HI HI - Jeffrey Meek, 43, Keaau, 8 November 2014

[razzledazzle]

Sandra Meek said reports her son had confronted former employees about alleged thefts from the company were true, and added, “They all quit.” She said her son had hired new staff and she spent three weeks with him in late October and early November going over the plumbing business’ books.“Financially, I would say he was in debt approximately 50- to 60-thousand dollars. But his gross receipts were in the hundreds of thousands per year. He had a successful company.”The missing man’s mother is a realtor who owns two Berkshire Hathaway offices in Southern California. She said she offered to help her son financially, but he declined. - See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/new...ther-speaks-out#sthash.aaJMNz7D.A8DZ2ePx.dpuf

I didn't read this to necessarily say that former employees allegedly stole $50K to $60K. I read it to say this amount was the over-all estimate of debt the company owed to creditors (purchase of vehicles, tools, supplies, gas, etc.). All companies have some sort of debt and monthly bills to be paid. If Jeff noticed gas card usage was up, or some receipts weren't balancing, he may have gone into the office and "blown a fuse", resulting in employees walking out - or maybe they were guilty of "skimming" and when confronted they quit. I just don't think that dollar amount refers to what was allegedly stolen. MOO of course.

 

[Dushi]

It was still there on Nov. 13th when I and others searched the area for clues.

Just a hypothetical question for anyone

If a friend called for help to get their car out and when you arrived they were not around.... would you free the truck or just go home?
And I asked this before (not a car person) Could it be freed from the mud without keys?

 

[Dushi]

Sandra Meek said reports her son had confronted former employees about alleged thefts from the company were true, and added, “They all quit.” She said her son had hired new staff and she spent three weeks with him in late October and early November going over the plumbing business’ books.“Financially, I would say he was in debt approximately 50- to 60-thousand dollars. But his gross receipts were in the hundreds of thousands per year. He had a successful company.”The missing man’s mother is a realtor who owns two Berkshire Hathaway offices in Southern California. She said she offered to help her son financially, but he declined. - See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/new...ther-speaks-out#sthash.aaJMNz7D.A8DZ2ePx.dpuf

I didn't read this to necessarily say that former employees allegedly stole $50K to $60K. I read it to say this amount was the over-all estimate of debt the company owed to creditors (purchase of vehicles, tools, supplies, gas, etc.). All companies have some sort of debt and monthly bills to be paid. If Jeff noticed gas card usage was up, or some receipts weren't balancing, he may have gone into the office and "blown a fuse", resulting in employees walking out - or maybe they were guilty of "skimming" and when confronted they quit. I just don't think that dollar amount refers to what was allegedly stolen. MOO of course.

I really don't know
My first reaction was that is what was missing
But you and another poster are questioning that , so maybe I am reading it wrong

I don't understand her sharing his business debt other that to say, based on sales, he was running a very successful business

Hundreds of thousands in business and only fifty or sixty thousand in debt


I will re think the comment by Mrs Meek

 

[Dushi]

It sounds like police are thinking accident
However, the boots lead me away from that
The article says they were found a mile and a half apart



Friends, family members, and fellow parishioners of his church combed the parcel and the nearby shoreline. Two days later, they found one of his boots. The other was found the following day, about a mile and a half away, near a shoreline access point. - See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/new...-man-s-mother-speaks-out#sthash.aaJMNz7D.dpuf

Quoting my post
Huge mistake

I misread it.
She didn't say a mile and a half apart!!!! She said away

I hope i didn't confuse an already confusing situation, but that is bad reporting A mile and a half from the truck? the other shoe?

 

[JamesBest]

Just a hypothetical question for anyone

If a friend called for help to get their car out and when you arrived they were not around.... would you free the truck or just go home?
And I asked this before (not a car person) Could it be freed from the mud without keys?

I could not free the truck by myself. Without the key, it could be freed only by pulling it out with another truck, for example.

 

[JamesBest]

Quoting my post
Huge mistake

I misread it.
She didn't say a mile and a half apart!!!! She said away

I hope i didn't confuse an already confusing situation, but that is bad reporting A mile and a half from the truck? the other shoe?

I don't believe you made a mistake. The newspaper said "The other was found...about a mile and a half away..." "The other," of course, is the second boot, which, according to the grammatical structure of the sentence, was 1.5 miles from the first boot.

 

[Plumeria5]

“It doesn’t fit,” Sandra Meek said. “The shoe was a mile and a half away from where the truck was stuck in the mud. Now, c’mon. Why would he walk a mile and a half while he’s waiting for somebody to come and help him get out of the mud? His cellphone records show the calls that he made for someone to come and help him. Why would you walk away to go swimming while you’re waiting for someone to come and help you get your truck out of the mud?” - See more at: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/new...-man-s-mother-speaks-out#sthash.aaJMNz7D.dpuf

That is the kicker...you wouldn't.

I know the wording leads one to think the boots were a mile and a half apart but it was the truck that was a mile and a half from the boots. The boots were both in the same area feet/yards apart.

 

[Lee1968]

It seemed to me this is a misunderstanding of a fact. I understood previously that both boots were found at the Point, which is "a mile-and-a-half" away from his truck, not that the boots were 1.5 miles apart. One boot was on the path leading to the water, and the other was in the water lodged under a rock.

I believe it would be helpful if someone going to the caves Saturday would ask Sandra Meek if she would join this Website and give us clues she receives from the police and/or her private detectives. Then we who live in Hawaii could conduct searches for them.

