MN MN - Joshua Guimond, 20, Collegeville, 9 Nov 2002

[Ryan Larson]

I am wondering if the monk or a small group of offending monks were getting nervous due to all the attention their bad behavior was receiving. Maybe Josh stepped on the wrong toes and asked too many questions for his research paper? 2002 I believe was the year BW (head of English dept, counselor and professor) was also placed on sabbatical for his relationship with a student.
An anonymous poster posted this to the findjoshua.com website:

2/5/04 Anonymous Message #1605

"Warren Wolfe, Pam Louwagie and Jackie Crosby, Star Tribune ... Published May 12, 2002 ... Restrictions on the movements of nine St. John's Abbey priests accused of sexual abuse have not kept at least four of them from traveling to Rome, the abbey's missions in the Bahamas and Japan, or elsewhere in Minnesota and other states.The monks' travel has followed the abbey's existing policy, but Abbot John Klassen said he is tightening restrictions on one priest because of ''heightened awareness of the need for supervision and oversight.'' ... "

Wollmering...
Klassen also sent an email to other staff relaying his suspicions about Bruce being involved in Josh's disappearance. I'll see if I can locate them, May take a bit if I can.

 

[Jbrown324320]

This is an excerpt from MPR news about the same SJU student, Ben Spanier, who committed suicide after Andert's inappropriate relationship with him. At the time of this whitewater rafting vacation, Ben was a student at St John's Prep (high school) and Andert had befriended the family after Ben's first suicide attempt:


Ben's parents stayed in one hotel room. Ben and Andert stayed in another.

One night, Ben's parents woke up around 1 or 2 in the morning to the sound of their son beating on the door and yelling.

"Ben was in absolute hysterics," Eric said.

"He was afraid," said Ben's mother, Margaret. "He was, he could hardly, he couldn't talk."

"He ran into the room and jumped straight into the bed and he stayed in that bed between Margee and I for the rest of the night," Eric recalled. He described his son as "almost speechless. He was in shock." Ben wouldn't say what was wrong. The next day, his father caught him arguing with Andert.

"It's difficult to live with that, at this point," Eric said. "But I took Ben aside and said, 'Listen, Ben, you don't treat a priest that way. You have to treat them with some respect. He's your headmaster, and he's a priest, and he's a family friend, and don't do that.' So I was pretty hard on Ben."

To this day, Ben's parents don't know what happened in the hotel room 21 years ago.

Andert describes the trip differently. He declined to be interviewed, but in a written statement to MPR News sent via his attorney, Andert said nothing happened in that room "beyond my caressing Ben's forehead."

Andert, now 68, said he felt nervous about going whitewater rafting and that he "probably became a pest to Ben with my anxious chatter." He said Ben "asked if I minded if he went to sleep in his parents' room, and I responded, 'Of course not.' There is nothing more to the story than that."

That explanation is tough for Ben's mother Margaret to hear. "You don't cry because somebody is afraid to go whitewater rafting," she said.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/18/spanier-parents-seek-change-at-st-johns-minnesota

 

[Sasquatch321]

This is an excerpt from MPR news about the same SJU student, Ben Spanier, who committed suicide after Andert's inappropriate relationship with him. At the time of this whitewater rafting vacation, Ben was a student at St John's Prep (high school) and Andert had befriended the family after Ben's first suicide attempt:


Ben's parents stayed in one hotel room. Ben and Andert stayed in another.

One night, Ben's parents woke up around 1 or 2 in the morning to the sound of their son beating on the door and yelling.

"Ben was in absolute hysterics," Eric said.

"He was afraid," said Ben's mother, Margaret. "He was, he could hardly, he couldn't talk."

"He ran into the room and jumped straight into the bed and he stayed in that bed between Margee and I for the rest of the night," Eric recalled. He described his son as "almost speechless. He was in shock." Ben wouldn't say what was wrong. The next day, his father caught him arguing with Andert.

"It's difficult to live with that, at this point," Eric said. "But I took Ben aside and said, 'Listen, Ben, you don't treat a priest that way. You have to treat them with some respect. He's your headmaster, and he's a priest, and he's a family friend, and don't do that.' So I was pretty hard on Ben."

To this day, Ben's parents don't know what happened in the hotel room 21 years ago.

Andert describes the trip differently. He declined to be interviewed, but in a written statement to MPR News sent via his attorney, Andert said nothing happened in that room "beyond my caressing Ben's forehead."

Andert, now 68, said he felt nervous about going whitewater rafting and that he "probably became a pest to Ben with my anxious chatter." He said Ben "asked if I minded if he went to sleep in his parents' room, and I responded, 'Of course not.' There is nothing more to the story than that."

That explanation is tough for Ben's mother Margaret to hear. "You don't cry because somebody is afraid to go whitewater rafting," she said.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/18/spanier-parents-seek-change-at-st-johns-minnesota

So how is this related to Joshua? Do you think someone should question andert? Or is it more complicated then that?

