Found Deceased CA - Erin Valenti, 33, from Utah, en-route from Palo Alto to San Jose, 7 Oct 2019

[katydid23]

See snips below from article (emphasis added, mine) - which says a police officer contacted her by phone Monday night and found her to be disoriented. Sounds like there is definitely interest by PD behind the scenes.
Also, friends and family conveying some specific comments she made during the disjointed phone calls, and that her problems seemed to commence after meeting with a "colleague." I sure would want to speak with that colleague and find out more about that encounter! I'm tending more toward the possibility she was given or took something that induced this episode.
It also gives info on what is happening with regard to areas searched, planned to search over the weekend, etc.

Sure hope she is found very soon in good condition!

My apologies if I post more from this article than I should - I found it very informative...

Tech exec who told family “We’re in the Matrix” still missing – East Bay Times

Tech exec who told family “we’re in the Matrix” still missing
...
Relatives continued their frantic search Saturday for a missing young tech executive who they said apparently suffered a manic episode early in the week, telling them in a string of bizarre phone calls that “it’s all a game, it’s a thought experiment, we’re in the Matrix.”
...
“We talked to her for hours on and off” on Monday night, Valenti said. “Her thoughts were disconnected. She talked a mile a minute. She’d say I’m coming home for Thanksgiving, then in the next she was saying she’s in the Matrix,” a reference to a science fiction movie about a virtual reality world.
...
The family planned to hire someone on Saturday with a drone to search the rugged areas of Quicksilver Park in the Almaden Valley. On Friday, they reviewed security camera footage at gas stations and plastered missing fliers throughout Almaden, including the areas around Redmond and Camden avenues and Washoe Drive. Verizon Wireless picked up pings in that area on Monday.
...
Attempts to locate her through “find my phone” apps and other digital search tools have been unsuccessful. During the phone calls with family members Monday night, Valenti said she was low on gas. With a request from the family, a San Jose police officer contacted Valenti by phone Monday night.
“The officer said she wasn’t making any sense. They drove around looking for her on Monday night and never found her,” Valenti’s husband, Harrison Weinstein, said.

When reached by email Saturday, San Jose Police Sgt. Enrique Garcia didn’t explain the department’s approach to the case, saying only that “we are not sharing additional information about the investigation at this time.”...
...
During her trip to California the week of Oct. 1, the couple spoke each night, he said, and everything was fine. She stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach for an executive leadership workshop called “Create the Powerful,” and on Thursday flew to San Jose and rented the Nissan. She drove to a tech conference in Monterey late in the week before returning last weekend to the Bay Area to reconnect with old friends and colleagues.

Nothing seemed amiss until she called her parents about 3:30 p.m. on Monday after she met with a former colleague on Sand Hill Road, and said she couldn’t find her rental car. Once she found the car, she stayed on the phone with her parents, her conversation became bizarre.
...

Couldn't help thinking about recent articles I've read, about the 'mind enhancing' drugs that are rampant in Silicon Valley Tech crowd.

One article:
Microdosing LSD Is A Growing Silicon Valley Trend. But Does It Actually Work?
Researchers are launching one of the first ever placebo-controlled trials of microdosing to answer this very question.
Microdosing LSD Is A Growing Silicon Valley Trend. But Does It Actually Work? | HuffPost

And:
In Silicon Valley and beyond, some people are taking small amounts of psychedelics, a practice known as “microdosing” that is thought to aid productivity. Now a new study suggests that microdoses of magic truffles—the underground portion of magic mushrooms—can boost creativity, too.Aug 24, 2018
Microdosing Psychedelics Could Make People More Creative ...

https://www.theatlantic.com › microdosing-psychedelics-magic-truffles


Here is another article:
You can’t buy a better brain. Brands are still lining up to sell you one.

The all-too-understandable urge to buy a better brain

Another wave of nootropic supplements is hitting the market, promising to make us smarter, more focused, more relaxed, more in control.

