GA GA - Lam Ngoc Dang, 19, Gainesville/ Lake Lanier, 7 Sept 2016

[Ccosta1]

Yes, absolutely. Feel free to copy and paste it into a document and format it more legibly. I didn’t have a chance to cross-reference this info with what the LE officer said in at least one article that was way off on the timeline. As I recall, one of Lam’s friends sort of contradicted him to the reporter! It’s here on the thread somewhere. I’ll have a look tomorrow (actually today!) sometime.

Haha okay thank you again for helping me and his family with this. It means a lot. And yes I remember what the contradiction was. The officer contradicted himself saying that the raft was deflated when he meant to say inflated.well right now it is 5 am here and I am very tired ... this case has been keeping me up so late I am very tired .. I feel so bad for his parents and his brothers, when I think about anything to deal with this I tear up or cry. It breaks my heart.

 

[Lilibet]

No they didn’t have any hard feelings with each other. They did respond but the question that they responded to was a question like “ hey are you lams old roommate” and they responded with yes I was lams old roommate. One of them said he remembers when they helped him(the roommate) move somewhere and that he feels bad for what happened to lam. So I’m not sure if he was even close enough to see what lam was wearing or was aware he even went to the late prior.

Ha! Sounds like guys. I remember my husband’s college roommates were kind of clueless sometimes...a long, long time ago. So it doesn’t sound like you’ll get much out of them. There’s a friend quoted in the article I will look for and he seemed pretty close.

 

[Lilibet]

Haha okay thank you again for helping me and his family with this. It means a lot. And yes I remember what the contradiction was. The officer contradicted himself saying that the raft was deflated when he meant to say inflated.

Yes! And he was all over the place, saying they started searching immediately on Wednesday and he had it wrong about when the car was wrong. It didn’t give me much confidence in him!

You are entirely welcome! I wish I could help his Mom find a little peace.

 

[Ccosta1]

Yes! And he was all over the place, saying they started searching immediately on Wednesday and he had it wrong about when the car was wrong. It didn’t give me much confidence in him!

You are entirely welcome! I wish I could help his Mom find a little peace.

Has anyone made any new theories about this disappearance??

 

[Lilibet]

Has anyone made any new theories about this disappearance??

Hi again!
No new theories. Here’s the article I mentioned that Lam’s friend contradicted the officer about the timeline. The friend indicates s/he spread the word about Lam being missing and had contact on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Search for missing UGA student underway near Lake Lanier

In my opinion, the possibilities for why Lam disappeared are as follows, with my personal opinion about the likelihood based on following many cases on Websleuths:

1) Walked away from his life for an unknown reason. Not likely without money, car, phone, wallet, etc. and for no obvious reason. But this is the scenario that families and Websleuth members usually cling to for quite awhile because it allows for hope that Lam is still alive. Understandable, but it is very, very rare.

2) Foul play. Not likely since he didn’t seem to have any enemies. It could have been random, but doesn’t seem likely, especially in that location. But there is the seeming concern about his phone being tracked and his suspicious actions when carrying the kayak to the lake that might indicate fear.

3) Accidental drowning. Very possible, especially on this particular lake, as I posted earlier.

4) Suicide. Also possible as I posted earlier. But it’s never what families and want to hear, quite understandably due to the “stigma” and guilt because they think they could have stopped it. Websleuth members are also very reluctant to consider this possibility. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too much of it to ignore the possibility. The concern about phone tracking and suspicious actions could tie in with this possibility too.

Those are the possibilities I’ve come up with, again based on my experience here on Websleuths. What do you think may have happened? I’m certainly open to new ideas.

 

[kaen]

Hi again!
No new theories. Here’s the article I mentioned that Lam’s friend contradicted the officer about the timeline. The friend indicates s/he spread the word about Lam being missing and had contact on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Search for missing UGA student underway near Lake Lanier

In my opinion, the possibilities for why Lam disappeared are as follows, with my personal opinion about the likelihood based on following many cases on Websleuths:

1) Walked away from his life for an unknown reason. Not likely without money, car, phone, wallet, etc. and for no obvious reason. But this is the scenario that families and Websleuth members usually cling to for quite awhile because it allows for hope that Lam is still alive. Understandable, but it is very, very rare.

