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

[Walker007]

Tomorrow Morning!!!

RALLY stop MISSING Leah Roberts 09/24/12 10:00AM Whatcom Co Sheriff's Office 311 Grand Street Bellingham, WA

Come out in support!!

Share on Twitter: http://twl.sh/Pp74k4

 

[danzn16]

Just learned of this case tonight. Absolutely mind blowing. I hope they find out what happened to Leah and update us on if this guy is a match to DNA.

 

[ChelaCat]

I learned about this case when it was on Disappeared. Just found this thread today. I live in the PNW, in fact camped up the MBH the last two summers. Wish I had known about the rally in September. I hope this case will be solved. So sorry for her family.

 

[danzn16]

Here is the Disappeared Show for Leah Roberts:

Disappeared - Soul Searcher - YouTube

God bless these FBI agents for reopening her case and looking for more evidence.

I hope that one day I get one here and we have information about what happened to her and a perp that is arrested!

When was the disappeared show? They had just gotten DNA evidence, surely they had enough time to get that back by now??

 

[Shamrocker99]

Fascinating story! I feel so bad for her siblings, their pain is so evident in their eyes. Perhaps Leah staged the accident after suffering some kind of mental breakdown and the succumbed to the elements in the forest. I can also see her being preyed upon by a stranger given her outgoing and trusting nature. I pray they either find her alive(!) or her remains so her family has some peace!!

 

[tarjessi]

I might be way off, but the case of Brianne Wolgram: http://findbrianne.wordpress.com/ - has a few similarities to the case of Leah Roberts in Washington State. Her car was found abandoned on a logging road in Revelstoke in B.C. I am not from the US or Canada but the areas are only about 331 miles from each other by road. I don't know if it is possible the cases are related but you never know, killers have been known to travel. Just a thought to put out there. I really do hope this family gets some answers from the DNA. I also think the clothes being snagged on trees, etc. is that it is possible the windows were open and as the car went over the embankment the clothes flew out? Or maybe the clothes were taken out by her kidnapper or killer to destroy evidence by leaving them outside the vehicle? It does seem like someone tried to stay there, but maybe she left her kitten in the car and went up to the road to see if she could get some help...hence the blankets over the windows? And she met with foul play when she went to ask for help?

Oh actually from reading further again it may be that Brianne might have been taken by someone she knew...it is interesting though that along that stretch you pass areas to the east such as Kelowna...towns that have had a few disappearances throughout the decade.

Geoffrey MEISNER - Kelowna
Owen Rooney - Grand Forks on way to Kelowna
Cynthia Frances Maas - remains found - Prince George
Patrick Lyle Boulton - Heading to Kelowna
Michelle DuRocher - Kelowna

I might be way off here, just interesting to note a few of the cases have cars with no body found in or near them and with damage to the vehicles.

 

[PaulR]

I might be way off, but the case of Brianne Wolgram: http://findbrianne.wordpress.com/ - has a few similarities to the case of Leah Roberts in Washington State. Her car was found abandoned on a logging road in Revelstoke in B.C. I am not from the US or Canada but the areas are only about 331 miles from each other by road. I don't know if it is possible the cases are related but you never know, killers have been known to travel. Just a thought to put out there. I really do hope this family gets some answers from the DNA. I also think the clothes being snagged on trees, etc. is that it is possible the windows were open and as the car went over the embankment the clothes flew out? Or maybe the clothes were taken out by her kidnapper or killer to destroy evidence by leaving them outside the vehicle? It does seem like someone tried to stay there, but maybe she left her kitten in the car and went up to the road to see if she could get some help...hence the blankets over the windows? And she met with foul play when she went to ask for help?

Oh actually from reading further again it may be that Brianne might have been taken by someone she knew...it is interesting though that along that stretch you pass areas to the east such as Kelowna...towns that have had a few disappearances throughout the decade.

Geoffrey MEISNER - Kelowna
Owen Rooney - Grand Forks on way to Kelowna
Cynthia Frances Maas - remains found - Prince George
Patrick Lyle Boulton - Heading to Kelowna
Michelle DuRocher - Kelowna

I might be way off here, just interesting to note a few of the cases have cars with no body found in or near them and with damage to the vehicles.

I'm not sure they are related; it may only be 330 miles, but that's a pretty long drive as Revelstoke is in the mountains, and then you'd need to cross the border. I can't see a lot of killers wanting to cross the border and get subjected to checks from nosy border agents, not to mention having records kept about when they crossed the border.

FYI Patrick was found, and near Prince Rupert not Kelowna.

On the road leading to Kelowna - I'm actually not too surprised. Keep in mind that if you are going to/from Vancouver from the rest of Canada, you are probably driving through or near Kelowna since it's off the main road through the mountain pass. It's also a popular tourist destination.

 

[PaulR]

Does anyone have the exact location where the car was found? I know a logging road somewhere near Mt. Baker but there are a lot of those.

