Deceased/Not Found CA - Sierra LaMar, 15, Morgan Hill, 16 March 2012 #14 *A. Garcia-Torres guilty*

[rosesfromangels]

It is cruel but you are correct, I think.

People often wonder why some missing people get a huge amount of attention and the majority get very little attention at all. I think there is truth to the "cute girl/woman, probably white" syndrome.

But now I wonder: maybe it also has to do with how presentable the family spokesperson is. Just off the top of my head, I can't recall a single famous case where the family spokesperson wasn't either attractive or able to look solidly middle to upper middle class. For instance, no cases of missing children where the mother was missing one or more front teeth.

So maybe the appearance of the family representative makes a significant difference as well.

Which is really, really wrong.

How sad, but so very true. For the media, it's a ratings game. Sierra's story, and the image of her beautiful little face bring viewers, ratings, and thus advertisers that equate to $$$. Sad, isn't it. Reality...

Oh, and of course anything salacious sells big time as well. Think Teri Horman the sexting/ bodybuilder/cheating on her husband/accused of murder for hire against her husband/step mom of missing Kyron Horman. The media couldn't get enough of that story with all those elements.

 

[Foxymona]

I'd just like to point out something I have said before about the character of Sierra. A lot of her tweets are copying something she's seen on the internet, rap lyrics and her pretending to be 'ghetto' with her friends. It looks shocking until you look at her tumblr account or listen to the rap lyrics she did- she's parroting a LOT.
Sierra was also big into the uk version of the show 'Skins' about a group of kids her age who are BIG time into drugs and sex. It was super cool for her (and quite an interesting show that I'm young enough to appreciate and as a parent absolute shock and horror of what teen life is becoming).
IMO did she experiment with drugs... most likely. And alcohol- certainly (not such a big deal where I'm from). Was she a complete tear away? I don't think so at all. She seemed to be bored home most of the time and online a lot finding all these things out of boredom? Escape?
A lot of her tumblr photos are arty and edgy and cool to that age group. And lots of pretty, skinny, naked girls- thinspiration IMO. Graffiti, drugs, Skins stills and quotes etc. But I do not think it reflects the day to day character of Sierra at all. In fact I think she was a bored teen, stuck at home, away from her old friends, fixated with rap and cool programmes that glorify sex and drugs and she parrotted it all for everyone to see and gives off a very different impression.

 

[cluciano63]

It is cruel but you are correct, I think.

People often wonder why some missing people get a huge amount of attention and the majority get very little attention at all. I think there is truth to the "cute girl/woman, probably white" syndrome.

But now I wonder: maybe it also has to do with how presentable the family spokesperson is. Just off the top of my head, I can't recall a single famous case where the family spokesperson wasn't either attractive or able to look solidly middle to upper middle class. For instance, no cases of missing children where the mother was missing one or more front teeth.

So maybe the appearance of the family representative makes a significant difference as well.

Which is really, really wrong.

I know, I think of Beth Holloway and Desiree Young, both so blond and beautiful, almost camera-ready anyway...easy on the eyes...I hate to think they could get airtime easier than some others, but it could be true...everything else seems to be based upon appearance...

 

[rosesfromangels]

I just took a look at her tumblr. WOW is all I can say right now. She has a ton of references to marijuana and drugs. At 15 years of age (I'm only 23 right now so it wasn't too long ago...well kind of!) I NEVER would have posted something like that on my myspace (which was VERY popular at the time). First of all, only people who used drugs would post something like and second of all I would be terrified my parents would see it and I'd get grounded. It concerns me to see so many different images of marijuana. It definitely tells me a bit more about her character....

jmo.[/QUOTE
@AlexLouise44 - I haven't read her social media posts, but I would see these type of remarks as more of a shout out for help, seeking attention she was lacking, or an accurate reflection/byproduct of a highly dysfunctional family. From the info that has been made public, Sierra had some real rough patches in her young life. Maybe venting online gave her the validation and feedback she needed to cope. And this is NOT intended to be a slam to you - please do not take this offensively, this is just my own choice....I have not read Sierra's posts because I don't want to invade the thoughts she posted for her friends, or an intended audience. She never intended me (unknown to her or her family), to read her posts. It's my way of showing respect for her as a person as I continue to pray for her safe return. Kinda silly maybe, but it feels right for me.

