WA WA - Shantina Smiley, 29, & Azriel Carver, 8 (fnd deceased), Olympia, Mar 2010 - #7

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Examiner.com article: Shantina Smiley: Still missing, family holds memorial service Saturday, fiancé still holds out hope

April 19, 2010 - “Shantina made my life complete,” Robb Simmons, Shantina Smiley’s fiancé told Examiner.com Sunday. “She was taken from me and it was hard holding a memorial service for her when I still don’t know what’s happened to her.”

“I hope this is not good-bye,” Simmons said. “When you don’t have closure all you’re left with is hope.” Click here for article.
 
SMK said:
I know, it's too sad....:(
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Heartbreaking....my prayers are with RS and his children. The death of Azriel must be difficult enough, but in some ways, not knowing what happened to SS has to be even harder. I hope someday they have some answers (and some closure).
 
“Something just doesn’t smell right,” Simmons said.
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Simmons said he believes investigators will be doing another dive this week in the waters of the Puget Sound, looking for Shantina or any clues into her disappearance.
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Good to hear, it seems like he's pressuring LE for answers!! I pray he continues until they find her so that family can have closure and finally learn what happened that night :(
 
Yes, I too wonder about this backpack this new article speaks of.

How did they ascertain that there indeed was a backpack--was one found nearby along with the items? Or was one missing from the home?

If they are right that they had been in a backpack, why wouldn't the items have been found still intact inside the pack? Backpacks are generally kept zipped, aren't they?

Then again, if it is so that the orange ball had been loose on the van's floor for a while, how does that necessarily rule out that it wasn't picked up by AC and put in a backpack or pocket.

When on a road trip without all their usual toys, kids will sometimes play with things they normally would pay no attention to, out of boredom and necessity, don't you think?

Just my thoughts.
 
slowpoke said:
Yes, I too wonder about this backpack this new article speaks of.

How did they ascertain that there indeed was a backpack--was one found nearby along with the items? Or was one missing from the home?

If they are right that they had been in a backpack, why wouldn't the items have been found still intact inside the pack? Backpacks are generally kept zipped, aren't they?

Then again, if it is so that the orange ball had been loose on the van's floor for a while, how does that necessarily rule out that it wasn't picked up by AC and put in a backpack or pocket.

When on a road trip without all their usual toys, kids will sometimes play with things they normally would pay no attention to, out of boredom and necessity, don't you think?

Just my thoughts.
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Yes, I would agree with you.
 
snipped from http://www.examiner.com/x-34328-Sea...iance-still-holds-out-hope?cid=examiner-email


Initially, it was believed the items floated out into the Sound and were washed up.

But Captain Chamberlain told Examiner.com he doesn’t believe that could have happened, and that the most likely scenario would be those items would have been in a backpack that the pair might have taken with them as they walked down the beach.

Simmons told Examiner.com Sunday he does not believe that theory because some of the items were not in the backpack but were loose in the van, including the ball that was found on shore on March 17. He said that ball had been rolling around on the floor of the van for weeks.

I am not certain this is confirmation that a backpack was for sure brought with them - but it must mean something, otherwise Chamberlain could have said "a bag" - any bag.

I also believe RS about the ball rolling around on the floor for awhile, but that doesn't mean Az didn't pick it up at some point and put it in his backpack.

If they were walking down the beach with the backpack full of stuff (that was later found on the beach), why were the items found and not the backpack? What are some reasons the items would be taken out of the backpack?

The items found were:
orange ball
baseball
2 water bottles
wine jug
inhaler
2 shoes
washashore.jpg


So was this backpack holding their overnight things? Where are the other things that would have been in the backpack? It doesn't seem logical that Kat and Az would have grabbed the backpack from inside the van, and packed just those things into the backpack and then headed down the beach. So if it is unlikely the items floated out of the van and deposited there - the other scenario is they were brought to that area of the beach and dumped. I don't think Az and Kat would be playing catch with the balls at that time of night. Az could have needed his inhaler and in panicking they dumped all the items out of the bag to get to it.

Sorry for the rambling - just trying to get a feel for how or why.
 
I don't mean to get the shoe debate going again, but "if" the shoes belong to Kat and Az - we know Az was wearing white sneakers - so he had an extra pair with him on the trip or he had an extra pair inside the van. "If" these are the shoes Kat was wearing that night, and she was at the Williams without shoes on, she must have slipped them off (still tied) in the van - but why would they end up in the backpack? This tells me the maybe the stuff in the backpack wasn't stuff that was packed at home and brought on the trip, it was stuff that was in the van and put in the backpack that night. Also RS saying the ball had been rolling around in the van, tells me the backpack was packed from within the van. What does that tell us?

ETA: From the HP video, Kat is wearing black shoes.
 
