CO- Dylan Redwine, 13, Vallecito, 19 November 2012 - #7

[PaulR]

Do these disposable cells ping? I'm assuming they must...

All cell phones ping as long as they are on and a tower for whatever kind of cell service they use is in range to pick up the ping.

 

[scorekeeper]

http://www.weather.com/weather/right-now/USCO0026:1

50's - is that warm for this time of year?

 

[Salem]

I need to ask about texts. I have friends in rural Oklahoma and I live in North Texas.
Sometimes they are angry that it can take up to 12 hours for me to get their texts. Just pondering as Dylan was in a rural area and have questions.

I sometimes have this problem too - but... it has never, ever taken 13 days

The cell phone is really an issue here. Trying to track that timeline. I do believe the phone battery could have died and Dylan, being tired and just getting to Dad's and needing to help put away groceries, or whatever, forgot to put the phone on the charger that night. So when he woke up in the morning and plugged it in, maybe something happened before it was charged enough to send a signal.

Does anyone know if the phone would automatically begin to transmit a signal the moment it is plugged in? Not needing to wait for the battery to charge?

Do you think it is plausible that a 13 year old knows a phone charges faster if it is turned off? I know that, but I don't turn my phone off anyway - I just let it take more time.

Salem

 

[dlc]

Your scenario would have us believe that the cats disrobed Dylan and set aside any of his personal property for investigators to find before they moved him to the feeding ground.

That's not how it works.

A 4-6 year old cat can grab a 200 pound man by the back of the neck and jump 20 feet without touching the ground. They sit perched above animal trails and grab the pray and then move them to a secure location to feast on for up to 7-10 days. The carcass is generally buried in brush between feedings, (lunch and dinner). the entire pack will feed off the fill after the dominate cat is satisfied.

It's called mother nature and humans have been on the cats menu for about 2 decades.

I'm sure you know more about this topic than I do, given that you're a Search and Rescue worker, but I was recently doing research and writing on Colorado mountain lions, specifically the problems that they're been having around Boulder in recent years, and the success of tracking programs. Before anyone gets really alarmed by the photo posted above, or others that are similar, I'd like to post these facts, by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. It's also worth noting that a lot of the problems Boulder has had have stemmed from human behavior (feeding of mule deer, leaving food outdoors, not understanding that these animals are not just big kitties):

7. What are the risks to humans from lions?

In Colorado, there have been two confirmed deaths and one suspected death caused by mountain lions. All three have occurred since 1990, and all of these incidents occurred in undeveloped areas away from towns. In Boulder, the natural areas surrounding the city experience high visitation (an estimated 4.7 million visits to city Open Space and Mountain Parks property during a 12-month period in 2004 and 2005) and there has been one reported attack on OSMP property which occurred in 2006. Four additional people were injured by mountain lions in Boulder County between 1990 and 2000, all of which also occurred outside the Boulder city limits. Across the wider range of mountain lions in the western United States and Canada, attacks on humans are also very rare.

There has been an average of 0.2 annual human deaths in all of North America from mountain lions between 1900 and 2007. This number is very low compared to annual deaths from black widow spiders (1.4 between 1950-1989), domestic dogs (16 between 1979-1998) and car crashes (45,000 between 1980-2005).

While the risk of a lion attack is very low, there is still a risk associated with living or recreating in lion habitat. The obvious facts to take into account are that lions are predators, they prey on large mammals, and throughout their range they have on very rare occasions been responsible for some human injuries and deaths.


BBM

So, not saying that it _couldn't_ happen, just that these creatures usually prefer other prey, and rarely go after humans. Just wanted to add that I didn't post this to criticize anyone's opinion, as I wrote, it _could_ happen; it's just unusual. Rather, I did attend a talk by two biologists/specialists in large cat behavior a year or so ago, and they did emphasize how rare the attacks are, and were obviously worried about the possibility of people being incited to go and randomly shoot any mountain lion they happened to come across.

 

[not_my_kids]

I never said cat would disrobe him. But I don't think cat would take backpack that Dylan had with him. As far as I can tell cats have no interest in backpacks.

But if the backpack was on his back, the cat wouldn't have removed it either. It if got caught or tangled somehow and connected to his body, it would have stayed there until the animals were done him. And if he had thrown a snack in it before leaving the house, it would be shredded somewhere out in the woods, quite possibly where LE could not find it.

 

[Tessie]

http://www.weather.com/weather/right-now/USCO0026:1

50's - is that warm for this time of year?

50 in Colorado can be cold...if the wind is blowing and it's cloudy.
50 can be t-shirt and shorts weather too. It just really depends.

 

[DylansMom34]

http://www.weather.com/weather/right-now/USCO0026:1

50's - is that warm for this time of year?

It has been unseasonably warm this year. I'm not in the Durango/Bayfield area but I think typically at this time of the year, it would be at least 10-20 degrees cooler than it has been. I haven't heard much about the Reservoir either, from the videos shown on the news it certainly didn't look like any of it was frozen (but maybe its large and deep enough that it doesn't freeze)

 

[PaulR]

Does anyone know if the phone would automatically begin to transmit a signal the moment it is plugged in? Not needing to wait for the battery to charge?

