MI MI - Eric Franks, 40, Buena Vista Twp, 21 March 2011 - #1

[JLSChook]

GMTA, Sleuthster!

 

[zwiebel]

Sorry, I was reading backwards. :blushing:

I have read this entire thread and I don't think it's valid. There were 3 family members here at different times and one of them was very upset with that comment. LE failed MISERABLY in this case, IMO.
If, and that's a big IF they did say that to some random poster on the phone, they are placing the blame on anyone but where it should be--themselves.

Aaaaarghh! No I meant what the poster related they were told was valid not that the 'family are not cooperating' remark was valid. It's blatantly obvious to me that family have struggled for years to get the attention that is due for their missing loved one.

 

[Eric's mom]

Is this Eric's facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/pip.pip.good.fellow

I am not on FB, but a family member thinks that's one of his.

 

[zwiebel]

So we have a few facts we can be sure of;

Eric was staying at a hotel, and he left it.
All his possessions left the hotel at some point, by some means, too.
His (actually mom's) vehicle left as well.
His phone never left (or pinged) outside Saginaw Cnty.
Calls were made to car salvage facilities, on that phone
The last known person to have seen Eric is the mother of his child
She says he was heading south on the Dixie hwy?? (correct me if I'm wrong with directions, please)
Eric wasn't known to have a lot of money, so would have been unlikely to discard his phone.

 

[zwiebel]

I am not on FB, but a family member thinks that's one of his.

Yes, upthread it was said that it is his, and Eric was creative and would quite likely have photoshopped a creative image like that.

 

[zwiebel]

Unless I'm absolutely stupid, Eric would have needed his vehicle to be heading south (or even north) up Dixie Highway?

So he'd be unlikely to have been making calls from the county himself, to get the car taken as salvage? If it had broken down, surely it would have been further up the highway, out of the county?

How big is it? I'm lost. I'm from England and that's a tiny, tiny country.

 

[Sleuthster]

Is the ex girl friend Norwegian? Just curious still. It's possible that someone had his password for fb and signed him up for groups on his facebook page to make it look like he did not disappear and was still using his fb. I agree that law enforcement should do what they can to access all his facebooks. Especially if people are saying posts disappear. They can tell where it was accessed by the IP address.

 

[zwiebel]

815.17 miles, thats how big it is. Not that I think it matters. Eric's phone never left the county and I don't think Eric did either.

I don't think he's with his phone, but he's maybe not too far away from it. He needs to come home, and there is someone out there who can help with that, I think.

Is there one of those archived police/emergency blotters for the area? That might show an archive for an abandoned vehicle found burned? I don't think Eric has been burned, but I think his vehicle might have been. I know it could have been traced by the VIN number, but abandoned, burnt vehicles have been towed before, without checks.

ETA: Square miles!

 

[zwiebel]

I can't see anything about a burning vehicle in 2011, but I'm not on FB so am never sure what I'm seeing or not. Can someone on FB check it out for me?

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saginaw-Fire-department/190914970924656

 

[Eric's mom]

What a mysterious story; a man who suddenly discovers his long lost child, that he never knew he had. A sudden rekindling of love and affection between him and the mother of his child via Facebook - so much so that Eric tells his wife he needs to go, be with them. He leaves everything to be with them.

And mother of his child......married, happily settled with her husband in a home they'd worked hard to purchase (I presume) together. That must have been a little difficult for her husband, no matter what he might say publically. Doing the practical work of feeding, clothing and providing for a child, only to have someone turn up with the simplest but most irrefutable of claims.....blood. But, perhaps he was free and easy, without a trace of possessiveness over his loved ones. It's possible. Mother of hs child even cares so much she funds Eric financially, she says.

Then Eric (for unknown reasons) decides to move on. Mother of his child caringly helps him pack......then Eric vanishes into thin air. At which point mother of his child does absolutely nothing to help find him, and leaves the state within six months. And never makes a single comment to media to help find him?

I have to say, the beginning and middle of this story make some sort of sense to me, but the ending makes none at all.

Because this is an open investigation and there are things Eric's family is not able to say publicly, you have to imagine the situation. Some of your "suppose story" is correct, but some is not. Eric's wife left him before he ever went to MI. According to Eric's former girlfriend's husband to family and to police, there was no happy marriage there either. Eric mainly went there to meet his daughter. Eric's family got permission from the owners of the rental house where Eric's former girlfriend lived to let police search with dogs for Eric's body. The original investigating officer told me no one would give permission even tho the family had gotten a team of volunteers to search with dogs. After family gained permission, we asked the state police to search and they did. Remember, Eric's former girlfriend has given at least 5 different stories to at least 6 different people as to the last time she saw Eric alive and where he was and was going on at the time. Eric's former girlfriend told me that the last she saw Eric was in April 2011 after an argument.

