Holly Bobo found deceased, discussion thread *Arrests* #7

[OldSteve]

My mind can't let go of the early days just after Holly's abduction. The authorities made several puzzling remarks, but the one that won't leave me is when the Sheriff said, "Things are not as they seem." Shortly after, fewer statements were given to the public and the search for Holly came to an unexpected and sudden end at Easter.
The "whys" that I have related to those days are haunting me still today.


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Interesting. What in the world did he mean by that I wonder too.

 

[Coldpizza]

It's time to move along from the discussion about Holly's looks.

Thank you

 

[Tugela]

I agree. If Holly did not have blonde hair and blue eyes and was young and petite, she would not be considered gorgeous. And if people are allowed to say she was so beautiful that she was killed because of it, there's no reason others cannot disagree.

In abduction/murder scenarios it is almost never about looks. Either the victim is picked at random because the opportunity presents itself or because there is a connection between the victim and the abductor.

I don't believe that the abductor was someone who was just passing by, since she was taken from the car port of a rural property, supposedly by someone hiding in the bushes. That is highly unlikely behavior for a random stranger IMO.

In this case she could have been stalked, but I doubt it. Usually, unless someone is a celebrity, there is typically a history of some sort that precedes the abduction, and supposedly HB has no history with the accused. Also, people who abduct the person they stalk don't go and share the victim with their friends and especially not with estranged family members.

The last possibility is the other form of random abduction, because the opportunity presented itself and that is that she was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the abductors came looking for someone else. Instead they found her and took her as a sort of hostage. Then, unfortunately, the family called in the cavalry and at that point HB was as good as dead. Whoever took her would have had to make her disappear once everything hit the news. IMO that is the most likely scenario. Her looks were completely irrelevant, what was relevant was who she was and were she was at the time they showed up.

 

[shefner]

http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/media/Holly Bobo -TN-/home97.jpg.html

This photo of Holly's home, just days after her abduction, gives me such an eerie feeling. Was she dead by then?
Just a beautiful and wonderful young lady with all of life ahead of her.

 

[shefner]

Gosh...its been so long since I have refreshed my memory about April of 2011. I was watching some old video trying to find Sheriff Wyatt's statement about, "Things are not as they seem," when I came across this news broadcast from April 19, 2011. In it, towards the end, you can clearly see some duct tape that's laying in the fall leaves.
LE is already saying that the perp most certainly is someone local.


[video]http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/media/Holly%20Bobo%20%20-TN-/41911GMAclintnot-suspect007.mp4.html[/video]

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

When a case goes on this long, it's good to refresh your memory here...

Holly Bobo Case Archive:
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/library/Holly Bobo -TN-?sort=6&page=1

The JUSTICE section: Covers everything after arrests
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/cr...ly Bobo -TN-/Justice for Holly?sort=6&page=1

When the Case Archive gets to be huge, I often make subject-specific sub-sections. I expect to have another when trials begin.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Nothing new announced but a couple of articles published about Holly's remains being discovered a year ago.

1 year since skull identified as Holly Bobo's was found

Labor Day Marks One Year Since Hunters Found Remains Of Holly Bobo

 

[~n/t~]

My mind can't let go of the early days just after Holly's abduction. The authorities made several puzzling remarks, but the one that won't leave me is when the Sheriff said, "Things are not as they seem." Shortly after, fewer statements were given to the public and the search for Holly came to an unexpected and sudden end at Easter.
The "whys" that I have related to those days are haunting me still today.


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Hi Shefner, do you recall in what context that statement was made? I googled and Sheriff Wyatt apparently said it on some radio talk show (??) back in 2011. Unfortunately, I can't find the entire interview. TIA

 

[shefner]

Hi Shefner, do you recall in what context that statement was made? I googled and Sheriff Wyatt apparently said it on some radio talk show (??) back in 2011. Unfortunately, I can't find the entire interview. TIA

I spent a good hour trying to search for that quote and can't find a record of it, at least not yet. It was mentioned in our posts from that time period, here on Webseluths. I found several references to it.
The statement was made around the time that the searches ended...I thought it was at a news conference but not as part of the news conference but rather a statement he made off the cuff.
i will continue to see if I can locate a news report or an article that makes mention of it...

 

[dog.gone.cute]

When a case goes on this long, it's good to refresh your memory here...

Holly Bobo Case Archive:
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/library/Holly Bobo -TN-?sort=6&page=1

The JUSTICE section: Covers everything after arrests
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/cr...ly Bobo -TN-/Justice for Holly?sort=6&page=1

When the Case Archive gets to be huge, I often make subject-specific sub-sections. I expect to have another when trials begin.

:seeya:

:tyou::tyou::tyou: Amanda, for all your work !

:loveyou::loveyou::loveyou:

 

[dog.gone.cute]

Nothing new announced but a couple of articles published about Holly's remains being discovered a year ago.

