AL AL - Brittney Wood, 19, Mobile, 31 May 2012 - # 3

[ConcernedOutsider]

I have been here since day one. I have read every thread from the beginning AND read and re-read the timeline...and I still forget things. You have to admit that this case can be very confusing.

Yes Yes it can but somethings are very clear and in the timeline. For example just a few posts up it is asked if DH commits suicide on 05/31 around the time of BWs last ping. If the timeline was read then it would be known we have DHs suicide as 06/01. I am not being ugly I promise. However reclarifying things that have already been answered several times clogs the threads up and has others not wanting to read all the threads to catch up. As you can tell from the drop in comments here...i believe frustration of seeing the same posts could be a part of it. I hope everyone stays here and continues to rack our brains so we can continue to keep focus on finding BW. All I ask is please read the threads...study the timeline. Post questions with correct dates and times to the best of everyones ability!! This is a great group of people

 

[ConcernedOutsider]

Lets look at this....from the start

Supposedly BW asks to go to DHs but is told she has to find a ride

05/30 BW tells friend she is going to DHs but her mom she is going to a friends (we assume because her mother would not approve of her going to DHs...possibly drug related)

Since DH and BW were close what if she had a feeling (for whatever reason) that DH was suicidal and she wanted to go there to comfort her uncle during this sad time

05/31 around 12am BW phone pings at Styx River
what if she makes it there...hangs out with DH and then asks him for a ride to one of her many friends that live in Grand Bay

05/31 around 140am BW phone pings in GrandBay (at or near TA truck stop)
what if DH drops BW off (maybe her friend met them at the truckstop)

06/01 DH commits suicide

Now this scenario takes the uncles out of the situation (because that is a possibilty)....who could have met BW? Could DH have dropped her off there for a friend to meet her and the friend didnt show and something happened to BW while she waited (the friend could feel guilty for not showing up and that is why they arent talking openly to LE...remember the person she text last claims they were too high to remember what the text said)?? What are peoples thoughts of what could have happened based off of a scenario that the uncles arent involved. Stranger things have happened and it could be coincidence.

 

[sadnpod]

Wait a minute, please, let’s remind ourselves that this case involves:

Missing young woman, mother of small child
Rape
Sodomy
Incest
Drugs
Gun
Suicide
[did I miss any?]

Not the sort of things that even the PR credo (“No news is bad news!”) would seek out to cover - the lack of media attention has nothing to do with race or monetary worth!!

This family needs to be very creative and assertive to get the message out there. IMO

IMO, those are the very things that usually grab media attention. Dirty Laundry and all that. I dont believe race is a factor.. but money talks. This family is, by all accounts, devastated on all sides.

snipped:
the lack of media attention has nothing to do with race or monetary worth!!

Can I get a link for that? :floorlaugh: (just kidding) Why do you (or anyone else) think this case has gotten so little coverage considering all the facets involved?

 

[cluciano63]

IMO, those are the very things that usually grab media attention. Dirty Laundry and all that. I dont believe race is a factor.. but money talks. This family is, by all accounts, devastated on all sides.

snipped:
the lack of media attention has nothing to do with race or monetary worth!!

Can I get a link for that? :floorlaugh: (just kidding) Why do you (or anyone else) think this case has gotten so little coverage considering all the facets involved?

I was thinking the same thing-the elements in this case are headline grabbers, sad to say. And yet still not much interest.

It is troubling that the various LE agencies do not appear to be on the same page, regarding Brittney's status. That is not helpful.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Unfortunately, this is not unique to BW's case. I have followed a lot these cases over the years, way before I even joined WS. At some point, in all of these cases some criticism happens. The truth is that no family is ever prepared to handle a missing person case and many times they make mistakes and are judged for it. Other times, they are too smooth and are judged for that, too. Many of the organizations that exist to help families of the missing were started because the majority of the population does not know what to do when a loved one goes missing.

Something that most people don't realize is that the media monitors facebook and other social media pages while they are evaluating the newsworthiness of certain topics. They run the same web searches and follow the same approach that many of us follow. No chatter, means no interest. They do a quick and dirty review of what is being talked about and make a decision. I heard that directly from a member of my family that interned at a local news station. Social media is critical in many of these cases and interest from non-involved, non-locals carries much less weight than local interest. I don't want to say any more than that because I don't want to break any rules.