 

[Jbrown324320]

It is clear to me from the article above, that if Andert did anything to Josh, he would not admit it. He was the prefect, or adult assigned to live in the building, of the place where the party was held- Metten Court Apartments. Andert very well could have been around or near when Josh was abducted. He downplayed his role in the hotel incident with Ben. What else is he hiding?

Also to me it proves that Andert could be dangerous if he caused a high school student to run screaming and crying to his parents and to request God to keep him safe before he committed suicide.

I do hope that LE interviewed him. But we can only speculate.

 

[Sasquatch321]

It is clear to me from the article above, that if Andert did anything to Josh, he would not admit it. He was the prefect, or adult assigned to live in the building, of the place where the party was held- Metten Court Apartments. Andert very well could have been around or near when Josh was abducted. He downplayed his role in the hotel incident with Ben. What else is he hiding?

Also to me it proves that Andert could be dangerous if he caused a high school student to run screaming and crying to his parents and to request God to keep him safe before he committed suicide.

I do hope that LE interviewed him. But we can only speculate.

I think it's safe to say that hasn't happened. Shame on LE for not taking the easy task of questioning a few of the most likely monks. Now this is the horror we deal with.

 

[Ryan Larson]

Star Tribune article from 2006 listing 3 monks that had social as well as travel restrictions.

https://goo.gl/udkRA1

 

[Ryan Larson]

In February of 2006, a paranoid Abbot John Klassen worried that claims against Wollmering, combined with Professor Immelman’s profile [ View ], could tie Wollmering to the disappearance of Joshua Guimond:
If the harassment charge against Bruce Wollmering becomes public, it will be perfect fuel for this faculty member to work full force against Bruce and ultimately against the monastic community. It will be difficult for me to lead in this environment. – February 17, 2006 Memo from John Klassen

In April of 2006, Abbot John Klassen provided three more:
“The Abbot reported that there were many hurdles regarding this issue, including a capital campaign, recruitment issues and access to the database.” – April 21, 2006 Review Board Minutes
Had Wollmering’s name been cleared when Joshua Guimond disappeared in 2002, it is unlikely that Abbot John Klassen would have been so defensive when a profile of Guimond’s likely abductor first circulated in 2003 and was publicly released in 2006.



Officials at St. John’s Abbey and St. John’s University had known about Wollmering’s “relationships” with students for years. A link to Guimond or a prized target like a member of the Johnnie football team, for example, would be devastating.

http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com...d-abductor-resembles-father-bruce-wollmering/

 

[Sasquatch321]

A great deal of wordsmithing went into the abbey’s unofficial version of events, offered recently by Br. David Klingeman:

“He went to the locker room and to the sink to contain the bleeding. Next he probably turned to perhaps go to the health center before it closed and tripped over the bench directly behind the sinks and hit his head on a locker. It is believed that he got up several times and fell again on the concrete floor since there was now a great deal of blood lost. Bruce was found about 10 minutes after the fall unconscious. The EMT and ambulance were called and CPR was performed. I believe from the fall he had cracked his skull and a rib punctured his lung thus causing the massive blood loss.”

Was the clothing that Wolmering was wearing tested for perpetrator dna? This scenario sounds like a classic drunken beating to me.

 

[Jbrown324320]

Fr. McDonald, one of the priests who lived on campus who admitted to sexually abusing over 200 children at the schools he has worked at has passed away. He had been known, per court documents, to share victims with Wollmering.

http://www.behindthepinecurtain.com/wordpress/rev-finian-mcdonalds-obituary-rewrites-history/
http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_pre...uit_says_three_clerics_molested_a_student.htm

 

[Jbrown324320]

time is running out. potential witnesses are dying.

 

[Jbrown324320]

The disappearance of Josh Guimond has been covered up by St John's University in Collegeville MN. The coverup cannot continue.

 

[Sasquatch321]

The biggest problem with this case as it still lingers strong today is that the kidnapping aspect/possibility has never had any heart or actual work put into by investigators. The sheriff graduated from the university and the monks with their own investigation system aren't being helpful.

 

[Sasquatch321]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bo...-student/ar-AAnUrz9?li=AA4ZnC&ocid=spartandhp

Here is a story where they had surveillance and hundreds of searchers turn out right away. But it was a single woman out walking in the morning that found the body. I don't know why as the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelveth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth year in this case that no more professional searches were performed. We tried one initial year to find Joshua in those connected ponds and lake, sad.

 

[Sasquatch321]

Records show that Josh entered his apartment between 11:05 and 11:10PM on 11/9/02 . His computer shows he signed off at 11:29PM .

This is why the FBI should have gotten involved. This proves he didn't drown or fall into a sinkhole.

 

[Uah]

I live in MN and I focus on cold case/missing persons and this case is very odd.

