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

[CSIDreamer]

Are we to believe EV was just driving around in her vehicle for about 8 hours (3pm-midnight) talking on the phone to her friends, husband, and mom in a manic state?

It sounds like she never left the area where she was eventually located. She told others she was low on fuel but never stopped for fuel? Was she afraid to get out of the vehicle? I can't believe that nobody she talked to during those hours didn't tell her to go to the ER, or pull over NOW and call 911. It's like when her phone battery died (around midnight), she crawled in the back and ceased to exist.

Family needs answers. We all need answers.

They may have tried to get her to take action. That's one thing I don't think was mentioned. JMO.

 

[Steelslady]

Are we to believe EV was just driving around in her vehicle for about 8 hours (3pm-midnight) talking on the phone to her friends, husband, and mom in a manic state?

It sounds like she never left the area where she was eventually located. She told others she was low on fuel but never stopped for fuel? Was she afraid to get out of the vehicle? I can't believe that nobody she talked to during those hours didn't tell her to go to the ER, or pull over NOW and call 911. It's like when her phone battery died (around midnight), she crawled in the back and ceased to exist.

Family needs answers. We all need answers.

Maybe her family did tell her to go to the ER, but she might not have been capable of using reason? It sounds to me like she just wanted to go home, desperately. She wanted the comfort of home.

 

[Pseudonymph]

That was my initial thought, too (I am a registered dietitian and I work in a psychiatric hospital). But... hypoglycemia that severe causes physical dyscoordination early in the onset of symptoms. I would not expect someone t0 be able to drive or manage a cell phone with ongoing, significant hypoglycemia. Diabetic ketoacidosis caused by hyperglycemia in undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes would be more likely, but also causes physical symptoms (vomiting, excessive thirst, frequent urination, etc). It does result in dehydration. Sad and interesting.

All very good points! I suffer from hypoglycemia (non-diabetic) and I can’t function at those times. Can a healthy body hypothetically compensate for so long that the onset isn’t typical?

 

[MsBetsy]

What do we know about the night before she checked out of the hotel?

By 3:30PM, when she couldn't find her car, her family knew that something was very wrong. Maybe something was wrong when she checked out of the hotel but the symptoms were not yet so serious that she was completely disoriented.

Where exactly did she meet the friend? Did the friend visit the hotel?
Did the family mention anything they said that was helpful during the time she was missing?

Didn't her symptoms start soon after the visit?

All I have read is that she visited with old friends but nothing about them contacting the family.
Do we know which friends were with the family when they found her?

Imo

 

[MsBetsy]

No, I don't have any expertise in LE to offer them. I am speaking only as the daughter of a (late) police chief and therefore, expressing my opinion based on second-hand knowledge.

They are undoubtedly already aware of their partner agencies and city, county, and federal resources and don't need anyone to remind them of that. Why they chose not to use those resources is what is baffling to me. MOO

What about 911? I don't see why they could not have used their services. Driving a vehicle in a disoriented state sounds like an emergency to me. Imo

 

[rosesfromangels]

What about 911? I don't see why they could not have used their services. Driving a vehicle in a disoriented state sounds like an emergency to me. Imo

Apparently LE did reach her by phone (while it was still on), but they couldn’t get her to pull over and stop to talk to her. Apparently she dodged them I guess. IDK.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[MsBetsy]

Apparently LE did reach her by phone (while it was still on), but they couldn’t get her to pull over and stop to talk to her. Apparently she dodged them I guess. IDK.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I thought they were unable to find her at all.

 

[PommyMommy]

I thought they were unable to find her at all.

Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti found dead after police say she was ‘voluntarily missing’
The East Bay Times reported that at the request of the family, a San Jose police officer had 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,” Weinstein told the newspaper.

 

[TTF14]

Such a sad case. Any chance this is just a simple suicide? Well, not simple, but, a suicide.

 

[MsBetsy]

Such a sad case. Any chance this is just a simple suicide? Well, not simple, but, a suicide.

I guess anything is possible since LE has just begun investigating and we don't have any details yet. Imo

 

[TristanP]

Utah tech CEO Erin Valenti found dead after police say she was ‘voluntarily missing’
The East Bay Times reported that at the request of the family, a San Jose police officer had 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,” Weinstein told the newspaper.

Oh, so they actually knew this woman was in a crisis situation and still called it “voluntarily missing.”

There are a lot of bad words in my head right now.