I think it depends. I have a cheap "prepaid" cell phone and if it ran out of juice completely, plugging it in does NOT automatically turn the cell phone on. I have to manually do that.

Once I do, though, the cell phone automatically connects and starts working again. You could probably talk with it plugged into the wall even if the battery hadn't charged yet.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

I sometimes have this problem too - but... it has never, ever taken 13 days

The cell phone is really an issue here. Trying to track that timeline. I do believe the phone battery could have died and Dylan, being tired and just getting to Dad's and needing to help put away groceries, or whatever, forgot to put the phone on the charger that night. So when he woke up in the morning and plugged it in, maybe something happened before it was charged enough to send a signal.

Does anyone know if the phone would automatically begin to transmit a signal the moment it is plugged in? Not needing to wait for the battery to charge?

Do you think it is plausible that a 13 year old knows a phone charges faster if it is turned off? I know that, but I don't turn my phone off anyway - I just let it take more time.

Salem

Again, my problem with this theory "something happened before the phone was charged" is whatever it is that happened... his backpack, cell phone and fishing pole were scooped up and taken with him? Or he grabbed these things and flew out the door on his own? I could see this maybe if he had pre-arranged for a ride and his ride showed up and he wasn't ready, but if that were the case his phone would have records of him making this arrangement. A text or phone call or something? It would have had to have been done the night before or that morning because he didn't know there was a change of plans until after Dad picked him up from the airport.

 

[LaMer]

I think I know what ur saying. Your saying the fishing pole is the excuse if they find Dylan in the lake? A setup to make his death look like an accident? Is that what you mean?

Yes one scenario, and not all drowning victims are found, some can be presumed.

 

[not_my_kids]

Again, my problem with this theory "something happened before the phone was charged" is whatever it is that happened... his backpack, cell phone and fishing pole were scooped up and taken with him? Or he grabbed these things and flew out the door on his own? I could see this maybe if he had pre-arranged for a ride and his ride showed up and he wasn't ready, but if that were the case his phone would have records of him making this arrangement. A text or phone call or something? It would have had to have been done the night before or that morning because he didn't know there was a change of plans until after Dad picked him up from the airport.

Maybe he intended to take a snack (or had already thrown it in the bag) and therefore had already set it and his pole outside on the porch, getting ready to leave. He wouldn't take everything with him, especially not his clothes, he wasn't running away, so who would take a full backpack with them. He ducks back in to get the phone, and some random (evil ) passerby (or someone that knew his dad and knew that he would be there alone, due to dad's vehicle missing or having seen him drive past alone earlier in the day) grabs Dylan's stuff, throws it in his vehicle, knocks on the door, tells Dylan "Hey, man, somebody grabbed your pole and took off." Dylan steps outside, random passerby says, "Come on, we'll go after him." No struggle at the house, missing items explained, and Dylan gone.

That's the only theory I have that allows for him to still be alive on Monday morning, and it would take a lot of coincidence, like the cell phone battery being dead or there being no reception, Dylan having to go back into the house, and the random passerby passing by at just the right moment. I guess stranger things have happened.

 

[jjenny]

But there is nothing to suggest Dylan went to the lake. Again, no fishing pole, no back pack found.
They likely stopped searching because they don't believe he was ever there.

 

[Rougelatete]

That is a really good question. LE can find out what (if any) cell phones were in the area of MR's home during the relevant hours, right? And then they can do a reverse look up to identify the owners of those numbers? I imagine it wouldn't be a quick process but it could open up new directions if they are stumped (which I don't believe).

Btw, I agree with your assessment of the friendly abductor theory. I think the simplest solution is the correct one in this case. Dylan was dead shortly after the cell phone went silent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BBM. This makes the most sense to me. And that would mean the whole 'nudging' and 'trying to rouse' on Monday morning never happened.

 

[dlc]

Yet another question (I'm very reluctant to post theories, as I figure that the moderators, who've been doing this a long time, must have a better sense of the situation than I).

So, I grew up in the south, and loved fishing. I haven't been for at least 10 years, and that time was saltwater, rather than fresh, so I don't know if things have changed.

Back in the olden days, in order to fish, one needed not only a fishing pole, but usually brought along a tackle box and bait as well. Maybe it's different there. Can one just drop a line in the water and hope to catch anything, or was a tackle box also missing? Are they assuming he used artificial lures (we used to dig ours up, but maybe we were just cheap).

 

[bessie]

I sometimes have this problem too - but... it has never, ever taken 13 days

The cell phone is really an issue here. Trying to track that timeline. I do believe the phone battery could have died and Dylan, being tired and just getting to Dad's and needing to help put away groceries, or whatever, forgot to put the phone on the charger that night. So when he woke up in the morning and plugged it in, maybe something happened before it was charged enough to send a signal.

Does anyone know if the phone would automatically begin to transmit a signal the moment it is plugged in? Not needing to wait for the battery to charge?