 

[SyraKelly]

Wow-This case sounds just like Maura Murray.Both of the anniversaries are coming up to.
its been so long and nothing has been said on either case.
I do think Leah was followed by someone!
I wish I could find a pic of the area where her jeep was found-I just did a search,Canyon Creek rd is long!

 

[BennyHill2012]

Wow-This case sounds just like Maura Murray.Both of the anniversaries are coming up to.
its been so long and nothing has been said on either case.
I do think Leah was followed by someone!
I wish I could find a pic of the area where her jeep was found-I just did a search,Canyon Creek rd is long!

I think it is pretty clear that the reason her vehicle ended up as it did, is the result of someone else. Whether that someone else drove the car into the ravine, or followed her and forced her off into the ravine, it is hard to say. Has anything ever come of the mechanic who may have last had contact with her that moved to Canada? This is another of those cases where possibilities abound, but no solid evidence in any direction.

 

[justagirl247]

Wow-This case sounds just like Maura Murray.Both of the anniversaries are coming up to.
its been so long and nothing has been said on either case.
I do think Leah was followed by someone!
I wish I could find a pic of the area where her jeep was found-I just did a search,Canyon Creek rd is long!

I was thinking the same thing sound alot like it in some ways

 

[Tripmap]

Every time I watch the "Disappeared" episode, I want to tell the Detectives that what she is peering at is probably just looking, prior to paying, to see what gas pump she used. We've all done that.

I hope the DNA results come back and allow them to find a match. Some answers for her famiily.

 

[Tripmap]

Does anyone have the exact location where the car was found? I know a logging road somewhere near Mt. Baker but there are a lot of those.

Canyon Creek Road, or something Canyon.

 

[bubbabearzle]

Does anyone have the exact location where the car was found? I know a logging road somewhere near Mt. Baker but there are a lot of those.

I was wondering the same thing!

I live in WA state, and last year (almost the same day of the year as Leah went missing), my sons' scout troop had a "camping" trip at a lodge near the ski resort on Mt. Baker. I want to know where her car was found was that most of the trip up the mountain was like driving in a tunnel - the road was basically a channel carved out with hard-packed walls of snow 10-15 feet high on either side of the road. Most of the way up, that time of year, you would have to work really, really hard to get a vehicle off the road in any way! That also makes me wonder who the heck would be out jogging around there that time of year - snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, sure, but jogging?!

 

[T9D]

I was checking that Canyon Creek Road. It's 37 miles or so. That's probably going to take a hour or so give or take driving up that mountain from Bellingham.

I just don't think it's likely that someone from Bellingham would kill her, then be in her car driving for an hour on the road? Way too risky. To long of a time to take the chance of getting caught. Then he drives up this logging road. And what? Sits out there in the pitch black and rigs up her car to drive off the side of the mountain? And how the heck does he even get back home? There would have to be an accomplice who drove another car behind hers. All that way.

It appears she was sleeping in her car. That's why the windows were covered. Again nobody is going to drive it for any amount of time like that all covered up. And I doubt they would set that up after also rigging up the car to run off the road. After it's crashed they would have to hike down the hill to the crash site in the middle of the pitch black forest. That's just getting a little to crazy.

We haven't actually seen the piece of metal. It may not have been rigged up at all like they think. Remember the car has been in a big accident at this point. Who knows where the metal started. It also could have just been a piece rigged up before as a quick repair. I've done hoaky quick repairs many times on my cars when I was young. That's most likely all it was. If someone is going to want a car to run on it's own they are just going to stick something on the gas pedal. After the crash it's going to be someplace else or look like it was thrown there from the crash. Not take all that time to rig up the throttle and also be leaving evidence.

It's a pretty small road. We don't know exactly how fast she was going. It's just a guess on their part. But she's realistically going about the speed you'd go on a streight away. The supposedly rigged up car just happens to be going about the speed she'd realistically be going? So anyway she's going the correct speed. But those turns come up very fast on that road and they are sharp. Very easy to go right off the road if it's dark and you're driving that speed.

Now they say it looks like nobody was in the car when it crashed but they could be wrong. She may have been going slower than they think, plus with all her clothes and things all around her possibly some of that stuff helped to cushion her while it was tumbling around.

Why was her ring taken off? Well she just crashed. Her hand is swollen. So she takes her ring off (and possibly drops it in the dark).

If someone had killed her and gone through all that trouble to stage it they would have gone through some of her things. Especially if they knew she was traveling. They would have found the money. But they supposedly took all this time to do all this but didn't touch or take anything of hers?

I think she just crashed. She was driving at night on a log road, exploring the mountain, possibly looking for a place to 'camp out' in her car for the night. The turn comes up to quick and she crashes.

She covers the broken windows to protect herself from the cold. Took the ring off her swollen finger. She may have eventually wandered off and got lost. It's a big BIG forest. We hear stories all the time about searchers missing bodies and then some hiker finding them years later in the same spot they searched. Shoot she probably had all kinds of food and snacks for travel. For all we know the bears smelled that food from miles away and got her while she was walking all broken up and bruised. She possibly may have been sleeping in her car on the log road, animals found her car, she starts it up with the windows still covered to sleep and drives like that to find a new parking spot, hard to see in the dark night and the windows covered she crashes at the next turn. Sounds plausible.

