Found Deceased MT - Rebekah Barsotti 33, & dog (fnd deceased), Town Pump, Superior, Mineral Co, 20 Jul 2021 *Reward

[Laughing]

Yep, I believe a crossbody bag is missing. This style is very popular, kavu.com image:

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[iamnotagolem]

I'm a woman (although not American) and I don't know any other woman who doesn't carry a bag of some kind. Presumably one hand had the dog leash. Dog remote controls are bulky. And on a hot day wouldn't she take water, sunscreen etc? Wouldn't she usually keep her credit card and license in a wallet along with other cards? If she had a credit card she would also have a debit card I'm assuming. Did she take out just those two items and leave her wallet in her vehicle, or in her home? Does the dog training video show the items in a pile? Does her leaving the items on show indicate there were no other hikers/ tourists etc around? Was there any indication of other people in the video or in background audio? How likely is it that no one else was there? Is it the type of area kids or teens could get to alone? If so have local kids been asked if they saw anything?
Just brainstorming.

I don’t carry a wallet or a purse. I usually just put my credit card in my pocket, unless I’m hitting the liquor store then I grab my license, too. I don’t understand the debit card at all, I haven’t carried one in at least a decade and haven’t used one in longer. So nothing to odd to me by her not having one with her.

I realize there is a ton of speculation around this case but we should at least consider Occam’s razor.

 

[laurawlms]

These pieces of information would be helpful.

1. When and where was Rebekah last seen by a trusted friend?

2. When did she last report to work? Who saw her there? What did she say to her co-workers? Did she express any concerns, or did she tell anyone that she was was meeting up in Superior to collect her things?

3. When did she last use her credit cards and bank cards?

4. Her vehicle was recorded on security footage at the Town Pump in Superior. Is there any footage of her and/or Cerberus? If so, was she seen in or outside of her vehicle? If she was recorded driving away, did anyone follow her? Did she use her cards at the gas station?

5. What is the police history for the address where she was living in Missoula? There is a record of calls made to police attached to an address, or should I say this is what happens in other places. This would give details of any requests for assistance during the time Rebekah lived there.

1. When and where was Rebekah last seen by a trusted friend?

It would have been on July 18, at Plonk to the best of my knowledge. AM has not been able to isolate a phone call or meeting on the 19th or the 20th of July.
Rebekah's last scheduled day at work was July 18th - 4pm to close
She was scheduled off July 19,20,21. Rebekah had reached out to a friend via email on July 16th to schedule a hike.

2. When did she last report to work? Who saw her there? What did she say to her co-workers? Did she express any concerns, or did she tell anyone that she was was meeting up in Superior to collect her things?

July 18 4pm shift. Not that I am aware of. No one has provided that information.


3. When did she last use her credit cards and bank cards?

Bank card -
Rebekah purchased groceries at Winco on July 19th.
Rebekah purchased gasoline July 20th, Conoco, 900 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT
All transactions get posted at 1200am according to statements.
Credit Cards -
Last instore purchase was July 13, 2021.
All other posts were auto pays.
No other purchases past that time.

4. Her vehicle was recorded on security footage at the Town Pump in Superior. Is there any footage of her and/or Cerberus? If so, was she seen in or outside of her vehicle? If she was recorded driving away, did anyone follow her? Did she use her cards at the gas station?

You could not see Rebekah or Cerberus at Town Pump on the footage AM and GM were shown. Law Enforcement said they could see her, but did not enlarge the photo so they could see her. They say her vehicle was there. Mind you, they are in MT and they don't even use a laser to pin point items on a Power Point presentation.

5. What is the police history for the address where she was living in Missoula? There is a record of calls made to police attached to an address, or should I say this is what happens in other places. This would give details of any requests for assistance during the time Rebekah lived there.

According to AM, to her knowledge you cannot ask for a police history in MT. It is a violation of privacy. What people in other states do not understand is that in MT, the right of privacy is the strongest in the nation and the State Consititution in MT has greater protection of privacy than the US Constitution. If someone else knows how to get this information, they can forward that process to you, please.

 

[laurawlms]

A new interview from KPAX
https://www.kpax.com/news/western-m...u80nDz0wZ3jjWwSutgwtPZPFQjJtGlBzY7JvjrP0TnKVE

 

[laurawlms]

An updated radio interview

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=248496184151218

 

[QueenieB]

Alright eveyone... It seems to me after visiting the location where RB's belongings were found that the likelihood she went in the water is zero. If she went into the water where her belongings were found her and the dog would have floundered in the water passing the entire large beach and parking area while being visible to people the entire time. This is NOT possible.
What is possible is she stopped here to walk the dog, not unlikely or unlike her to do, but she was caught off guard coming up the steep embankment back up to her car.? It isn't till the last couple steps up the trail that you can actually see the parked cars again. She would have No time to react. No time to defend herself. No time to get to her own car even though it's steps away. Now the dog is an issue here. If you didn't know the dog NONE of this is possible. So in this scenario you have to call the dog and he loads up in your vehicle, cause he knows you and is used to following your commands, THEN you have her too.
It would be easy to come back later unnoticed and stage items where they were found, as it is a completely different road down to the fishing access where her stuff was laid out, it hides behind and below the huge rock.
And she did have a purse in the parked car btw so IMO no reason for the debit card and ID to be there except staging.