This year, nootropics have gone thoroughly mainstream by intersecting with other powerful consumer trends. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop recently launched an anti “brain fog” supplement called Nerd Alert (it’s just caffeine and the same L-theanine you’d get from a cup of tea), at a price point of $1 per chewable. Luxury wellness and beauty brand The Nue Co. introduced its latest supplement Nootro-Focus in April, which you can buy on Net-a-Porter. New York City’s newest ultra-hip acupuncture startup WTHN is selling a nootropic. There are, seriously, nootropics mixed with CBD.



I wouldn't be surprised if she met with a colleague that slipped her a 'brain pill' and things then went sideways.

 

[PommyMommy]

Update #1

Background

• EV is the founder and CEO of Tinker Ventures. The company designs, develops and scales technology products for iOS, Android and the web, according to its website.
• During her trip the week of Oct. 1, EV and her husband spoke each night and everything was fine. She stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Beach for an executive leadership workshop and on Thursday flew to San Jose and rented the Nissan.
• She drove to Monterey late in the week to attend an Alpha Conference then was visiting friends and colleagues around SF (Stanford?) and Palo Alto over the weekend.
• EV was set to fly home (SLC UT) from San Jose on Monday, October 7, but she missed her flight and did not return her rental car, described as a gray Nissan Murano with license plate No. 8LUD641.

Mon Oct 7

• 2:00 p.m. - EV had a late checkout (2 p.m.) at the Nest Hotel in Palo Alto.
• 3:15-3:30 p.m. – Last seen in the 2500 block of Sand Hill Rd, Palo Alto CA by a former colleague.
• 3:30 p.m. - EV called her parents and said she couldn’t find her rental car. Once she found the car, she stayed on the phone with her parents, her conversation became bizarre.
• 6:40 p.m. – Flight (missed) back to Utah
• Time(s) Unknown - She was speaking on the phone with her husband, her mother and a friend throughout the evening, sounding very manic. “We talked to her for hours on and off” on Monday night, her mother said. “Her thoughts were disconnected. She talked a mile a minute. She’d say I’m coming home for Thanksgiving, then in the next she was saying she’s in the Matrix."
• Time Unknown – A welfare check was started and a San Jose police officer contacted EV by phone Monday night. “The officer said she wasn’t making any sense. They drove around looking for her on Monday night and never found her,” HW said.
• Time Unknown – The last time she spoke with her husband she was trying to figure out where she was, still saying she was going to the airport, and he said she sounded confused, disjointed and was not acting like herself. Her car was low on gas. There are no gas station charges.
• Close to Midnight - Her mom was the last one to speak to her on the phone. “She told me she was driving around because the GPS wasn’t working,” Erin’s mother said, and she was driving through residential neighborhoods of the Almaden Valley in South San Jose, off-course from the route to the airport.
• About Midnight – EV’s phone pinged in South San Jose until about midnight. Last location was near Almaden Expressway and Camden Avenue in San Jose. Her phone was off after this time.

Tue Oct 8

• A Missing Person Report was filed and EV categorized as Voluntary Missing

Wed Oct 9

• Evening - EV missed the Women Tech Awards where she was to receive an award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. She had guests waiting at her table and she won the award.

Google Maps

• The Nest Hotel, Palo Alto, 3901 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306
• 2500 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025
• Camden Ave & Almaden Expy, San Jose, CA 95120
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport

 

[curtfoo]

IF she was talking about the MOVIE the Matrix.... what might she do? Where might she go?

The meaning of the matrix in the fictional movie world is that the world that we see hear taste touch and feel is a simulation which we are trapped in. I don't know about what she might do, but it seems like she was severely intoxicated with some psychoactive substance or having a pretty intense psychotic episode.

I am amazed that she drove around for over 6 hours. She must have been all over the place. I would think there would be sightings of her or at least plenty of camera footage showing her movements.

