Interview: Trina Bates Clegg, 11 May 2016

[Mickshawn]

Interview with Trina Bates Clegg, Jessica's Mom:

http://m.localnews8.com/news/extend...dma-of-missing-toddler-deorr-kunz-jr/39482978

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Interview with Trina Bates Clegg, Jessica's Mom:

http://m.localnews8.com/news/extend...dma-of-missing-toddler-deorr-kunz-jr/39482978

Thanks, Mickshawn. Watched it and made a few notes. Big/new info (IMO) is bolded:

• Jessica's mom (Trina) was at work with phone on silent that Friday. At break time she realised she had several missed called from Jessica. She tried and tried to call her back, fearing that it was bad news about Grandpa and when she finally got through Jessica was incoherent and she had to tell her to calm down before realising what had happened. She went home, grabbed some clothes and set off to Leadore thinking DeOrr would be found by the time she got there.
  
• She explains that she asked Jessica to go up to Leadore with Grandpa to keep an eye on him, she was worried it could be his last camping trip because of health problems. She had an engagement on Saturday and planned to join them Sat night or Sunday. Trina spent a lot of time at the campgound as a kid but had not been there for years. Jessica had never been there before.
  
• On the drive up from Idaho Falls she was in contact with LE and knew on arrival from Jessica's eyes that DeOrr was still missing. Jessica collapsed and trembling.
  
• Confirms true that Jessica called her mom before she called LE. She thinks Jessica just "needed her mom" to tell her it would be ok.
  
• Sat night helicopters out, huge spotlight brought in, searching all night with flashlights calling DeOrr's name.
  
• Confirms Grandpa has COPD and prostate cancer - no mental issues whatsoever, she says rumours about that are "very incorrect", he just needed oxygen.
  
• Isaac lives in same neighborhood as Grandpa, kind of a handyman, does gardening, takes him fishing, is a companion and is appreciated by the family for being with Grandpa.
  
• Trina confirms she took a polygraph which was inconclusive as she was so tired, it was after the fundraiser event. She has volunteered to do another at any time and is not worried at all about cooperating with LE.
  
• No reason to believe Jessica lying, says she and Deorr was close and adored each other. Will not point the finger at any one else. Confirms only 4 adults on the trip, mentions other campers and locals in the area. Feels guilty she wasn't there but doesn't know if it would have made a difference, she says the site always felt very safe to her and she had no concerns.
  
• She does regret driving right up to the campground and in hindsight wishes everyone had been made to park their cars and walk up, but at that time she just wanted to get there and find him. Didn't look at the bigger picture.
  
• They still buy DeOrr presents for birthday/Xmas/Easter in the hope he comes home.
  
• Please let LE do their job, stay away from campground, stop the rumours as detracting from investigation
  
• Hoping by Memorial Weekend (end of May) the police will have concluded search and reopened area.

 

[renarde]

Thanks, Mickshawn. Watched it and made a few notes. Big/new info (IMO) is bolded:

• Jessica's mom (Trina) was at work with phone on silent that Friday. At break time she realised she had several missed called from Jessica. She tried and tried to call her back, fearing that it was bad news about Grandpa and when she finally got through Jessica was incoherent and she had to tell her to calm down before realising what had happened. She went home, grabbed some clothes and set off to Leadore thinking DeOrr would be found by the time she got there.
  
• She explains that she asked Jessica to go up to Leadore with Grandpa to keep an eye on him, she was worried it could be his last camping trip because of health problems. She had an engagement on Saturday and planned to join them Sat night or Sunday. Trina spent a lot of time at the campgound as a kid but had not been there for years. Jessica had never been there before.
  
• On the drive up from Idaho Falls she was in contact with LE and knew on arrival from Jessica's eyes that DeOrr was still missing. Jessica collapsed and trembling.
  
• Confirms true that Jessica called her mom before she called LE. She thinks Jessica just "needed her mom" to tell her it would be ok.
  
• Sat night helicopters out, huge spotlight brought in, searching all night with flashlights calling DeOrr's name.
  
• Confirms Grandpa has COPD and prostate cancer - no mental issues whatsoever, she says rumours about that are "very incorrect", he just needed oxygen.
  