With this in mind we need an expert opinion on profiling. Based on where the personal items, and dog was recovered. Where is RB?
It is obvious that the items and the dog were meant to be found. Does this mean RB is too? Or the other way around, the items and dog were meant to be found to give active misdirection, and she is meant never to be found? I feel the most obvious would be somewhere the perp is comfortable, but I am no criminal profiler so idk?
I do know this- 75% of DV shelters report their clients have found easedropping apps on their phones and 85% reported they had encountered clients who were tracked by GPS. So how do we know she wasn't being tracked and easedropped on? How could you ever find out if her phone or comp had spy software on them ???
She lived in the marital home for approx 3 weeks before moving out to her own place so there was time to do this.
Also how do you recover deleted info from phones, computers, cloud etc. Such as photos, videos, msgs or emails etc?

 

[Steve McQueen]

Alright eveyone... It seems to me after visiting the location where RB's belongings were found that the likelihood she went in the water is zero. If she went into the water where her belongings were found her and the dog would have floundered in the water passing the entire large beach and parking area while being visible to people the entire time. This is NOT possible.
What is possible is she stopped here to walk the dog, not unlikely or unlike her to do, but she was caught off guard coming up the steep embankment back up to her car.? It isn't till the last couple steps up the trail that you can actually see the parked cars again. She would have No time to react. No time to defend herself. No time to get to her own car even though it's steps away. Now the dog is an issue here. If you didn't know the dog NONE of this is possible. So in this scenario you have to call the dog and he loads up in your vehicle, cause he knows you and is used to following your commands, THEN you have her too.
It would be easy to come back later unnoticed and stage items where they were found, as it is a completely different road down to the fishing access where her stuff was laid out, it hides behind and below the huge rock.
And she did have a purse in the parked car btw so IMO no reason for the debit card and ID to be there except staging.

With this in mind we need an expert opinion on profiling. Based on where the personal items, and dog was recovered. Where is RB?
It is obvious that the items and the dog were meant to be found. Does this mean RB is too? Or the other way around, the items and dog were meant to be found to give active misdirection, and she is meant never to be found? I feel the most obvious would be somewhere the perp is comfortable, but I am no criminal profiler so idk?
I do know this- 75% of DV shelters report their clients have found easedropping apps on their phones and 85% reported they had encountered clients who were tracked by GPS. So how do we know she wasn't being tracked and easedropped on? How could you ever find out if her phone or comp had spy software on them ???
She lived in the marital home for approx 3 weeks before moving out to her own place so there was time to do this.
Also how do you recover deleted info from phones, computers, cloud etc. Such as photos, videos, msgs or emails etc?

Thanks for the excellent boots on the ground assessment @QueenieB. I agree that someone would have seen RB and Cerberus if they were floundering in the water. I also think the personal items on the riverbank were staged and Cerberus was disposed of in the river to give the appearance of an accidental drowning and divert attention away from RB's real whereabouts. While I initially considered the scenario you describe, where RB is abducted at the Alberton Rocks, I have recently been leaning toward the idea that RB was never at the Alberton Rocks riverbank area that afternoon. No one saw her there that day and the only evidence that she was there, is a dog training video on her phone, which could have easily been been time/date stamp altered.

I suggest a scenario in which RB is abducted by DB at the Town Pump while she and Cerberus are in her vehicle. He forces her at gunpoint to drive to the marital home where foul play occurs. He temporarily hides RB and Cerberus on the property, removes RB's personal items and drives her vehicle to the Alberton Rocks beach. He parks the car and stages the personal items on the beach. He then calls his caretaker to pick him up and drive him back to his truck at the Town Pump. He tells the caretaker that he rode with RB to the Rest Area and left her at the beach. He persuaded the caretaker to keep silent about his actions as he was under a no contact order. The caretaker, when questioned, only told the Sheriff that she had been with DB that afternoon, giving him his alibi. Later at his leisure (but within the next 6 days) he deposited Cerberus in the Clark Fork River at a remote downstream area.

The unfortunate aspect of this scenario is that DB would have plenty of time to hide RB and she could literally be anywhere (except the river), making it unlikely she will ever be found. Pressure needs to applied to the caretaker so that she will come forward with the information needed to begin investigating DB.

This of course is highly speculative and clearly my own amateur opinion.

 

[laurawlms]

Thanks for the excellent boots on the ground assessment @QueenieB. I agree that someone would have seen RB and Cerberus if they were floundering in the water. I also think the personal items on the riverbank were staged and Cerberus was disposed of in the river to give the appearance of an accidental drowning and divert attention away from RB's real whereabouts. While I initially considered the scenario you describe, where RB is abducted at the Alberton Rocks, I have recently been leaning toward the idea that RB was never at the Alberton Rocks riverbank area that afternoon. No one saw her there that day and the only evidence that she was there, is a dog training video on her phone, which could have easily been been time/date stamp altered.

