AL AL - J.B. Beasley, 17, & Tracie Hawlett, 17, Ozark, 31 July 1999 #2

[somequestions]

I have driven all the roads in that area. Whoever ditched the car was local or from the immediate area. Aerial shots don't convey it the same as being there.

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Does the roads and signs look the same as in July 1999? The roads on a map look like they wind around except for when you are in the town of Ozark, AL. I agree it helps to be from the area to get a better sense of what might roads J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett might have traveled that night.

If J.B. Beasley was the person who got the directions directly from the woman at the gas station, then examining the driving decisions she made is kind of interesting. For example, when they called from the payphone at the first gas station in Headland, they then traveled north which was the right general direction towards the party. But the main road curved going east but the signs would still say north. It looks to me that the driver, J.B. Beasley, followed sign directions. So if a sign said she is heading north, she thinks she is heading north. And in reality, they ended up going east all the way over to Ozark, AL. and being familiar with Ozark, they stopped, realizing they were definitely in the wrong place. If for example, their true destination was Ozark AL, wouldn't it have been better to go there in a straight line on the main road then a roundabout circle way of getting there?

I would be surprised if they even got to the main road back to Dothan, AL.

 

[December]

This is the first time I have ever read they were in Ozark on purpose besides the "cop party" they allegedly attended. So if the police angle is not correct, why did they intentionally go to Ozark? How did you verify they went there on purpose? From Jacqui I believed we learned they were to meet someone around the Midland City area that night, not Ozark.

I am not from Alabama. I took something Jacqui said to mean they went to Ozark on purpose, but maybe I was wrong.

However, there has been this idea around that they got lost trying to go somewhere not on the way to Ozark and maybe what Jacqui was saying was they were actually going somewhere around Ozark. So, it isn't that surprising they ended up there and they recognized the town. Media reports have made it sound like they would have been utterly bewildered and it doesn't sound like they were.

I cannot wrap my head around these five million field parties. I went to a "party school" for college and I don't think we had as many parties in a year as were supposed to be happening that night if these however many towns these girls were driving through.

But, I did think of one thing... Tracie called her mother and said something about being lost. But, that doesn't mean they were lost at that very second or they got lost all the way to Ozark. It only means they got lost at some point that night and this put them behind schedule.

 

[December]

Well, my early theory on this is they turned into the wrong place and ran into the wrong kind of people. Some of these people may not always be around where others might be from the area (I know I am making it sound like an army, but I am thinking three or four people).

And just because the car got driven so much it ran out of gas, that doesn't mean J.B. and Tracie were with it the whole time. It could have been taken on an errand, then brought back to be used to help get rid of the girls.

 

[somequestions]

A lot of towns have signs that say something like, in this case, "Welcome to Ozark". If J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett came in to town from the east and saw a sign like that, knowing then they made a mistake, what would be the first gas station they could stop at?

 

[killarney rose]

A lot of towns have signs that say something like, in this case, "Welcome to Ozark". If J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett came in to town from the east and saw a sign like that, knowing then they made a mistake, what would be the first gas station they could stop at?

The best I can recall it would be the Big/Little that they stopped at to ask directions.

 

[December]

I heard about a solved murder once... The girl and her car were put in the river.

But, the guy who murdered her drove her car a bunch before he did this because he liked her car. She wasn't in it at the time. It was a nice enough car, but it was just a regular car. So, murderers do weird things like this.

Maybe J.B. and Tracie decided to try to escape while someone was driving the car through the mud and other stupid things. This explains the dirty car, the lack of gas, and their wet and muddy clothes.

 

[somequestions]

The best I can recall it would be the Big/Little that they stopped at to ask directions.

I personally think the best way to solve this case is to just go and check virtually any location in Ozark, AL that had a working payphone. Females have been kidnapped walking to or using payphones before and that seems to me like the most likely explanation if they were not stopped by someone on the road. I think what happened was if they went in circles they either ended up back at the Big Little store later OR once they realized they made another mistake with directions, they stopped at the first payphone they saw. The payphone might be near water and bushes with briars. OR maybe they did make it back to the main road and they saw a Walmart or McDonalds and decided to stop and were kidnapped there. The payphone idea is as much a guess as anything and there is one huge problem:

Today is 2016. That was 1999. Payphones have largely been eliminated by time and technology.