How did they determine "newsworthiness" before social media?

 

[cluciano63]

How did they determine "newsworthiness" before social media?

Wasn't it the old "if it bleeds, it leads..."

 

[Quester]

IMO, those are the very things that usually grab media attention. Dirty Laundry and all that. I dont believe race is a factor.. but money talks. This family is, by all accounts, devastated on all sides.

snipped:
the lack of media attention has nothing to do with race or monetary worth!!

Can I get a link for that? :floorlaugh: (just kidding) Why do you (or anyone else) think this case has gotten so little coverage considering all the facets involved?

BBM
I think tabu subjects are still pretty tricky for the media.
Family is staying pretty tight lipped.
The drug involvement seems to have muffled the locals.
Few updates from LE.

What are your thoughts on the media silence?

 

[Deleted member 718]

Yes Yes it can but somethings are very clear and in the timeline. For example just a few posts up it is asked if DH commits suicide on 05/31 around the time of BWs last ping. If the timeline was read then it would be known we have DHs suicide as 06/01. I am not being ugly I promise. However reclarifying things that have already been answered several times clogs the threads up and has others not wanting to read all the threads to catch up. As you can tell from the drop in comments here...i believe frustration of seeing the same posts could be a part of it. I hope everyone stays here and continues to rack our brains so we can continue to keep focus on finding BW. All I ask is please read the threads...study the timeline. Post questions with correct dates and times to the best of everyones ability!! This is a great group of people

Sadly I think the postings have dropped off due to no new news. What more can we do but rehash the facts. I don't mind the new posters just coming on the thread at all. The more eyes the better. If they ask questions for clarification, then I'm more than happy to help. I've come late into cases and some of these posters are the same ones who have bent over backwards helping me to catch up. Maybe being new to WS you haven't experienced the camaraderie we posters show each other.

As far as the fantastic timeline, nothing is cement as it's been updated as new facts are learned. I take a statement from LE over anyone else. Who knows what motive "someone and someone else" might have in the timing of the suicide.

Hope that helps, my opinion only. :seeya:

 

[sadnpod]

Correct me if I'm wrong!
UBM
According to the timeline, the Grand Bay truck stop cell ping was Thursday 5/31 @ 1:47am.
Are they saying that was around the same time of DH's suicide?
If so, that is around the same time, 5/31 @ 1:42am, "someone" posts not being able to sleep and having a sick child to take to the doctors in the morning.
Which in turn kinda screws up the Friday morning drop off of DH, drop off of boys, then 1 1/2 hour later finding DH information.

Or I could totally be reading the statement wrong! (I have just spent the last 3 hours trying to sort out the timeline to simplify it for my simple mind...lots of bolding and colors!!!)

GREAT catch! Im reading it the same way you are. I have tons of questions for "someone" and I would hope LE did too.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Wasn't it the old "if it bleeds, it leads..."

And also, "Dog walks man = news"

 

[sadnpod]

I think tabu subjects are still pretty tricky for the media.
Family is staying pretty tight lipped.
The drug involvement seems to have muffled the locals.
Few updates from LE.

What are your thoughts on the media silence?

I hear what you are saying and agree with all your reasons. I guess Im becoming jaded. Ive just seen so many cases that get little attention (that involve drugs, risky lifestyles, etc) compared to others where the family had money and the missing seemed more "innocent".

I think resourses and support are instrumental in obtaining attention in any case. I dont feel like BW's family has an abundance of either.

One thing I know for sure, if someone you love is missing.. you will be under a judgemental spotlight like no other. A spotlight I dont think anyone could withstand without some skeletons appearing to make you look less than perfect.

 

[TXangel]

Rest assured that word IS getting out in the community. When the search took place, I think 4 different people did mass posts that ended up on my page. Same for the candlelight vigil. And at least once a day someone different on my friends list mass posts the missing poster. I do it myself once or twice a week with word to please pass it on. This is sent to everyone on my list- all over the state, region and country. So word is getting out.