Uah

 

[ThePhantom]

Thoughts -- Wollmering may have been affiliated with bad people outside the abbey who helped procure victims. I'm suspicious of the way he died. Did I read correctly he had a fractured rib in addition to the head injuries? Few people want to touch this case -- not community leaders, not SJU alumni, nor politicians who have been called upon to help. This is one powerful abbey!! If Josh's body was incinerated, where does that leave us? Did SCSO ever release the findings from the search of Bruce Wollmering's room after he died? Who knows what kinds of "secrets" the abbot has locked up in that "classified" filing cabinet of his. The hypocrisy is boundless. That university should have allowed investigators to comb every part of the abbey, campus and rural properties owned by SJU. But no, of course they wouldn't allow that, way too many secrets to hide and what if other secrets were uncovered during these searches? How people can continue to support a university with this kind of reputation is beyond me -- but they do!! Maybe it's the football team, I don't know, but it sure is a tragedy when a young man's disappearance is ignored because only a handful of people will stand up for him. His Granddad is getting on in years and is really the only family member currently taking the lead in looking for Josh. I still think there may be a witness(es) within the abbey that might know more than what they're saying, but won't speak up due to fear. I've often thought what if there was a p.o. box people could send anonymous info to. All these years and nothing. I imagine every year that passes with no great interest in the case there's a sigh of relief from all who did not want to dig deeper. The despair from losing their son destroyed Josh's Mom and Dad. Almost fifteen years now. Still here, still praying, Joshua.

 

[ThePhantom]

So I thought I would google Josh's name to see if anything new or different came up. This video came up under Josh's name. It's probably nothing, still, it's weird. What do you think:
[video=youtube;ZvH0l8oTJcs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvH0l8oTJcs[/video]

 

[Sasquatch321]

Thoughts -- Wollmering may have been affiliated with bad people outside the abbey who helped procure victims. I'm suspicious of the way he died. Did I read correctly he had a fractured rib in addition to the head injuries? Few people want to touch this case -- not community leaders, not SJU alumni, nor politicians who have been called upon to help. This is one powerful abbey!! If Josh's body was incinerated, where does that leave us? Did SCSO ever release the findings from the search of Bruce Wollmering's room after he died? Who knows what kinds of "secrets" the abbot has locked up in that "classified" filing cabinet of his. The hypocrisy is boundless. That university should have allowed investigators to comb every part of the abbey, campus and rural properties owned by SJU. But no, of course they wouldn't allow that, way too many secrets to hide and what if other secrets were uncovered during these searches? How people can continue to support a university with this kind of reputation is beyond me -- but they do!! Maybe it's the football team, I don't know, but it sure is a tragedy when a young man's disappearance is ignored because only a handful of people will stand up for him. His Granddad is getting on in years and is really the only family member currently taking the lead in looking for Josh. I still think there may be a witness(es) within the abbey that might know more than what they're saying, but won't speak up due to fear. I've often thought what if there was a p.o. box people could send anonymous info to. All these years and nothing. I imagine every year that passes with no great interest in the case there's a sigh of relief from all who did not want to dig deeper. The despair from losing their son destroyed Josh's Mom and Dad. Almost fifteen years now. Still here, still praying, Joshua.

In the case of Jesse Dady he walked the opposite direction of home then tried crossing a railroad bridge in the dark with no railings. Alcohol is a part of this case that is being shrugged off, maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe Josh had done something similar that night. A dog tracked Dadys scent to the riverbank and a dog tracked Guimonds scent to Stumpf lake. We've learned from Dadys case that sonar is not everything and actual diving is much more effective. Did they dive in this case? And when?

 

[Sasquatch321]

So I thought I would google Josh's name to see if anything new or different came up. This video came up under Josh's name. It's probably nothing, still, it's weird. What do you think:
[video=youtube;ZvH0l8oTJcs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvH0l8oTJcs[/video]

Well there is a smiley face on it so I suppose it could be the smiley face gang, the one that drowns their victims. Would they be dumb enough to tag their own victim with this video and put it on the internet?

 

[Sasquatch321]

Found some old info


On Saturday, the search resumed for Joshua, with a private diving crew paid through the“Find Joshua” funds, conducting an underwater search of two areas of Sagatagan Lake according to perimeters set by a bloodhound a week earlier.

Monday, November 11, 2002: The entire St. Johns campus and surrounding areas were searched by horse and foot, including buildings, the power plant and all wooded areas. Divers from the Stearns County Sheriffs Department searched a slough on campus after a search dog led them to the area. The Minnesota State Patrol aided in the search sending helicopters to do an arial search of the woods on and around campus, and a state-wide alert by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Minnesota Crime Alert Network Missing Persons Bulletin went out in all major media and twin cities newscasts.

The county did their job, they maybe missed, but they did their job in the beginning.