Found Deceased WI - Kathleen Ryan, adult, teacher, car found burned with body inside, St. Francis, 2 Feb 2019 #2

[mks762]

How so?

Not to put words in someone's mouth but I assume @Detectivediva means they believe the case is closed because this was a suicide.

 

[Skylark6]

Drove by the site recently and was hoping to find a conclusion had been reached.

While suicide is a possibility, I would have expected that to be done after the birthday celebration, as often people say goodbye, etc. Only thing I could think of is she received horrible news or something on the way there. In that case, it seems that would have come out by now? I.e fired from job, health woes (doctor records) etc. I presume the phone was burnt up and useless.
Other thought...if she was a smoker or started smoking again, she may have been on one of those quitting meds that can cause suicidal thoughts. That might explain the relatively unusual circumstances.
Of note is that she may have thought it was a forest preserve entrance...sadly they are frequently the site of suicides (including one here the last week) but tend to be in more secluded areas and not found right away.

My best guess..car trouble. Check engine light or something, maybe smoke. Pulled off at first road, maybe not realizing quite how far she pulled in. If it ignited, as mentioned previously, perhaps she couldn't get the door open so she moved to try the passenger door and was overcome by smoke.

As for the extra time, no idea. Spent longer than expected shopping? Still quite a set of circumstances needing to come together.

 

[uwmadison]

Generally, one pressures for answers via the media. The sons are savvy enough to realize this and would, I think, take that opportunity. There seems to be a triangle of silence -- LE, media, family -- and, at its center, I think, is the truth -- a truth than need neither be published nor pursued any further.

I think daughters would continue to pressure LE and the media. Traditionally, we don't see sons do this as often or as much. Just saying.

 

[Justice4242]

Anything on this case?

 

[❤️61]

I haven’t heard anything.

Anything on this case?

 

[MntnHiker]

One year ago tomorrow. Thinking of Kathleen and her family.

 

[Kittybunny]

One year ago tomorrow. Thinking of Kathleen and her family.

It's just mind-boggling that we've heard absolutely nothing more about this case. How can a beloved grandmother, mother, end up burned to death in her car nowhere near her home or any familiar location to her without a clue as to how she got there, how it happened, let alone who did it?

SMH. So tragic, so sad. I hope the family has the answers they need or they feel confident that they can get them.

 

[rodneymullenmg]

It's just mind-boggling that we've heard absolutely nothing more about this case. How can a beloved grandmother, mother, end up burned to death in her car nowhere near her home or any familiar location to her without a clue as to how she got there, how it happened, let alone who did it?

SMH. So tragic, so sad. I hope the family has the answers they need or they feel confident that they can get them.

IMHO, you are not hearing anything because it was likely suicide. Tragic, but most probable

 

[LateFate08]

This was not a suicide for those speculating. This case is an open investigation and will continue to be until more information is gathered. I believe LE is doing everything in their power, but unfortunately the route and path did not help their case. Working between two states, no cameras, etc., this case is a lot more complex than people think. I don't think LE has the full amount of resources to put a full team together to solve this. Unfortunately, I believe that the most critical time was the first 48 hours and maybe that is what stopped this before it even began. Hoping that with time more will turn up, but we can only speculate.

 

[ChiCubs2016]

This was not a suicide for those speculating. This case is an open investigation and will continue to be until more information is gathered. I believe LE is doing everything in their power, but unfortunately the route and path did not help their case. Working between two states, no cameras, etc., this case is a lot more complex than people think. I don't think LE has the full amount of resources to put a full team together to solve this. Unfortunately, I believe that the most critical time was the first 48 hours and maybe that is what stopped this before it even began. Hoping that with time more will turn up, but we can only speculate.

Hello @LateFate08 and Welcome to WS! Are you local to St. Francis or the area Kathleen went missing?

 

[LateFate08]

Hello @LateFate08 and Welcome to WS! Are you local to St. Francis or the area Kathleen went missing?

