WA WA - Shantina Smiley, 29, & Azriel Carver, 8 (fnd deceased), Olympia, Mar 2010 - #4

[Calliope]

I'm surprised the media isn't talking more in depth to the people she crossed paths with that night.....Or interviewing her friends and co-workers, etc.

Why not the step-father? He was who she was going to meet and was with RS in the beginning, traveling up and down I-5 searching for her that first night / early morning.


If this breaks the rules, I'll delete.

 

[Calliope]

Someone, who?

Someone other than Shantina.

 

[Jani]

me too. but they must be worthwhile enough for them not to be searching and instead pursuing what leads they have as well as soliciting for more (at the end of the article it asks for folks w/ info to call the Thurston crime tip hotline & gives #)

I believe the reason they are no longer searching is it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. They searched the area where Az turned up, but where else should they look? Look at all the shoreline between the van and where Az was found, and more shoreline beyond. Her body could be anywhere.

 

[Calliope]

Has anyone posted a map of the currents from where the van was found to where Azriel's body washed ashore?

 

[justme96]

Better Source of pictures.

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/16/1174186/search-continues-for-missing-silverdale.html

http://theolympian.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge_remote.asp?source=&remoteimageid=1915720

Because the news has changed it is hard to find the original articles. The news reported early on the the van had tracks leading to the waters edge where it had turned around and got stuck. She wasn't doing circles, simply turning around.

There are two videos of SS driving one where she curbs the car after buying the wine and another where she runs over a curb at the Merchantile.

Regardless of how she ended up on that beach she did not know how to drive the van. She was only taking wide turns. If she was trying to turn around she needed enough room to do so. Especially if she had already hit something that caused the marks. I have a small car and have ben lost on some of these back roads in PNW in the end I have had to go sometimes miles out of my way to turn around. Most of these back roads have Ditches on both sides, I can see in one of the satalite maps this is so.

I would like to know why the LE hasn't told us which route she took from silverdale. It would help to know if she went through shelton (always a gamble) or took SR 16 across the Bridge to I-5. As contolling as RS appears to be (not accusing him of anything), you would think they discused this and he knew which way she was going. I have been trying to look at the pictures of the windshield to see if she has a Good2Go pass. Its a green and white sticker located under the Mirror on the Windshield. It is an electronic billing system for the Bridge and some Car pool lanes. The pass itself has a transmitter in it.

The Employees where she bought the meal but leaft without said they watched the video and saw that she had fallen in the parking lot, is there a reason LE has not released that video?

Have they tracked sown where she made the 6:45 call? Do they have a warrent to search her Social Media? I wonder if if she was talking to anyone else or possible meeting up with them.

This is just me wondering.

 

[KR2tonenow]

Why not the step-father? He was who she was going to meet and was with RS in the beginning, traveling up and down I-5 searching for her that first night / early morning.


If this breaks the rules, I'll delete.

This whole case is frustrating and I don't see why the stepfather would want to be rid of the child. How far is this lake from where the child washed up on shore at the beach? Is it possible the abductor took them hiking and the child fell off another cliff into the water then ended up at the beach. I don't know the area, but does it sound plausible?

 

[KR2tonenow]

Thanks for the map above. So according to reports Shantina somehow made a turn in the water and the boy ended up drown and down 15 miles from where the van was found. Bizarre.

 

[PaulR]

How far is this lake from where the child washed up on shore at the beach?

It wasn't a lake, it is Puget Sound which is saltwater and connects directly to the Pacific Ocean. The van was found on Puget Sound, as was the body of the child.

If you drove between the points, it's over 50 miles and close to an hour and 20 minutes. 14 miles or so "as the crow flies."

Is it possible the abductor took them hiking and the child fell off another cliff into the water then ended up at the beach. I don't know the area, but does it sound plausible?

They've stated that the child drowned accidentally... if he fell off a cliff, there'd be bruise marks caused by the force of him hitting the water, and I'm sure the coroner would have noticed that.

 

[jessigirl]

I'm surprised the media isn't talking more in depth to the people she crossed paths with that night.....Or interviewing her friends and co-workers, etc.

90Nine, IMHO I truly feel like this case is not receiving the vast media attn.that it WAS(when AZ was missing), and isnt continuing(after AZ being found) with that VAST media attn that we all here believe that it should still be getting. And I believe the reason for this is because of the many negative "issues" that have come to light about SS. I believe that partly for the reason of my speaking with clients of mine about this case and this generally is what I am hearing from them. They do not "feel" anything but anger and disgust for SS(which many of us do too) but for the most part they see this case as OVER. OVER because they think not a chance in H*** that she is anywhere but in that water and they believe thats where she deserves to be and could care less if her body ever surfaces. This Ive gotten from just speaking with others in my area. It seems to be the common feeling of most. As I said I know there are many of us here at this BB that feel very similarly BUT we want to know the WHYS, WHEN, WHERE&see it through to the end as we do for most cases. But i BELIEVE THE FEELING OF MOST ACROSS NATION IS SIMILAR AND AS WE KNOW THE MEDIA PRETTY MUCH FOLLOWS SUIT AS TO WHAT THEIR VIEWERS ARE INTERESTED. I personally believe this is wrong and wish the media would continue to press this case.Bcuz as we've all seen before seems as tho once the media quits pressing LE isnt far behind in it not being their priority, either. I want to see this through to some sort of conclusion and find out that that small chance that she got into someone else's vehicle(voluntary or involuntary)and left that beach that night.... As I said in MOO!

 

[KR2tonenow]

What is your take on this case, PR?

