GUILTY IL - Willow Long, 7, Watson, 8 Sept 2013 - #1

[nursebeeme]

perhaps the updated info has to do with further interviews with the little brother? The video I linked upstream did say the family had been interviewed multiple times and with the fbi?

 

[Karmady]

I know one thing, a shirt, recently removed, should be located in a short amount of time. It should be near the top of a pile of clothes, in a hamper, on a floor, on top of furniture, or under it. There wasn't enough time for a lot of other clothes to be piled on top of the shirt. However, LE has been known to not do thorough searches initially. Especially if they think a missing child is just off pretending to be a princess. JMO!

Could be. Another thing I'm thinking, though, is if I knew I'd hidden a particular shirt and that it could potentially be located in my house, I wouldn't be describing that shirt as what I last saw someone wearing.

Plus, in this case, it's not like the child isn't instantly recognizable by her hair alone. So as far as the investigations concerned and putting other issues aside, what she was wearing is probably not as important as it might be in other cases.

all jmo

 

[SuziQ]

Yes, the news could be slow. But I really hope LE has done a better job searching in and around Willow's home. I keep thinking of Nurse's car trunk post. Kids have also been known to be folded up in a reclining chair or fold up couch and not found for days.

 

[Kamille]

Is there anything in Watson with regards to stores? If a little girl wanted to go to a corner store is there one there? Or do they have to drive to Effingham for everything? Is there a local grocer or a gas station with a small store in it?

Where would a 7yr old girl head to in a small town like that? Not that she made it, she could have been abducted along the way, but is there something there that might actually draw a child away from the house?

MOO

 

[LucyOso]

Yes, the news could be slow. But I really hope LE has done a better job searching in and around Willow's home. I keep thinking of Nurse's car trunk post. Kids have also been known to be folded up in a reclining chair or fold up couch and not found for days.

And checking cars for those who attended services at the church. I would imagine the service was around the same time. The church is pretty close.

 

[SuziQ]

Could be. Another thing I'm thinking, though, is if I knew I'd hidden a particular shirt and that it could potentially be located in my house, I wouldn't be describing that shirt as what I last saw someone wearing.

Plus, in this case, it's not like the child isn't instantly recognizable by her hair alone. So as far as the investigations concerned and putting other issues aside, what she was wearing is probably not as important as it might be in other cases.

all jmo

You misunderstand. The location of the shirt and lack of finding it for a time can indicate many things. And I do not put stock in the last seen in clothes for actually locating a missing person, except it offers clues. For instance, a missing wife who went missing while running errands should not be found deceased in her nightgown.

 

[No Stone Unturned]

The purple Betty Boop shirt being located inside the home, sends up some alerts for me.

If it took this long to locate the shirt, it's quite possible that Willow did take items with her- that haven't been noticed.. like packing a bag with clothes and toys.

 

[Karmady]

You misunderstand. The location of the shirt and lack of finding it for a time can indicate many things. And I do not put stock in the last seen in clothes for actually locating a missing person, except it offers clues. For instance, a missing wife who went missing while running errands should not be found deceased in her nightgown.

Okay. I guess I'm still misunderstanding though. Can you clarify or are you trying not to violate TOS?

 

[windstorm]

I know some 7 year olds who might storm out of the house or at least go outside with the intention of maybe walking to a friends house (or grandparents, neighbor, etc). She obviously got dressed, so we have to leave it on the table that she left willingly.

However, I don't believe, for even a second, that she is willingly and/or stubbornly staying away from home OR that a friend is "hiding her out" somewhere.

I also don't think that she ran away mad and left her 3 year old brother sitting there by himself. Older siblings often feel responsible for younger siblings, especially if mom is in bed.

She could have left 5 minutes after mom went back to bed or 5 minutes before she woke up. We've got a 2 hour timeframe that we have to consider and a lot can happen in 2 hours.

 

[nursebeeme]

Police say Willow's mother had a headache and laid down for 60-90 minutes. When she got up Willow's younger brother, a toddler, pointed at the door.

http://www.14news.com/story/23379455/7-year-old-illinois-girl-still-missing

 

[SuziQ]

Okay. I guess I'm still misunderstanding though. Can you clarify or are you trying not to violate TOS?

The location of the shirt could indicate that LE was not thourough in searching the house. It could indicate a lot of things. Could Willow be in or around the house? How is that violating TOS?

 

[SuziQ]

The location of the shirt could indicate foul play, but please do not assume I am pointing at the family.

