Hello All
I am new to his thread, but set my box to record Disappeared episodes whenever they came on the TV. This case really got me thinking, and I've seen it three times in the past few weeks. I've also read some of the linked articles. I have many thoughts on this case.
In the Disappeared episode, Paula comes across as the most "human". She cries and does seem genuinely concerned. Now Paula does still seem to have issues, but to me she seems the least likely to have done it. Roberta on the other hand comes across as cold as ice, yet at the same time she appears to be a person with a horrible temper. She says she wouldn't wish this on anyone, that "it's an absolute horror". However she isn't trying very hard to find her father, and has made some totally inappropriate statements:
"His daughter, Roberta, acknowledged the exchange, saying her father lost his temper. She said he had failed to provide copies of their mother's will, which he was obligated to do because of the financial mechanisms set up by the estate.
"It wasn't a heated meeting," she said in a phone interview. "Dad got heated. He's very selfish, very conditional. The day before he went missing in the afternoon, he was going to provide us copies of the will, and we went over to get the copies. He didn't have them."
How classless was it for her to call her missing father selfish?! Even if that were true, you don't say it. I have a close family member with a lot of mental health issues, and they have screamed at people, hit people and been very fake. Yet there is no way I would publicly acknowledge their issues, let alone if they were missing! And I firmly believe Bob was not selfish. He came across as romantic and gentle.
I also wonder about Paula worrying about him having dementia. As I said, she is the only one of the three daughters who has any cred in my eyes. She said he was very depressed. Doctors will tell you that depression can cause dreadful anxiety (he was afraid to drive at night, according to daughters) and absolutely forgetfulness (she said she helped him with his paperwork). So I actually think Paula may have really been worried about Bob. He definitely was depressed before meeting Fontelle again. And I think that depression could indeed have appeared as dementia to the layperson.
Then, I saw that really bizarre video footage where Julie (Julia?) was laughing and smiling when Fontelle had arrived and Bob still wasn't home. When people are very trauamatised or nervous, they may find themselves laughing. I know when I was younger I used to worry about laughing for no reason in Church, for example. I've also seen people laugh when they are extremely traumatised. Her laughter to me further indicates that the answers lie within her own family.
I thought the son in law who last saw Bob made a very strange comment to the police. He said that when he returned to the house he thought Bob might have left because, "he became ill". If my 81 year old FIL left his house suddenly, and I thought that was due to his feeling ill, I'd be very worried indeed. I'd likely go out looking for him!
Finally, the detective's statement regarding the house search was rather telling. He said the house was searched, but that, "At this time I cannot say what was found in it or what wasn't found in it". That implies something was found in it. Also, Fontelle said in an interview that she thought Bob had been killed in the bathroom upstairs. Anyone know why she thinks it was there, specifically?
Sorry if these issues were covered somewhere in the other threads.. I haven't had time to catch up...
should get Bob's missing poster updated on the Placentia PD page?