• Isaac lives in same neighborhood as Grandpa, kind of a handyman, does gardening, takes him fishing, is a companion and is appreciated by the family for being with Grandpa.
  
• Trina confirms she took a polygraph which was inconclusive as she was so tired, it was after the fundraiser event. She has volunteered to do another at any time and is not worried at all about cooperating with LE.
  
• No reason to believe Jessica lying, says she and Deorr was close and adored each other. Will not point the finger at any one else. Confirms only 4 adults on the trip, mentions other campers and locals in the area. Feels guilty she wasn't there but doesn't know if it would have made a difference, she says the site always felt very safe to her and she had no concerns.
  
• She does regret driving right up to the campground and in hindsight wishes everyone had been made to park their cars and walk up, but at that time she just wanted to get there and find him. Didn't look at the bigger picture.
  
• They still buy DeOrr presents for birthday/Xmas/Easter in the hope he comes home.
  
• Please let LE do their job, stay away from campground, stop the rumours as detracting from investigation
  
• Hoping by Memorial Weekend (end of May) the police will have concluded search and reopened area.

Just wanted to add a few more... at around 6:30, TBC explains that she arrived at the campground about 15-20 minutes after LE/S&R. Chelsea adds something to the effect of "and you were coming from Idaho Falls."

TBC also says, at around the 12:00 minute mark, that JM "loved her son and her other children very much."

TBC mentions sleeping under a pickup truck, something she did there, at the same campground, when she was little.

She wishes people who had come to help search had been made to park further out and walk up... Why was that so important to her?

 

[Mickshawn]

Just wanted to add a few more... at around 6:30, TBC explains that she arrived at the campground about 15-20 minutes after LE/S&R. Chelsea adds something to the effect of "and you were coming from Idaho Falls."

TBC also says, at around the 12:00 minute mark, that JM "loved her son and her other children very much."

TBC mentions sleeping under a pickup truck, something she did there, at the same campground, when she was little.

She wishes people who had come to help search had been made to park further out and walk up... Why was that so important to her?

Does she think maybe the search scene wasn't organized enough? Could a searcher have somehow snuck off with the baby??

 

[KatieLiz]

I'm

Thanks, Mickshawn. Watched it and made a few notes. Big/new info (IMO) is bolded:

• Jessica's mom (Trina) was at work with phone on silent that Friday. At break time she realised she had several missed called from Jessica. She tried and tried to call her back, fearing that it was bad news about Grandpa and when she finally got through Jessica was incoherent and she had to tell her to calm down before realising what had happened. She went home, grabbed some clothes and set off to Leadore thinking DeOrr would be found by the time she got there.
  
• She explains that she asked Jessica to go up to Leadore with Grandpa to keep an eye on him, she was worried it could be his last camping trip because of health problems. She had an engagement on Saturday and planned to join them Sat night or Sunday. Trina spent a lot of time at the campgound as a kid but had not been there for years. Jessica had never been there before.
  
• On the drive up from Idaho Falls she was in contact with LE and knew on arrival from Jessica's eyes that DeOrr was still missing. Jessica collapsed and trembling.
  
• Confirms true that Jessica called her mom before she called LE. She thinks Jessica just "needed her mom" to tell her it would be ok.
  
• Sat night helicopters out, huge spotlight brought in, searching all night with flashlights calling DeOrr's name.
  
• Confirms Grandpa has COPD and prostate cancer - no mental issues whatsoever, she says rumours about that are "very incorrect", he just needed oxygen.
  
• Isaac lives in same neighborhood as Grandpa, kind of a handyman, does gardening, takes him fishing, is a companion and is appreciated by the family for being with Grandpa.
  
• Trina confirms she took a polygraph which was inconclusive as she was so tired, it was after the fundraiser event. She has volunteered to do another at any time and is not worried at all about cooperating with LE.
  
• No reason to believe Jessica lying, says she and Deorr was close and adored each other. Will not point the finger at any one else. Confirms only 4 adults on the trip, mentions other campers and locals in the area. Feels guilty she wasn't there but doesn't know if it would have made a difference, she says the site always felt very safe to her and she had no concerns.
  
• She does regret driving right up to the campground and in hindsight wishes everyone had been made to park their cars and walk up, but at that time she just wanted to get there and find him. Didn't look at the bigger picture.
  
