GUILTY VA - Tina Smith, 41, slain, 12yo daughter abducted, Salem, 2 Dec 2010 - #5

[Pollywog]

I am so happy this girl was found safe and he was arrested. I wonder if he told her her mom was dead or maybe she saw it on the news?

I know we all wonder what her mom was thinking letting this creep move in, but really loneliness will make you do things you would not ordinarily do and the fact she was still suffering over the loss of her son, made it that much easier for him to get into her mind. I think he was after B all along in the first place and had to act as if he was interested in her mom to get to her. I hope this child can recover emotionally and I hope her dad can provide a life for her where she can live a normal life again.

I am so happy she was found. We were watching a Christmas light show and I saw kids about B's age and I thought to myself, she should be enjoying things like this as well.

 

[belimom]

I am glad you called it in. If nothing else, this case CLEARLY illustrates the importance of the media reports and the public's awareness and willingness to get involved. It would have been just as easy for that SafeWay employee to think to him/herself "that sort of looks like the people I saw on Nancy Grace, but nahhh.... it probably isn't." Imagine if that had happened!!! I would be going blind again tomorrow trying to find silver Dodge Neon's in traffic in Georgia!! :crazy:

LOL, Reannan! I can picture you looking for the Dodge Neon.

On a more serious note, it also reminds me of Shasta Groehne's case and the waitress at Denny's who spotted her at 2:00am in the morning... SIX WEEKS after the amber alert. The poster was no longer up in their break room but SHE REMEMBERED... and more importantly - she made that phone call.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

There are so many unanswered questions right now. Wondering if JE had any idea how much media attention had been placed on this abduction and if he had any idea that he would be identified in part due to his tattoos or did he even think at all.

I have to admit that since they had seemed to have just vanished and there were no sightings, I totally expected them to still be in the vicinity of Salem/Roanoke and that someone was helping him hide her. As I drove home today, I even went in a round-about way, through the outskirts of downtown Roanoke, finding myself giving a second look to any silver cars, etc. Thankfully, no need to look for silver Neons (with spoilers on them) anymore.

 

[panthera]

Safeway is a grocery store chain.... Also, if you look at the aerial view, there's a huge parking lot to the right of the store (looking head on in this pic).

ETA: You can see the parking lot in the small aerial shot in the corner of Japandaaa's photo

OK - I see that now. And thank you.

 

[MrsDarcy]

Thank god!

 

[doughgirl07]

I guess this means there is some other sicko out there attacking the cows

 

[Carolina Girl]

God, please keep her safe.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Well I totally missed your post and would have liked to have read it. I had been out Christmas shopping. My husband had taken our wireless down for a couple hours when I got home and then after he got it back on, I began to read the thread. I had so much catching up to do, that I was sort of rushing through. Then I am sitting here and WSLS comes on with a Breaking News report. After that, I totally was confused to see some posters talking about the FB cell phone thing or whatever you had posted about, and would be really interested at some point if you would be so kind as to give a brief recap of that. No rush though. (Or if you could tell me approximately when it was posted, and if I can get back to it, I can read it and save you the trouble of retyping it) TIA

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Safe VA - AMBER ALERT: Brittany Mae Smith, 12, Salem, 2 Dec 2010 - #2

 

[panthera]

There are so many unanswered questions right now. Wondering if JE had any idea how much media attention had been placed on this abduction and if he had any idea that he would be identified in part due to his tattoos or did he even think at all.

I have to admit that since they had seemed to have just vanished and there were no sightings, I totally expected them to still be in the vicinity of Salem/Roanoke and that someone was helping him hide her. As I drove home today, I even went in a round-about way, through the outskirts of downtown Roanoke, finding myself giving a second look to any silver cars, etc. Thankfully, no need to look for silver Neons (with spoilers on them) anymore.

I am actually very surprised they were located so far away. I suspect he probably didn't think for a moment they'd be recognized. And it proves what the national media coverage can do for a case, along with people who are vigilant. MOO

 

[Betty P]

Just checking in after being too busy to check on this today. What great news!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

We've gotten so little good news lately sleuthing these cases, its a relief to see some success. Prayers to Brittany and her family to help them mourn the loss of her mother and move forward in their lives. They deserve a break after all this heartache.

