Kodiak
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Liz's video message is spot on, to the point, and well done... especially to anyone out there who knows where Tyler is... and even for Tyler, himself, if he is watching!
WA WA - Tyler Christensen, 16, Mukilteo, 19 April 2016
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Liz's video message is spot on, to the point, and well done... especially to anyone out there who knows where Tyler is... and even for Tyler, himself, if he is watching!
Ok.. so apparently the backpack was found North of Shelton. I was under the impression his backpack was found in Olympic National Park, as if he made it to his destination to hike the Olympics. Earlier facebook messages indicated it was found in a "somewhat dangerous area". What is implied by that? What is the dangerous area North of Shelton where his backpack was found?
toevlugsoord
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I was intrigued by that as well. To say "north of Shelton" means it's closer to Shelton than to another city, I would presume.
We know from Q13 that he was picked up between Kingston and Poulsbo hitchhiking. They never said, that I remember?, where he was dropped off but that he had asked for directions to Shelton from the driver, which makes me think he was not taken to Shelton but rather somewhere else before Shelton....and Shelton is south of that travel direction. So this backpack "north of Shelton" makes me think he never made it to Shelton for whatever reason. Or, my theory as of late, is that he wanted to go to Vance Creek Bridge, which is apparently a popular draw for young people and is very dangerous. Looking at where that is on the map, that could also be considered "north of Shelton."
I wish they would be more specific. When looking on a google map...
1. Route 3, the main route that connects to Shelton goes in a NE direction. It's not something I would say is North of Shelton.
2. Vance Creek Bridge would be NW of Shelton.
3. Olympic National Park would be NW of Shelton.
4. Route 101 is North of Shelton. It passes through Skokomish, WA and goes around the entire ONP.
5. Route 106 is North of Shelton. It passes through Union, WA & Skokomish, WA. If I was hitchhiking to ONP, I would exit Route 3, and take this route. It would be quicker than going down to Shelton and it connects directly to Route 101 in Skokomish. You also get a nice lake/bay view the entire way there.
Then again, this "somewhat dangerous area" where his backpack was found that they didn't want anyone searching besides professionals implies it must of been rough terrain and I don't see any area directly North of Shelton or on Route 101 or Route 106 which I would call dangerous, which has me confused.
The May 8th post from the Help Find Tyler FB page states, "Tyler was dropped off on Viking Ave. between Poulsbo and Silverdale. The gentleman said that Tyler was asking for directions to Shelton."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1724064874515029/permalink/1730417267213123/
It only supports your point, which was my concern, too - that he never made it to Shelton. "North of Shelton" leaves us with a vast area to consider but is, nonetheless *not* Shelton.
Where was the idea of Vance Creek Bridge first posited? Here or elsewhere?
He was dropped off on Viking Ave between Poulsbo & Silverdale. Viking Ave runs diagonal to Rt 3 and eventually runs directly adjacent and I think merges with it near Silverdale. IMO, Rt 3 would be the natural hitching route to get to Shelton.
toevlugsoord
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It was posited on the FB main page and the family replied to it, saying it was being looked into. No follow-ups about "we looked there, no sign of him." It's a very dangerous bridge that I think has been closed off, but people still sneak onto it. I think they risk trespassing for doing so, so perhaps the family is being hush hush about what they found there etc. No idea....but yes, it was on the main page comments to one of his sister's posts about him being on the peninsula.
Thanks! Yes, I am familiar with the bridge and area around it. It is private property and owned by...railroad or timber company (?) and very much *CLOSED*. And yet, people trespass and hike to it and foolishly walk out on it. The the area has a number of trails and I do think if they suspect that he fell from the bridge span, they would be able to get a team of experienced search and rescue down to the bottom. But I totally agree - the secrecy and asking people to not go there TOTALLY makes sense for that location. They have to get permissions for non LE searches and God forbid something happens to a volunteer out there.
toevlugsoord
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It's so puzzling though because if his backpack was found there, below as if it had fallen, then wouldn't HE have fallen? Or did it fall and he just decided to not go after it? Not sure how you'd go down and get something below it, etc. etc. That could explain everything. But then was he alone? Where did he go after that? And if that was his big adventure, why not just go home at that point? Gosh, this story just won't leave my mind after all these weeks. It's such a mystery. I really really really hope he is found alive, but if not then at least the very popular hiking season begins now and someone will come across him (alive or not). Hopefully.
I would guess that *if* it was found at or near Vance Creek Bridge Viaduct, it would have been in 1 of 4 places...
1) At the makeshift parking area where people park. Towing and ticketing is sometimes enforced but not often and there are people up there frequently. If he was on his way out, maybe waiting at the trail head area to see if he could get a ride back out to the highway, he may have left it..in haste? Seems unlikely.