 

[JeannaT]

It would be very helpful to know what her typical behavior was. On a weekend, would it be typical for her to fix herself a bowl of cereal, and get dressed and go out to play?

If I were 7, I wouldn't consider that I was leaving my little brother unsupervised if mom was in the next room trying to get rid of a headache. I certainly did that at that time on Saturday mornings. Get dressed, and head out the door. Certainly by 10:15 a.m. which is about the time mom noticed she was missing isn't too early for a child to go out to play.

 

[ToothlessFairy]

I am unclear why a lot of y'all are saying that it is obvious or clear that Willow changed her clothes before leaving her home. That is not obvious, or clear.

The only obvious thing is that she is not wearing that shirt right now. As far as we know there were no security cameras inside the home at the time of her disappearance and therefore we do not know how the shirt ended up off her body prior to her going missing.

 

[Karmady]

I know some 7 year olds who might storm out of the house or at least go outside with the intention of maybe walking to a friends house (or grandparents, neighbor, etc). She obviously got dressed, so we have to leave it on the table that she left willingly.

However, I don't believe, for even a second, that she is willingly and/or stubbornly staying away from home OR that a friend is "hiding her out" somewhere.

I also don't think that she ran away mad and left her 3 year old brother sitting there by himself. Older siblings often feel responsible for younger siblings, especially if mom is in bed.

She could have left 5 minutes after mom went back to bed or 5 minutes before she woke up. We've got a 2 hour timeframe that we have to consider and a lot can happen in 2 hours.

Just thinking about likely things for a mother and a 7 yo to argue about under those circumstances. Having to watch the little brother, not being able to go do something right away and/or being too noisy? Any of those likely to make a 7 yo think it might be a good idea to leave the house? idk

 

[Karmady]

The location of the shirt could indicate foul play, but please do not assume I am pointing at the family.

Ok. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Karmady]

The location of the shirt could indicate that LE was not thourough in searching the house. It could indicate a lot of things. Could Willow be in or around the house? How is that violating TOS?

I didn't know what you were thinking so I wasn't sure whether you were thinking something that would violate TOS to post about. There's nothing wrong, imo anyway, about thinking something that's not okay to openly discuss here. Happens all the time. I wasn't intending to imply anything negative at all.

 

[LucyOso]

Okay. I guess I'm still misunderstanding though. Can you clarify or are you trying not to violate TOS?

The location of the shirt could indicate foul play, but please do not assume I am pointing at the family.

The shirt might be related or maybe not. I personally think mom saw her in it last and she changed while mom was asleep. Willow is a petite child and from my experience with my kids her clothes would be super tiny, too. Even doing a load of little kid laundry is a nightmare because a full load is like 1,000 pieces of tiny clothes...LOL. Then the folding...UGH. A shirt that size could easily get lost in bedding, a couch, etc. The reality is for many parents, myself included, is kids have a lot of clothes, they frequently change during the day, they leave clothing in random places, and it is really hard to keep organized and on top of laundry, etc. I can't judge the mom or others on that stuff.

 

[windstorm]

The shirt might be related or maybe not. I personally think mom saw her in it last and she changed while mom was asleep. Willow is a petite child and from my experience with my kids her clothes would be super tiny, too. Even doing a load on little kid laundry is a nightmare because a full load is like 1,000 pieces of tiny clothes...LOL. A shirt that size could easily get lost in bedding, a couch, etc. The reality is for many parents, myself included, is kids have a lot of clothes, they frequently change during the day, they leave clothing in random places, and it is really hard to keep organized and on top of laundry, etc. I can't judge the mom or others on that stuff.

I agree. I raised 5 kids (2 of which were girls) and they can change clothes in the kitchen, living room, hallway, etc.

I know nothing about the family, but if it's a "messy" house, the nightgown/shirt could have been anywhere and lost in the jumble.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

So Willow gets into an argument with her mother, and then takes the time to change her clothes before leaving the house? Although Willow might have been motivated by the argument, it doesn't seem like she left the house in a fit of anger. The fact that she changed her clothes first says that she was thinking somewhat rationally (for a 7-year-old) and maybe had a plan about where she was going? IDK If I am making sense...Basically saying that a 7-year-old who leaves the house during an argument might have no idea where they are going, just running to get away, while a 7-year-old who changes their clothes probably has some sort of plan in mind. Is there any possibility that she packed a bag?