VT VT - Roberta Martin, 82, neigh went to check on her and didn't find her at home, suspicious, Enosburgh, Franklin County, 16 Jul 2024

[nhmemorymaker]

We have nothing verified she was a night owl, correct??

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Who was she talking to at 11:30 PM on Tuesday? I wonder if she was fearful prompting family to contact neighbor the next morning to check on her.

She talked with her daughter in Florida. But why.

 

[Tealgrove]

I know LE was waiting on a SW for the neighbour’s house. Did they get it? Have they been searching the home?

TIA

 

[mlhenn]

I know LE was waiting on a SW for the neighbour’s house. Did they get it? Have they been searching the home?

TIA

Not 100% sure but did find this:

Police investigating the disappearance of an Enosburgh woman spent Friday searching neighboring properties.

Friday, police were parked all day at a neighbor’s house searching the area and taking photos.

Thursday, neighbors told WCAX News they were told to leave due to a search warrant pointing to duct tape left in their yard. But it’s not yet clear whether anything police collected is evidence.


Down the road, police parked on Vince Zecchinelli’s property to search through tall grass and nearby woods. He said he was happy to let police use his property in their search for the missing woman, evidence or any suspects.

Police probe neighboring properties in search for missing Enosburgh woman

Police investigating the disappearance of an Enosburgh woman spent Friday searching neighboring properties, but said there were no significant updates in the case. Our Ike Bendavid reports.

www.wcax.com

 

[LookingForClues]

This is pure speculation on my part but my guess is that this was a random or unknown criminal and not the neighbor. Seems they’ve both lived next door to each other for many years, even if there’s any reason to find the individuals who live there unsavory (haven’t found anything in my searches), it just doesn’t make sense to me for a property owner to break into the next door neighbors home in areas like these, especially as it doesn’t seem to have been a burglary. Motive doesn’t make sense to me. These are very small, rural communities in the NEK where everyone in town is pretty much familiar with each other and most grew up together. They’re high trust communities for the most part.

Most of the residents tend to be older (lack of job opportunities and socialization for younger people) and more vulnerable, very isolated even by Vermont standards— many areas don’t have reliable cell coverage or even high speed internet, and theres much slower access to emergency services. Things like traffic cameras and security cameras are not common like other parts of the country, so it’s very easy to get around unsighted.

Given some of the details about the ac unit removed from the window and duct tape found in the bedroom, it seems like a planned crime of opportunity. Why a modest older woman would be targeted is beyond me, but criminals have very different thinking patterns. I’ve seen other articles about home invasions in the area by random criminals in just the past few years unfortunately. There’s lots of poverty, drug use, and isolation in this whole stretch of the east coast, all the way from the Canadian border down to upstate New York.

I could of course be wrong but my guess is that the police are doing their diligence with the neighbor, or releasing that information to throw off someone they might be circling in on. I’m not really surprised he may have declined a search without a warrant, most people would these days given the increasing polarization and lack of trust in LE, etc. Residents in these areas also tend to be very private and independent. I’ve seen much of the US, but the culture in the NEK is very unlike any other parts of the country.

Hopefully something like cell phone geolocation data is able to be accessed to identify any other individuals in the area.

I live one town over. Friends of ours live near Roberta. Enosburgh is not part of the NEK (Northeast Kingdom of Vermont). The NEK is on the other side of the Green Mountains, and folks who live in the NEK will be the first to tell you that Enosburgh and Franklin County are definitely not part of the NEK. Enosburgh is in the northwestern part of Vermont, near Lake Champlain. People who live in Enosburgh and other towns in Franklin County work in St. Albans and Burlington, at ski resorts like Jay Peak and Smugglers' Notch and nearby ski towns, or run family farms, and while we do have a lack of jobs here, it's nothing like the more remote areas of northeastern Vermont. You're correct that the culture in the NEK is very unlike other parts of the country, but since Enosburgh isn't in the NEK, that's irrelevant to this case.

Unfortunately we do have problems with drug dealers and addicts, like most parts of the country. I do wonder if she discovered a neighbor is involved in illegal activities. But it's also possible it was a random break in. Those of us who live here are worried about Roberta and why she has suddenly disappeared. I don't think things look hopeful at this point.

 

[Inthedetails]

I live one town over. Friends of ours live near Roberta. Enosburgh is not part of the NEK (Northeast Kingdom of Vermont). The NEK is on the other side of the Green Mountains, and folks who live in the NEK will be the first to tell you that Enosburgh and Franklin County are definitely not part of the NEK. Enosburgh is in the northwestern part of Vermont, near Lake Champlain. People who live in Enosburgh and other towns in Franklin County work in St. Albans and Burlington, at ski resorts like Jay Peak and Smugglers' Notch and nearby ski towns, or run family farms, and while we do have a lack of jobs here, it's nothing like the more remote areas of northeastern Vermont. You're correct that the culture in the NEK is very unlike other parts of the country, but since Enosburgh isn't in the NEK, that's irrelevant to this case.

Unfortunately we do have problems with drug dealers and addicts, like most parts of the country. I do wonder if she discovered a neighbor is involved in illegal activities. But it's also possible it was a random break in. Those of us who live here are worried about Roberta and why she has suddenly disappeared. I don't think things look hopeful at this point.

Very glad to have a local on the thread. So sorry this unsettling event happened near you.

jmo