 

[Jules71]

Was it confirmed she had a purse and overnight bag with her? Iirc - maybe Robb said she did. Is he certain? How is he certain? Is it missing from their home?

Did she regularly use/have cash or mostly use a bank card? Iirc she purchased the items from Safeway (including the jug of wine) with cash. LE says they had a card purchase which placed her in Olympia at 7:55 PM - so she used a card that time, then right after that at Safeway she used cash.

Doesn't it also seem weird her stop at Handy Pantry was at 19:48 (7:48), and then she stopped at Safeway at 8:02 and bought wine, water, and other items. What did she buy at Handy Pantry then?

About the van - Were either of the front seats reclined? Was the battery dead? Was it low on gas? From the surveillance tapes, we saw Az enter the van from the passenger side and sit down in that seat and put his seat belt on, he then pushed a button to close the sliding door. Which sliding door was open when they found the van? Was it "his" door?

I wondered about the mud splash on her front windshield too. Could it have been from coasting/rolling down that hill/road fast and then hitting the water and it spraying/splashing forward over the van? She then turned on her wipers for a bit, then turned off the van, and took the keys out.

Why didn't the neighbor (who told the property owner at Zangle) call 911? Why did he tell his neighbor about the van, but not make the call to 911 himself?

Was her and RS's engagement recent? Did others know they were engaged?

So many questions and I hope we have some answers soon.

Will LE announce the results of Az's tox screen? How long does that take?

 

[PaulR]

What is your take on this case, PR?

She's in the water, there's a good chance they will never find her body.

Circumstances to me point out more of a tragic accident than her trying to commit suicide, being murdered, running off with someone, etc. I think that because of her relapse, her being disoriented the night she vanished, and Az's body washing up on another island, along with the police activity focused on the water (i.e. they think she is in the Sound too.)

 

[Jani]

Thanks for the map above. So according to reports Shantina somehow made a turn in the water and the boy ended up drown and down 15 miles from where the van was found. Bizarre.

There are no "reports" that she somehow made a turn and ended up in a different location than Azriel, but that is absolutely possible. There are many variables as to how a body will travel in water, i.e. clothing, weight, obstacles in the water, etc. I think I read that alcohol consumption would also have an effect.

 

[KR2tonenow]

But how does a mother and child just drown? Do either swim? Thanks for the input. That's where I am stuck.

 

[Calliope]

Currents for the closest point to the van (that I could find), 3/13 - 3/17.

http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/1485.html?y=2010&m=3&d=13

2010-03-13 6:14 PM PST Sunset

2010-03-13 7:47 PM PST -2.40 knots Max Ebb

2010-03-13 11:12 PM PST 0.01 knots Slack, Flood Begins

2010-03-14 1:41 AM PST 1.70 knots Max Flood

2010-03-14 6:19 AM PDT -0.00 knots Slack, Ebb Begins

2010-03-14 7:26 AM PDT Sunrise

2010-03-14 9:30 AM PDT -2.08 knots Max Ebb

2010-03-14 12:41 PM PDT 0.00 knots Slack, Flood Begins


I'm not sure how to read this, but the time and description is of interest considering the report of the homeowner hearing someone around 1 am.

 

[Miss Optimism]

Another question I have is, why didn't the couple who gave her son pizza at 10:00 p.m. call the police?

If some random, intoxicated woman with a starving son knocked on my door at 10:00, I'm sure I would probably call the police.

MOO

 

[PaulR]

But how does a mother and child just drown? Do either swim? Thanks for the input. That's where I am stuck.

That water is in the 40s. If they were in the water deep enough to need to swim, there is a chance they could have just panicked and succumbed to hypothermia.

 

[90Nine]

Currents for the closest point to the van (that I could find), 3/13 - 3/17.

http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/1485.html?y=2010&m=3&d=13

2010-03-13 6:14 PM PST Sunset

2010-03-13 7:47 PM PST -2.40 knots Max Ebb

2010-03-13 11:12 PM PST 0.01 knots Slack, Flood Begins

2010-03-14 1:41 AM PST 1.70 knots Max Flood

2010-03-14 6:19 AM PDT -0.00 knots Slack, Ebb Begins

2010-03-14 7:26 AM PDT Sunrise

2010-03-14 9:30 AM PDT -2.08 knots Max Ebb

2010-03-14 12:41 PM PDT 0.00 knots Slack, Flood Begins


I'm not sure how to read this, but the time and description is of interest considering the report of the homeowner hearing someone around 1 am.

IMO - this is the kind of thing the media should also be discussing about this case to inform the public about how all of this works and the possibilities of what happened.

 

[Calliope]

This whole case is frustrating and I don't see why the stepfather would want to be rid of the child. How far is this lake from where the child washed up on shore at the beach? Is it possible the abductor took them hiking and the child fell off another cliff into the water then ended up at the beach. I don't know the area, but does it sound plausible?

??

I'm talking about Shantina's step-father in Castle Rock. That is where she was allegedly headed that evening. I was wondering why he hasn't been interviewed since he was the person she was going to visit and he was in on the search at the beginning. He could shed some light on her state of mind before the trip, when and why she'd contacted him, if he felt anything was *off*, had he seen her on her prior trip to Castle Rock (grandfather said she'd gone down there a couple of weeks before her disappearance) or did he know why she'd made that earlier trip, was it supposed to only be her and Azriel that weekend, and so on.

 

[KR2tonenow]

Interesting information on the Flood begins, Max Flood during that time period that would justify the water rising and Shantina possibly having drank too much and may have not been able to save her son or herself. Thanks guys.