2) Along the trail(s)...dropped, discarded in haste if he was avoiding LE (they do come up and ticket trespassers occasionally)
3) Left it on the bridge span. People walk out there, sit, eat lunch, do stupid tricks, drink, etc. He may have left it out there and not gone back for it. Where did he go? Down? Or walked out with a group or person he met there and decided to travel together? Or beat feet off the span if he saw LE?
4) At the bottom under the span. If it fell, no...it is highly unlikely he would have gone and hiked the long way around to go down and get it. There are trails but it's not right there adjacent to the same trail he would have taken to get to the span. These are not trails for inexperienced hikers. They require some bravado (to continually trespass past signs clearly stating "No Trespassing") plus the trails to the span have been intentionally blocked with down trees, ditches have been cut, etc. If he was not found with it or near it, which is what I would presume they would have been looking for, then I think that is why they would say they think he is no longer in the area. It's not an area where one would hang out in for a length of time. It's wilderness.
But all of that hinges on the idea that it was Vance Creek Bridge. The are other places that would be "dangerous" to ask untrained volunteers to search - woods, bodies of water, etc. Now that the search is past, I wish they would just say where it was. Maybe they have some other valid reason not to.
The fact that his wallet, money, etc was *not* found in the backpack could be good or bad. If it was taken from him, that would be the only thing someone would want, right? And if it was Tyler who left it there himself, then maybe he still has cash on his person. Hoping for the best.
I still don't see the mention of Vance Creek Bridge but I can see it in my minds eye as being on FB and not here. Wondering if it was deleted by the family?
There is another comment re: family doing a 15 mile river search by kayak...so...navigable rivers north of Shelton...there are more than a few.
Also, family states that they did leave the backpack where it was for one night in the hopes he would return to it. That makes me think it was not at the base as if it had fallen nor in a roadside ditch.
There is another comment re: family doing a 15 mile river search by kayak...so...navigable rivers north of Shelton...there are more than a few.
Also, family states that they did leave the backpack where it was for one night in the hopes he would return to it. That makes me think it was not at the base as if it had fallen nor in a roadside ditch.
toevlugsoord
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Great summary here, I totally agree.
toevlugsoord
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Ah, I hadn't seen that about them leaving it for one night. Interesting.
I think I can post the official FB page link, right? So here's where you'll find the Vance Creek Bridge comments.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1724064874515029/
- scroll down to Liz's post on May 8th. You'll see comments about Vance Creek Bridge and then Liz commented on May 11th about it and said they searched that area.
Thank you! I knew I had seen it *SOMEWHERE*! I was searching the posts re: the backpack and did not remember it was mentioned previous to that post. Thanks again!
How easy is it to "disappear?" I never have but it seems like, especially these days, it would be difficult to pull off and stay under the radar. Eventually a friend slips or talks or someone sees the missing person that they had seen on social media, uses a credit card or or is spotted on surveillance, etc. I think this would be especially hard for a kid due to inexperience, lack of resources and money or they simply realize life on the run isn't as easy as they had thought. This haunts me as I follow this story. I'm undecided as to whether a kid could pull this off for this long. I truly hope he has runaway and he is safe and plans to come back to his family who miss him and love him.
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I have to think that with massive volume of runaway teens and missing persons who are never found, it is still possible.
I think disappearing and reinventing yourself with a new life, new SSN, career, etc is much harder but still not impossible. Identity theft is a HUGE criminal industry. SSN's are bought and sold. Not that a teen like Tyler is creating a new life for himself with someone else's SSN though. But if one *were* to try that, doing so before one has a legal digital footprint would be easier. If he has never had a DL or state ID, then there would be no government issued pic of him in the system to compare to, for example.
But as far as teens who take off to go wandering are concerned...yeah, actually - they still do.
Just take Tyler's case for example.
He rode the ferry on the 19th and that was not confirmed for a month until they found the receipt.
He was picked up hitch hiking on April 19th and the driver did not call it in for how many days? On or about May 8th?
There are still a lot of people who don't participate in social media. There are people who don't watch the news. And there is a whole network of people, teens and adults, who help travelers, wanders, back packers, social drop outs, & adventures along the way with rides, spare change, a shared meal. There are actually social networks that can connect these people together but there is also a life style with it's own social norms that supports this.
In Tyler's case, IMO, it sounds like he wanted to go travel, go walkabout, get out. He was successful at least in the beginning. All we can do is hope that he continues to be successful so that he can eventually circle back with his family or wait a couple of years until he is 18 and check in with LE to say he is alive and well. Hopefully he is just out there hitching and hiking and camping as he wanted.
Koshka
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BBM, totally agree. The bridge is spectacular, but dangerous due to height and condition of the bridge - it's missing pieces, and probably a lot of it is rotten by now. There's some video out there on the internet that will show you better than I could explain just how dangerous it is. Definitely a place you wouldn't want volunteers near, plus, it's intentionally hard to get to. The lumber company that owns it doesn't want people out there, either.
Ageed! Today is is 17th birthday. (As posted on the fb page) I hope he can somehow enjoy it. It must be excruciating for his family!