Yes, I agree, Jules, this whole "backpack" thing, gets the whole train of reflection going once again....good questions to ponder, above.....
 
Jules71 said:
I don't mean to get the shoe debate going again, but "if" the shoes belong to Kat and Az - we know Az was wearing white sneakers - so he had an extra pair with him on the trip or he had an extra pair inside the van. "If" these are the shoes Kat was wearing that night, and she was at the Williams without shoes on, she must have slipped them off (still tied) in the van - but why would they end up in the backpack? This tells me the maybe the stuff in the backpack wasn't stuff that was packed at home and brought on the trip, it was stuff that was in the van and put in the backpack that night. Also RS saying the ball had been floating around in the van, tells me the backpack was packed from within the van. What does that tell us?

ETA: From the HP video, Kat is wearing black shoes.
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Yes, that would tell us that they planned to walk away, leave the vehicle, at least for a while.....:waitasec:
 
They could have decided to walk on the sand barefoot.
Took along the water and wine and the inhaler and
the ball.
Maybe then they went back to the van.
Or?
But what would have happened after that, I don't know.

Thinking back, I don't remember if that night was a full moon or not.
 
dreamweaver said:
They could have decided to walk on the sand barefoot.
Took along the water and wine and the inhaler and
the ball.
Maybe then they went back to the van.
Or?
But what would have happened after that, I don't know.

Thinking back, I don't remember if that night was a full moon or not.
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The moon was not full that night - IIRC others said it would have been very dark. The beach doesn't have the type of sand you would walk on with bare feet really. It is pretty rocky, I think.

So..... the van is stuck. Kat leaves the keys on the dash, says let's grab some of our stuff and put it in the backpack and walk down the beach. If at that time they wanted/needed help, I think they would have walked back up the narrow little road to the closest house. To pack things in a backpack at that point and leave the van heading down the beach (rather than back up the road for help) indicates to me, either they were walking to meet someone down there, they were running from someone, or they just wanted to take a scenic walk. What is most likely?
 
SMK said:
Yes, that would tell us that they planned to walk away, leave the vehicle, at least for a while.....:waitasec:
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I agree - "if" they packed the backpack from within the van, why wouldn't Kat throw her wallet in the pack? She could have had Az carry the backpack and she carried her purse (and forgot her wallet was not in her purse). So then where are the purse and the backpack and Kat? And again, why were the items out of the backpack?
 
Jules71 said:
I agree - "if" they packed the backpack from within the van, why wouldn't Kat throw her wallet in the pack? She could have had Az carry the backpack and she carried her purse (and forgot her wallet was not in her purse). So then where are the purse and the backpack and Kat? And again, why were the items out of the backpack?
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All very good and pertinent questions. I think I have new faith and confidence in Robb, too, as he is openly asking the right questions, wondering about the unaccounted hours, and admitting "something does not smell right" (he's right, it just does not). I hope LE will help him out, because this is all very unsettling, and not adding up...I had always worried that someone might have taken advantage of Shantina's distress, on the beach. These things do occur...
 
Jules71 said:
The moon was not full that night - IIRC others said it would have been very dark. The beach doesn't have the type of sand you would walk on with bare feet really. It is pretty rocky, I think.

So..... the van is stuck. Kat leaves the keys on the dash, says let's grab some of our stuff and put it in the backpack and walk down the beach. If at that time they wanted/needed help, I think they would have walked back up the narrow little road to the closest house. To pack things in a backpack at that point and leave the van heading down the beach (rather than back up the road for help) indicates to me, either they were walking to meet someone down there, they were running from someone, or they just wanted to take a scenic walk. What is most likely?
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Right, meeting someone, fleeing someone, or just walking. It is difficult to say which is more likely. All 3 are possible :waitasec: The least likely, is that they were just walking, as it was rather cold, and pitch black.....
 
SMK said:
Right, meeting someone, fleeing someone, or just walking. It is difficult to say which is more likely. All 3 are possible :waitasec: The least likely, is that they were just walking, as it was rather cold, and pitch black.....
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I agree. If they were just going for a walk, why bring the backpack (with those items - shoes) and leave the keys?
 
Jules71 said:
I agree. If they were just going for a walk, why bring the backpack (with those items - shoes) and leave the keys?
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So far more likely that they were going to meet someone, fleeing someone , or both (met someone, then had to flee them). As you say, going to get help, they would have gone back up the trail, and followed the lit up houses......Could Shantina have been followed by someone, who had seen her wandering around in distress earlier? Perhaps someone she had spoken to earlier, just as she had the Williams, only this person never mentioned it to LE? Think about it, she was young, female, pretty, vulnerable: There are crimes of opportunity. I do not see why this has been ruled out. Even Robb has not ruled it out....
 
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