2) Foul play. Not likely since he didn’t seem to have any enemies. It could have been random, but doesn’t seem likely, especially in that location. But there is the seeming concern about his phone being tracked and his suspicious actions when carrying the kayak to the lake that might indicate fear.

3) Accidental drowning. Very possible, especially on this particular lake, as I posted earlier.

4) Suicide. Also possible as I posted earlier. But it’s never what families and want to hear, quite understandably due to the “stigma” and guilt because they think they could have stopped it. Websleuth members are also very reluctant to consider this possibility. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too much of it to ignore the possibility. The concern about phone tracking and suspicious actions could tie in with this possibility too.

Those are the possibilities I’ve come up with, again based on my experience here on Websleuths. What do you think may have happened? I’m certainly open to new ideas.

I have watched this case from afar because I felt I had little to contribute. I think your listed possibilities/theories are correct, Lilibet. I would tend toward 4 or 5.

My added questions might be in the suicide and accidental drowning scenarios are:

Hiking and water activity are very dangerous activities to do alone. How good a swimmer is he?
How often did this young man go out on the water? And, alone in the water?
Was making this trek to this lake and going out on the water uncharacteristic of him?

My only questions in terms of foul play are:

What is the Asian population percentage in the area?
What is the crime against Asian population statistics in the area?

 

[Ccosta1]

I have watched this case from afar because I felt I had little to contribute. I think your listed possibilities/theories are correct, Lilibet. I would tend toward 4 or 5.

My added questions might be in the suicide and accidental drowning scenarios are:

Hiking and water activity are very dangerous activities to do alone. How good a swimmer is he?
How often did this young man go out on the water? And, alone in the water?
Was making this trek to this lake and going out on the water uncharacteristic of him?

My only questions in terms of foul play are:

What is the Asian population percentage in the area?
What is the crime against Asian population statistics in the area?

He actually took swimming classes in UGA so I’m thinking he could swim pretty well, but also experienced kayakers and swimmers still do drown in lake Lanier.

with population Asians make up 5.1 percent of the population in Atlanta. So it is pretty small compared to other races. I’m not sure about crimes against Asians in Atlanta.
I looked at a few articles from 2016 and apparently hate crimes against Asians were rising at that point.

 

[Ccosta1]

Hi again!
No new theories. Here’s the article I mentioned that Lam’s friend contradicted the officer about the timeline. The friend indicates s/he spread the word about Lam being missing and had contact on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Search for missing UGA student underway near Lake Lanier

In my opinion, the possibilities for why Lam disappeared are as follows, with my personal opinion about the likelihood based on following many cases on Websleuths:

1) Walked away from his life for an unknown reason. Not likely without money, car, phone, wallet, etc. and for no obvious reason. But this is the scenario that families and Websleuth members usually cling to for quite awhile because it allows for hope that Lam is still alive. Understandable, but it is very, very rare.

2) Foul play. Not likely since he didn’t seem to have any enemies. It could have been random, but doesn’t seem likely, especially in that location. But there is the seeming concern about his phone being tracked and his suspicious actions when carrying the kayak to the lake that might indicate fear.

3) Accidental drowning. Very possible, especially on this particular lake, as I posted earlier.

4) Suicide. Also possible as I posted earlier. But it’s never what families and want to hear, quite understandably due to the “stigma” and guilt because they think they could have stopped it. Websleuth members are also very reluctant to consider this possibility. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too much of it to ignore the possibility. The concern about phone tracking and suspicious actions could tie in with this possibility too.

Those are the possibilities I’ve come up with, again based on my experience here on Websleuths. What do you think may have happened? I’m certainly open to new ideas.

Thank you for your input
And yes we don’t want to assume he is dead. At this point we just want to know what happened. It is truly tragic thinking of what could have happened to him. His brother actually got contacted by someone in Ohio who might have found lams possessions in a trash can but it turned out to be a different lam. It was very disappointing but I’m not sure what else to think.