1 year since skull identified as Holly Bobo's was found

Labor Day Marks One Year Since Hunters Found Remains Of Holly Bobo

:seeya:

Wow ... a year already ...

And it will probably be another year, maybe 2 or 3 years, before the trial even begins.

:gaah:

 

[~n/t~]

I spent a good hour trying to search for that quote and can't find a record of it, at least not yet. It was mentioned in our posts from that time period, here on Webseluths. I found several references to it.
The statement was made around the time that the searches ended...I thought it was at a news conference but not as part of the news conference but rather a statement he made off the cuff.
i will continue to see if I can locate a news report or an article that makes mention of it...

Thanks. Same here. It appears everywhere when you google it but I can't find the original source. It's such an odd statement and then like you said, the searches stopped shortly thereafter. Why?

 

[shefner]

Thanks. Same here. It appears everywhere when you google it but I can't find the original source. It's such an odd statement and then like you said, the searches stopped shortly thereafter. Why?

The searches stopped on Easter...and just a couple days before LE was frustrated due to a delay in the searches caused by terrible spring storms in the area.
There was a report about a phone call made to Holly's mom or made to Holly's cell phone which had been found. Can anyone here verify that I am remembering these events properly? I have been here since the first days of the abduction, when it was reportedly a home invasion.
There was speculation that the info garnered from the call- or text- caused the searches to stop. We all tried to figure out the truth, but as it has been from the start, the facts in this case are as clear as mud.
If a case is mishandled from day one, the chances of justice are tremendously diminished. And that's a fact.


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[shefner]

Here is some recommendations on which Websleuth's threads/posts you might want to read concerning Bobo's case:

On thread 12 of Holly Bobo believed abducted, post 342, Nursebeeme quotes Will Nunley's Tweet about searchers assembling and "individuals on foot are important today" (April 23, 2011) This is the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

The next day, April 24, Will Nunley (local reporter) tweets, "Holly Bobo's mother calls deputies with a message." You can view the post on this in thread 14 of Holly Bobo believe abducted, post #30. Much speculation about what this could mean...This was Easter Sunday.

Post #36 of this same thread lists several tweets by Will Nunley. One says, "A significant item was recovered by volunteers in the past 12 hours."
Also this tweet, "New discovery is powering heightened search efforts for another day."
In response to questions from the public, authorities refused to identify the item that was discovered...

Post #70 of the same thread shows that Will Nunley is reporting, "We don't have time to waste as searchers rush to board the bus." The atmosphere on the thread this day was very intense. There was a sense of urgency..something important had been discovered, no one knew what it was, but searchers were quickly placed out on foot for intensive searches.

In that same thread, post #552 details that "Significant new find in Holly Bobo's case," and says a news conference will be held later that day, Easter Monday the 25th.
Here is the link to the news report about the find:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/25/significant-item-reportedly-search-holly-bobo/

It also is reported that Holly's mother is "grateful and relieved" at the find.

Thread 15, Post 38, gives the link to the article from CBS that says the significant find was related to a "called in tip."

Thread 15, Post 336, from Easter Monday the 25th, shares Will Nunley's tweet that searches have been called off until at least Wednesday the 27th.
Thread 15, Post 497, Gives the quote of TBI Director saying that new find could be a "game changer." Still no idea what that find was specifically.
Post 588 from same thread says the item is being analyzed at the crime lab and has given the Bobo family hope, as well as giving investigators hope. Still, the public has no idea what the item is.

Thread 17, post 12 (April 26, 2011), is the first reference I see to Mark Gwyn (not Sheriff Wyatt) saying, "Somethings are not as they appear."


There were no more public searches after Easter Monday.....

 

[~n/t~]

Thanks Shefner. Great recap surrounding that time. IIRC, the assumption was it was Holly's cell phone. I guess it gave everyone hope in a sense that she could have been located quickly (cell towers, pings, etc). Sadly, that did not happen. It took 3 years to locate her remains.

 

[shefner]

Thanks Shefner. Great recap surrounding that time. IIRC, the assumption was it was Holly's cell phone. I guess it gave everyone hope in a sense that she could have been located quickly (cell towers, pings, etc). Sadly, that did not happen. It took 3 years to locate her remains.

Yes, exactly. I remember having a tremendous about of frustration about several things.

One, LE did not set roadblocks immediately after the abduction. This would have been so helpful! Roadblocks might have caught the vehicle where Holly was being transported. This is basic LE training.

Two, LE used volunteer searchers by the hundreds. This made zero sense to me....having citizens tromping through the areas where Holly's belongings might be located. Who is to say that the perpetrators weren't among the searchers? Any evidence could be compromised. Why not have National Guard of some other professional group conduct searches?