 

[cluciano63]

I just took a look at her tumblr. WOW is all I can say right now. She has a ton of references to marijuana and drugs. At 15 years of age (I'm only 23 right now so it wasn't too long ago...well kind of!) I NEVER would have posted something like that on my myspace (which was VERY popular at the time). First of all, only people who used drugs would post something like and second of all I would be terrified my parents would see it and I'd get grounded. It concerns me to see so many different images of marijuana. It definitely tells me a bit more about her character....

jmo.[/QUOTE
@AlexLouise44 - I haven't read her social media posts, but I would see these type of remarks as more of a shout out for help, seeking attention she was lacking, or an accurate reflection/byproduct of a highly dysfunctional family. From the info that has been made public, Sierra had some real rough patches in her young life. Maybe venting online gave her the validation and feedback she needed to cope. And this is NOT intended to be a slam to you - please do not take this offensively, this is just my own choice....I have not read Sierra's posts because I don't want to invade the thoughts she posted for her friends, or an intended audience. She never intended me (unknown to her or her family), to read her posts. It's my way of showing respect for her as a person as I continue to pray for her safe return. Kinda silly maybe, but it feels right for me.

Actually Sierra posted several times about wanting to get as many followers as possible...she did not seem to treat twitter as a private space, IMO. She laughed about some of the followers she had that she had never heard of...

Also, while she did do the crazy posts, with some pretty mind-boggling language, she also posted some sensitive stuff, some sad stuff, and some stuff that shows she has a cute sense of humor. It is a pretty complete picture of her, at least as one can get from such a log.

JMO

 

[GrainneDhu]

I know, I think of Beth Holloway and Desiree Young, both so blond and beautiful, almost camera-ready anyway...easy on the eyes...I hate to think they could get airtime easier than some others, but it could be true...everything else seems to be based upon appearance...

EXACTLY!

In Laci Peterson's case, Laci had that star quality smile in her photos and Sharon Rocha was just the epitome of a solid, loving middle class about-to-be-grandma.

In Susan Cox Powell's case, her parents had that same very stable, middle class image. The sort of people that anyone would be happy to have as neighbours.

The more I think about it, the more I think I may actually have stumbled across one of the secrets. In this society, image is so important. It certainly doesn't hurt to be beautiful (as you point out, Beth Holloway and Desiree Young) but if the family representative is able to present a stable, middle class appearance, that can be enough.

I have to wonder if Kyron would have gotten so much attention if Desiree had been covered with tats and piercings. Which is sad because there are plenty of women who have tats and piercings who are wonderful mothers... but they're not "media ready."

 

[BeginnersLuck]

I had never seen twitter or tumblr before learning about Sierras disappearance. I have a 24 year old daughter so myspace I beleive, was the first that no one appears to use anymore and then came facebook. She is on facebook but rarely, she is to busy. I ask her and she didn't know what tumblr was. But if she was a teen right now I'm sure she would be on there.

It is a game with a the kids to get more followers from what I have seen. It's like a popularity contest. Since learning about twitter I am very concerned about the public information displayed not only by youth but also adults. It is a prime target for pedophiles and kids to bully each other. Anyone can be anonymous and can make up fake accounts. I do worry about how this is affecting our youth.

When I first saw tumblr I freaked out. Now, I think about if you want to draw people to your site, the more graphic it is the more interesting.

I think only a few parents are aware of twitter and tumblr and need to be educated on what apps are popular with teens right now. The kids also need a good education on internet safety. I hope they are addressing this in that county, and I hope that the kids are being couseled in some way concerning Sierra's disappearance.

Just an FYI - the owners of social media sites have a right to allow or disallow certain content in the terms of use. They choose not to because it is imparent that numbers are more important than safety.

I think we as society need to put more pressure on them. There also should be measures in place to verify identity of users and better ways of identifying harmful activity.

Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and all the others are littered with child and pedophiles.

 

[imkeylime]

I'd just like to point out something I have said before about the character of Sierra. A lot of her tweets are copying something she's seen on the internet, rap lyrics and her pretending to be 'ghetto' with her friends. It looks shocking until you look at her tumblr account or listen to the rap lyrics she did- she's parroting a LOT.
Sierra was also big into the uk version of the show 'Skins' about a group of kids her age who are BIG time into drugs and sex. It was super cool for her (and quite an interesting show that I'm young enough to appreciate and as a parent absolute shock and horror of what teen life is becoming).
IMO did she experiment with drugs... most likely. And alcohol- certainly (not such a big deal where I'm from). Was she a complete tear away? I don't think so at all. She seemed to be bored home most of the time and online a lot finding all these things out of boredom? Escape?
A lot of her tumblr photos are arty and edgy and cool to that age group. And lots of pretty, skinny, naked girls- thinspiration IMO. Graffiti, drugs, Skins stills and quotes etc. But I do not think it reflects the day to day character of Sierra at all. In fact I think she was a bored teen, stuck at home, away from her old friends, fixated with rap and cool programmes that glorify sex and drugs and she parrotted it all for everyone to see and gives off a very different impression.

