WA WA - Leah Roberts, 23, Whatcom Co, 13 Mar 2000

[Midge Montana]

Bump for Leah

 

[Tom8447]

Small detail regarding the starter relay wire. Was talking with someone who is very familiar with that year/ model Jeep and apparently the wire can be cut rather easily via the passenger side front wheel well. Could easily have been cut without accessing the vehicle and using the hood latch, so perhaps it was cut while Leah was at the theater.

 

[sasha17]

Small detail regarding the starter relay wire. Was talking with someone who is very familiar with that year/ model Jeep and apparently the wire can be cut rather easily via the passenger side front wheel well. Could easily have been cut without accessing the vehicle and using the hood latch, so perhaps it was cut while Leah was at the theater.

I know nothing about cars. If it was cut while she was at the theater, would it have been able to be driven to where it was found? Or would it had to have been towed away from the theater?

 

[Tom8447]

It’d be undrivable because the engine would not start. If anyone other than who disabled it were to do the repair, they’d have alerted her to the fact it had been tampered with. My theory is that because she was alone, her Jeep had NC plates, and it was filled with her possessions, she was spotted as a target of opportunity. The person who disabled the Jeep later became (to her) a Good Samaritan and offered her a pathway to getting it fixed. I think that person is “Barry” that briefly entered the restaurant. Have a feeling the composite of him might be a decent match.

Also, the starter relay can be easily bypassed. So, restarting the Jeep even with it cut or disconnected is very simple.

I don’t think she drove it again after arriving at the shopping mall and don’t see her as driving it over the embankment 35 miles outside of Bellingham. Whoever did was probably familiar with the area where it was found. Perhaps they had some ties to the Maple Falls or Glacier area?

 

[MesquiteO21]

It’d be undrivable because the engine would not start. If anyone other than who disabled it were to do the repair, they’d have alerted her to the fact it had been tampered with. My theory is that because she was alone, her Jeep had NC plates, and it was filled with her possessions, she was spotted as a target of opportunity. The person who disabled the Jeep later became (to her) a Good Samaritan and offered her a pathway to getting it fixed. I think that person is “Barry” that briefly entered the restaurant. Have a feeling the composite of him might be a decent match.

Also, the starter relay can be easily bypassed. So, restarting the Jeep even with it cut or disconnected is very simple.

I don’t think she drove it again after arriving at the shopping mall and don’t see her as driving it over the embankment 35 miles outside of Bellingham. Whoever did was probably familiar with the area where it was found. Perhaps they had some ties to the Maple Falls or Glacier area?

forgive my car ignorance but...how would the Jeep be able to get from the movie theater to where it was found with the start cut? (assuming it was cut at the theater). I wonder if Leah would know how to bypass the relay?

 

[Tom8447]

Couple of ways. One obviously would be a tow truck. Perhaps “Barry” was returning after getting a truck. He could have been employed by an auto repair or collision repair shop. The other would be to manually temporarily complete or bypass the connection. Not hard to do, but unlikely Leah would know how. If she did…she’d have driven it herself to any repair shop. If whoever cut it, eventually temporarily reconnected it and put Leah into it to drive it to where she thought the repairs would be made, there’d be a risk to him that she’d choose to drive it to another shop of her choice. I think it was towed. It was a Monday. Some smaller shops, especially in rural areas and ones that are family owned or with fewer employees have less conventional hours of operation. It’s possible she was towed to a shop that ended up being a very private crime scene.

 

[digiskunk]

Don't mind me, I'm just bumping the thread because this mystery is really interesting and I'm surprised more people haven't heard her story.

 

[?!?]

There was DNA under the hood that was 'good' enough to eliminate Barry:

Has this been submitted to Othram for their process, and is it being continually compared against 'new DNA' databases?

 

[Richard]

Leah Toby Roberts
Born July 23, 1976 Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Missing since March 13, 2000 (aged 23)