Found Deceased CA - Kolby Story, 32, last seen Venice Beach, car found in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, 7 Dec 2020

[everybodhi]

The story about following her part way home after sitting and waiting/watching her that night does not add up IMO MOO

Yeah, why leave her then after waiting in the car for her for 3 hours?
Another thing I don't get, she went home from the beach at 7pm with her "boyfriend and another friend", then her "roommate" said she went back to the beach alone at 9:30.
Is the roommate also the friend?
Where were her "boyfriend and another friend" at 9:30, had they left her house?
Is the friend who helped her find her keys and waited in his car a different friend?
Also, something else in the timeline about the friend that I left out to stay in 10% TOS, this comes after the friend saw her turn onto her street, almost home.
""That’s the last time anyone saw her,” Josh said. He explained that his father pays for Kolby’s cell phone and was later able to check phone records from that night. They discovered that her friend made four unanswered calls to her between 2 a.m. and 8:45 a.m."

Why didn't she answer the phone?
With a flat tire?

 

[JMapes]

The last person, the "friend" who saw Kolby, was "worried about her", who called her all night and into the morning the night she disappeared, he's the one the police should be looking for IMO.

Does anyone think she was actually victimized by homeless folks living on the beach, or just targeted at this beach because the location could be easily portrayed as a dangerous place with dangerous people lurking nearby? A crime of opportunity, of sorts- but, I don't feel that this was a random act, but the outcome of poor Kolby being in the "right place at the right time" for the perpetrator (who could've easily been stalking her and waiting for the right opportunity to strike).

Whatever led the police from finding KS's belongings in the beach tunnel to the discovery of her remains in the wetlands, I hope detectives have more info, more witnesses, and more people willing to come forward and help figure out what happened to KS.

To be honest, I don't think she was the one who drove her car to Ralph's. Did her car make it to and from the wetlands without her as the driver as well? Was her vehicle ever processed for fingerprints or any sort of evidence? It had a flat tire, and was found in front of a grocery store. I'm guessing at this point there were no cameras nearby to see when/who dropped of the vehicle...But they've surely checked, right?

(all MOO)

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I remember this case from last year. As others here have said, the whole car, keys, friend scenario never felt quite right.

Are they suspecting murder then, or still too early?

I wonder if she had taken some drug that she badly reacted to, became disorientated through taking, as she allegedly told her roommate she was going to Venice Beach at about 9:30 p.m. Why would she suddenly get the urge to: was she meeting someone to collect something?

It was only then around an hour later that she called a friend to help her find her car keys.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

How can we get this case back in the news?

You must be psychic! Three weeks later - it is.

 

[everybodhi]

The last person, the "friend" who saw Kolby, was "worried about her", who called her all night and into the morning the night she disappeared, he's the one the police should be looking for IMO.

Does anyone think she was actually victimized by homeless folks living on the beach, or just targeted at this beach because the location could be easily portrayed as a dangerous place with dangerous people lurking nearby? A crime of opportunity, of sorts- but, I don't feel that this was a random act, but the outcome of poor Kolby being in the "right place at the right time" for the perpetrator (who could've easily been stalking her and waiting for the right opportunity to strike).

Whatever led the police from finding KS's belongings in the beach tunnel to the discovery of her remains in the wetlands, I hope detectives have more info, more witnesses, and more people willing to come forward and help figure out what happened to KS.

To be honest, I don't think she was the one who drove her car to Ralph's. Did her car make it to and from the wetlands without her as the driver as well? Was her vehicle ever processed for fingerprints or any sort of evidence? It had a flat tire, and was found in front of a grocery store. I'm guessing at this point there were no cameras nearby to see when/who dropped of the vehicle...But they've surely checked, right?

(all MOO)

I think her wallet was dropped by the homeless as a diversion. jmo
Hopefully they've gone over her house forensically, I'm not sure she went back to the beach at 9:30, the only witness of that we know of is the friend who allegedly sat in his car for 3 hours and then allegedly left her before she got home.

 

[Evilxelvis138]

I think her wallet was dropped by the homeless as a diversion. jmo
Hopefully they've gone over her house forensically, I'm not sure she went back to the beach at 9:30, the only witness of that we know of is the friend who allegedly sat in his car for 3 hours and then allegedly left her before she got home.

there was also a second friend who helped find the keys, but they may have just been a passer by.

 

[insearchoflight]

The friend waiting and watching her for hours is super stalkerish

It’s highly plausible she did leave with a ukulele and sleeping bag (have I got that right or are my details hazy?). Then said stalker friend accompanied her to her demise mooooo

 

[everybodhi]

there was also a second friend who helped find the keys, but they may have just been a passer by.

The friend who helped with keys is the same friend who then sat in their car for 3 hours until she left and then followed her almost to her home.
But she never went home, instead she died at the eco preserve and her car was dumped at the parking lot across from Ralphs.

 

[everybodhi]

The friend waiting and watching her for hours is super stalkerish

It’s highly plausible she did leave with a ukulele and sleeping bag (have I got that right or are my details hazy?). Then said stalker friend accompanied her to her demise mooooo

Yes you're right. I wonder if the sleeping bag and ukulele where in her car.

 

[Evilxelvis138]

The friend who helped with keys is the same friend who then sat in their car for 3 hours until she left and then followed her almost to her home.
But she never went home, instead she died at the eco preserve and her car was dumped at the parking lot across from Ralphs.