I think her body is just somewhere out there in the huge forest. She was on a trip to explore and that's what she was doing when she crashed. Just like John Kerouac.

If you look at the map there is a small little subdivision of houses near the road she was on. They are off the main highway there. But the log road swings around back to where it's closer to the backs of these houses. If she had crashed and was hurt she could possibly see a light or two from these houses. Instead of walking around the long way all the way back down the log road it's possible she headed through the forest to reach these houses. Unfortunately the river is in her path. She may have attempted to ford the river so close to reaching these houses and drowned. Her body washing down the river.

By the way I've attached a photo of the road where it starts. Pretty narrow road. On a side note it's really creepy that a person is standing in the middle of the road she went up in the photo. He appears to be taking a picture maybe. That's just erie.

 

[CircuitGuy]

Every time I watch the "Disappeared" episode, I want to tell the Detectives that what she is peering at is probably just looking, prior to paying, to see what gas pump she used. We've all done that.

She could have been bored and/or put off by something in the gas station. Sometimes the person in front of me and the clerk are from a completely different background, esp if I'm far from home, and it's a little awkward to be thrust into a brief encounter where I'm a complete outsider. It's easier to look out the window or the news rack.

 

[CircuitGuy]

By the way I've attached a photo of the road where it starts. Pretty narrow road. On a side note it's really creepy that a person is standing in the middle of the road she went up in the photo. He appears to be taking a picture maybe. That's just erie.

I cannot see a person.

 

[Simply Caustic]

Is there anywhere I can read the text of the note Leah left? On the first page of this thread it was linked, but as so many years have passed, the links are dead.

Thanks in advance if anyone can steer me in the right direction

Sent from my KFTHWI

 

[Leomoon80]

Is there anywhere I can read the text of the note Leah left? On the first page of this thread it was linked, but as so many years have passed, the links are dead.

Thanks in advance if anyone can steer me in the right direction

Sent from my KFTHWI

I saved this link which has some background info about the contents of the note:

http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?14129-Leah-Roberts-missing-since-March-2000

 

[Digital Discovery]

Do any Websleuthers have any theories on what happened here? [\QUOTE]

When I first found out about this case it sounded to me like Leah had been recruited as a "mule." It is routine to move drugs across the country by vehicles driven by people recruited to be "mules." These people are offered the chance to make thousands of dollars to drive a shipment without much risk. The deal is simple: they are told to schedule a vacation, tell their family that they want to see something or go skiing, and then drop the goods at the appointed place, pick up their cash and have enough money to make it back home and have some fun along the way. Sounds good?

Sure, except here's the catch. If the people picking up the drugs at the other end don't want to pay the money, they don't have to. All they have to do is get the goods and then make the "mule" disappear. In this case, murdering the mule is cheaper than paying for the services. These are not nice people.

What makes me think this fits the story is:
1) Leah fits the profile of someone who could be made to disappear without any relatives raising a stink. Her sister wasn't rich enough or well connected enough to get anyone's attention.
2) Leah obviously made the story of motivation for her cross country trip up. She claimed it was because she was so enamored with a book but then couldn't spell the author's name. Why would she hide her motivation? Mule's are instructed not to tell anyone about what they are really doing and Leah may not have wanted to worry her sister, since what she was doing was VERY dangerous.
3) Using her cards until she got to Oregon, then switching to cash was so that no one could follow her trail. If her car hadn't been found no one would ever have known she went to Washington. This, again, would have been part of her instructions, making her disappearance nearly untraceable.
4) Bellingham is one of the biggest drug cities on the West coast. It is at the North end of the I5 drug pipeline that stretches from Mexico to Canada. Drugs heading north into Canada get staged in Whatcom County before they are moved across.
5) The story about Bellis Fair Mall sounds like a delivery contact.
6) I read a report that law enforcement found that her engine had been tampered with so that the car would effectively drive itself off the road.

So, here is my theory. Leah's new friend, the same one that convinced her to drop out of school and told her about the book that Leah never read arranged for her to deliver some drugs cross country to Bellingham. Leah thought she was going to deliver the drugs, take a vacation with the money she made and come on home. Her "friend" knew otherwise and sent her on her way. Leah followed the instructions to the letter and walked into Bellis Fair Mall to meet her contact, deliver the drugs, get the payout and head back down to Oregon to continue her "adventure." Instead, she delivered the drugs and then was taken out. Her car was driven up the Mt. Baker Highway and off the side so that no one would find it. Case closed.

Sorry, Leah sounds like an incredible young women so full of promise. Just a little too naïve and a little too trusting. The perfect victim. I hope my theory is wrong and that she will someday turn up alive.





From what I saw, Leah fit the profile of the perfect candidate. She had few