 

[NMmommy]

I'm new to this site and only stumbled across it a few weeks ago after googling BW after seeing the story on hln. I have read all 3 threads about BW and I just find this whole situation sad. I cannot separate the suicide from BW going missing. In the beginning I went to WWH's facebook and I saw for myself her posts as well as the responses from others before they were deleted, and I must say I immediately thought there was something up with her. In my opinion I felt as though she was upset people were directing their concern toward BW going missing rather than giving her sympathy for what had happened to her, just my opinion. I have to wonder if maybe possibly BW had more than just a friendly or niece/Uncle relationship with DH, as sick as that may be to some people they were not blood related and I have read several posts stating they were close. I know a lot of young mothers who have relationships with older men, not because they love them but because they feel secure. There was a reason she was headed to see him and there is also a reason only her bestfriend knew where she was headed. I have to wonder if someone caught them together and hurt BW, possibly out of jealousy and maybe DH couldn't face what had happened so he took the cowards way out, just a theory I think could possibly have happened. I understand DH was set to be questioned by LE the day he killed himself but he had known of these allegations for months I can't see him waiting till that day to kill himself. His suicide seemed like a spur of the moment kind of thing if he had 4 months to kill himself seems as though he would have got a gun that he knew would kill him instantly not a dinky chick gun, again just my opinion.
One more thing I wanted to say was that it has been speculated BW was an addict. To those who think she is less of a person or less deserving of help because she has a disease, you disgust me! Addiction is a disease that affects not only addicts but the people they love, I myself am not a drug user but I have known some and I have also loved some. If you have never been affected by addiction than that is awesome for you however there are those of us who have.

***just a note this is all my opinion****

 

[eileenhawkeye]

It's unfortunate but if I had to guess, I think the reason why the media isn't pursuing this case is because they don't think it will bring in high ratings. You might disagree with that, but the press has been covering crime stories for decades, and by now, they probably have a pretty good idea of what types of cases, bring in the $$$.

I also think that Brittney being a mother, of a daughter she had at age 16 or 17, has also played a part in the lack of attention. You might think it makes the case more "sensational" but I think it drives the media and public away. Teen moms don't really have a good reputation in this country.

Think about how Haleigh Cummings didn't get as much coverage as Caylee. Haleigh's case was sensational too, and her family was too. But I think sometimes it can get to be "too much" for the media and the public.

 

[sadnpod]

I'm new to this site and only stumbled across it a few weeks ago after googling BW after seeing the story on hln. I have read all 3 threads about BW and I just find this whole situation sad. I cannot separate the suicide from BW going missing. In the beginning I went to WWH's facebook and I saw for myself her posts as well as the responses from others before they were deleted, and I must say I immediately thought there was something up with her. In my opinion I felt as though she was upset people were directing their concern toward BW going missing rather than giving her sympathy for what had happened to her, just my opinion. I have to wonder if maybe possibly BW had more than just a friendly or niece/Uncle relationship with DH, as sick as that may be to some people they were not blood related and I have read several posts stating they were close. I know a lot of young mothers who have relationships with older men, not because they love them but because they feel secure. There was a reason she was headed to see him and there is also a reason only her bestfriend knew where she was headed. I have to wonder if someone caught them together and hurt BW, possibly out of jealousy and maybe DH couldn't face what had happened so he took the cowards way out, just a theory I think could possibly have happened. I understand DH was set to be questioned by LE the day he killed himself but he had known of these allegations for months I can't see him waiting till that day to kill himself. His suicide seemed like a spur of the moment kind of thing if he had 4 months to kill himself seems as though he would have got a gun that he knew would kill him instantly not a dinky chick gun, again just my opinion.
One more thing I wanted to say was that it has been speculated BW was an addict. To those who think she is less of a person or less deserving of help because she has a disease, you disgust me! Addiction is a disease that affects not only addicts but the people they love, I myself am not a drug user but I have known some and I have also loved some. If you have never been affected by addiction than that is awesome for you however there are those of us who have.

***just a note this is all my opinion****

BBM (I dont think anyone here feels that way)

Welcome! Youve made some excellent points.

 

[cluciano63]

It's unfortunate but if I had to guess, I think the reason why the media isn't pursuing this case is because they don't think it will bring in high ratings. You might disagree with that, but the press has been covering crime stories for decades, and by now, they probably have a pretty good idea of what types of cases, bring in the $$$.

I also think that Brittney being a mother, of a daughter she had at age 16 or 17, has also played a part in the lack of attention. You might think it makes the case more "sensational" but I think it drives the media and public away. Teen moms don't really have a good reputation in this country.

Think about how Haleigh Cummings didn't get as much coverage as Caylee. Haleigh's case was sensational too, and her family was too. But I think sometimes it can get to be "too much" for the media and the public.

