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

[Joe Friday]

But do we know when the car blew up? It could have been earlier and the burned out car sat there for awhile.

The car never sat for any amount of time after the fire burned out.

There are several articles which state the fire was extinguished.


Authorities responding to a vehicle fire shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday found Ryan's 2007 Pontiac G6 GT Coupé in the 36500 block of North Route 41 in Warren Township, Illinois, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.

A body was discovered inside the vehicle after the fire was extinguished and authorities were trying to determine its identity Tuesday.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...longing-missing-milwaukee-teacher/2780211002/


Gurnee firefighters summoned to the scene of a burning auto discovered the body after the fire was extinguished.

Body identified as missing Milwaukee teacher

 

[Schmitz5100]

The car never sat for any amount of time after the fire burned out.

There are several articles which state the fire was extinguished.


Authorities responding to a vehicle fire shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday found Ryan's 2007 Pontiac G6 GT Coupé in the 36500 block of North Route 41 in Warren Township, Illinois, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.

A body was discovered inside the vehicle after the fire was extinguished and authorities were trying to determine its identity Tuesday.

'Badly burned body' found in vehicle belonging to missing Milwaukee teacher


Gurnee firefighters summoned to the scene of a burning auto discovered the body after the fire was extinguished.

Body identified as missing Milwaukee teacher

So it was found around 10 pm. It would have been dark enough to drive the car to the location and someone get out and get away without anyone seeing.

 

[Joe Friday]

So it was found around 10 pm. It would have been dark enough to drive the car to the location and someone get out and get away without anyone seeing.

That is a possibility.

That would also mean that somewhere along Kathleen's route she would have had to encounter this person.

One would hope that nearly every place that Kathleen might have stopped such as gas station/truck stop/rest area/restaurant would have had video that hopefully would have captured this encounter if that were the case.

 

[LarkBunting]

Earlier in this thread, we were wondering how the hypothetical perp could dump the car there & get away. Do any locals know if there is public transportation in the area & if it would still be running around 10pm on a Saturday? Maybe a bus?

***Hypothetical*** scenario: perp encounters Ms. Ryan at the nearby mall, Gurnee Mills. (Let’s say the hypothetical perp had his own car parked there & was doing whatever - shopping at the mall, seeing a movie at the theater, making a drug deal in the parking lot, scoping for a victim.) Whatever happens, happens - I can’t imagine; it makes me sick. Perp later finds the hidden driveway spot & sets the car on fire. Could the perp then walk/run to a bus stop, hop on a bus back to the mall, get into his own car, & drive away? This would negate the need for an accomplice, or even an unknowing friend who would have given him a ride afterwards. The perp would then be, literally, the only living person with knowledge of this crime.

Now, this would obviously require accessible public transportation to be feasible, & the perp couldn’t have been obviously burned or reeking of gasoline or accelerant bc I would assume a bus driver or fellow passenger would notice something that obvious.

Or, is the mall close enough to walk back to from the scene where the car was found? I’d have to look at maps again to see.

Again, the above is a totally ***hypothetical*** situation. I am just brainstorming here.

 

[MeJane00]

Earlier in this thread, we were wondering how the hypothetical perp could dump the car there & get away. Do any locals know if there is public transportation in the area & if it would still be running around 10pm on a Saturday? Maybe a bus?

***Hypothetical*** scenario: perp encounters Ms. Ryan at the nearby mall, Gurnee Mills. (Let’s say the hypothetical perp had his own car parked there & was doing whatever - shopping at the mall, seeing a movie at the theater, making a drug deal in the parking lot, scoping for a victim.) Whatever happens, happens - I can’t imagine; it makes me sick. Perp later finds the hidden driveway spot & sets the car on fire. Could the perp then walk/run to a bus stop, hop on a bus back to the mall, get into his own car, & drive away? This would negate the need for an accomplice, or even an unknowing friend who would have given him a ride afterwards. The perp would then be, literally, the only living person with knowledge of this crime.

Now, this would obviously require accessible public transportation to be feasible, & the perp couldn’t have been obviously burned or reeking of gasoline or accelerant bc I would assume a bus driver or fellow passenger would notice something that obvious.

Or, is the mall close enough to walk back to from the scene where the car was found? I’d have to look at maps again to see.

Again, the above is a totally ***hypothetical*** situation. I am just brainstorming here.

Public transportation would take longe than walking. Walking to Gurnee Mills is 50 minutes.

 

[Skylark6]

This caught my eye. While probably not related, it shows how close this kind of activity happens around Gurnee Mills and Carmel High School. Someone mentioned the neighbrohood of Ingleside before. This residence, where two armed and masked men shot the residents of the home (they were guests) was 20 minutes from both Fatmans's restaurant and Gurnee Mills and also Carmel High school. Nine miles from Gurnee Mills, 10 miles from Carmel High School. It is possible a cold-hearted criminal tried to rob or high jack her and it went bad. Maybe she fought back? Maybe they were high and over-reacted? Maybe she witnessed something? What is very odd is that there are no tips. No one saw anything suspicious. No one saw this car or her?
2 men shot after masked intruders enter home, demand money: Lake County sheriff's police

This [Ingleside incident] was an odd one - but from side comments I read, IMHO, it was likely a drug deal gone bad. Also fits with lack of a police alert to watch for armed and dangerous persons in the area.

Back to this case, I suppose that can bring up some unfortunate questions that I really really hate to think of. I'm not going to go there as I've seen nothing to indicate anything like that.
Could have come across someone desperate...albeit that's an unusual MO. And someone needing a quick fix would be unlikely to stick around with her for hours - get what they need and leave.