• They still buy DeOrr presents for birthday/Xmas/Easter in the hope he comes home.
  
• Please let LE do their job, stay away from campground, stop the rumours as detracting from investigation
  
• Hoping by Memorial Weekend (end of May) the police will have concluded search and reopened area.

I am unable to watch this so thank you so much for these notes!!

So in your notes I see that TBC defends Jessica, Isaac, and grandpa... But no mention is VDK?

Your notes quote her saying she will not "point the finger" at anyone else. There were 4 adults on the trip, she mentions... Since I can't watch the video, can you please confirm, does she mention VDK in any way during this interview?

 

[Mountaingazer]

I'm

I am unable to watch this so thank you so much for these notes!!

So in your notes I see that TBC defends Jessica, Isaac, and grandpa... But no mention is VDK?

Your notes quote her saying she will not "point the finger" at anyone else. There were 4 adults on the trip, she mentions... Since I can't watch the video, can you please confirm, does she mention VDK in any way during this interview?

I noticed this as well! She talks favorably of three of the adults and then mentions she won't point a finger at any of the FOUR adults on the trip.

Also how far is it again from Idaho Falls to the campground. She said she was busy for a couple of hours and then realized she had missed calls from JM. She jumped in the car and drove there and managed to get there just 15-20 minutes after the first responders. I know it took an hour for the first responders to get there, but that time line still seems a bit wonky. I would love to know the times of Jessica's calls to her mom and the time her mom checked her voicemail. I can see why they had TBC do a polygraph :/

 

[Mickshawn]

I noticed this as well! She talks favorably of three of the adults and then mentions she won't point a finger at any of the FOUR adults on the trip.

Also how far is it again from Idaho Falls to the campground. She said she was busy for a couple of hours and then realized she had missed calls from JM. She jumped in the car and drove there and managed to get there just 15-20 minutes after the first responders. I know it took an hour for the first responders to get there, but that time line still seems a bit wonky. I would love to know the times of Jessica's calls to her mom and the time her mom checked her voicemail. I can see why they had TBC do a polygraph :/

About 2 hours from Idaho Falls to Leadore.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I'm

I am unable to watch this so thank you so much for these notes!!

So in your notes I see that TBC defends Jessica, Isaac, and grandpa... But no mention is VDK?

Your notes quote her saying she will not "point the finger" at anyone else. There were 4 adults on the trip, she mentions... Since I can't watch the video, can you please confirm, does she mention VDK in any way during this interview?

Do you know what, I don't think she mentioned him once. Good point! Not 100% certain though, I'm sure someone else will clarify.

 

[Butler]

Do you know what, I don't think she mentioned him once. Good point! Not 100% certain though, I'm sure someone else will clarify.

He was mentioned but by the name DeOrr rather than Vernal. I don't have an issue with the time line. She didn't say she saw the calls a couple of hours AFTER Jessica made them, just that she saw them when she took a break. Trina did say she spoke to Jessica before 911 was called and then she drove to Leadore, after going home to get a sweatshirt & tennis shoes. It fits right in with the time line of when the LE got there.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

He was mentioned but by the name DeOrr rather than Vernal. I don't have an issue with the time line. She didn't say she saw the calls a couple of hours AFTER Jessica made them, just that she saw them when she took a break. Trina did say she spoke to Jessica before 911 was called and then she drove to Leadore, after going home to get a sweatshirt & tennis shoes. It fits right in with the time line of when the LE got there.

I'm still shocked it took LE more than 2 hours to get anyone up there!

 

[Aunt_Tulip]

Its interesting to me that she says IR is appreciated by the family, because other family members including JM have been pretty quick to throw him under the bus.

 

[Butler]

I'm still shocked it took LE more than 2 hours to get anyone up there!

It really is wide open spaces out here. Idaho is mostly agriculture or wilderness.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

It really is wide open spaces out here. Idaho is mostly agriculture or wilderness.

I know, but if Grandma managed to finish work, go home then set off on a 2 hour drive you would think some kind of first responder could have arrived sooner. I forget what the larger town is (Salmon?) but that's where the police dept is and there are volunteer firemen in Leadore I believe. Anyway, it's kinda academic because for whatever reason, they didn't.