 

[SweetCaroline]

I think the payphone idea is genius. I was the same age as them in 1999 and I lived in a rural Southern area as well. I had a big clunker of a cell phone, but it only worked in town and even there it only worked half the time. Many times I had to stop at night and use a payphone. I'd be interested to know where the closest payphone was in 1999 to where the car was found.

 

[TooCurious]

http://henrycountyreport.com/blog/2...issing-since-2006-police-used-to-plant-drugs/

I don't care if you like the site or not. To just dismiss everything posted there as untrue is silly. Read that link, it certainly adds to suspicion there could have been some police involvement with JB and Tracie. This girl disappeared 7 years later and Ozark and Dothan PD involved again.

 

[easongt]

I think the payphone idea is genius. I was the same age as them in 1999 and I lived in a rural Southern area as well. I had a big clunker of a cell phone, but it only worked in town and even there it only worked half the time. Many times I had to stop at night and use a payphone. I'd be interested to know where the closest payphone was in 1999 to where the car was found.

The gas station they were last seen at may very well be the closest payphone. It was Within a mile

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[somequestions]

I think the payphone idea is genius. I was the same age as them in 1999 and I lived in a rural Southern area as well. I had a big clunker of a cell phone, but it only worked in town and even there it only worked half the time. Many times I had to stop at night and use a payphone. I'd be interested to know where the closest payphone was in 1999 to where the car was found.

Thanks, but the idea is like a lot of others. It is not specific enough to identify a suspect. Plus, since no one came forward to say they received another call from J.B. Beasley or Tracie Hawlett after the last call Tracie made to her mom at the Big Little store, there is no proof they actually did stop again to use a payphone.

If you were going to follow the payphone idea, the right question would be, "What was the murderer doing there?" I have never understood the idea that they were watched at the gas station because who hunts for victims at a gas station that is closed?

The only thing I think you can statistically try and establish is that there is a good chance that where the car was found is relatively close to where the killer lives. So what was the killer doing at the payphone? Maybe he did not have a working phone? So in the area of Ozark where the car was found, which houses had a working home telephone number and which ones did not? In that case, it being 1999 helps because, like you wrote, you could not rely on your cell phone.

 

[Bulldog23]

http://henrycountyreport.com/blog/2...issing-since-2006-police-used-to-plant-drugs/

I don't care if you like the site or not. To just dismiss everything posted there as untrue is silly. Read that link, it certainly adds to suspicion there could have been some police involvement with JB and Tracie. This girl disappeared 7 years later and Ozark and Dothan PD involved again.

I agree that not everything on HRC can be dismissed; for example, the leaked list of contents found in JB's car clearly states that JB's driver's license was found in her purse, not on the dash as had been previously stated. (JB's sister confirmed this fact in an earlier post). But in my opinion, that points away from law enforcement. I really did think it could have been an LEO when I thought the license was on the dash; but finding out it was in her purse makes an LEO or impersonator seem considerably less plausible (MOO). The truth is that the HRC is interesting, and I'm sure there are some credible documents attached to the posts, but the author of HCR clearly has his own agenda and is more interested in attacking what he sees as police corruption than solving the murder of these two young ladies. Go back to square one. Who did they know in Ozark? Who was angry with JB and/ or had a motive for keeping her quiet? Who lived or had relatives within walking distance of Herring? I bet the investigators already know the answers to these questions. I hope one day the girls' families know also.

 

[December]

This case is so frustrating because the investigation has suffered from such contamination of evidence and lack of follow up it is possible the police know who did it, but cannot prove it.

The car was played around with, leaned on, and gotten inside before the girls were even found. And since then it's been destroyed.

The bullet casing was sent to the wrong place and destroyed.

The mysterious DNA supposedly turned up a couple of months later. It has only been used to "prove" suspects didn't commit the murders which, if you think about it, makes no sense. The police don't even really have a crime scene or much of a scenario and there exists the possibility it is unrelated to the murders (and, IMO, possibly it isn't even related to the case).