 

[krista]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...omeless-decry-proposed-golden-gate-park-plan/
http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-09-...golden-gate-park-homeless-people-central-park
Some of NUMEROUS articles detailing the hundreds of homeless people who call the Golden Gate Park, right next to Safeway, home. There have been tons of crackdowns and attempts to get homeless people out of the park overnight, but it's still a common campground.....and, apparently, a fairly dangerous place to be.

 

[AmyMarie222]

I'm also really surprised at A) how far away they were found, and B) the fact that they went to a major metropolitan area. I would have never thought CA would be the place. I was convinced it was FL or AL.

They must have had inside help. I just cannot bring myself to think that a man who had just committed murder would drive westbound across the ENTIRE United States in a little gas-guzzling car without having inside help.

 

[illeKllaH]

I guess this means there is some other sicko out there attacking the cows

Is it bad that I LOL'ed at this?

 

[impatientredhead]

There is another case on this forum, Jean Marie Berlinghoff, that is not getting nearly as much coverage. We have seen that the press coverage and photos of Brittany brought her home. Jean is in a similar situation, taken right out of her home by someone the family thought they could trust (uncle). Maybe we can all split up some geographic areas and let some reporters know about how similar the cases are.

Maybe, just maybe we will get some that is looking for another angle on the story. Jean has to be out there walking around her own version of Safeway with her kidnapper.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

This is such a wonderful time for this child and her family! I am very relieved! :woohoo:

At the same time, let's all remember that we do NOT blame the minor victim in this tragedy. That is just wrong. Unless there is a MSM story about someone being involved, we are not going to speculate about such things on WS.

I had a friend who was murdered by her minor daughter's BF years ago. He took off with the daughter and all kinds of crap was being said about her. She was 17 IIRC. Well, they found her alive with him and guess what? She didn't want to go with him even though he had been her BF! He killed her MOTHER! And hearing the speculation it just about killed the rest of the family at the same time.

So we're not going there.

Let's rejoice instead!!!

And the choir sang, "AMEN!"

 

[panthera]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...omeless-decry-proposed-golden-gate-park-plan/
http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-09-...golden-gate-park-homeless-people-central-park
Some of NUMEROUS articles detailing the hundreds of homeless people who call the Golden Gate Park, right next to Safeway, home. There have been tons of crackdowns and attempts to get homeless people out of the park overnight, but it's still a common campground.....and, apparently, a fairly dangerous place to be.

The first article says visitors can be in the park anytime but cannot sleep there. So it would appear they didn't have the tent erected there, imo. And that also leads me to now wonder just where they were staying, or had they just arrived in San Francisco? MOO

 

[Japandaaa]

I wish I was there to watch the LE take down JSE because it would have been a sight to see.

-_-

 

[panthera]

I'm also really surprised at A) how far away they were found, and B) the fact that they went to a major metropolitan area. I would have never thought CA would be the place. I was convinced it was FL or AL.

They must have had inside help. I just cannot bring myself to think that a man who had just committed murder would drive westbound across the ENTIRE United States in a little gas-guzzling car without having inside help.

The one thing I'm not surprised at is they were in a large metropolitan area. It's like hiding in plain sight. What I am curious about, however, is how they could've gotten there with the national media coverage, without being detected en route unless JE drove, or had inside help. I cannot see them on a Greyhound or Amtrak. MOO

 

[Reannan]

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Is it bad that I LOL'ed at this?

Nope..... I laughed too!!! :slap:

 

[MBLover]

The one thing I'm not surprised at is they were in a large metropolitan area. It's like hiding in plain sight. What I am curious about, however, is how they could've gotten there with the national media coverage, without being detected en route unless JE drove, or had inside help. I cannot see them on a Greyhound or Amtrak. MOO

Hence the possible truck driving friend...or possibly any truck driver in general.

O/T: (Kind of) Those Roanoker's and Salemites who have joined WS over this case...please stick around. Like someone mentioned the Berlinghoff case needs help...but also another local Roanoke Co. woman's case needs big help as well. Joan Renee Cook has been missing since around the first of the year. You can find here thread here on WS. Some "new eyes" and fresh perspectives would be great!