To the area

 

[ChiCubs2016]

To the area

Thank you. Although I do not post much on this thread. I do stop by often and think of Kathleen. It is really a bizarre case for me and I often think if it could have been a carjacking gone bad. In carjackings they just want the car and rarely will kill the owner but I wonder with Kathleen being found in the passenger seat if the person forced her there, she fought and something happened to injure/incapacitate her and the person decided to destroy all evidence by setting the car on fire. How did they pick the place to do this? This is someone's driveway. I forget how far away the house was from where the car was found? Some posted that a person might not know it was a driveway to a house but perhaps a road that lead to a park or a preserve of some sort. Sorry I forget the exact post. But I got the impression anyone driving might not think it was a driveway. Anyway, just something I have been thinking about. ALL MOO, IMHO

 

[LateFate08]

Thank you. Although I do not post much on this thread. I do stop by often and think of Kathleen. It is really a bizarre case for me and I often think if it could have been a carjacking gone bad. In carjackings they just want the car and rarely will kill the owner but I wonder with Kathleen being found in the passenger seat if the person forced her there, she fought and something happened to injure/incapacitate her and the person decided to destroy all evidence by setting the car on fire. How did they pick the place to do this? This is someone's driveway. I forget how far away the house was from where the car was found? Some posted that a person might not know it was a driveway to a house but perhaps a road that lead to a park or a preserve of some sort. Sorry I forget the exact post. But I got the impression anyone driving might not think it was a driveway. Anyway, just something I have been thinking about. ALL MOO, IMHO

From the road and google maps, no one would think this entry is to a forest preserve. Also, once pulling into the driveway you clearly would see a home, not a place where someone trying to harm themselves would go. Also, the perp could have turned down here thinking they have more ways to vacate and leave then if they went elsewhere. Did they pick this place based on location? Where did they cross paths with Mrs. Ryan? How has their been no footage of her with the travels down? None of how the evidence turned up makes any sense.

 

[evilwise]

This is a pretty odd case for sure. People definitely do turn up in burned up cars but not usually so far from where they were expected to be and with so little evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. An I correct that the reports are she was found sitting in the passenger seat? That seems more suspicious than not to me. "No evidence of foul play" doesn't always mean accident or suicide. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

To me the most likely scenario is that she stopped somewhere she maybe shouldn't have because she was unfamiliar and did get carjacked, was being taken somewhere to be killed and that (or near there) was the point she realized it. She fought and lost but the car was spoiled in the process and the whole thing was disposed of.

The thing about that though is the clean get away. For that to have actually happened, it would have been an organized crime where there was an accomplice following in another car. That's not how carjacking are usually done. Professional car thieves steal parked cars and go after ones that are actually valuable. Thugs that see an easy victim in a somewhat sporty car are criminals of opportunity and someone like that would have fled the scene on foot. Even if no one in the area had a doorbell camera or even trail cams, the perpetrator would have either lived in the area (seems unlikely) or needed to call to be picked up.

This seems like the kind of case that lots of police work early should have been able to solve but now so much of that evidence is lost - security footage, incidental witnesses etc. At this point its going to take a reward. That car was only worth $5,000 and I bet someone would give up the perp for that much .

 

[LateFate08]

This is a pretty odd case for sure. People definitely do turn up in burned up cars but not usually so far from where they were expected to be and with so little evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. An I correct that the reports are she was found sitting in the passenger seat? That seems more suspicious than not to me. "No evidence of foul play" doesn't always mean accident or suicide. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

To me the most likely scenario is that she stopped somewhere she maybe shouldn't have because she was unfamiliar and did get carjacked, was being taken somewhere to be killed and that (or near there) was the point she realized it. She fought and lost but the car was spoiled in the process and the whole thing was disposed of.

The thing about that though is the clean get away. For that to have actually happened, it would have been an organized crime where there was an accomplice following in another car. That's not how carjacking are usually done. Professional car thieves steal parked cars and go after ones that are actually valuable. Thugs that see an easy victim in a somewhat sporty car are criminals of opportunity and someone like that would have fled the scene on foot. Even if no one in the area had a doorbell camera or even trail cams, the perpetrator would have either lived in the area (seems unlikely) or needed to call to be picked up.

This seems like the kind of case that lots of police work early should have been able to solve but now so much of that evidence is lost - security footage, incidental witnesses etc. At this point its going to take a reward. That car was only worth $5,000 and I bet someone would give up the perp for that much .

For a perp to turn into a long driveway who is either armed or dangerous, would make sense. Doesn't seem as noticeable, could defend against someone coming out of the home, and again can escape on foot in any direction without being detected. IMO, this case was lost early on do to lack of evidence and bandwidth.

