AL AL - Danniella Vian, 24, Mobile, 17 Jul 2018

[ptandj]

One reason I can still see the friend being the second car is that if she was flashing her lights at him that means he was in front of her. That makes sense given the idea that she may not have been that familiar with driving around town since she'd just got the car that day, so she'd be following him.

Let's say she flashed her lights just before the gas station.

He may have had to keep going and turn around to come back, having seen her turn into the station, depending on exactly where he was and the flow of traffic (may not have been able to immediately turn into the station). That would account for the ~3 minute delay before the second car turned up.

The first car could have just been any car, like maybe one right behind her that noticed her act oddly when she realized her phone was missing and got upset (maybe she swerved a little while looking for it or if it was dark maybe they could see that her lights were flashing from behind her). I could see her friend in front of her having to continue to turn around but a car behind her following her right in and checking to see if she's ok. She'd probably say, "Yeah fine, thanks" and they'd carry on pretty fast, and then her friend would have circled back and would stay longer with her.

Just saying, I still think it's possible and would fit with the timing of the cars.

 

[SuziQ]

Im not sure which direction her car went when she left the shell station. But there is a good size river and bridge right by there. Has this been checked?

 

[Momma2cam]

I think when we hear GPS we all assume its GPS on the phone.
In this case, they are referring to the GPS in her car.

Thank you. That makes a whole lot of sense. Wouldn't the cameras show if someone got into her vehicle and potentially disabled the GPS/on Star?

 

[SuziQ]

Why is Google maps so difficult to use the days? I'm not able to link the map that shows the most likely route to take from the Dublin pub to the shell station. Danniella would have crossed the Dog River. And crossing it again to head back to the pub.

 

[ptandj]

Why is Google maps so difficult to use the days? I'm not able to link the map that shows the most likely route to take from the Dublin pub to the shell station. Danniella would have crossed the Dog River. And crossing it again to head back to the pub.

Something like this? Google Maps

I have the stop at the Shell station and what it sounds like the rest of the route would have been, had she not turned back.

 

[ptandj]

Poking some holes in my own theory above, it doesn't look from the satellite view that it would be the kind of exit her friend would miss unless she really did flash her lights at the very last second before heading off the exit, and if he continued past the exit it seems like it might take him more than 3 extra minutes to catch up to her at the gas station...

 

[ptandj]

Here's another map: Google Maps

This one shows going back towards The Dublin. It is not the suggested route from Google Maps but it retraces her steps, which is what I imagine she would probably try to do on her own without GPS available and if she lost her friend's car.

Which makes me wonder which route her friend went to get back and if she somehow missed his first turn out of the Shell and then went a different way...

Screen shot attached as well, with the yellow arrow the route to the station and the orange away back toward I-65 to go back to The Dublin.

 

[theides]

Here are a couple of screenshots from Google Maps of the Dog River crossings in this part of town. I've never actually jumped in, so I can't say for sure, but it's my understanding that it's shallow within this area. Maybe 1-2 feet deep would be my guess. You can get a sense of it from these pictures. Hopefully MPD have taken a look anyways, but I think a submerged vehicle at least would be fairly obvious. Again, though, I haven't jumped in or measured it before, so I can't say for absolute certain.

 

[Stunned]

Looks more like a Creek.

 

[theides]

Looks more like a Creek.

Agreed. For a long time, I didn't even realize it was considered to be part of Dog River. I thought it was just another creek. It gets way more river-like south of I-10, but that's a ways away from where we currently know Danniella to have been.

 

[SuziQ]

Something like this? Google Maps

I have the stop at the Shell station and what it sounds like the rest of the route would have been, had she not turned back.

that is it. Thank you!

 

[Alethea]

Thanks theides, that is extremely helpful. I was definitely picturing a fast-moving river, not a little creek.

 

[SuperTmo]

If her friend had to turn around and come back to the gas station (hypothetically), making him the 3rd car to pull in, why would they sit there for so long? It’s a simple matter of calling her phone to see if it rings or lights up, taking a quick look under the seat and then leaving.

Which makes me wonder, how does the GPS /onStar get disabled? I know there are a variety of wires under the seat in my car along with some component of the sound system. Could her friend have disabled the tracking by pulling loose some of those wires? I know nothing about cars so don’t laugh!

 

[ptandj]

They were only there for 16 minutes in total, that's not that long if she was digging all around the seats and her phone was on vibrate or something where she wouldn't have heard it. Add in a little bit of conversation about why she pulled over and about going back and how to get back, and I think 16 minutes is on the long side of reasonable.

I just reread the timeline and I don't think it says anything about anyone getting out of the cars. Anyone know anything about that?

Apologies if it's in the video, I don't like watching them and I usually have small people around.

I feel like 16 minutes is extraordinarily long for a drug deal, or carjacking, or anything like that, too...

 

[Sd8503]

After thinking about the drug deal for a minute im not sure if that would have worked without her phone. If she doesnt have her phone then she wouldnt be able to set it up unless it was set up earlier to meet at the gas station at that particular time. Sounds like the gas station stop was never in the plan though or she wouldnt have needed to flash her headlights for her friend to pull over. The friend would have known already to meet up there I would think.

 

[CTPDMom]

Bumping up for Danniella. She's been on my mind.

I hope today is the day she is located!!

 

[Alethea]

Bumping- if anyone is local, are they covering this on the local news?

 

[whatinthekentuckyhell]

Do we know if the second car that pulled in was a different car or is that an assumption? What if the friend realized she wasn’t behind her and went back?
I think this friend needs to be seriously looked at.
Why isn’t he speaking out? Why is the news keeping his name so close under wraps?

 

[theides]

Reward offered for info on missing Mobile woman

While little information has been released by MPD, Battiste did say Thursday that Vian does not have a history running away or leaving town with notifying anyone.

Her family has also said they didn’t notice any strange behavior leading up to Vian’s disappearance on July 17, either.

“One thing about it, we’re continuing to check potential areas that she would have traveled through and doing everything we can to find anything that might assist us in any kind of way,” Battiste said. “We’re using every available resource that we have to bring Daniella home alive. That’s the ultimate goal.”​

 

[Vail]

How was the last GPS data on the phone at 11 pm at the shell station if the phone was in the parking lot of Dublins?.

Just to confirm, mentions of GPS are referring to the car, and her phone ping information has not been disclosed.

Why is Google maps so difficult to use the days? I'm not able to link the map that shows the most likely route to take from the Dublin pub to the shell station. Danniella would have crossed the Dog River. And crossing it again to head back to the pub.

I don't see any way she could have accidentally driven into it right there, and something happened to the GPS at that Shell (if the info LE is giving us is truthful).

I just realized how much like Toni Anderson this case feels.

I just reread the timeline and I don't think it says anything about anyone getting out of the cars. Anyone know anything about that?

Apologies if it's in the video, I don't like watching them and I usually have small people around.

I feel like 16 minutes is extraordinarily long for a drug deal, or carjacking, or anything like that, too...

The video was not released to the public for some reason, and LE has not disclosed which car they believe is which. This is likely to keep the identity of POIs under wraps for now.

I'm going to try to get a home location for her as I feel it is important to know where her reference point is if lost.