 

[kay74]

Was it mentioned if she had been drinking? Did they find any empty bottles with her? She obviously was out of it from either drugs or drinking. They should contact the hotel and ask about her behavior and definitely contact her friends.

 

[Birmingplumb]

I am sad, lost and have questions. High achiever leaves business and husband to travel alone . How long was she gone from husband and how often while gone did they communicate prior the Monday 3:30 till 11:30 series of calls? Did she suddenly call Monday or did someone call her ? I just know my wife tells me her plans in advance and calls or texts during her trips without me. She goes with a girlfriend or girlfriends. So another question is why travel alone? It was mentioned she went to Laguna Beach on this same trip I believe and there was a photo of some hollywood types and her. It was assumed or mentioned this was related to some "movie" about her ? Really? Who would pay to watch it? <modsnip: not victim friendly> Where did this poor soul go when she left home , business and family and why? Add the if I am not back Monday I died comment. Who revealed this comment here ? This sets her up as possible suicidal. <modsnip: not victim friendly>

 

[Kapua]

To me, this doesn't make a bit of difference. LE routinely calls for assistance from other agencies when needed. If they didn't have the necessary resources to look for a missing and endangered woman, they should have done exactly that.

Sadly, it may not have saved EV's life but it could have prevented her family and loved ones from having to endure days and days of suffering. MOO

There was an article published (I think in the Merc News, but not sure) some time ago about the shortage of officers in San Jose. Wherever it was, the article said that the shortage was to blame for the increase in burglaries.

In this case, however, a person's life was clearly in danger, and there's no excuse for not calling in backups, as you say. All they needed to do was patrol the neighborhood - which they should be routinely doing anyway.

I hope this terrible tragedy brings about needed changes in the department and their procedures. MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

Was it mentioned if she had been drinking? Did they find any empty bottles with her? She obviously was out of it from either drugs or drinking. They should contact the hotel and ask about her behavior and definitely contact her friends.

She was asked by family if she was drinking or if anyone could have given her something. Her response was "No." MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

I am sad, lost and have questions. High achiever leaves business and husband to travel alone . How long was she gone from husband and how often while gone did they communicate prior the Monday 3:30 till 11:30 series of calls? Did she suddenly call Monday or did someone call her ? I just know my wife tells me her plans in advance and calls or texts during her trips without me. She goes with a girlfriend or girlfriends. So another question is why travel alone? It was mentioned she went to Laguna Beach on this same trip I believe and there was a photo of some hollywood types and her. It was assumed or mentioned this was related to some "movie" about her ? Really? Who would pay to watch it? <modsnip: not victim friendly> Where did this poor soul go when she left home , business and family and why? Add the if I am not back Monday I died comment. Who revealed this comment here ? This sets her up as possible suicidal. <modsnip: not victim friendly>

She left Utah for CA the week prior. She spoke to her husband every night and he said everything was normal.

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.

MOO

 

[kay74]

<modsnip: removed duplicate quote>

When my family member was manic, he neither ate nor drank, but would drink water if a cup was held to his lips. I was the other person from whom he would receive food or drink (paranoid of all others).

Also, he started eating plants during the time he was missing, including oleander. Had to have charcoal at the hospital (he had very little in his stomach).

What's strange about Erin's situation, though, is that she had had a normal enough day on Monday, apparently lunching with a friend. Most manic people would not sleep much, and if the car was out of gas, would then be out and about on foot, manic. Manic people don't sit still much (although there are mixed states in which they are stuporous mixed with manic walk-abouts).





I worked as a field diagnostician for jails, mental hospitals (and in other settings) for a couple of decades (and I am a doctor, just not an M.D., a biological anthropologist). Mania can go on for a week or 10 days. Its close cousin (hypomania) can go on for months, to the point that most people regard that state as the person's "normal" state.

I actually worked in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Mountain View for some of those years. Lots of bipolar/manic behavior in that area (there's an excellent book on bipolar illness and its relationship to creativity and innovation by Kay Jamison, who is herself bipolar).

When people showed up in the ER where I was working and were "manic" or "psychotic," it was very hard for anyone to tell whether it was drug-induced (always among the first questions asked and in the bloodwork that gets run ASAP). When people are floridly psychotic, it's hard to distinguish manic, drug-induced, schizophrenic and other psychoses. Typically, first line of treatment is an anti-psychotic drug, naturally. Then as the psychosis subsides (or is knocked down, in some cases), the psychiatrists and other carers can start pinpointing what type of illness it is, with a view toward longterm treatment.

