in telling her something....like she'll be in big trouble if she gets caught and she needs to stay with him so he can protect her. Slime ball psycho will manipulate to no end to make sure he keeps control of her. If not....bad news. She's his gained prize.....

 

[hollyblue]

Anyway we could get screen shots of the I Phone stuff we cannot see online?

Against TOS to post anything from or discuss from a private social site. We just got warned on the last thead.

 

[belimom]

I've been working on the image in Photoshop, but it appears I can't make it any clearer. I learned in college ( I have a degree in Graphic Design and Computer Illustration ) that what we see on TV such as CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. is left to the pros. No one can really replace pixels that are lost in small surveillance cam pictures/videos ; so unfortunately it's hard to get somewhat of a decent picture.

I was noticing as I was zooming in and trying different filters, that it appears to be poles coming out of the back of the shopping cart towards JSE. They match up in Photoshop ( using the Magic Wand ) as if they are attached to whatever the big blue object is in the shopping cart. BS also seems to appear to have the edge of her shirt ( colors also matched up using the Magic Wand ) in her hand, which is a sign of nervousness. Also, when I enlarged the pic and judging by the pixel hex colors, there's something in the front of the shopping cart that appears to be green and yellow. I don't know if it is one object with the two colors or two separate objects.

I had Photoshop on my PC but haven't installed it on my Mac yet... Have you tried desaturating/saturating color by color to see what shapes appear with the different colors? Just an idea that I can't try myself...!

 

[belimom]

I just had a thought:

1) Maybe she had been beaten earlier in the week, hence the comments on FB. Her death could be by something else?

OR

2) Maybe she was beaten but whoever beat her was just beating her AGAIN - not meaning to kill her. But the cumulative damage was more than her body could take.

Just trying to think outside the box, even though I think it's entirely likely that she was killed on purpose or at least that her death was apparent, regardless of being purposeful.

 

[Lera213]

I live miles away from Hampton Roads, Va. It is cold here too but if they had cold weather sleeping bags and Tent (-20 protection) they could be in the wood but what I'm thinking is that they are in some boarded up house. Think about it, an abandon home with a garage (or not) the car could be hid inside the garage. It is on our news station a lot here. My local paper is the dailypress.

His mother's plea is bothering me, I think she sent him a hidden message to him. Perhaps something he said to her when last spoken. MOO (thinking out loud)

I would totally agree that he went somewhere he felt comfortable or knew the area. Probably where he loved as a child (a happy memory of his) Camp? Boy Scouts retreat? Who are his childhood friends (school age at the time) They could give a good insight where he could go.

 

[belimom]

Against TOS to post anything from or discuss from a private social site. We just got warned on the last thead.

Yes, and someone posted a name a couple of pages back from quoting one of the sites. It should probably be removed - we don't want to get in trouble again/have the thread shut down, and we don't want to associate an innocent person's name publicly with this case. :twocents:

 

[Lera213]

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/virginia/search-continues-for-missing-va.-girl#

VDOT it took over an hour and half to put out the amber alert other areas besides the I 81

 

[CN2Souls]

Just a little update from the state of Florida...

I75 (Irox) has Amber Alert Signs Blasting all up and down the interstate also I 95

There are tons of camping areas around here and most you can set up camp and then a ranger will come around with in the next day or two to collect the payment.

Yes it is cold here this morning and I live on an Island in the Florida Keys...

One of My sisters ( I have 7 ) who lives in Boca Raton FL who drives a Silver Neon..

Was stopped by Troopers last night and let them search her car...

She is in her 50... but is same height and look as BS....

So are boys in Blue are doing their job...

 

[LMax]

I've been wondering if I should be listening to Florida scanners...

 

[Soulmagent]

I've been working on the image in Photoshop, but it appears I can't make it any clearer. I learned in college ( I have a degree in Graphic Design and Computer Illustration ) that what we see on TV such as CSI, Criminal Minds, etc. is left to the pros. No one can really replace pixels that are lost in small surveillance cam pictures/videos ; so unfortunately it's hard to get somewhat of a decent picture.

I was noticing as I was zooming in and trying different filters, that it appears to be poles coming out of the back of the shopping cart towards JSE. They match up in Photoshop ( using the Magic Wand ) as if they are attached to whatever the big blue object is in the shopping cart. BS also seems to appear to have the edge of her shirt ( colors also matched up using the Magic Wand ) in her hand, which is a sign of nervousness. Also, when I enlarged the pic and judging by the pixel hex colors, there's something in the front of the shopping cart that appears to be green and yellow. I don't know if it is one object with the two colors or two separate objects.

I think the blue thing in the front of the cart that appears to be coming out of the top of whatever is in the cart is the blue seat abd belt where you put small children and is not part of the thing in the cart.
It looks like a bag in front of the blue thing inside the cart where there is a space. It does make the object appear longer then it is . The angle of the cart/cam also gives it blurry blended appearance.

Have you tryed taking a picture of the picture and enlarging that picture?

 

[Japandaaa]

I had Photoshop on my PC but haven't installed it on my Mac yet... Have you tried desaturating/saturating color by color to see what shapes appear with the different colors? Just an idea that I can't try myself...!

I did. I also copied just the shopping cart area of the pic and focused on it to try to clear it up. I'm going to mess around with it more today. It seemed like I could clear the picture up more using iPhoto than Photoshop, but you can't get really down to detail using iPhoto.

 

[mahoneys07]

I played with the pic a little adding colors ect the blue thingin the cart appears to be a hard shelled case with 2 silver latches on the side. rectangular in shape with the top slanted to a flat top..if that makes sense. This is what I see JMO

 

[LadyLuck]

It looks like one of those canopy that you set up for shade. The reason I say that is I bought one from WalMart this summer and it was in a blue case just like that. The blue cover is material like but it is hard due to the legs and case in side. Why he would be buying that I have no idea....

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj-amber-alert-issued-for-missing-120610,0,5737411.story

interview (video) with Chief Lavinder from this am... no leads over night... no new leads since release of video

objective now to find Brittany