My mother in law is very ill. She's putoff treatment as long as she could. She came home to CA this past weekend. I don't know that she would join this forum.

 

[Lee1968]

I think the granddaughter and husband who were also to have a house on the lot is the nephew he called to get him out of the mud. Jeff's mother's granddaughter would be Jeff's niece.

Yes. She is my niece. She is the child of his oldest sister. She is an extremely good girl. Very straightlaced and straightforward.

 

[Lee1968]

I guess the mom's story is just a little too pat. He's in debt, but it's not his fault, it's some employees' fault, but they're out of the picture now and apparently everyone's just fine with that?

ETA: not accusing mom of anything, maybe Jeff didn't tell her the whole story, maybe she's totally correct, maybe the paper isn't giving us the whole story. Could be anything.

I wouldn't be at all suprised if there were things he was holding back from her.

 

[JamesBest]

My mother in law is very ill. She's putoff treatment as long as she could. She came home to CA this past weekend. I don't know that she would join this forum.

That is sad. I hope she recovers quickly.

 

[Lee1968]

My mother in law is very ill. She's putoff treatment as long as she could. She came home to CA this past weekend. I don't know that she would join this forum.

also, I don't know if she would be much help because she may not be able to be as objective about Jeff's possibilities as we would need her to be.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Just a hypothetical question for anyone

If a friend called for help to get their car out and when you arrived they were not around.... would you free the truck or just go home?
And I asked this before (not a car person) Could it be freed from the mud without keys?

1. I would try to locate that person first because I would be concerned about his/her safety, and because I would need the keys to the truck. If the person couldn't be located, I would contact someone close to him/er (e.g., spouse), explain the situation and ask for his/er opinion. If I couldn't stay due to a prior engagement, etc., then I would at least try calling or texting until I got a hold of the individual.

But then I really don't think that Jeff's truck was stuck there, nor that he was the one who made the phone call or sent the texts.

If Jeff's truck was indeed stuck, then when the nephew got there and Jeff was nowhere to be found, he got scared (he immediately thought Jeff had met foul play, having intimate knowledge as to what types of people Jeff had been dealing with) and left. He hasn't disclosed this to LE because he is afraid that if he did so, it would tarnish Jeff's reputation and/or he himself and/or Mary would be in serious legal trouble (and that the children might be taken away from her).

JMO. I just really hope that LE can gather enough evidence against the responsible party (this case is turning out to be much more complicated than I thought initially), and, of course, that Jeff is found.

 

[Plumeria5]

This is O/T (off topic) but yet in a way is relevant to Jeff's case. I have been so busy checking in on this thread and just tonight found out that Chase Merritt was arrested a month ago for the McStay family murders. The reason I say it is relevant is...disgruntled employee. And it seems Jeff would have had a whole slew of them after the office cleared in October. Physically I just can't do the cave search but it would be interesting to see who shows up. I have heard that it is not uncommon for the one involved to show up and help just to get close and find out what the talk is. Scary thought.

 

[Island_Chica]

Well, wow. I spent an hour yesterday afternoon reading this whole thread... and just, wow. From a complete outsider's perspective, the history of drug use/abuse is what stands out to me the most. Meth is - generally speaking - a poorer man's drug, and is not associated with functioning individuals (at least, not after any significant use). Jeff had achieved some level of success, and I'd be shocked if he was using meth with any regularity (unless it had reared its head again recently). I wonder if he had any conditions or injuries that might have led him to painkiller abuse? Very often, those who are addicted to painkillers get led down the road to heroin, as it is a less expensive and easier to obtain substitute.

The time when one has young children is also a relatively stressful time, despite the joy a toddler brings. I've known many people, men and women, to have complete breakdowns while parenting young kids. These are people who generally have it all "together" and then they start drinking too much, smoking a little too much weed, spending time away from the family, seeking outlets to make them feel like a person again, not just a parent and employee/employer. Just wonder if the stress of a young family plus a business (and one with some issues at that) might have driven him back into using some substance. Certain drugs can be easier to hide than others. Many people can pull themselves together for Sunday service, only to fall apart the other 6.5 days of the week.

 

[Plumeria5]

Aloha, everyone! Just a heads up. Make sure you keep some space open in your private message inbox because once it is full, you won't be able to receive any.

 

[Plumeria5]

Just got back from Kaumana Cave. Is there more than one because there wasn't a soul there nor any cars. If they were to meet in Keaau at 9:30 they should have been there by now. Did it get called off? Or, did they decide to search somewhere else?

 

[Lee1968]

Money thing really strange. It's almost as if maybe someone was extorting it from him. He may have decided no more because his mom was coming or whatever. Why else would you have that vast of a discrepancy in the books? Easier to take it out of the company budget than the home budget and have to explain to your wife. Maybe someone knew about that legal situation from the past and threatened to start the talk back up again or inform the church. It was in the past, but if things had quieted down and settled a bit, would you want it to start back up again? I don't think he was making that much money though. My daughter said it was a pretty frugal lifestyle they were living when she was there 2 yrs ago and I know he had alot of trouble paying child support.

 

[Lee1968]

Just got back from Kaumana Cave. Is there more than one because there wasn't a soul there nor any cars. If they were to meet in Keaau at 9:30 they should have been there by now. Did it get called off? Or, did they decide to search somewhere else?

No one showed?

 

[Plumeria5]

No one showed?

I don't know. Dav said they were to meet at 9:30 in Keaau. I was at the cave at 10:45. No one was there. Maybe they waited around for more people to show and got there later. I only went by once. The weather was ok. Cloudy but wasn't raining.