WV WV - Leah Hickman, 21, Huntington, 14 Dec 2007 - #1

[Taximom]

I do hope they looked in the laundry room. I believe they said it looked like she was getting ready to do laundry, so my first thought was she had piles of dirty clothes in the apt ready to go. They showed one picture that looked like a pile of clothes with keys on top.

Did someone knock on her door? I imagine if someone tried to abduct her she would have fought unless they used some type of chloroform etc. The one street by her building is a very busy main street from what the officer said. What about back doors and parking lots etc?

Anyone local enough to drive by her apartment building?

If the other 2 units were empty, was there any maintenance being done by strangers? Where's the landlord?

 

[Mommyofthree]

Was it an apartment or some type of dormatory? Any cameras or video footage of the hallways. Whether on each apt. floor or by any of the exits inside or out? Are there any neighbors that could've heard something possibly?

 

[Taximom]

If the picture I saw on Greta's show is the building, then it looks like a 4-unit 2 floor building. I think it might have been on a corner as well.

 

[christine2448]

Was it an apartment or some type of dormatory? Any cameras or video footage of the hallways. Whether on each apt. floor or by any of the exits inside or out? Are there any neighbors that could've heard something possibly?

IIRC there was a small apt building with 4 apts, Leah and sister lived in one, 2 were vacant and the 4th the man was outta town.

The apt sits on the main road of town and is near houses is how the explained it on Greta last night.

 

[christine2448]

So far I can only find one from 1988...but it shows you how close her apt was to major road there....will get some road maps and see what all the connecting roads are:

 

[christine2448]

Is this right? The river is right there??

 

[Angelray]

Is this right? The river is right there??

Hi Christine, the Ohio river is just a few blocks from there, there is also a park that runs along the river behind the flood wall. Have drove down there at night and it is really dark and scary to me at night. No houses at all on that side. Seem like there is a parking garage, red lobster, mostly parking lots, then a road, then a flood wall, then the behind that is the park and river. Very dark back there.

 

[NewMommy09]

I'm so glad you guys are discussing Leah's case here at WS. I was reading about her at another forum, but one of the posters is kinda going on a rampage about Leah's sister, and also her friends on myspace. The poster believes it is a crude joke that Leah's friends have changed their myspace names and pics to be about Leah's missing. I guess this person is entitled to their oppinion, but I think her friends are only trying to help. So I'm glad to see people discussing other (more promising in my oppinion) aspects of her case.

I had not heard anything about the laundry before.

I just have a really strong feeling in this case, that whoever took Leah did not know her, or had stalked her for awhile but not been close.
I hope she comes home safe and very soon.

 

[Talisman]

Was hoping to hear that they have brought dogs in to help with searching. The sooner the better! When a person is missing that is one of the first things they should do (imo)!! Don't waste any valuable time!!:banghead:

My heart is just breaking for this family. Praying so hard for a safe return of Leah and a wonderful Christmas present for those that love her.


(Taximom and sleuthin4fun, thank you for the comments about my daughter. It is just so scary anymore when your kids are old enough to be on their own. Frightening what can happen in just a few momments. My heart truly is breaking for this family.)

 

[jennyjwv]

Hey Lionheart! No I have not posted any fliers in the Wayne area - I live in Spring Valley and work and have a 1-year old so weekdays are not good for getting anything done! If you are close you may want to try and post some.
I do remember the other girl a few years ago but I can't remember her name either....
Gosh I hope they find her okay and soon....

 

[Taximom]

When I looked at Leah's myspace I did not see anything that stood out. It was quite tame compared to some I've seen! There were some questionable comments by a few guys, but one apparently lived out of state and I thought surely LE would have looked at all of them anyway.

A lot of her "friends" had changed their myspace names to "looking for Leah" etc. Are they saying there's something wrong with that?

I do wonder if there was foul play involved that maybe something was intended for the sister instead of Leah. That's really only if there's foul play involved. Of course, some weirdo could have followed her home. I hope someone driving by saw something.

I do think it's weird that Leah and her sister did not talk about their individual plans for the evening. Apparently her sister was doing the normal weekend routine of going to her boyfriend's place. "What are you doing tonight?" is one of those questions that even strangers ask each other, so I thought it was weird that her sister said she didn't ask.

 

[Angelray]

Hey Lionheart! No I have not posted any fliers in the Wayne area - I live in Spring Valley and work and have a 1-year old so weekdays are not good for getting anything done! If you are close you may want to try and post some.
I do remember the other girl a few years ago but I can't remember her name either....
Gosh I hope they find her okay and soon....

Hi, tell me where to download them or where to get them I would be glad to try and post a few out in this area.

 

[SuziQ]

Does anyone have info on Leah's clothes basket, dirty laundry, detergent, etc? Were they found anywhere?

 

[NewMommy09]

Taximom,
Yes, apparently this poster feels that changing the nics and pics on myspace is making a big joke out of Leah's being missing. They are entitled to their oppinion of course, but I got tired of weeding through those posts to the ones I felt were relevant. So I'm glad to be here at WS with all of you.

Talisman, here is a link to a story that states dogs have been used.

