CA CA - Bob Harrod, 81, Orange County, 27 July 2009 - #11

[GrainneDhu]

Thanks Grainne,
The only reference I can find is neighbour PE, when he says he believes Bob's wife had been sick for a long time prior to her death. I'm guessing the move to Placentia from Monrovia may have signalled his complete retirement, what do you think?

Could be.

Or Bob may already have been retired and the house in Monrovia was too much house for just Bob and Georgia; they'd lived there for 30 years, so it was obviously large enough to accommodate 3 more people. The move to Placentia may have indicated that Georgia was experiencing declining health and they needed to simplify and consolidate things.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Checked. Bob moved 2002. Age 74. Retired before then, surely?

Depends on what he did.

My father didn't completely retire until he was 78; he was an anesthesiologist and he loved his work. He could still work if he wanted to, he continues to maintain his medical license (which includes continuing education and testing each year).

If, for instance, Bob owned his own business he may well have continued working until he received the offer he liked for his business.

 

[zwiebel]

Thanks again Grainne. A surprise, but your pension arrangements sound remarkably similar to ours. Am just trying to gain an idea of Bob, and possibly his financial situation, that hasn't been filtered through family members first, if you know what I mean?

ETA, Ah, we have a compulsory retirement age; 65 for men, 60 for women (though that's changing now).
ETA, no that's not right. Your employer can get rid of you if they want to, at those ages. But if both agree, you can carry on working.

 

[zwiebel]

OT but, you know how you have to count down when you are getting anaesthetised before an op? I had a little bet with an anaesthesiologist once, and he bet me I wouldn't get beyond five or six before going under.

He was right, but when I realized he was going to win the bet, and just before I passed out, I blurted out a really hard crossword question I had been pondering before the op.

I went out to the sound of the whole theatre laughing and apparently it kept them all occupied for a long time. He even came to see me after, to see if I knew the answer. I told him his medical concoctions had wiped the answer clean out of my brain. I recall the answer now - roses - but not the question!

 

[cloudajo]

Checked. Bob moved 2002. Age 74. Retired before then, surely?

According to this article, it looks like Bob retired in 2002.

Bob Harrod Bio


Born:June 1, 1928 in McFall, Mo., a tiny town north of Kansas City.

Spring 1950: Bob Harrod meets Fontelle Maher.

Later in 1950: Harrod becomes an active-duty Marine, stationed as a cook in Camp Pendleton.

August 1950:Harrod meets Georgia Magaris

October 1950:Harrod is engaged to Georgia Magaris

In 1952:Bob and Georgia Harrod move from Oceanside to Monrovia.

From 1953 to 1957:Bob and Georgia Harrod give birth to three daughters, Roberta, Paula and Julie.

From 1953-2002: the Harrods live in Monrovia. Bob Harrod works first for Bell & Howell handling contracts, and then for the aerospace firm Aerojet. He sometimes travels for business. He also owns some rental properties and builds his wealth through a combination of wise investing, purchasing properties and what his daughter Roberta Brady called “extreme frugality.”

June 2002:Harrod and Georgia moved to Placentia.

2008:Georgia Harrod dies after a prolonged illness.

Early 2009:Fontelle Heeter, formerly Maher, contacts Bob Harrod after her daughter finds his name on the internet – Fontelle Heeter’s husband had died in 2006.

June 23, 2009:Fontelle Heeter arrives in California to visit Bob Harrod.

June 29, 2009: Fontelle Heeter and Bob Harrod marry at the county courthouse and she takes his name.

July 7, 2009:Fontelle Harrod flies back to her home in Missouri to settle her affairs and move in with Bob Harrod in Placentia.

July 27, 2009: Bob Harrod disappears from his home.

Sources:Roberta Brady, Fontelle Harrod, The Placentia Police Department

http://www2.ocregister.com/articles...RecommendedOnly=1&oncommentsPage=2#slComments

 

[zwiebel]

cloudajo, you don't appear that often, but you are just fantastic whenever you do appear.

 

[zwiebel]

That article states the CL lady left first.

And there's that time line again. Who did that reporter speak to? He/ she says JeM left the house at 2.30 (time stamped receipts bear him out) and returned to find the CL sitting on the stoop after 3pm.

Yet in Disappeared the CL says she arrived around 12.

Meanwhile JeM's wife JuM says, THE NEXT DAY, maybe 1, noon? Who told her that?

At the very least, someone should be arrested for gross stupidity here.

I wish just one member of this family would step up to the mark and start putting a few facts out there - even if those facts involve saying 'these family members are not co-operating.'

 

[zwiebel]

And why aren't any of these reporters following this up? They've written stories that have turned out to be completely incorrect. In their position, I would feel I had been made a fool of. I would want to put that right, if I was them.

This all makes me a bit cross, actually.

 

[GrainneDhu]

And why aren't any of these reporters following this up? They've written stories that have turned out to be completely incorrect. In their position, I would feel I had been made a fool of. I would want to put that right, if I was them.

This all makes me a bit cross, actually.

There are often misstatements and contradictions in early media reports. Since WS relies so heavily on media reports, these errors can generate a huge amount of discussion. Over time, the varying accounts are usually clarified and a sort of unified timeline emerges.