 

[Mickshawn]

I know, but if Grandma managed to finish work, go home then set off on a 2 hour drive you would think some kind of first responder could have arrived sooner. I forget what the larger town is (Salmon?) but that's where the police dept is and there are volunteer firemen in Leadore I believe. Anyway, it's kinda academic because for whatever reason, they didn't.

Perhaps 911 was called MUCH later than Trina was called??

 

[KatieLiz]

Do you know what, I don't think she mentioned him once. Good point! Not 100% certain though, I'm sure someone else will clarify.

Yay! I'm actually proud of myself that I picked up on that now!! I feel like we are playing a game of Clue and trying to piece everything together. "It was Col Mustard in the study with a candlestick."

 

[Butler]

Perhaps 911 was called MUCH later than Trina was called??

We don't know what time JM spoke with Trina. Trina's statement is that she told JM to call 911, so the assumption is JM did call after speaking with Trina. Google maps states it's a 2 hour drive from Idaho Falls. As far as first responders getting there, IIRC is was a little after 4 PM that they arrived at the campground. It's a 45 minute drive from Salmon to Leadore and another 23 minutes to the campground. The thing to remember is these are typically small LE forces, and who knows where the closest LE officer was when the call came in. He could have been in the complete opposite directions of Leadore.

Also Trina said she was talking to dispatch while on the way to the campground so the 911 call had to have been made after Trina talked to JM.

 

[Butler]

Yay! I'm actually proud of myself that I picked up on that now!! I feel like we are playing a game of Clue and trying to piece everything together. "It was Col Mustard in the study with a candlestick."

Trina did mention him. She called him by the name DeOrr rather than Vernal.

 

[KatieLiz]

Trina did mention him. She called him by the name DeOrr rather than Vernal.

Yes but what I'm wondering is did she mention him in the favourable context that she mentioned the other three? Or was it just a reference to him in passing? I'm unable to view the content so I'm hoping someone else can look into it and see if she seems to be singling the others out in some less obvious way.

 

[Butler]

Yes but what I'm wondering is did she mention him in the favourable context that she mentioned the other three? Or was it just a reference to him in passing? I'm unable to view the content so I'm hoping someone else can look into it and see if she seems to be singling the others out in some less obvious way.

It was acknowledging he was there but she said nothing unfavorable about him. Remember, this interview is what Trina herself did that day, not what she thought others did. She was clear she wasn't going to speculate about anything. The only critical remark she made was that she felt, after the fact, that responders and searchers should have been made to park further away rather than being allowed to pull right up to the campsite. My assumption is that she feels there was too many people & vehicles at the campsite and clues may have been lost.

 

[Hatfield]

All JMO
ok....the calls to 911 really bug me now more than before.

So if its confirmed that she called her mom even before calling 911 that really bugs me because the mom said she missed several calls already. So if she had missed some calls then why didnt they at the campground call 911 right away and not wait on mom to get back with them before calling 911. Nobody would wait in that situation for a call from someone who may never call them back anytime soon.

For all they knew it could have been many more hours before mom would finally call them back.

And remember the 1st interview with the media and how those 911 calls were so confusing with person driving down road to get signal.

How is that if they were waiting to talk with Mom first?

Something is not adding up about these 911 calls at all.

And let us not forget that we had no less than 3 people at the campground finally calling 911 from what we were told. So did they all decide to wait until mom got ahold of them first?

We heard nothing about waiting to talk to mom during the interview.

It is not making sense to me about the 911 calls and it has bothered me ever since I heard about driving down the road for a signal and yet someone else is already on their own phone talking to 911 with no signal issues from campground when someone else is in a truck.

It doesn't make any sense and here is why.

You have a missing child. Anybody in that situation would look for the child for a short little while and then immediately get on the phone to 911. IMMEDIATELY or very shortly after you cant find person.

You would NOT wait to get a call back from someone you tried to call and left a message and there is no telling when they would call you back. You would NOT have 3 people all calling 911 from 3 different phones. And really there is now a 4th person who also called 911 on the way up to campground.

Something doesnt sound right to me at all about how all those 911 calls went down.
It bugs me more now more than ever.