Some forms of mania seem to be related to seizure disorders, for example.

Bipolar disorder in neurologic illness

There's also a phenomenon known as "kindling," in which the psychosis is brought on by a related mental state (excitement, drug use, sleep deprivation). It was not uncommon for people to come into our hospital while on a visit to the area, since travel can induce either bipolar mania or, in type II bipolars, depression. Medical treatment is different for each and kindling situations are something the sufferer must learn to deal with/avoid.

All that being said, anti-seizure medication is increasingly used in the treatment of bipolar illness, and there's some research to indicate that seizures can bring on what appear to be manic episodes.

Thirty Years of Clinical Experience with Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Bipolar Illness

I know several psychiatrists who have had to deal with mania in patients who were at a distance from treatment (traveling) and they advised something as similar as benadryl during a hypomanic or manic episode, as a readily available "bridge" treatment until the person could get to an ER. Most manic people will not, however, go to an ER. They are usually brought in by police, after concerned citizens notice their strange behavior.

Just this week, while at a local business, an apparently manic homeless person came to the door and began shouting exhortations at everyone there, all women and children. He was bare footed and bare chested, wearing nothing but very loose shorts.

Everyone moved to the back of the place, in fear, instantly (except me and the owner - I'm older and I've worked a lot with homeless people). Since he was barely clothed, it was pretty easy to tell he was unarmed and his hands were visible (he was waving them all around and touching things in the front of the store, all the while shouting). I had my phone out to call 911 but just as I started to dial, two squad cars pulled up (he had been wandering all around the shopping center, people had called in). That is an example of florid psychosis. This man was made to sit down on the ground by the police (which helped calm him but he kept shouting for the next half an hour, until they got ready to transport him, 5150).

Sometimes, the more a manic person is allowed to pace around, run around, be hyperactive, the more manic they become. Erin was not, as far as we know, all the way to disrobing and trying to enter houses that were not her own. Which is why it's very puzzling. Sure, she could have been confused and manic, but why did she stay in her car?

Only the medical examiner can answer the question of how long she's been deceased, and whether the toxicology report shows any *known* drug. There's always been a market for strange and experimental drugs in and around Stanford (and people who know how to make them), and there's been a resurgence in the use of synthetic psychedelics in California (especially in the Bay Area).

I feel so badly for her husband and parents. Mania can come on very quickly. We don't know if she had a previous history of such episodes (her husband describing her behavior as "manic" may be a clue). The fact that she wasn't outside the car, wandering around and eagerly trying to get things done/talk to people makes me wonder a lot about what was actually going on.

Depakote is the best IMO for manic depression (bi-polar) One of my relatives has that and he tried coming off of antipsychotics which he was on along with Depakote and he started getting confused and talking which made no sense. Doc never should have put him on antipsychotics since he is not schizo but they did and those CHANGE YOUR BRAIN so you either get off them slowly or have to stay on the da** things. Maybe she was taking antipsychotics and missed doses on her trip, That would cause confusion big time.

 

[PommyMommy]

Depakote is the best IMO for manic depression (bi-polar) One of my relatives has that and he tried coming off of antipsychotics which he was on along with Depakote and he started getting confused and talking which made no sense. Doc never should have put him on antipsychotics since he is not schizo but they did and those CHANGE YOUR BRAIN so you either get off them slowly or have to stay on the da** things. Maybe she was taking antipsychotics and missed doses on her trip, That would cause confusion big time.

She did not have any mental illness or medical conditions according to her husband (a psychologist) and her mother (a nurse). MOO

 

[Birmingplumb]

She left Utah for CA the week prior. She spoke to her husband every night and he said everything was normal.

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.

MOO

I hope so- I hope phone records confirm they spoke daily. Something not right. Why not take somebody to mentor? Or why not Hubby? Hard to buy, sorry.

 

[cvaldez1975]

Does anyone else find it odd that the family was able to get a police officer to speak with EV on the phone Monday night, who then said she was acting disoriented, but still the case is being considered a "voluntary missing"? I mean, how do you even get a cop to call your wife? And then what....? "Oh, yep. She sounds disoriented. Ok bye."???That whole scenario sounds weird to me. IMO

SJPD took 40 minutes to respond when my step daughter was violently assaulted. They are understaffed thanks to chuckie reed’s “pension reform” a few years back. They are building up but not to their former numbers.

The guy was eventually charged w assault w a deadly weapon so it was serious too bad