 

[Seattle1]

The fact that she appeared "completely manic" according to her husband, makes me wonder if she may have gone to a hospital and requested a voluntary psychiatric admission or was possibly evaluated in the ER and placed on an involuntary 72 hour psychiatric hold for evaluation and has been held longer. If she requested to be a "do not announce" (name not released to anyone), HIPAA would require the facility not to release her name if someone called looking for her.

A few years ago we had a 22 year old intern that was hospitalized under similar conditions. Not for love nor money could we locate him, including repeatedly contacting local hospitals. About 48 hours later, he phoned from a hospital that he'd been at all along.

I've often wondered if Do Not Announce (DNA) is the default when you're admitted under such circumstances (i.e., not considered able to consent). It was later determined that pursuant to HIPAA , hospital could not release his name, but he didn't remember ever ordering the DNA.

 

[PommyMommy]

OCT 12, 2019
Police say Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti is ‘voluntarily missing’
[...]

The San Jose Police Department is “treating the case as a voluntary missing person,” Sgt. Enrique Garcia said in an email.

While Unified police aren’t involved in this case, spokeswoman Sgt. Melody Gray said her department has used a similar designation — for example, in cases where police make contact with a reported missing person and he or she says they don’t want to be found.

“If you’re over 18, you have that right,” Gray said.

[...]

 

[MJPeony]

Re: the matrix comment, see her Instagram from August 8th in Japan.

It's certainly possible when she was speaking with family on the phone Monday that she was referring to the casino near the airport- but given her post on the 8th, I feel like the casino is a coincidence. JMO. I think it's more likely her matrix comment had a historical meaning between friends/coworkers and it was related to her state of mind which I think could have been impaired by a drug of some sort.

MOO.

 

[afitzy]

I believe the flight was at 6:40 p.m. Her husband posted this on the Help Find Erin Valenti page.

ETA: Here's an MSM link that references the flight.

Tech exec who told family “We’re in the Matrix” still missing – East Bay Times

For the person that asked about the family, it appears they flew into San Jose from NY:

"Her mother, Whitey Valenti, flew to San Jose from New York with her husband and two sons to join her daughter’s husband in the search. She said Saturday that her daughter is an intense, brilliant young woman who graduated with high honors from Georgetown University before entering the private equity world".

 

[Mountain Misst]

Less than 1 hour of sunlight left for today in San Jose. Sets at 6:34pm
I'll listen to CHP until then.

 

[cody22]

***....moo

 

[MJPeony]

So, a couple more thoughts from my trip down there.

The Almaden Lake and perimeter trail itself is fenced in and closes at sunset. I doubt she or her car will be found in that lake area.

I'm still really disappointed that I saw no fliers whatsoever. I felt like I was trying to bail out a ship with a thimble by putting up just a few of my measly fliers. I wish a full search team could be organized, but I haven't seen anything about that and I've been trying to stay abreast.

I noticed exactly 1 Nissan vehicle (navy Rogue I think) while I was out this afternoon. They are not a popular brand around here. Which may be irrelevant, but just something of note.

The whole Almaden Expressway entrance/exit around the 85 junction is incredibly confusing. I'd forgotten just how, and I actually almost made a wrong turn going north instead of south. Had to swerve into the righthand lane at the last minute when I realized I was going the wrong direction. All to say that I would completely understand her getting turned around in this area.

I did take a bunch of photos, but as I'm looking through them, they are mostly things you could see using Google street view. I also can't figure out how to upload the pics- it says the file is too large for the server to process (I'm very UN-tech-savvy!)

MOO

 

[curtfoo]

The meaning of the matrix in the fictional movie world is that the world that we see hear taste touch and feel is a simulation which we are trapped in. I don't know about what she might do, but it seems like she was severely intoxicated with some psychoactive substance or having a pretty intense psychotic episode.

I am amazed that she drove around for over 6 hours. She must have been all over the place. I would think there would be sightings of her or at least plenty of camera footage showing her movements.

Ah, actually now I remember.

