Found Deceased MN - Marya Christensen, 23, Red Wing, 12 March 2016

[Inthedetails]

Perhaps another lesson from this case is to go ahead and spend the night somewhere when it gets late - make a call home, get some sleep, and let the sun rise - before venturing on the road.

Be safe out there.

 

[THATchick1021]

So sad. Prayers for her family. . This case reminded me of Kristy Kelly.

Sent from my LGMS330 using Tapatalk

 

[Damarna]

http://m.postbulletin.com/news/loca...8dd-0ca8-5e5a-aa3e-43a8d42efd14.html?mode=jqm

"She told the Red Wing Republican-Eagle that it appears Christiansen had crossed the main bridge across the Mississippi and was driving east on the highway toward Hager City when she lost control of her car. It went down an embankment and into the river."

 

[Zephyranth]

Here's a wider angle of the Trenton River boat launch (and backchannel bridge):

http://www.republican-eagle.com/news/government/3696915-hager-city-boat-launch-nearly-done

If she drove that van off of the bridge, the railing would show it; if she drove into the river just before getting to the bridge, the foliage and earth would show it. No mention has been made of any physical indications that her car traveled through a railing or through this foliage.

I am very, very uncomfortable about the fact that her car was right near the boat landing (the paved one):

https://cbsminnesota.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/white-van-mississippi-river.jpg?w=1500

 

[Zephyranth]

An autopsy is being conducted:

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines...ern-Wisconsin-for-young-mother-372218751.html

From the article, "Sheriff Nancy Hove says the road approaching the bridge makes a slight turn, but Christiansen's van went straight into the river."

The thing is, there are guard rails--not just big metal ones on the bridge itself, but concrete posts for quite a long ways leading up to the bridge...if we're looking at her direction of travel correctly, she would have had to have left the road roughly where that bigger white van with its lights on is parked:

http://www.piercecountyherald.com/s...ic/field/image/VanSuspended.jpg?itok=IKXYTs2M

With those rescue vehicles driving all over the scene it could be a little hard to tell what's going on from any vehicle tracks.

Also, look at how steep that embankment is, and how uneven the path between the embankment and the river - you'd expect the vehicle very possibly to turn over rather than be able to some how drive neatly between the two obstacles (trees on one side, light pole on the other) and into the river.

I realize this is all premature - haven't found it on Google maps yet, even.

But this may be the most revealing picture of all--look how narrow the width is between the trees and light pole:

http://content.kare11.com/photo/2016/03/17/Van recovery_1458228994009_989312_ver1.0.jpg

The idea that she "missed a slight curve and simply continued straight into the river" doesn't make much sense with the above angles.

 

[Inthedetails]

An autopsy is being conducted:

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines...ern-Wisconsin-for-young-mother-372218751.html

From the article, "Sheriff Nancy Hove says the road approaching the bridge makes a slight turn, but Christiansen's van went straight into the river."

The thing is, there are guard rails--not just big metal ones on the bridge itself, but concrete posts for quite a long ways leading up to the bridge...if we're looking at her direction of travel correctly, she would have had to have left the road roughly where that bigger white van with its lights on is parked:

http://www.piercecountyherald.com/s...ic/field/image/VanSuspended.jpg?itok=IKXYTs2M

With those rescue vehicles driving all over the scene it could be a little hard to tell what's going on from any vehicle tracks.

Also, look at how steep that embankment is, and how uneven the path between the embankment and the river - you'd expect the vehicle very possibly to turn over rather than be able to some how drive neatly between the two obstacles (trees on one side, light pole on the other) and into the river.

I realize this is all premature - haven't found it on Google maps yet, even.

But this may be the most revealing picture of all--look how narrow the width is between the trees and light pole:

http://content.kare11.com/photo/2016/03/17/Van recovery_1458228994009_989312_ver1.0.jpg

The idea that she "missed a slight curve and simply continued straight into the river" doesn't make much sense with the above angles.

I think's unsettling that that the boat landing is right there too, but if you look at the timeline, I do think she accidently drove into the river.

If it wasn't an accident, what happened? She would have had to drive home, be forced to stay in the car (or forced back into the car), forced to drive to the boat landing (or forced as a passenger and then forced into the driver seat at the landing), and then the car shoved into the landing without being seen with her still alive, and then the perp driven away in a second vehicle.

It just doesn't sound believable to me. Driving off the road at 2:30am after a night out sounds much more believable.

If the COD is anything other than drowning, then that changes everything. But so far, it looks like accidental death imo.

Edited to add: It also looks like the car was pulled out of the river upside down, which indicates an out-of-control and fast ride down the steep hill more than an entry from the boat landing. JMO.