Do you think it is plausible that a 13 year old knows a phone charges faster if it is turned off? I know that, but I don't turn my phone off anyway - I just let it take more time.

Salem

If the phone was working, once it powered on through the AC adaptor, a signal would have been transmitted. The time it takes to power on can vary from phone to phone. It wouldn't have been instantaneous if the battery was drained.

There's also the possibility that the phone or the battery malfunctioned. Cell phone batteries can overheat and short circuit. Sometimes phones won't charge.

If the phone battery died on Sunday evening, Dylan probably connected it to the charger thinking it would be powered up the next morning. When he awoke, however, the phone still didn't come on because of a malfunction. If the phone wouldn't power on, he would've been unable to retrieve his friends' numbers stored inside. Unless he memorized them -- most kids don't -- he couldn't use the landline. His only options would have been to wait for his dad, or grab his stuff and take out on foot to hitch a ride.

 

[LotusPawprint]

I think it depends. I have a cheap "prepaid" cell phone and if it ran out of juice completely, plugging it in does NOT automatically turn the cell phone on. I have to manually do that.

Once I do, though, the cell phone automatically connects and starts working again. You could probably talk with it plugged into the wall even if the battery hadn't charged yet.

Ah-"prepaid"! Not "disposable". My brain is on auto-suspicious.

 

[jjenny]

Yet another question (I'm very reluctant to post theories, as I figure that the moderators, who've been doing this a long time, must have a better sense of the situation than I).

So, I grew up in the south, and loved fishing. I haven't been for at least 10 years, and that time was saltwater, rather than fresh, so I don't know if things have changed.

Back in the olden days, in order to fish, one needed not only a fishing pole, but usually brought along a tackle box and bait as well. Maybe it's different there. Can one just drop a line in the water and hope to catch anything, or was a tackle box also missing? Are they assuming he used artificial lures (we used to dig ours up, but maybe we were just cheap).

I don't think they are assuming he ever went fishing.

 

[Dixie811]

I really don't think he'd decide to hitchhike without first trying to get one of his friends' parents to pick him up. I would think as soon as Dylan woke up, realized Dad was gone, he would have immediately started texting or calling his buddies trying to get to them and I don't think he'd attempt hitchhiking unless those other possibilities weren't successful. <respectfully snipped>

I just want to note that we don't know if the possibility of getting a ride from a friend's parent was discussed between Dylan and his friends or not. The idea that runs through my head is-- Sunday night when Dylan is talking to his buds he says he can't come over that night, how about Monday? Says Dad's got some meetings, can your mom pick me up? Perhaps the friend's parents were going to be working on Monday (I would think most working adults would have to work at least Monday & Tuesday of Thanksgiving week) and this is what led to the idea of MR dropping Dylan off so early on his way to his meetings.

I don't know if I portrayed my thought clearly, and I realize it is just as likely that a conversation such as this did not happen. I'm just throwing out ideas.

JMO.

 

[NC Analyzer]

I can see a lot of effort put into thinking of plausible theories for what happened to this teen, but IMHO, there were only 2 logical possibilities...

1. Abduction while hitching a ride
or
2. Dad did ?

No phone activity after 8pm is very disturbing to me. Mom said Dylan is very "tech savy". That speaks volumes to me. I have serious doubts that a tech savy kid is going to let his battery go dead...no matter how tired he is. That phone would go on the charger as soon as possible. And if, by chance, he fell asleep before that happened, it would definitely be on the charger the minute he woke up. And once the phone was charging, he would be using it. A tech savy kid doesn't use a landline unless they are desperate. Part of the appeal of having a cell phone is the privacy the kids feel. His messages. His stuff. HIS. Most cell phones connect kids to Facebook, music, internet, emails. All "HIS" stuff.
And I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but wouldn't he be likely to shoot mom a text or call her when he arrived or at least by the next morning? I would think she would have expected that...I would have even if I heard from Dad that things were fine, I would expect my kid to stay in touch with me several times a day during his time away. That is typical behavior between kids who have cell phones and moms.
Which goes back to why nothing from Dylan on Monday morning? I am convinced he would have used his phone. And I doubt he would have left that house to go off hitching unless he told his friends he was on the way. My reasoning for this is because it was such a distance and he wouldn't have wanted to show up if no one was home. He would have told them he was coming to make sure they didn't have any changes in their plans. Long way to go back home if no one was there.
Not seeing fishing expeditions, strange neighbors knocking on the door, cats, none of it. Something happened to this child on Sunday night after 8pm leaving plenty of time to "dispose" of him, establish early morning alibi's and then return home to regroup and plan a cover story before contacting the authorities.
I could be wrong, but I'm not...very often.
JMO

 

[dlc]

I don't think they are assuming he ever went fishing.

I thought that, and also that a lot of other possibilities had been ruled out by LE a couple of days ago, but they keep coming back up, so I'm now kind of lost. I tend to believe that LE, particularly since the FBI is involved, has a pretty good idea of what's going on, but....