In the movie, people can't tell they are in the Matrix, except when there is a "glitch" in the Matrix. Typically this manifests itself in duplicate people being seen shortly after one another, or other types of things. There are lots of memes on the Internet to this effect too.

 

[afitzy]

OCT 12, 2019
Police say Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti is ‘voluntarily missing’
[...]

The San Jose Police Department is “treating the case as a voluntary missing person,” Sgt. Enrique Garcia said in an email.

While Unified police aren’t involved in this case, spokeswoman Sgt. Melody Gray said her department has used a similar designation — for example, in cases where police make contact with a reported missing person and he or she says they don’t want to be found.

“If you’re over 18, you have that right,” Gray said.

[...]

Thanks for posting this!

I am struggling to understand the approach of LE here as didn't we hear previously that the officer that spoke with EV believed that she sounded: “The officer said she wasn’t making any sense. They drove around looking for her on Monday night and never found her,” Valenti’s husband, Harrison Weinstein, said.

It doesn't make sense that that officer said, "she wasn't making sense" and then followed her instructions if she told them that she didn't want to be found? Its all speculation because LE didn't specifically repeat the exact conversation they had with EV but the reference they gave might have some relevance to the actual situation with EV and the convo she had with LE. Very odd that LE is not being clearer here with the public and the family.

The reality might be that if she had a manic event and was unable to perform simple tasks like using her phone, GPS or getting gas that she might have just driven around until she ran out of gas and then abandoned her rental vehicle or she might have just pulled over and gone to sleep for a period of time and then walked away.

I also wonder if the Matrix reference might have been simply to the confusion she was feeling as she was trying to get to the airport but was unable to follow instructions or read signs on the highway and then lost all sense of direction and couldn't figure out how retrace her steps? Depending on the area where she went off track it might have been difficult to exit and retrace her steps or she couldn't figure out how to get off the road she was on etc.

This sense of disorientation might have been what she meant about 'being in the matrix', it was like she was in a black hole and couldn't figure out how to get out. I've heard of people with bipolar episodes explain that they might know what they want to do but don't know how to do it and they express feelings of literally being 'frozen' and almost incapable of connecting thoughts to actions.

MOO

 

[MissMalowe]

So, a couple more thoughts from my trip down there.

The Almaden Lake and perimeter trail itself is fenced in and closes at sunset. I doubt she or her car will be found in that lake area.

I'm still really disappointed that I saw no fliers whatsoever. I felt like I was trying to bail out a ship with a thimble by putting up just a few of my measly fliers. I wish a full search team could be organized, but I haven't seen anything about that and I've been trying to stay abreast.

I noticed exactly 1 Nissan vehicle (navy Rogue I think) while I was out this afternoon. They are not a popular brand around here. Which may be irrelevant, but just something of note.

The whole Almaden Expressway entrance/exit around the 85 junction is incredibly confusing. I'd forgotten just how, and I actually almost made a wrong turn going north instead of south. Had to swerve into the righthand lane at the last minute when I realized I was going the wrong direction. All to say that I would completely understand her getting turned around in this area.

I did take a bunch of photos, but as I'm looking through them, they are mostly things you could see using Google street view. I also can't figure out how to upload the pics- it says the file is too large for the server to process (I'm very UN-tech-savvy!)

MOO

You're great for doing this!

 

[LaborDayRN]

Couldn't help thinking about recent articles I've read, about the 'mind enhancing' drugs that are rampant in Silicon Valley Tech crowd.

One article:
Microdosing LSD Is A Growing Silicon Valley Trend. But Does It Actually Work?
Researchers are launching one of the first ever placebo-controlled trials of microdosing to answer this very question.
Microdosing LSD Is A Growing Silicon Valley Trend. But Does It Actually Work? | HuffPost

And:
In Silicon Valley and beyond, some people are taking small amounts of psychedelics, a practice known as “microdosing” that is thought to aid productivity. Now a new study suggests that microdoses of magic truffles—the underground portion of magic mushrooms—can boost creativity, too.Aug 24, 2018
Microdosing Psychedelics Could Make People More Creative ...

https://www.theatlantic.com › microdosing-psychedelics-magic-truffles


Here is another article:
You can’t buy a better brain. Brands are still lining up to sell you one.