 

[Zephyranth]

I don't think she'd have been alive in the vehicle. I'm thinking more of an angry exchange at home, followed by purposeful or accidental death at home during the fight. Unfortunately, such things are all too possible--rage during a domestic is all too common.

All it takes is one friend to pick you up and drive you home after taking the van to the river. <modsnip>

Totally agree that an accident is always possible, but there's something about the behavior of the significant other and friends that isn't jiving.

Keeping an open mind, for sure.

 

[Zephyranth]

Also, ck this angle - the odds of 1) leaving the road just in time to not hit the first concrete pillar 2) without immediately tipping over, and finally 3) just happening to make it between the many trees and posts on either side of a narrow path all add up to a lot of "ifs," by Occam's Razor standards. Judging by the photos I've seen so far, I would add 4) while not leaving any visible tire tracks and 5) missing the wooden road sign and 6) missing that gully (2nd link below):

http://www.piercecountyherald.com/s...yles/16x9_860/public/field/image/IMAG0150.jpg

Here's an interesting angle purporting to show the area Christiansen covered when driving off the road, through the grass, over the riprock, and into the river (note gully):

http://www.woodburybulletin.com/sit.../032316.FR_.PCH_.TireTracks.jpg?itok=msUQqIEC

The first thing I notice is just how long she'd have had to accidentally drive over rough terrain--in a perfectly straight line--without swerving, hitting anything, or coming to a "holy s***" stop. The second thing I notice is that there are no visible tire tracks leading from the road to the river.

I think they'd be better off suggesting that she accidentally turned left onto the paved boat launch driveway.

 

[Zephyranth]

I'd like to know how police decided to look in that section of the river, given that according to media reports, they had already called off the search.

 

[Sillybilly]

Please review TOS as it relates to social media.

The Rules: Etiquette & Information

Posts with references to social media accounts for anyone other than a victim and an officially named suspect are off-limits.

:tyou:

 

[Zephyranth]

I have to get back to work for a bit, but I encourage people to ck out that bridge on Bing Maps birdseye view - you'll be able to see an aerial version of where police are standing in the ditch in the above photographs. Notice the significant distance the car would have had to travel, through rough ditch and avoiding significant obstacles, in order to leave the road before the concrete pillars.

 

[Inthedetails]

BBM

I don't think she'd have been alive in the vehicle. I'm thinking more of an angry exchange at home, followed by purposeful or accidental death at home during the fight. Unfortunately, such things are all too possible--rage during a domestic is all too common.

All it takes is one friend to pick you up and drive you home after taking the van to the river. First two that come to mind are Andrew (brother) and Melanie Bahl. And as Melanie herself pointed out, it's not very far from Bush St in Red Wing to Chris's on OO.

Totally agree that an accident is always possible, but there's something about the behavior of the significant other and friends that isn't jiving.

Keeping an open mind, for sure.

The Medical Examiner will be able to determine if she died of drowning or not. We don't have the COD yet, right?

 

[tlcya]

Pierce County Sheriff Nancy Hove told KARE 11 Wednesday night that, based on clothing and tattoo information provided by the family, the body recovered inside the van is that of Marya Christiansen. She said the exact cause of Christiansen's death and the nature of the accident remains under investigation.

[..]

"She was a young beautiful girl. She had a lot of energy. She was a spitfire," Sharon Christiansen, Marya's godmother, told reporters.


She said the only relief in the tragedy was knowing that Marya hadn't been kidnapped or harmed by another person.


"This is a huge tragedy for our family and it ends in horrible results. When you drink and drive this is the stuff that can happen," Christiansen said, choking back tears.

http://www.kare11.com/news/vehicle-found-during-search-for-missing-wi-woman/85613223

 

[AnnaGrace]

This is so sad. My heart breaks for her family.

 

[pinklilies]

The video link below (posted by Ticya) shows the bridge to be on the right of the boat launch, as you're driving towards it. So I think she drove towards the bridge, but not over it. It looks like she veered left just before the bridge, down towards the boat launch.
I may well be wrong but that's how it looks to me from the video in this link and from the aeriel view on mobi-maps.

Also, a poster mentioned earlier (sorry, not sure who) as to what made them go back and search that area for a second time.

In this link, and I'm slightly paraphrasing, but the reporter says the sheriffs dept says there were no tyre marks leading down to the river but one of the deputies noticed that the rocks by the river had been scraped by something which in turn led them to take a second look with the sonar, at an area they had already looked at, under that bridge.

http://www.kare11.com/news/vehicle-found-during-search-for-missing-wi-woman/85613223

 

[Zephyranth]

It's odd for the weight and energy of a moving van to leave markings on rocks, but not on the grass leading to those rocks.