Also, the media has a preconceived notion about who they believe watches the news...and what they will respond to. I don't think they gear the news toward lower-income Americans very often and they don't believe that "their" audience will be as interested in news from these communities as much as the same situation (missing teen, etc...) from suburbia. There is a sense of "outrage" from the newscasters that is almost palatable when they report on something happening to an upscale wife, mother or teen...JMO

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I know BW's phone pinged in the Styx River area. But, it sounded to me like DH's wife, when she posted about it on FB (and I read it myself directly from the FB page), was saying that when BW had asked Uncle D if she could come to his house, she, BW, was asking about coming to the house in Fairhope, not Styx River. If the witness is not credible and BW was not actually sighted at Styx River then perhaps BW made it to Fairhope but only her phone made it to Styx River. DH's wife said that BW had asked to come and DH said she could but she had to find a ride. That comment sounded to me like she was attempting to emphasize the idea that someone gave BW a ride, someone who was not her and was not DH.

What if BW made it to Fairhope, something happened to her, her phone then made it to Styx River but she wasn't with her phone? Uncle D could have went to Styx River from Fairhope or wherever on his motorcycle and maybe that has something to do with his wife driving him back to Fairhope on Friday morning. Maybe they wanted to ride together, so they took the car.

Where is Uncle D's motorcycle? I know the area of the suicide was checked-out but what KIND of checking out was done? I think there needs to be an organized search for Brittney everywhere between the Fairhope location and Fish River/suicide location.

Do we KNOW that BW knew that Uncle D was in Styx River? If she didn't know about the investigation into his activities then maybe she didn't know he wasn't staying at his own home. Does the family know if she actually was headed for Styx River? Did she tell her friend she was going to see DH at Styx River or just going to see him?

Many good points and questions, MotherOcean!

The two that stands out to me right now are:

Could BW actually have intended to go to the Fairhope house instead of the Styx River abode?

And, could DH's use of a motorcycle have played a part in the transportation circumstances (all of which have me completely confused!) :crazy:

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

That's because nothing's been in the Press-Register since the 8th. The Lagniappe (published every other week) covered the newest developments on the 27th. That was a week after Randall Scott Wood and Dustin Kent were arrested.

O/T... but... Dr_TJ_Eckleburg.....

Are you looking forward to the new movie version of The Great Gatsby coming out in December (from what I understand)?

My DD and I are very intrigued!:seeya:

 

[amysmom]

I'm still waiting for the rest of the iceberg to appear. I mean, LE talked like something big was imminent. The silence is deafening...

The way LE was talking this could involve a sex ring, child , trafficking..All of these "horrific" crimes typically are run by very dangerous criminals=I seriously don't think any of the uncles are the 'ring leaders'..This could also=Brit being an 'informant'..If this were to be accurate then I can see Brit needing to be put in some form of 'protective custody'..Not even her mother would know but LE could tell her they truly believe she's not dead but can't say why..Something like that to help relieve some of her fear..Of course, she still wants to find her so she wouldn't be disingenuous asking for help from the public.

I get this ALL seems unlikely & more like a movie then real life (to most of us) but it's cos this case is so OUT there that I even thought of this scenario..I really wish LE would make their move or at least tell us more so this guessing-game can stop..<sigh>

 

[MotherOcean]

Why do you (or anyone else) think this case has gotten so little coverage considering all the facets involved?

This is why:

Because people think that her phone was turned on six days after she went missing. That is what was reported through the media. Now, Zeaux has informed us that that was incorrect information and the phone was not really turned on. But, that has not been corrected through the media. General public thinks her phone was turned on and assume that means she is just hiding somewhere and that belief is further strengthened in their minds because the focus of the last couple of public appeals was for Brittney to just come home, don't worry about being in trouble, just call us, just let us know you are o.k. People now are seeing this as a family issue and not a possible criminal issue. That is MOO but I am convinced of it.

People (general public) aren't focusing on Brittney and so the media is not focusing on Brittney.

Having said that, there are still some people who are talking and wondering about Brittney so momentum could pick back up quickly and I hope this erroneous information about her cell phone being turned on six days after she went missing will get cleared up through the media and SOON.

I know this because I have been talking to people about BW constantly and everyone thinks her phone was turned on, she must be hiding, she'll come home when she is ready to do so.