Agreed. I've never felt that Sierra is that different from my daughter, who is about the same age but lives on the opposite coast. While my daughter doesn't follow rap, I've heard similar content from electronic bands on her I-home. As you said, we need to remember that these are reposts, most likely meant to be read by (and impress) people near her age. I suspect that she wanted to appear dark, edgy, and cool. Most teens do ... especially when they feel insecure.

I don't think her posts, etc., played a part in her disappearance. In terms of drugs and alcohol ... they're out there. But I doubt some DD targeted her. I'm more concerned about her walking to and from the bus stop alone, being watched by someone who paid very good attention.

 

[Annie1004]

Yea, but...losing your child? That has to top any public speaking shyness, IMO...it has to, you have no choice. JMO

Totally agree - it is just that Marleen doesn't appear as comfortable being interviewed as Beth Holloway and Sharon Rocha, for instance. The latter two are strong women who got their messages out there. Marleen stumbles on her words, looks down, shoulders slumped, appears fragile in her first national interview.

No matter, Sierra's family, KlaasKids and the community have done an excellent job of keeping the story in the media. The outpouring is almost unprecedented.

 

[GDUD]

If my kid disappeared and I went on camera I am sure I would appear as highly suspicious. I am somewhat shy by nature and I have never liked being photographed. I would really not like being filmed for any reason. I would be nervous as a cat. Add that to the stress of the situation and my broken heart, and eyebrows would raise worldwide! Everything I said, every nervous tic I tried to suppress, and every pause would be questioned. Every glance would appear furtive. I would probably be scrutinized to the point where everyone would immediately see me as hinky in every possibly way.

In short, I would probably question myself about whether my going on camera would really be in the best interest of my missing child, as I think it might put the focus on me instead of where it belonged.

I agree!

 

[LittleMissContrary]

Something has been bothering me about the picture that SL sent to her friend the morning she went missing.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something does not seem right about the picture.

It is actually multiple things about the picture that seem odd. I just want to ask everyone to take a look at it again and tell me what you think.

1. Her facial expression does not match the playful act of her sticking her tongue out at the camera. Her eyes and eyebrows seem to indicate stress rather than ease.
2. It looks as though the two tufts of hair sticking out at the far right are not hair. It looks like what happens to me when I use the cloning brush a little too thoroughly in photoshop. The texture of those black areas do not look like hair.
3. The highlighted parts of her pupils, ostensibly the result of reflected light across the pupil orbs, do not seem to be in the correct spot. If you look at all of her other self taken photos, they are in a much different location.
4. The shirt/sweatshirt she is wearing is much too bulky to be a jersey.
5. The area to the right of where her ear would be looks like it has been darkened to make it look like her hair is covering it.

These are just a few things that seem strange to me, but maybe I am just working too hard to see something that is not there.

 

[Plumeria5]

Something has been bothering me about the picture that SL sent to her friend the morning she went missing.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something does not seem right about the picture.

It is actually multiple things about the picture that seem odd. I just want to ask everyone to take a look at it again and tell me what you think.

1. Her facial expression does not match the playful act of her sticking her tongue out at the camera. Her eyes and eyebrows seem to indicate stress rather than ease.
2. It looks as though the two tufts of hair sticking out at the far right are not hair. It looks like what happens to me when I use the cloning brush a little too thoroughly in photoshop. The texture of those black areas do not look like hair.
3. The highlighted parts of her pupils, ostensibly the result of reflected light across the pupil orbs, do not seem to be in the correct spot. If you look at all of her other self taken photos, they are in a much different location.
4. The shirt/sweatshirt she is wearing is much too bulky to be a jersey.
5. The area to the right of where her ear would be looks like it has been darkened to make it look like her hair is covering it.

These are just a few things that seem strange to me, but maybe I am just working too hard to see something that is not there.

What is the title of the person that would analyze the photo for LE? Would it be some sort of profiler? I bet they are doing the same thing you did scrutinizing every detail of the last photo.