 

[Eric's mom]

Is the ex girl friend Norwegian? Just curious still. It's possible that someone had his password for fb and signed him up for groups on his facebook page to make it look like he did not disappear and was still using his fb. I agree that law enforcement should do what they can to access all his facebooks. Especially if people are saying posts disappear. They can tell where it was accessed by the IP address.

I have idea about her ancestry. I knew her briefly when she met my son in TN when they were teenagers. Early in the investigation, the police saw where someone was a new friend on one of Eric's FB sites, and they assumed that meant he was still alive. It was explained to them that someone can request to be a friend on a certain date and be accepted much later ,etc.Thanks.

 

[Eric's mom]

So we have a few facts we can be sure of;

Eric was staying at a hotel, and he left it.
All his possessions left the hotel at some point, by some means, too.
His (actually mom's) vehicle left as well.
His phone never left (or pinged) outside Saginaw Cnty.
Calls were made to car salvage facilities, on that phone
The last known person to have seen Eric is the mother of his child
She says he was heading south on the Dixie hwy?? (correct me if I'm wrong with directions, please)
Eric wasn't known to have a lot of money, so would have been unlikely to discard his phone.

According to police a personal call was made on his phone to Eric's former girlfriend's dentist, which the police checked out. Eric had dentures and was scheduled in July to get his permanent dentures, which were already paid for. We were told that calls were made to pest control places, also. One of the stories told by Eric's former girlfriend was that he left Miller's Motel. I would have to check my 3 years of notes to repeat the exact direction she told. She told me he sat in front of her house for 2 days texting and calling her to come out and settle an argument they had in front of their daughter and she wouldn't, so he left heading in a certain direction. It is impossible to know where someone was headed from her house, it's a dead end street in a rural area. As for money, I asked her if Eric had money or did he befriend anyone who might have helped him. She told me she knew of no one he had befriended. In three conversations with her over the by myself and another family member, no mention of the Motel story at all. Eric had befriended the owner of the motel and another worker there. Eric did work some for the motel owner and another one that man's brother owned, so I don't know about money. I do know all my son had to do if he needed help, was to call me and I would never refuse him help. He also had close friends and other family members who would have helped him.

 

[Eric's mom]

Unless I'm absolutely stupid, Eric would have needed his vehicle to be heading south (or even north) up Dixie Highway?

So he'd be unlikely to have been making calls from the county himself, to get the car taken as salvage? If it had broken down, surely it would have been further up the highway, out of the county?

How big is it? I'm lost. I'm from England and that's a tiny, tiny country.

That was the nicest car Eric had ever owned and he would NEVER have given it up. He even named some of his not so nice cars! I actually owned it, but it was his. He also would NEVER have parted willingly with his phone. It was a DROID and he was very proud of it. It was on a plan and was paid for. Your point is a good one. That car had full insurance coverage and included wrecker service.

 

[Eric's mom]

Aaaaarghh! No I meant what the poster related they were told was valid not that the 'family are not cooperating' remark was valid. It's blatantly obvious to me that family have struggled for years to get the attention that is due for their missing loved one.

According to the person who posted that they thought they saw Eric in Lansing,MI, they tried for a week to get the BV police to return a call. The poster said they were told by police that the family was no longer cooperating with the police, which is absolutely untrue. Searching family commented that the BV police are no longer cooperating with us, which is a fact. Info was given to contact the MI state police with any helpful info.

 

[JLSChook]

According to police a personal call was made on his phone to Eric's former girlfriend's dentist, which the police checked out. Eric had dentures and was scheduled in July to get his permanent dentures, which were already paid for. We were told that calls were made to pest control places, also. One of the stories told by Eric's former girlfriend was that he left Miller's Motel. I would have to check my 3 years of notes to repeat the exact direction she told. She told me he sat in front of her house for 2 days texting and calling her to come out and settle an argument they had in front of their daughter and she wouldn't, so he left heading in a certain direction. It is impossible to know where someone was headed from her house, it's a dead end street in a rural area. As for money, I asked her if Eric had money or did he befriend anyone who might have helped him. She told me she knew of no one he had befriended. In three conversations with her over the by myself and another family member, no mention of the Motel story at all. Eric had befriended the owner of the motel and another worker there. Eric did work some for the motel owner and another one that man's brother owned, so I don't know about money. I do know all my son had to do if he needed help, was to call me and I would never refuse him help. He also had close friends and other family members who would have helped him.