Just so very weird about the driveway part, especially. I wonder if they recovered a cell phone? I don't recall hearing anything on it.

 

[Razz]

Earlier in this thread, we were wondering how the hypothetical perp could dump the car there & get away. Do any locals know if there is public transportation in the area & if it would still be running around 10pm on a Saturday? Maybe a bus?

***Hypothetical*** scenario: perp encounters Ms. Ryan at the nearby mall, Gurnee Mills. (Let’s say the hypothetical perp had his own car parked there & was doing whatever - shopping at the mall, seeing a movie at the theater, making a drug deal in the parking lot, scoping for a victim.) Whatever happens, happens - I can’t imagine; it makes me sick. Perp later finds the hidden driveway spot & sets the car on fire. Could the perp then walk/run to a bus stop, hop on a bus back to the mall, get into his own car, & drive away? This would negate the need for an accomplice, or even an unknowing friend who would have given him a ride afterwards. The perp would then be, literally, the only living person with knowledge of this crime.

Now, this would obviously require accessible public transportation to be feasible, & the perp couldn’t have been obviously burned or reeking of gasoline or accelerant bc I would assume a bus driver or fellow passenger would notice something that obvious.

Or, is the mall close enough to walk back to from the scene where the car was found? I’d have to look at maps again to see.

Again, the above is a totally ***hypothetical*** situation. I am just brainstorming here.

So in the meantime, was she dead or alive? If she was alive, how did the perp get her to stay in the car while he torched it? And if she was dead while finding a place to torch the car, how did he make it look like she was just a sleeping passenger? Too many things to go wrong.

And did anyone see the flames and smoke right away? There had be an awesome whoosh. Again, it will be important to see if an accelerate was used.

The perp, if there was one, took quite a chance on this particular driveway, even though it was dark. I'd be worried that someone would come home and catch me in the act.

I agree about checking all the gas stations in a 10 mile area to see if the car shows up on video. Is there a way for a car to be torched without an accelerant? I really don't know.

 

[Razz]

Here's an interesting article about clues being left in a burned out car
and how investigators can get anwers.

Up in smoke: This is what happens when you set a car on fire | PropertyCasualty360

 

[Joe Friday]

There are plenty of video's on Youtube of car fires if you want to see just how intense the fire can become without any accelerant being used.

 

[zencompass]

This case saddens me to the core of my heart.

 

[OhThatVictoria]

This case saddens me to the core of my heart.

Yes. I read in a bio for Kathleen that she was a cancer survivor and that hit me hard. One survies cancer to meet this tragic end. It’s so wrong. I hope this case remains a priority, as it should be.

 

[cluciano63]

I just hope it is solved...I hate hearing they do not have leads.

 

[zencompass]

I have hope and faith that the authorities will unearth enough information to arrest the perpetrator . It may take awhile or it could be soon. I can only hope and pray for this.

 

[crhedBngr]

I have hope and faith that the authorities will unearth enough information to arrest the perpetrator . It may take awhile or it could be soon. I can only hope and pray for this.

Yes, @zencompass , agreed. If she was deliberately set on fire, and left to die, that is a crime of the utmost cruelty, IMVHO.

Prayers the perp is caught soon.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Without more evidence this really could be anything:

Smoking and has a heart attack, pulls over, drops cigarette and the car smolders for hours before igniting. possible but improbable

Carjacking/abduction and fire to cover your tracks- but why no ATM transactions?

Domestic incident- hard to conceal this from LE and get home

Bizarre car malfunction and delayed fire- possible but improbable

Suicide- possible but uncommon method (self-immolation)

 

[human]

Older car. Has leak . She feels woozy and pulls into the driveway to regroup.

Where does the fire come into play? Was she a smoker? What else could start a fire? Cell phone malfunction?

 

[Curiousobserver]

Older car. Has leak . She feels woozy and pulls into the driveway to regroup.

Where does the fire come into play? Was she a smoker? What else could start a fire? Cell phone malfunction?

The timing is the issue isn't it. I know the carjacking theory is favored but I just think there would have been ATM transactions identified by now. We would be seeing snapshots of someone using her card somewhere. Something in my head is saying this was an accident except the timing. What could delay a fire by 6-8 or so hours?

 

[Schmitz5100]

The one thing about an accident theory is why was she taking such an unusual route (per her family)? I do think that an accident is a plausible theory but it doesn’t make sense why she took the way to get to the game.

The timing is the issue isn't it. I know the carjacking theory is favored but I just think there would have been ATM transactions identified by now. We would be seeing snapshots of someone using her card somewhere. Something in my head is saying this was an accident except the timing. What could delay a fire by 6-8 or so hours?

 

[diggndeeperstill]

Just reaching, a possible medical episode ? If car was running and parked over tall grass could have ignited the grass and caught on fire.

She does have a cancer history. I wonder if she’s had any signs of a metastasis?

 

[Joe Friday]

The timing is the issue isn't it. I know the carjacking theory is favored but I just think there would have been ATM transactions identified by now. We would be seeing snapshots of someone using her card somewhere. Something in my head is saying this was an accident except the timing. What could delay a fire by 6-8 or so hours?

BBM

If you mean an auto accident, it was reported the fire was not caused by a traffic accident.

Sgt. Christopher Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff´s Office, said the car was found in a private driveway and the fire doesn't appear to have been caused by a traffic crash. Link to Article: The body found in a Milwaukee teacher's car could be identified Thursday