CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct. 2012 - #23

[The Farm]

I'm a new Websleuth user and I live in Westminster, Co.
I'm just now able to register and join in on your discussions, although I have been following it for the last month. This has been such a horrible event for our community. I used to live 2 blocks away from where ARS lives and my son attended Witt Elementry (when he was little).
This blog has been like therapy for me. When there is no explanation for such a horrific tragedy, I have found solace in the knowledge of everyones posts. (I have always believed that knowledge is power).
I want to thank all of you so much for your information and posts.
Hopefully I can bring new insight and information as more details unfold on this case and information is made available to our community.

My Love to the Ridgeway Family.

Welcome Amy. My daughter lives in Westminster and yes it has been just horryfing. I myself live no where near Colorado and this forum has been importanat to me too as being able to keep up. Plus there are many good people here.:Welcome1:

 

[Confusion]

In the winter, it can be very, very cold in Iowa and even if it isn't actively snowing, the wind can be blowing snow. Most of the farmers I know that do their own mechanical work have some type of heater to take the edge off the chill but it takes quite a while to build up the heat to a semi-comfortable level. Just makes sense not to open that whole door unless you are quite certain you are done with that vehicle.

When working on a vehicle, there are times when the mechanic will need for the vehicle to run as long as 15 minutes or more; for instance, sometimes the problem is only apparent when the engine has gotten really hot. Or they fiddle with the insides, test it by starting it, listen, cuss, fiddle some more, lather rinse repeat. Um, the cussing step is usually repeated more than once per cycle.

And yet it is my observation that working on engines is quite often very satisfying to the person who knows how to do it.

Not just in Iowa; Minnesota is no picnic in the winter either. When I was younger, I did a lot of my own car repairs. Having a heated garage is going to be totally useless if you have to keep opening the door to try the car when it's -30F outside. I also liked to start the car, go inside while the engine warmed up and not have to worry about somebody hopping in and driving off with my car.

 

[absentia]

I was thinking the same thing, Steel -- He attended Witt Elementary, IIRC, when he was her age, so he knows where she's headed -- especially if he has been watching her and/or possibly others. She just may have been the one child who was walking to school when he was cruising. If he was cruising...

IMO, he had plenty of time to think, to fantasize, and he had an idea for an "adventure," so he made plans. The Big Day -- he had the rope, zip-ties (if he used them), and the chemical-soaked rag in a jar, all in his car. A little adventure kit. How exciting, huh? And he got lucky.

I've been wondering about this, and the fact that he possibly went unnoticed by neighbors as he had grown up there, attended school there and wouldn't look out of place? but still, a 17 yo boy would look kinda out of place near an elementary school, but not on the street.

 

[Cashew]

argh, another teen is missing from a N. Denver Suburb. This one in Firestone.
Have you seen Anika Perry? Missing from Firestone since early morning hours of 11-2-12. Age 16. 5'5". May have been wearing purple and white shawl. May have been traveling on bike. Possibly had pet parrot with her. Please contact Firestone police. Please spread the word!

I heard her brother was going door to door w/flyers.

 

[catswhiskers]

Has the house been released and the mother and brother moved back in? tia

I have just listened to last week's Tricia's True Crime Radio (linked here on Websleuths) and one of the guests was Carol McKinley - an ABC news producer. During the interview she says she was shocked to phone the house and get an answer, as she couldn't believe they would still be living there after body parts (sorry, sorry, sorry poor Jessica and family ) had been found inside ...

All paraphrased by me of course, but that was the general gist of that part of the interview - it's worth a listen if you have the time.

 

[AmyC7547]

I heard that on True Crime too. But wondering if Mindy Sigg just answered her cell phone. She could be living anywhere.
I would never return to that home again if i were her.


Thanks The Farm. Nice to meet you.

 

[PlainJaneDoe]

argh, another teen is missing from a N. Denver Suburb. This one in Firestone.
Have you seen Anika Perry? Missing from Firestone since early morning hours of 11-2-12. Age 16. 5'5". May have been wearing purple and white shawl. May have been traveling on bike. Possibly had pet parrot with her. Please contact Firestone police. Please spread the word!

I heard her brother was going door to door w/flyers.

I can't find anything about her being missing online?

 

[Cashew]

I know, I can't either except on my social networking site. My friend posted that her brother came to her door w/a flyer.

 

[otto]

How the farmers in my area do it is to run a piece of hose between the vehicle exhaust pipe and the vent opening in the garage door. The end of the hose that connects to the vehicle has a top on it with a fitted cut out for the vehicle exhaust; the end of the hose that connects to the vent opening is fitted into place.

Here in Iowa, you almost have to have a way to work on your vehicles in the garage in the winter, considering that Iowa can have winter days where the high is below zero F.

I've never heard of anyone dying from working on a vehicle that way. There may be a small amount of exhaust leakage into the garage but I've never smelled it or suffered any noticeable effects from it.

Considering the go-kart racing, etc, it doesn't seem too far out there to think he may have done some of his own vehicle work.

ETA: when the vent hole isn't in use, there's usually a cap or plug in it to keep the wind, snow, rain and small animals out. Cats aren't bad but once a squirrel thinks it has found a good place to nest, it is darn near impossible to evict them!