I'm a straight shooter and I'm not sure how to ask you this, but do you think there is a possibility that Eric committed suicide?

After reading this post and going through most of Eric's tweets from 2010, I'm beginning to wonder if there may have been a tendency there for reasons I can't post here.

He left his wife for the ex-girlfriend that had his child, and by your post it sounds like they were fighting. Maybe she completely rejected him and he felt totally distraught.

Just throwing out other ideas but I am definitely not able to explain away some of the ex-gf's actions.

 

[Sleuthster]

I'm a straight shooter and I'm not sure how to ask you this, but do you think there is a possibility that Eric committed suicide?

After reading this post and going through most of Eric's tweets from 2010, I'm beginning to wonder if there may have been a tendency there for reasons I can't post here.

He left his wife for the ex-girlfriend that had his child, and by your post it sounds like they were fighting. Maybe she completely rejected him and he felt totally distraught.

Just throwing out other ideas but I am definitely not able to explain away some of the ex-gf's actions.

I hear where you're coming from but I don't feel this with Eric. Especially when people are changing their stories AND phone calls to salvage yards on his cell if I am reading correctly.

BTW, his car is still missing correct? Usually in these cases I automatically think that maybe someone drove off the road by accident, into a lake or ravine. I have never been to Saginaw but when I was researching the area looking at property (it's really really cheap there because of the market) I don't believe this area would fit that theory. Mostly farm land surrounding Saginaw.

 

[Eric's mom]

once you get the flyer done WE can hit detroit :rocker:

It was the family who contacted the media. Actually when family informed police that we were coming to Saginaw to do an interview, the police quickly did an interview.That interview stated that Eric might be lying low and not want to be found. Family told them unless they had evidence to suggest that, please don't say that. They did ask hunters out that season to keep their eyes open for ..obviously a body. We had been told by BV police throughout the first year not to get on tv or put up missing posters.

 

[Eric's mom]

I'm a straight shooter and I'm not sure how to ask you this, but do you think there is a possibility that Eric committed suicide?

After reading this post and going through most of Eric's tweets from 2010, I'm beginning to wonder if there may have been a tendency there for reasons I can't post here.

He left his wife for the ex-girlfriend that had his child, and by your post it sounds like they were fighting. Maybe she completely rejected him and he felt totally distraught.

Just throwing out other ideas but I am definitely not able to explain away some of the ex-gf's actions.

I realize anything is possible, but no, not only do I not believe that, evidence points otherwise. For one thing, he could not have sent an email to me months after he vanished stating that he had a new phone and to call him. The email also said he was "getting back on his feet and a roof over his head"...he had never said a word about not having a roof over his head. As a matter of fact, he had paid a week's rent on March 14 and only stayed a couple of nights. Even his former girlfriend told the motel owner that Eric was getting an apt had a job. Yet, her story to the police was totally different, as it was to family. Also, she told one of Eric's friends that Eric was well and with her in June 2011. Eric's friend saw the news story about Eric's disappearance and he asked her if she killed Eric. She told him no and she could prove it! I have been trying to get the police to ask her to prove it. That could only mean one of two things....she didn't, but knows who did or he's alive and she can show police and family where he is. Lying apparently is not a crime! Eric didn't leave his wife...he wanted her to go to MI with him. He dearly loved his little stepson. Eric told me if things didn't work out with he and his former girlfriend that he still wouldn't leave Saginaw as long as his daughter was there. Eric left things with me that were necessities for setting up an apt should he need to come back here. I'm sure Eric was upset about some issues there in Saginaw, but he is a survivor and bounces back normally.

 

[Eric's mom]

Eric's wife left him. They had issues, but I know the former girlfriend situation didn't help.

 

[JLSChook]

I am the third wife and yes I did take the laptop he used to find this GF of his because it was my laptop. As for his being missing I have no idea about anything. I haven't talked to him since September 24, 2010 when I left the apartment we shared. He wanted his gf and told me I was in the way of his being with her so I left and have had no contact with him at all. I know some of his ex-coworkers in Mississippi have not seen or heard from him either. If anyone finds out anything I would definitely like to know since I am entitled to know as I am still his legal wife

Thank you,
V.S.

My post about him leaving his wife for the ex-gf came from the above post. I guess, technically she "left the apartment we shared" but IF the above is true, I can't say I blame her.

(I'm not sure if she was vetted as an insider, or being Eric's wife, so I take it with a grain of salt for now)