Three, LE refused to release the 911 calls. We still do not have the recordings of the calls. Reportedly, there were 3 calls issued that morning...but we don't know for sure who called, where the calls came from, or what time they came in to the 911 center. Yes, Yes, I know...they aren't required by law to release them. But why would they not? I think the sounds of those calls might have triggered some memory for someone.

Four, information about the items found were never released to the public. Holly's previous whereabouts were never discussed...where had she been that previous week, who had she been with? I can understand holding some things back...but after a few weeks, it made no sense to me to keep these things from the public. Jessica Ridgeway's case proved to me that using the community to help you is very effective....give them what you have and they will help you find your perp.

Fifth, the obvious perpetrators were right at hand...but LE could not bring them in for questioning any sooner than 3 years later? The perps were notorious law breakers. Their names were being discussed openly on many internet sites within days of Holly's abduction. Surely, with each one of them having numerous ongoing charges, authorities could have found some reason to do extensive searches of the perps' properties in the early weeks/months following Holly's disappearance. Consider that multiple perps were involved! People don't stay completely silent...they tell things, let things slip. I feel that people within the community had a good idea who did this crime but were scared to go to authorities with the information they had heard.

There are more things that bothered me but I will stop there....short of saying that TBI dropped the ball on Holly's case.
I am sorely disappointed in them.

 

[Arnie M]

.

Shefner .... re the 911 calls .... it is my opinion that the biggest problem began when Holly's Mom called 911 .... she was at work and she was connected to a DIFFERENT COUNTY. If she could have been connected to her home-town sheriff he would know who she was , where she lived , all the surrounding terrain and trails , and would have had his men in all the right places within minutes.

As good as the 911 system is , there are some fatal flaws that never get mentioned. Sometimes the 911 operator has never even heard of the town you may be calling from.

Those precious minutes were lost in Holly's case , and chances are the local sheriff would have even had some immediate suspects in mind and checked them out right away.

 

[shefner]

.

Shefner .... re the 911 calls .... it is my opinion that the biggest problem began when Holly's Mom called 911 .... she was at work and she was connected to a DIFFERENT COUNTY. If she could have been connected to her home-town sheriff he would know who she was , where she lived , all the surrounding terrain and trails , and would have had his men in all the right places within minutes.

As good as the 911 system is , there are some fatal flaws that never get mentioned. Sometimes the 911 operator has never even heard of the town you may be calling from.

Those precious minutes were lost in Holly's case , and chances are the local sheriff would have even had some immediate suspects in mind and checked them out right away.

I actually believe the Bobo's next door neighbor had the first call in to 911. There were 3 different people who called in and we know the neighbor was one of those and Holly's mom was one. Karen was at school when she called..and said she left her cell phone at the school. Her freak-out reaction caused me a lot of concern. Why, when her son called and said Holly just left with her boyfriend, did she fall out and carry on? That information is not enough to merit such a dramatic response. Its almost like she knew something could happen. Had there been a threat made...Was she aware of something that we don't know?

Nevertheless, the neighbor's call would have been to the appropriate 911 center. The Sheriff knew the Bobo's. Most everyone knew them in the Darden area.

Apparently LE was there pretty quickly. But after they arrived, it seemed no one was in charge, since Clint Bobo ways he was the initial person to tell people to get out of the grass and wooded area where Holly had been taken. Clint said people, as they hurriedly came to the scene, were walking everywhere and no one was manning the area even though authorities were there. Bothersome, indeed. I think their lack of experience hurt this case greatly.

 

[Mercurydime]

I actually believe the Bobo's next door neighbor had the first call in to 911. There were 3 different people who called in and we know the neighbor was one of those and Holly's mom was one. Karen was at school when she called..and said she left her cell phone at the school. Her freak-out reaction caused me a lot of concern. Why, when her son called and said Holly just left with her boyfriend, did she fall out and carry on? That information is not enough to merit such a dramatic response. Its almost like she knew something could happen. Had there been a threat made...Was she aware of something that we don't know?

Nevertheless, the neighbor's call would have been to the appropriate 911 center. The Sheriff knew the Bobo's. Most everyone knew them in the Darden area.

Apparently LE was there pretty quickly. But after they arrived, it seemed no one was in charge, since Clint Bobo ways he was the initial person to tell people to get out of the grass and wooded area where Holly had been taken. Clint said people, as they hurriedly came to the scene, were walking everywhere and no one was manning the area even though authorities were there. Bothersome, indeed. I think their lack of experience hurt this case greatly.

Shefner, I could be mistaken, but I thought the neighbor called Holly's mom which prompted Karen to call 911.

I don't remember reading that the neighbor called 911 herself.

 

[Mercurydime]

Just a note for those interested...

The Wikipedia article on Holly's Murder has recently been extended with some interesting stuff. I read some things there that I did not know before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Holly_Bobo