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/071219-seaton-localmissingmustudent.html

 

[jennyjwv]

Police investigate new leads in Hickman disappearance

Dec 20, 2007 @ 11:45 AM

By BEN FIELDS & CURTIS JOHNSON

HUNTINGTON -- Investigators are tracking a couple new leads today in the disappearance of Leah Hickman, according to Huntington Police Capt. Steve Hall.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to finding the 21-year-old Marshall University student. The reward is being offered by the woman's employer, The Dress Barn in Barboursville.
Friends have organized a candlelight vigil for 6 tonight at the university.
PDF: Original missing person report filed with the Huntington Police Department.Hickman, a junior journalism student, hasn't been seen since Friday afternoon. Family members said she wasn't answering her phone Friday night, and they contacted police after she failed to show up for work on Saturday and Sunday.
Her purse, keys and other personal items were still in her apartment in the 400 block of 8th Avenue after she disappeared, and her car was still parked at the residence.
Hall would not elaborate on the nature of this morning’s leads. He said the people “we need to talk to read the paper, too, and I don’t want to tip our hands.”
With no indication of Hickman’s whereabouts, Hall said investigators are still treating her disappearance as involving foul play. He said police have not detected any cellular phone or financial activity.
“We’re still hopeful that she’s going to pop up and want to know what the big deal is,” he said. “That is our hopes and prayers ... It’s just like any case, you treat it as if she is the victim of foul play until you prove otherwise.”
Hall said anyone with information is still encouraged to call the department’s detective brueau at (304) 696-4420.
The case is starting to garner national attention. An Associated Press video appears this morning on news Web sites across the nation. Leah’s story is also receiving national coverage from from ABC, Fox and MSNBC.
Also, two Facebook groups now have nearly 1,500 people committed praying and keeping their eyes open for any sign of the missing student.
West Virginia State Police assisted Huntington Police in canvassing Hickman's neighborhood for about two hours Wednesday, but authorities said they didn't turn up anything new.
"We just wanted to make sure there wasn't any evidence we had missed," Huntington Police Sgt. John Williams said.
State Police Trooper Ronnie Drake said authorities also questioned sex offenders in the area.
Both said no new evidence was found. Williams said there was no sign of a struggle at Hickman's apartment.
Family members said that Hickman wasn't in a relationship, but had been on a few dates recently with a fellow Marshall student. Police said the student is not a suspect in Hickman's disappearance.
Caitlin Starkey, a friend of Hickman, said in addition to the vigil, friends are organizing a search party for sometime this week, and will conduct a benefit concert Friday night at Marley's Dog House with the doors opening at 9 p.m. and bands playing at 10 p.m. All proceeds go toward the continued search effort, Starkey said.
"We're trying to find her," Starkey said. "We're just trying to stay busy and not just sit around and wait."
Family members have made continued efforts to keep the case in the public eye. Hickman's sister, Jessica Vickers, talked about the case in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday morning.
Anyone with information on Hickman's whereabouts is asked to contact the Huntington Police Department at (304) 696-4444.

REWARD FUND: The Leah Hickman Reward Fund is being administered by The Huntington National Bank. Those who would like to pledge additional dollars to the Reward Fund can contact the Huntington Banking Office at (304) 526-4600 or send funds to The Huntington National Bank, 919 5th Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701.

link http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x1287098516

I will try to find if there is a link to a missing persons flier - the police report is located @ that link but no missing persons flier

 

[christine2448]

Taximom,
Yes, apparently this poster feels that changing the nics and pics on myspace is making a big joke out of Leah's being missing. They are entitled to their oppinion of course, but I got tired of weeding through those posts to the ones I felt were relevant. So I'm glad to be here at WS with all of you.

Talisman, here is a link to a story that states dogs have been used.

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/071219-seaton-localmissingmustudent.html

As we are happy to have you here posting with us!

 

[SuziQ]

There is no cellphone activity, but what about the pings? The phone would still ping if the phone was on. And did the calls to her family go straight to voicemail? That would indicate the phone was off or battery was run down.

The apartment was locked, so let's say Leah locked herself out. She would have called her sister. If Leah needed to retrieve something from her car, she would have taken her keys. Same for doing laundry.

Now if this is an abduction, then why not leave the phone and let it continue to ping at her apartment? Why would the phone be taken? Because the perp knows their info, phone number, email or something is on that phone and doesn't want anyone to access it.

 

[christine2448]

I will try to find if there is a link to a missing persons flier - the police report is located @ that link but no missing persons flier

Links to Poster

PDF

JPG

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I am not understanding why she thinks its making a big joke out of it? I can only imagine the more people who see Leah's picture the better... They want and need to get her name and picture out there!

Taximom,
Yes, apparently this poster feels that changing the nics and pics on myspace is making a big joke out of Leah's being missing. They are entitled to their oppinion of course, but I got tired of weeding through those posts to the ones I felt were relevant. So I'm glad to be here at WS with all of you.

Talisman, here is a link to a story that states dogs have been used.

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/071219-seaton-localmissingmustudent.html

 

[Taximom]

That's what scares me about this case a little. It seems like the phone was turned off at some point. IIRC, the officer on Greta's show said the 5:45 call from the McD's was the last call and there were no pings after that. Maybe it just died though... I think I also remember someone saying that the mom's calls around 9 went to VM.

She had just gotten her grades and was happy with them. Her myspace "mood" indicated "relieved". Possibly about the grades?

She was talking with her sister that afternoon about the classes she was going to take next semester. This doesn't sound like someone that was going to go jump in the river.

From what I understand it "looked" like she was getting ready to do laundry. I assumed that meant all the stuff was still in her apartment because they showed a pic of it on Greta. It did not look like the pic was from the basement laundry area.

I want to know if they really checked out the other tenant's alibi. Did he just say he was out of town, or does he have proof. One guy, two pretty girls...you never know.

Stillhoping, we're glad to have you! I wonder if this particular poster you speak of doth protest too much. Has anyone tried to figure out who that poster is over there? I don't know what forum you are speaking of, but would like to look at it if you have a link. Thanks!