O/T I played Mary, Mary Quite Contrary in a school operetta once. :blushing:

 

[shana]

1. Door Locks: It is likely that some doors in the home were locked by knob, rather than by dead bolt; in other words, you can easily lock yourself out if you don't twist the button to the correct position upon egress. Typically such doors would not be the primary ones used for entrance/exit.

Button locks can be picked easily (credit card or nail file) or left unlocked unintentionally (easy ingress).

I would think that at the very least, the front door to Sierra's home would have a dead bolt which requires a key upon exit. We don't know if it does, nor do we know which door she usually used upon exit. We do not know about any keys at all.

(I offer this, but I do not think Sierra was abducted from within her home.)

2. Which cases get attention: Just take a look at the list of Missings in the forum! There are many reasons why a case receives more media attention than another. This subject has been vigorously discussed/debated since the Ramsey case. There are too many variables to categorize in a meaningful way.

3. Social media: Security measures such as net (read: computer) users have been learning about for years do not apply to tablets and smart phones. Personally, and based on that knowledge, there is no way I would want any young persons in my own sphere to use such devices unattended. I do NOT have the time to research or put the safeguards in-place for them. What parent does?

~jmo~

 

[curious girl]

Something has been bothering me about the picture that SL sent to her friend the morning she went missing.
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something does not seem right about the picture.

It is actually multiple things about the picture that seem odd. I just want to ask everyone to take a look at it again and tell me what you think.

1. Her facial expression does not match the playful act of her sticking her tongue out at the camera. Her eyes and eyebrows seem to indicate stress rather than ease.
2. It looks as though the two tufts of hair sticking out at the far right are not hair. It looks like what happens to me when I use the cloning brush a little too thoroughly in photoshop. The texture of those black areas do not look like hair.
3. The highlighted parts of her pupils, ostensibly the result of reflected light across the pupil orbs, do not seem to be in the correct spot. If you look at all of her other self taken photos, they are in a much different location.
4. The shirt/sweatshirt she is wearing is much too bulky to be a jersey.
5. The area to the right of where her ear would be looks like it has been darkened to make it look like her hair is covering it.

These are just a few things that seem strange to me, but maybe I am just working too hard to see something that is not there.

I do see exactly what you're saying.

The eyebrows could be a result of her effort to to pose and get the picture just right.

I'm sure we've all been thinking about this case a lot and with nothing new to look at we start to notice and nit pick a lot of stuff and like you said see stuff that's not there.

All the stuff you mentioned, just IMHO could be there or not. I can see it both ways; that piece of hair does look grainy, but maybe it's just a misplaced curl. There's the slightest halo of frizz around the rest of her hair as well.

What do you suppose the scenario could be if something is wrong or maybe fake about this picture?

On a side note: I never liked the idea of this picture being taken as kind of an "outfit of the day" or "face of the day" like Marlene supposes, because well, she looks a lot less done up than in other photos and you cant even clearly see what makeup or clothing shes wearing. The idea of that always bothered me.

To me it just looks like she's being silly with photobooth. I don't think she took her cutesy pics with photobooth, but I think this is photobooth because of a) the quality and b) the fluorescent looking light you see reflected. Photobooth does this 3 2 1 big flash thing.

 

[SmoothOperator]

In looking at the earlier newscast interviews, I saw that Marleen reacted the same way when asked about Steve being an RSO as she did re questions about her boyfriend. Consistent reaction in both cases at different times.

They are damned if they talk to the press, and damned if they don't, all the while going through an unimaginable horrific experience.

Until LE makes any move toward them as possible POI's, I personally am not going there.

What we need is a little more info / update from LE. It has been almost 7 weeks. Otherwise, this case may go cold and the public loses interest (AMW should create more attention, though).

I can only speak for myself and my opinions/thoughts when I say that I am not in any way indicating those of which I have been discussing(Danielle, Steve, Marlene) are in any way whatsoever involved in what happened to Sierra.. I happen to feel quite strongly that it is someone that has business/personal ties to Rick.. But you better believe that I absolutely am of the opinion that for whatever reasons Marlene makes statements that are misleading.. Moo is in no way making reference to, nor even alluding to any of those being involved in what's happened to Sierra.. So, for me personally LE naming or not naming any of those POI is irrelevant due to the fact that my discussions in no way point to their responsible for Sierras disappearance..