What must be kept in mind is that this isn't just an open, grassy patch between that road and the rocks--in addition to somehow not leaving any tracks in the grass, the van would also have had to avoid hitting 1) the road sign, 2) the significantly deep gully/depression between the road and the river, 3) the trees to the driver's right, 3) the light pole to the driver's left.

This emergency vehicle, in fact, shows the exact point her van would have had to travel through:

http://content.kare11.com/photo/2016/03/17/Van recovery_1458228994009_989312_ver1.0.jpg

Ideally one would travel to that scene and take measurements; photos (and the perspectives implied by them) can be misleading.

As for the rock-scraping, you'd still have to have a reason to come back to that area, in the first place, to even find the rock-scraping. The question remains: Why did police return to that location? There may yet be a good explanation.

I certainly hope the Sheriff is doing due diligence and checking the Johnson-Christiansen residence for evidence of struggle and injury.

 

[cluciano63]

Pierce County Sheriff Nancy Hove told KARE 11 Wednesday night that, based on clothing and tattoo information provided by the family, the body recovered inside the van is that of Marya Christiansen. She said the exact cause of Christiansen's death and the nature of the accident remains under investigation.

[..]

"She was a young beautiful girl. She had a lot of energy. She was a spitfire," Sharon Christiansen, Marya's godmother, told reporters.


She said the only relief in the tragedy was knowing that Marya hadn't been kidnapped or harmed by another person.


"This is a huge tragedy for our family and it ends in horrible results. When you drink and drive this is the stuff that can happen," Christiansen said, choking back tears.

http://www.kare11.com/news/vehicle-found-during-search-for-missing-wi-woman/85613223

Certainly sounds like the family believe this was an accident, as do I. Jmo

 

[Inthedetails]

It's odd for the weight and energy of a moving van to leave markings on rocks, but not on the grass leading to those rocks.

What must be kept in mind is that this isn't just an open, grassy patch between that road and the rocks--in addition to somehow not leaving any tracks in the grass, the van would also have had to avoid hitting 1) the road sign, 2) the significantly deep gully/depression between the road and the river, 3) the trees to the driver's right, 3) the light pole to the driver's left.

This emergency vehicle, in fact, shows the exact point her van would have had to travel through:

http://content.kare11.com/photo/2016/03/17/Van recovery_1458228994009_989312_ver1.0.jpg



Ideally one would travel to that scene and take measurements; photos (and the perspectives implied by them) can be misleading.

As for the rock-scraping, you'd still have to have a reason to come back to that area, in the first place, to even find the rock-scraping. The question remains: Why did police return to that location? There may yet be a good explanation.

I certainly hope the Sheriff is doing due diligence and checking the Johnson-Christiansen residence for evidence of struggle and injury.

For her car to be forced into the river by someone else, it would require a second vehicle to drive the perp away. The perp would need an accomplice. I am just not envisioning that, but perhaps you could explain your suspicions further on how her car went in, how the perps got away, who was with the kids while this happened, etc.

I am still with the theory of an accident in the middle of the night by a tired driver following a night out with friends. Jmo

 

[Zephyranth]

Unfortunately, clumsy English abounds in modern news reporting.

Nonetheless, two things stand out about the following article:

1) According to Marya's father, police had already ruled out foul play by March 15 (why and how?), and he didn't understand why they'd done that

2) If the reporter is quoting the Sheriff's office correctly, that office said that her "whereabouts aren't suspicious at this point, but help from the public is still crucial in solving this case."

"Whereabouts aren't suspicious" could be really weird English; it could also indicate police knew or suspected where she was. That's pretty odd. Ruling out foul play ahead of time--before the body has even been found--is also odd.

http://kstp.com/news/missing-wisconsin-woman-marya-christiansen-23-year-old-mother/4075237/

 

[Zephyranth]

For her car to be forced into the river by someone else, it would require a second vehicle to drive the perp away. The perp would need an accomplice. I am just not envisioning that, but perhaps you could explain your suspicions further on how her car went in, how the perps got away, who was with the kids while this happened, etc.

I am still with the theory of an accident in the middle of the night by a tired driver following a night out with friends. Jmo

Tired driver always possible, for sure. Leaving no tracks while missing every possible obstacle between 63 and the river is less possible in my mind, but we definitely need more info.

Marya's house isn't far from the boat landing, and at 3 a.m. the kids were likely sleeping. All it takes is one friend to drive the second vehicle. Going to that boat landing, putting the van in neutral, pushing it in, and driving home would have tragically taken very little time.

<modsnip>