I agree with your synopsis, and I believe yes it was that first friend. (I feel this was more of a FB follower type person, but he had her number at least… assuming it wasn’t just texting through FB or any other social media app)

This friend we are talking about should be called the “first friend who helped find the keys”, because if you reference the original MSM articles there is also a second “friend” who was there who helped look for the keys. I took it as it was a passer by who just wanted to help, but I don’t want to assume.

 

[everybodhi]

I didn't realize she had two sons.

"The 32-year-old mother of two sons had last been seen on Dec. 7, 2020, in the 12300 block of Pacific Avenue in Mar Vista."

I don't understand how finding her things at Venice Beach got them to searching in Marina Del Ray which is really not at all like Venice.
Maybe because her car was there?

"On July 16, during the homeless encampment cleanups taking place along the Venice Boardwalk, police found Story’s checkbook and driver’s license in a beach tunnel.

A search was conducted, and later that day, authorities found her remains in the nearby Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, located south of Marina Del Rey."

Exclusive Interview: Father Of Kolby Story, Whose Remains Were Discovered Last Week Near Venice, Speaks About His Daughter

 

[everybodhi]

LA times says her things were found by the reserve, which is weird that they found things in two locations within 24 hours, months after she disappeared.
They also say the reserve is walking distance from where she was last seen, allegedly, in Vista Mar but I wouldn't walk that in the middle of the night.
The reserve is almost an hour walk from Venice Beach and a little less from her last seen location near home.
It's a 25 minute walk from the reserve to where her car was found

Remains of missing Westside woman identified
Los Angeles police detectives began an investigation about 10:30 a.m. July 16 at the reserve’s entrance. That same day, a passerby informed police he discovered items belonging to Story near the reserve.

 

[charminglane]

Kolby Story: Skeletal remains found in Ballona Wetlands during search

 

[Megnut]

Kolby didn't discard herself.

I hope her bones will speak for her.

What happened to you, Kolby?

JMO

 

[Lusitana]

Oh no. I'm so sorry for her family and friends. Rest in peace, Kolby.

 

[Evilxelvis138]

[QUOTE="Megnut, post: 16957522, member: 232749"]Kolby didn't discard herself.

I hope her bones will speak for her.

What happened to you, Kolby?

JMO[/QUOTE]
RBBM

I feel there is a lot of the story we don’t know about. Why did she go back to Venice beach after being there earlier? Did her “friend” really have her phone number or was it context through social media? She had two kids but lived with roommates instead of them?

There are huge parts of her story and the story of that night that are unknown, unknown to us sleuths. Maybe the story we have heard is complete BS.

Being the devil’s advocate, I don’t think we can fully rule out it wasn’t self harm.

 

[everybodhi]

DBM, quote/reply isn't working properly

 

[everybodhi]

I don't think we can rule suicide out either but I hope they do a thorough investigation before they come to that conclusion.
That her possessions were found both where she was last seen in Venice and where her body was found in Marina Del Rey, all within a day's time and 7 months after she disappeared is a heck of a coincidence.
LE should be able to tell if those things were outside and exposed to the elements since December 7, which includes rainy season, or if they were placed there recently.
The evacuation of the homeless in Venice didn't just start the day they found her things in the tunnel, it's been ongoing. Every month since January has seen them cleared out but they come back, Venice has half a million earmarked relocate them elsewhere, into motels or permanent subsidized housing.
There are houses for $10 million+ in Venice Beach, the rich and famous live there.
The tunnel was specifically cleared out that day after an anonymous call that a women was being held against her will but they didn't find evidence of that, but a "good Samaritan" found Kory's checkbook and drivers license while LE was there.
We don't know what items were found that day by the reserve, maybe a ukulele and a sleeping bag?
After 7 months missing, I have to wonder if this was staged to end the investigation and lead detectives towards suicide now that she's down to a skeleton and forensic evidence is lost.

Venice is now home to the largest concentration of homeless anywhere on L.A. During the past 18 months, several encampments have swelled in more residential areas where homes can easily sell for eight figures and up.

LA’s Homeless Surge Puts Hollywood Ideals to the Test – The Hollywood Reporter

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 26, 2021
Kolby Story case: Family seeking answers after remains found in Ballona Wetlands ID'd as missing woman - ABC7 Los Angeles
More than a week after a missing woman's remains were found in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve near Marina Del Rey, her family says there are still so many questions surrounding her death after she vanished last December.

"Naturally, you want to know did somebody do this to her and why because I can't imagine anybody would want to harm her," said her sister, KS. "She was a very lovable person."

[...]

Her family says authorities are waiting on an anthropologist to determine how exactly she died and provide answers they are hoping will finally bring some closure to the heartbreaking tragedy.

"I don't believe that she took her own life. Whether it was an accident or something actually happened to her, we just have to I guess wait and see," KS said.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 26, 2021
Fundraiser For Missing Woman Found Dead In Wetlands Raises $8K | Marina Del Rey, CA Patch
[...]

In a fundraiser, family member AS asks people to consider supporting Kolby Story's son, B. Here's the message:

"I am building a fundraiser for B and I ask for your support. B's mom disappeared 8 months ago, after months of searching we became aware of the saddening news of her death. She was a single mom, who leaves behind her beautiful son B, who is now in the care of her older sister KS. Thankfully, B is nurtured and comforted by his Auntie KS who does so much to take care of him.

[...]

... She grabbed her sleeping bag, a backpack and a ukelele about 8:30 p.m. and told her roommate she was returning to the beach to hang out. She told her father the same thing on the phone. ...

[...]