There's a couple that lived near me. One cold day, they used the automatic car starter to warm up the car before heading out. The car was in an attached garage. They weren't silly people ... but the exhaust came under the doors and into the house. They were found later that day. Fire rescue people were violently ill from entering the home. They ended up in the hospital. I wouldn't fool around with running an engine in an attached garage with the doors closed regardless of what cool gadgets can be used to vent the exhaust.

 

[AmyC7547]

I know, I can't either except on my social networking site. My friend posted that her brother came to her door w/a flyer.

I have been looking. Can't find anything either.

 

[jacy]

I'm a new Websleuth user and I live in Westminster, Co.
I'm just now able to register and join in on your discussions, although I have been following it for the last month. This has been such a horrible event for our community. I used to live 2 blocks away from where ARS lives and my son attended Witt Elementry (when he was little).
This blog has been like therapy for me. When there is no explanation for such a horrific tragedy, I have found solace in the knowledge of everyones posts. (I have always believed that knowledge is power).
I want to thank all of you so much for your information and posts.
Hopefully I can bring new insight and information as more details unfold on this case and information is made available to our community.

My Love to the Ridgeway Family.

Welcome, Amy! There is a therapeutic effect to these forums. Someone asked me today why I follow cases. It's not something I can explain except to say I so deeply care and so hope for a positive outcome. And if not, then I'm going to learn about laws and pray for the families and make a show of solidarity.

When I take my 8 year old to school in the early dark and sit there and watch until he's completely inside the door, I know others are doing the same. And I have to think there is this crackle of energy that zigg zaggs all across the country, school to school, a parental force field, if you will. Power from knowledge, power in numbers. I look forward to your input and promise to stop talking your ear off.

 

[otto]

I'm the 1st to admit that this "exhaust escape" is totally new to me.

However, in spite of me having nothing but the greatest repect you, GrannieDhu, why wouldn't the mechanics/farmers simply temporarily raise the garage doors to test whether or not the vehicle will now start/run properly? IDK...

Around here, unless it's a commercial business, people work on their engines outside, even in cold temperatures, or they tinker with their car engines in the summer. Carbon monoxide is oderless, colorless, tasteless ... confusion, vomiting, loss of muscle function and death are the consequences of making a mistake ... no car hobby is worth it.

 

[otto]

Just curious . Does anybody here think that one of the many abandoned industrial buildings along the road where her body was found, could have been the secondary crime scene? Maybe he even dismembered the body in one of those buildings. Then loaded parts in his car, and left the rest on the side of the road.

I know the police spend a lot of days searching that entire area. Seems to me that abandoned building would a likely place for a crime like this to take place, and given the close proximity to were the body was found.

It was a cold day, and he doesn't strike me as the type that would be comfortable outside for the length of time it took to do what he did. Furthermore, if he did this near the location where the torso was found, why would he take evidence to his crawl space at home?

 

[passionflower]

I have some potential info, but not sure if I can share it. So I want to ask an admin first, and I don't really know how to do that. So I'll post here, then hit that little 'report post' thingy.

did a mod contact you yet?
I will hit alert button for you

 

[AmyC7547]

Welcome, Amy! There is a therapeutic effect to these forums. Someone asked me today why I follow cases. It's not something I can explain except to say I so deeply care and so hope for a positive outcome. And if not, then I'm going to learn about laws and pray for the families and make a show of solidarity.

When I take my 8 year old to school in the early dark and sit there and watch until he's completely inside the door, I know others are doing the same. And I have to think there is this crackle of energy that zigg zaggs all across the country, school to school, a parental force field, if you will. Power from knowledge, power in numbers. I look forward to your input and promise to stop talking your ear off.

Well Stated

 

[kkdj]

Well Stated

Indeed!

 

[nikb]

Sorry mck16

I'm the wrong person to ask. I fell behind with hurricane Sandy coming and some light clean-up.

I'd love to know the answer to those questions as well.

OT sorry, but glad to hear that you're only facing a light clean up.

I'm usually (and again tonight) behind a bit but usually not too far, and I have the same questions.

 

[AmyC7547]

It was a cold day, and he doesn't strike me as the type that would be comfortable outside for the length of time it took to do what he did. Furthermore, if he did this near the location where the torso was found, why would he take evidence to his crawl space at home?

I think LE knows where. They are not searching any areas and the police tipline is now a voicemail.

Moo.

 

[nikb]

Our mechanic has those things in every bay.

Now that I've read more about it (thanks to WebSleuths!) we should probably have one of those things on our house... and now that you say that, I've seen something similar on auto shops. Mostly on the roof, but I can imagine one being on the door, especially at a house instead of a shop.

Question: I know AS was into racing, or his dad was anyway and AS also drove. I'm a little confused on how whether his Dad was still in the scene when this house was purchased though. Does anyone know? If he was, it could explain getting a house with a car exhaust thing. or installing one later.

All IMO, all speculation and wondering...

ETA: my husband's heavily into cars/engines, and where we live in CA we think "it's freezing, get a jacket!" if it's under 50 degrees, so I'll fully admit we're kinda wimps, but he's loved in when he worked at shops with the exhaust things because he knows the doors will be closed and it'll be warm.

 

[Marnie]

OT sorry, but glad to hear that you're only facing a light clean up.

I'm usually (and again tonight) behind a bit but usually not too far, and I have the same questions.

OT, Thank you. Nothing compared to losing a loved one, for sure.

Hopefully we'll have answers, but at least the monster is locked up.