 

[Lilibet]

Thank you for your input
And yes we don’t want to assume he is dead. At this point we just want to know what happened. It is truly tragic thinking of what could have happened to him. His brother actually got contacted by someone in Ohio who might have found lams possessions in a trash can but it turned out to be a different lam. It was very disappointing but I’m not sure what else to think.

You are in good company not wanting to assume Lam is dead. Here at Websleuths we spend a LOT of time developing theories that the missing person is alive. In fact, on one of my first cases here, the missing woman from Oregon, Stephanie Warner, was reported being seen among the homeless population in a city in Washington state. A Websleuths member in Portland actually took the time and expense for gas to go there and inquire in shelters, put up posters, and walk the streets looking for her! That’s how much we wanted her to be alive! Ultimately it became clear that her boyfriend had killed her, but she has never been found. She has family in New Orleans who must still want her back seven years later.

I don’t say this to dash your absolutely understandable hopes, but to let you know that Websleuths members don’t easily let go of the idea that the missing person may be alive. Like you, we don’t want to think of the other tragic possibilities. But we do want to know what happened. Sadly, there are many missing persons who have never been found for years. It’s just awful for their families. But then we occasionally read about someone who left and started a new life elsewhere and reappears years later. Sometimes a family member has even been under a cloud of suspicion all that time, so their life has been awful. And it’s also been awful for families who just want to know what happened all those years.

Whatever theory you decide on for Lam, it’s heartbreaking for a young man with a promising life ahead of him to be gone. He will never be forgotten by his family and friends. And if it’s any comfort to you, we won’t forget Lam here at Websleuths either, even though we didn’t know him. Many of us check in on cases for years, hoping the missing person has been found, and if there was foul play that justice is served. So I hope it helps you to know that strangers care.

 

[Ccosta1]

You are in good company not wanting to assume Lam is dead. Here at Websleuths we spend a LOT of time developing theories that the missing person is alive. In fact, on one of my first cases here, the missing woman from Oregon, Stephanie Warner, was reported being seen among the homeless population in a city in Washington state. A Websleuths member in Portland actually took the time and expense for gas to go there and inquire in shelters, put up posters, and walk the streets looking for her! That’s how much we wanted her to be alive! Ultimately it became clear that her boyfriend had killed her, but she has never been found. She has family in New Orleans who must still want her back seven years later.

I don’t say this to dash your absolutely understandable hopes, but to let you know that Websleuths members don’t easily let go of the idea that the missing person may be alive. Like you, we don’t want to think of the other tragic possibilities. But we do want to know what happened. Sadly, there are many missing persons who have never been found for years. It’s just awful for their families. But then we occasionally read about someone who left and started a new life elsewhere and reappears years later. Sometimes a family member has even been under a cloud of suspicion all that time, so their life has been awful. And it’s also been awful for families who just want to know what happened all those years.

Whatever theory you decide on for Lam, it’s heartbreaking for a young man with a promising life ahead of him to be gone. He will never be forgotten by his family and friends. And if it’s any comfort to you, we won’t forget Lam here at Websleuths either, even though we didn’t know him. Many of us check in on cases for years, hoping the missing person has been found, and if there was foul play that justice is served. So I hope it helps you to know that strangers care.

I really appreciate you saying all of this. Even though he isn’t a relative of mine. His family is deeply saddened by him disappearing. I have lost sleep for many weeks about this. I’m not sure why but every time I think about him I cry. I also have never met him but my boyfriend is his brother. I just want to meet him some day. But knowing I may not. Makes me very sad.

 

[Lilibet]

I really appreciate you saying all of this. Even though he isn’t a relative of mine. His family is deeply saddened by him disappearing. I have lost sleep for many weeks about this. I’m not sure why but every time I think about him I cry. I also have never met him but my boyfriend is his brother. I just want to meet him some day. But knowing I may not. Makes me very sad.

I have to say that Lam’s family is so fortunate to have someone as caring as you are trying to help. I hope you will take care of yourself as I’m sure Lam would want you to. Please let us know if you find out anything more. Hugs!

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up for Lam.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up one more time. I assume Lam is still missing. There's still a Facebook search page and fundraiser, but neither updated since 2016. I don't find him listed in NamUs.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up to keep following case. I haven't found anything new.