To each their own.. Many of us believe that the dynamics, the misleading statements made, and some family feeling the need to correct that which is misleading.. Are very relevant to Sierra's case.. Some do not agree and that's why it's to each their own but as far as making suggestion that the family is involved..that's not accurate in the least..


____________________...
Posting via mobile as well as via tablet so plz forgive all typos.. Btwn the sucky touch keyboard and the obsessive auto-correct it's a big ol' mess :crazy:

 

[ozazure]

I think timing plays a bit part, if a person's story gets traction when there isn't something else going on, it has some momentum. I remember listening to Lindsey Baum's mother on a podcast, may have been websleuths, saying her story was about to air when Michael Jackson died and that was it for her when it came to decent media coverage. When they have got a story they can recycle with small updates and good photos I think that helps a lot.

Little Miss Contrary, I am sure that LE is all over that picture, the exif data alone on the original would be pretty helpful. I would LOVE to know to whom it got sent and how. However, this is a photo of a photo, an iPhone shot of what may well be a printed picture so a lot of variables playing into the appearance of it.

 

[Wendy101]

I do see exactly what you're saying.

The eyebrows could be a result of her effort to to pose and get the picture just right.

I'm sure we've all been thinking about this case a lot and with nothing new to look at we start to notice and nit pick a lot of stuff and like you said see stuff that's not there.

All the stuff you mentioned, just IMHO could be there or not. I can see it both ways; that piece of hair does look grainy, but maybe it's just a misplaced curl. There's the slightest halo of frizz around the rest of her hair as well.

What do you suppose the scenario could be if something is wrong or maybe fake about this picture?

On a side note: I never liked the idea of this picture being taken as kind of an "outfit of the day" or "face of the day" like Marlene supposes, because well, she looks a lot less done up than in other photos and you cant even clearly see what makeup or clothing shes wearing. The idea of that always bothered me.

To me it just looks like she's being silly with photobooth. I don't think she took her cutesy pics with photobooth, but I think this is photobooth because of a) the quality and b) the fluorescent looking light you see reflected. Photobooth does this 3 2 1 big flash thing.

Looks like she has red rash or something on her neck in the photo that was posted above..

 

[sherbetjello]

So.......... nothing?

Frustrating!!

 

[Annie1004]

On NBC News tonight: LE to meet with community re the Sierra LaMar case tomorrow, May 3, at the search center "to address concerns."

I hope this is more than a "meet and greet" for volunteers and that LE will divulge more information. They have been too quiet for too long.

 

[LittleMissContrary]

I do see exactly what you're saying.

The eyebrows could be a result of her effort to to pose and get the picture just right.

I'm sure we've all been thinking about this case a lot and with nothing new to look at we start to notice and nit pick a lot of stuff and like you said see stuff that's not there.

All the stuff you mentioned, just IMHO could be there or not. I can see it both ways; that piece of hair does look grainy, but maybe it's just a misplaced curl. There's the slightest halo of frizz around the rest of her hair as well.

What do you suppose the scenario could be if something is wrong or maybe fake about this picture?

On a side note: I never liked the idea of this picture being taken as kind of an "outfit of the day" or "face of the day" like Marlene supposes, because well, she looks a lot less done up than in other photos and you cant even clearly see what makeup or clothing shes wearing. The idea of that always bothered me.

To me it just looks like she's being silly with photobooth. I don't think she took her cutesy pics with photobooth, but I think this is photobooth because of a) the quality and b) the fluorescent looking light you see reflected. Photobooth does this 3 2 1 big flash thing.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I agree with many of your comments.

In response to this comment, "What do you suppose the scenario could be if something is wrong or maybe fake about this picture?" my answer would be that I don't know. I keep running through it in my mind because there is something that keeps sticking. If it was altered in some way, I could see a few scenarios. First and foremost it would definitely rule out a random attack. The perp would be someone she knew.
It would not necessarily implicate the recipient of the photo either. I do think it is a strange picture to send to a boy. Unless perhaps he is a Shark's fan, but in that case you would think she would be pointing to or otherwise drawing attention to the jersey/sweatshirt itself.
I guess now that I think about all the extraneous factors in the situation, it is silly to consider it a possibility.
Perp would have to force her to take the picture, then had the picture sent to his/her computer for editing, and then forwarded it to the person who initially received it. If LE had not cleared the family in the situation I could potentially see a different set of circumstances, but still only minimally plausible or likely.
I will stop grasping at straws here until new information emerges.

edit: The other question would be, why would the photo need to be edited in the first place.