There are wildly varying local rumors as well as media versions of events that, while consistent among themselves, are said to be wrong. So, I am five minutes from expecting someone to suddenly pipe up about yet another party they were trying to get to.

Witnesses and persons of interest were never reinterviewed which is impossible in some cases as some have died.

I don't see a coke machine outside of that store. How was anyone getting a coke there?

Was the time of Tracie's call verified by phone records or just by her mother's memory? Her mother was very tired from a long shift at work and fell asleep shortly after speaking with Tracie.

What if the Big/Little wasn't closed?

 

[December]

http://henrycountyreport.com/blog/2...issing-since-2006-police-used-to-plant-drugs/

I don't care if you like the site or not. To just dismiss everything posted there as untrue is silly. Read that link, it certainly adds to suspicion there could have been some police involvement with JB and Tracie. This girl disappeared 7 years later and Ozark and Dothan PD involved again.

All right, that is just messed up.

 

[iron_angel]

Was the time of Tracie's call verified by phone records or just by her mother's memory? .

this is a really good question imo. Did the LE there even think about it?

 

[iron_angel]

If you were going to follow the payphone idea, the right question would be, "What was the murderer doing there?" I have never understood the idea that they were watched at the gas station because who hunts for victims at a gas station that is closed?

Unless the girls inconveniently saw something they shouldn't like someone trying to break in that little store, etc... Has there been rumors of break-ins, hold-ups and the like in the previous days or weeks? Someone robbing to get his daily heroin dose would stop at nothing for money but then the main problem is still location of the murders.

 

[TedMac]

This case is so frustrating because the investigation has suffered from such contamination of evidence and lack of follow up it is possible the police know who did it, but cannot prove it.

The car was played around with, leaned on, and gotten inside before the girls were even found. And since then it's been destroyed.

The bullet casing was sent to the wrong place and destroyed.

The mysterious DNA supposedly turned up a couple of months later. It has only been used to "prove" suspects didn't commit the murders which, if you think about it, makes no sense. The police don't even really have a crime scene or much of a scenario and there exists the possibility it is unrelated to the murders (and, IMO, possibly it isn't even related to the case).

There are wildly varying local rumors as well as media versions of events that, while consistent among themselves, are said to be wrong. So, I am five minutes from expecting someone to suddenly pipe up about yet another party they were trying to get to.

Witnesses and persons of interest were never reinterviewed which is impossible in some cases as some have died.

I don't see a coke machine outside of that store. How was anyone getting a coke there?

Was the time of Tracie's call verified by phone records or just by her mother's memory? Her mother was very tired from a long shift at work and fell asleep shortly after speaking with Tracie.

What if the Big/Little wasn't closed?

BBM I have never read where the phone records verified the time of the phone call. However, the witness that gave the girls directions at the Big/Little Store did verify the time that Tracie used the payphone.

 

[TooCurious]

All right, that is just messed up.

I am assuming you read everything and even read the article the was put up about the guy they were talking about (2 articles below that with case numbers to verify). He was sentenced to two life terms and the girl is "missing". If this will not shake your faith in LE in that area then nothing will. The mistakes made could have very well been intentional. I personally think the DNA is not associated with this case, whether by accidental contamination or by being planted. Too many things do not make sense about it. The semen brings a sexual element to the case. How many sexual predators commit murder their very first offense and never commit another sex crime? Solve the case without the DNA and cross reference everyone that was at ME office at same time along with any cases that were there for testing at the same time. That DNA came from somewhere but I don't think it came from anyone associated with this case.

 

[December]

TedMac, I really wish they had reinterviewed that lady. I feel something is off about her statement (as we know it). Like something in it was a guess maybe, IDK. I could be totally wrong, but she has died unfortunately. Of course, what is "off" might be that what we think she said is not exactly what she said (license on the dashboard syndrome).

 

[December]

this is a really good question imo. Did the LE there even think about it?

With two witnesses and the person who received the call in agreement... Who knows.

But, from what I understand, as the story goes now the store had been closed at least an hour. But, what if the time is off (for some reason, maybe just a mistaken guess) and it had just closed? That would make more sense accounting for everyone to be in the parking lot including the truck at the gas pump.