The all-too-understandable urge to buy a better brain

Another wave of nootropic supplements is hitting the market, promising to make us smarter, more focused, more relaxed, more in control.

This year, nootropics have gone thoroughly mainstream by intersecting with other powerful consumer trends. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop recently launched an anti “brain fog” supplement called Nerd Alert (it’s just caffeine and the same L-theanine you’d get from a cup of tea), at a price point of $1 per chewable. Luxury wellness and beauty brand The Nue Co. introduced its latest supplement Nootro-Focus in April, which you can buy on Net-a-Porter. New York City’s newest ultra-hip acupuncture startup WTHN is selling a nootropic. There are, seriously, nootropics mixed with CBD.



I wouldn't be surprised if she met with a colleague that slipped her a 'brain pill' and things then went sideways.

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[indicolite22]

Apparently her body has been found:

Maria Medina KPIX5 on Twitter

 

[Seattle1]

So, a couple more thoughts from my trip down there.

The Almaden Lake and perimeter trail itself is fenced in and closes at sunset. I doubt she or her car will be found in that lake area.

I'm still really disappointed that I saw no fliers whatsoever. I felt like I was trying to bail out a ship with a thimble by putting up just a few of my measly fliers. I wish a full search team could be organized, but I haven't seen anything about that and I've been trying to stay abreast.

I noticed exactly 1 Nissan vehicle (navy Rogue I think) while I was out this afternoon. They are not a popular brand around here. Which may be irrelevant, but just something of note.

The whole Almaden Expressway entrance/exit around the 85 junction is incredibly confusing. I'd forgotten just how, and I actually almost made a wrong turn going north instead of south. Had to swerve into the righthand lane at the last minute when I realized I was going the wrong direction. All to say that I would completely understand her getting turned around in this area.

I did take a bunch of photos, but as I'm looking through them, they are mostly things you could see using Google street view. I also can't figure out how to upload the pics- it says the file is too large for the server to process (I'm very UN-tech-savvy!)

MOO

Your updates have been most insightful @MJPeony . Thanks so much for your efforts. I feel your pain..(NO tech savvy).

 

[LaborDayRN]

OCT 12, 2019
Police say Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti is ‘voluntarily missing’
[...]

The San Jose Police Department is “treating the case as a voluntary missing person,” Sgt. Enrique Garcia said in an email.

While Unified police aren’t involved in this case, spokeswoman Sgt. Melody Gray said her department has used a similar designation — for example, in cases where police make contact with a reported missing person and he or she says they don’t want to be found.

“If you’re over 18, you have that right,” Gray said.

[...]

This always makes me wonder if LE knows something family & friends (and we) don't know. I wonder if they've spoken with her or know where she is and she doesn't want to be contacted for reasons we're unaware of.

 

[Seattle1]

Maria Medina KPIX5‏Verified account @MariaKPIX
The body of missing tech executive Erin Valenti, who was visiting Silicon Valley from Utah, has been found in San Jose. Please follow for more details or watch @KPIXtv. Relatives had been frantically searching for her for days.

5:05 PM - 12 Oct 2019 pst

 

[indicolite22]

The body of missing tech executive Erin Valenti, who was visiting Silicon Valley from Utah, has been found in San Jose.

Maria Medina KPIX5 on Twitter

 

[Seattle1]

Maria Medina KPIX5‏Verified account @MariaKPIX
Scene where the body of missing tech exec Erin Valenti has been found in San Jose. A group of distraught onlookers can be seen inside the crime scene tape. Follow or watch @KPIXtv for more details.

<modsnip: image removed>

5:27 PM - 12 Oct 2019 pst