The only times I have seen this fail to happen are when there are very few mainstream media articles (like my friend, Kim Remmel, who is missing from Arvada Colorado since May; she couldn't be posted to WS until July because there were literally no msm articles until then) or when the perp(s) deliberately try to muddy the timeline.

So far, this has not happened in Bob's case, which makes it quite unusual. There has been quite a lot of media attention, so it isn't a problem where there was only one article published.

 

[zwiebel]

I know the smoke and mirrors is just something you have to deal with in this case, it just gets so frustrating sometimes. I was trying to confirm exactly who left the house first too, JeM or the CL, and have found contradictory reports about that as well. Maybe that's another thing for the Disappeared wishlist.

 

[zwiebel]

I was hopingto get some clues about Bob's finances from looking at his employment/retirement. It hasn't helped an awful lot, except to say he was almost certain to have undergone security clearance working for Aerojet (parent company GenCorp) and it has very few p/t positions and paid consultancies.

Apparent employees posting on job rating sites say salaries are good, not great, healthcare okayish. In 2008/2009 pension plans for current employees were frozen to make savings, but these wouldn't have applied to Bob who retired 2002.

The plans I believe were in place when Bob retired were; stock ownership plans, pension plans and a 401k with employer matching.

I don't think Bob made his fortune from the stock ownership though.

07/26/2002 *-*share price £10

07/27/2009 -*share price £2.30

Down around 50 percent in last ten years and lost nearly 90% at heightof recession.

I think (not certain though) that, in the event of Bob's death, the pensions would only have been payable to the spouse Bob was married to at the time he took them out - a later spouse would not benefit.

So, grasping at straws - is it possible Bob had seen part/all of his portfolio going down and was thinking of cashing in some properties?

 

[zwiebel]

Has anybody tried to figure out what Bob's property portfolio was worth? I'm guessing around £1.3m, but I could be very wrong....

 

[zwiebel]

By the way, I specifically mentioned Bob's probably having security clearance, just in case any hints surface about nefarious activities on his part, in amassing his fortune. I have seen a lot of employee info about working there and opinion seems universal that the ethos is for dependable, upright, reliable employees. I have checked with a former aerospace engineer too, and they have assured me (certainly for their job) unexplained fortunes would not have been tolerated by security vetters.

I never realised how many different people I knew, until I joined this thread.

 

[Oriah]

By the way, I specifically mentioned Bob's probably having security clearance, just in case any hints surface about nefarious activities on his part, in amassing his fortune. I have seen a lot of employee info about working there and opinion seems universal that the ethos is for dependable, upright, reliable employees. I have checked with a former aerospace engineer too, and they have assured me (certainly for their job) unexplained fortunes would not have been tolerated by security vetters.

I never realised how many different people I knew, until I joined this thread.

I asked about this very aspect of Mr. Harrod's life on another site ages ago and got shot down right quick. Someone certainly doesn't want this subject addressed. Why, I wonder?

 

[believe09]

I asked about this very aspect of Mr. Harrod's life on another site ages ago and got shot down right quick. Someone certainly doesn't want this subject addressed. Why, I wonder?

So there is a possibility that Bob amassed his money in ways that are outside the accumulation of his investments, real estate and his carefulness?

He sold the family home in Monrovia-I am willing to bet he owned it outright. There is something in the memorabilia list about gold krugerands, correct? Perhaps he had an investment in gold coins. He had an antique car...I mean he definitely had assets beyond those in his accounts. His money had been accumulating for 50 years-perhaps it was ultimately slow and steady which caused him to have more than enough for a comfortable retirement.

He seemed to provide material comfort to those around him as well.

If his family knew him, apparently, so little it seems possible that they didnt have much of a handle on what exactly he had and where it was and how he made it.

Oh, right. I forgot about the three days he was gone prior to Fontelle arriving. Maybe they found something that would shed some light. I am sure if they did, they turned it all over to PPD.

 

[zwiebel]

I asked about this very aspect of Mr. Harrod's life on another site ages ago and got shot down right quick. Someone certainly doesn't want this subject addressed. Why, I wonder?

So do I now you've mentioned that.

 

[zwiebel]

Before December 1st, 1974, ownership of gold bullion was illegal in the states.
After that krugerrands became very popular with investors but imports were again banned during apartheid from 1985 to 1995 (there was still a strong secondary market trade from coins already imported). They never regained their top popularity, buyers instead opting for the Gold Eagle first, after that.

As far as I can see, Bob's bag of krugerrands was worth around $1,725.

http://www.certifiedmint.com/krugerrand-gold-coins.htm

 

[Oriah]

Before December 1st, 1974, ownership of gold bullion was illegal in the states.
After that krugerrands became very popular with investors but imports were again banned during apartheid from 1985 to 1995 (there was still a strong secondary market trade from coins already imported). They never regained their top popularity, buyers instead opting for the Gold Eagle first, after that.

As far as I can see, Bob's bag of krugerrands was worth around $1,725.

http://www.certifiedmint.com/krugerrand-gold-coins.htm

I have wondered if the krugerrands were 'proof'. And if we shouldn't be looking to trace that history, and see where the serial #'s have been?

 

[zwiebel]

Proof?
ETA: Sorry, have looked. Proof versions for collectors.

 

[zwiebel]

My thoughts would be that the coins are long gone. But I am still wondering why you were put down so quickly, what could be there? The only thing I can think of, that has seemed to provoke very strong reactions in this case, is the thought of losing money.