 

[Curiousobserver]

This is a pretty odd case for sure. People definitely do turn up in burned up cars but not usually so far from where they were expected to be and with so little evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. An I correct that the reports are she was found sitting in the passenger seat? That seems more suspicious than not to me. "No evidence of foul play" doesn't always mean accident or suicide. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

To me the most likely scenario is that she stopped somewhere she maybe shouldn't have because she was unfamiliar and did get carjacked, was being taken somewhere to be killed and that (or near there) was the point she realized it. She fought and lost but the car was spoiled in the process and the whole thing was disposed of.

The thing about that though is the clean get away. For that to have actually happened, it would have been an organized crime where there was an accomplice following in another car. That's not how carjacking are usually done. Professional car thieves steal parked cars and go after ones that are actually valuable. Thugs that see an easy victim in a somewhat sporty car are criminals of opportunity and someone like that would have fled the scene on foot. Even if no one in the area had a doorbell camera or even trail cams, the perpetrator would have either lived in the area (seems unlikely) or needed to call to be picked up.

This seems like the kind of case that lots of police work early should have been able to solve but now so much of that evidence is lost - security footage, incidental witnesses etc. At this point its going to take a reward. That car was only worth $5,000 and I bet someone would give up the perp for that much .

And no use of her credit cards or ATM transactions. It looks like an accident (cigarette dropped) or a suicide. If its not a crime then its none of our business and that may be why its so quiet.

 

[evilwise]

For a perp to turn into a long driveway who is either armed or dangerous, would make sense. Doesn't seem as noticeable, could defend against someone coming out of the home, and again can escape on foot in any direction without being detected. IMO, this case was lost early on do to lack of evidence and bandwidth.

The scenario I'm envisioning is that just being the place where Kathleen decided to fight for her life, whether she had been working up to it for some time or she got some solid indication that she was not going to be surviving unless she did something (and despite, in hindsight). For reference, in these situations it's better to jump from the moving car and make a break for a nearby house, smashing a window or patio door to gain access if necessary. It's a safe bet a random alarmed home owner will be less dangerous than your kidnapper .

And no use of her credit cards or ATM transactions. It looks like an accident (cigarette dropped) or a suicide. If its not a crime then its none of our business and that may be why its so quiet.

I just have a hard time imagining why she would have chosen that particular place to pull over, climb into the passenger seat and kill herself intentionally or otherwise. Cars even sometimes just catch fire on their own and drivers fail to escape but if her body was indeed found seated on the passenger side, that hound don't run for me.

 

[flgrl017]

There were 2 kidnappings in the south suburbs recently.
Abduction, robbery in New Lenox may be linked to similar Frankfort case: police
Maybe it was a robbery gone awry and they panicked and burned the car with body.

 

[Curiousobserver]

The scenario I'm envisioning is that just being the place where Kathleen decided to fight for her life, whether she had been working up to it for some time or she got some solid indication that she was not going to be surviving unless she did something (and despite, in hindsight). For reference, in these situations it's better to jump from the moving car and make a break for a nearby house, smashing a window or patio door to gain access if necessary. It's a safe bet a random alarmed home owner will be less dangerous than your kidnapper .


I just have a hard time imagining why she would have chosen that particular place to pull over, climb into the passenger seat and kill herself intentionally or otherwise. Cars even sometimes just catch fire on their own and drivers fail to escape but if her body was indeed found seated on the passenger side, that hound don't run for me.

I agree it's very puzzling and all of these theories were extensively argued back and forth.

My personal opinion which is worth exactly zero.

 

[rodneymullenmg]

The scenario I'm envisioning is that just being the place where Kathleen decided to fight for her life, whether she had been working up to it for some time or she got some solid indication that she was not going to be surviving unless she did something (and despite, in hindsight). For reference, in these situations it's better to jump from the moving car and make a break for a nearby house, smashing a window or patio door to gain access if necessary. It's a safe bet a random alarmed home owner will be less dangerous than your kidnapper .


I just have a hard time imagining why she would have chosen that particular place to pull over, climb into the passenger seat and kill herself intentionally or otherwise. Cars even sometimes just catch fire on their own and drivers fail to escape but if her body was indeed found seated on the passenger side, that hound don't run for me.

Suicides are often done in unusual ways. There was a woman who shot herself after locking herself in the trunk before. Suicide by fire in a car is not something that doesnt happen either.

I see the words "most likely" being thrown out when referring to hollywood style car jackings. IMHO if that was the case, there would be evidence of such. And the fact the if someone was mad max and running women off the highway, car jacking them and lighting them on fire without even robbing them, that would be a public saftey issue that LE would need to let the public know.