I suggest a scenario in which RB is abducted by DB at the Town Pump while she and Cerberus are in her vehicle. He forces her at gunpoint to drive to the marital home where foul play occurs. He temporarily hides RB and Cerberus on the property, removes RB's personal items and drives her vehicle to the Alberton Rocks beach. He parks the car and stages the personal items on the beach. He then calls his caretaker to pick him up and drive him back to his truck at the Town Pump. He tells the caretaker that he rode with RB to the Rest Area and left her at the beach. He persuaded the caretaker to keep silent about his actions as he was under a no contact order. The caretaker, when questioned, only told the Sheriff that she had been with DB that afternoon, giving him his alibi. Later at his leisure (but within the next 6 days) he deposited Cerberus in the Clark Fork River at a remote downstream area.

The unfortunate aspect of this scenario is that DB would have plenty of time to hide RB and she could literally be anywhere (except the river), making it unlikely she will ever be found. Pressure needs to applied to the caretaker so that she will come forward with the information needed to begin investigating DB.

This of course is highly speculative and clearly my own amateur opinion.

Both @QueenieB and @Steve McQueen scenarios seen possible. I have recently learned that RB had a fitness app that recorded steps as if someone walked the long way down to the river. Meaning walking from the upper parking lot to the St. Johns Fishing access side of the Alberton Rock / Clark Fork river area. Of course recorded steps doesn't know who the actual stepper is because it's based on the device recording the steps. What I don't know is if the app records the time. @Steve McQueen your previous 2nd scenario still resonates with me.

 

[RIPRM]

Both @QueenieB and @Steve McQueen scenarios seen possible. I have recently learned that RB had a fitness app that recorded steps as if someone walked the long way down to the river. Meaning walking from the upper parking lot to the St. Johns Fishing access side of the Alberton Rock / Clark Fork river area. Of course recorded steps doesn't know who the actual stepper is because it's based on the device recording the steps. What I don't know is if the app records the time. @Steve McQueen your previous 2nd scenario still resonates with me.

IMO if the distance traveled is far enough one could a simple calculation of the distance traveled divided by the recorded # of steps to get an average length per step. This might give a sense of whether the wearer was the same as usual (same length per step as in the past) or not (longer length per step than in the past). Maybe.

 

[QueenieB]

Both @QueenieB and @Steve McQueen scenarios seen possible. I have recently learned that RB had a fitness app that recorded steps as if someone walked the long way down to the river. Meaning walking from the upper parking lot to the St. Johns Fishing access side of the Alberton Rock / Clark Fork river area. Of course recorded steps doesn't know who the actual stepper is because it's based on the device recording the steps. What I don't know is if the app records the time. @Steve McQueen your previous 2nd scenario still resonates with me.

And so a conundrum,even if she left her car at the upper parking places and walked the long way down with her dog it is showing this longer walk, BUT it is recording STEPS on the app and I KNOW these could be steps anywhere. ..so unless google locations isolate time/ location, this could be steps at the Alberton Rock or anywhere else, it would just be recording steps like the app is supposed to do. Maybe just like everyone said unless you can isolate location it's all irrelevant. And even if she walked the long way down it doesn't mean that someone Couldn't catch her off guard down there, and maybe even easier. It was snowy and muddy and I didn't drive all the way down that road, so I couldn't get a good eyes on view of view of what the area look like compared to the front of the rock/ top-parking area. But I do know it's way more isolated, Compared to the top parking area. All the tourists park at the parking area where RB car is found and walk straight down to the beach in front of the rock. BUT the fishing access road is down Left off the highway, around a long steep corner, down the steep hill, then it meets the river. It is far more isolated than the top lot. Far fewer cars or people go that way. The easier and most easily accessed area is directly off the highway where RB parked her car. But as @laurawlms said , the easier walk to the river is the way down the fishing access road. I could do any of the paths we are discussing. RB is 15 years my junior so she could have easily been on any one of those paths.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Both @QueenieB and @Steve McQueen scenarios seen possible. I have recently learned that RB had a fitness app that recorded steps as if someone walked the long way down to the river. Meaning walking from the upper parking lot to the St. Johns Fishing access side of the Alberton Rock / Clark Fork river area. Of course recorded steps doesn't know who the actual stepper is because it's based on the device recording the steps. What I don't know is if the app records the time. @Steve McQueen your previous 2nd scenario still resonates with me.

Depends on the app, but seems quite possible it recorded the time as well, even if that info isn't readily accessible. How else could it track steps per day if the time and date weren't also known? Steps per day is a pretty common parameter. Was it a phone app or a wearable, like a fitbit?
ETA here's an example from my Garmin account recorded from a Garmin watch.

 

[buyerninety]

QueenieB said;
..."zero. If she went into the water where her
belongings were found her and the dog would
have floundered in the water passing the entire
large beach and parking area while being visible
to people the entire time."

What people? I'm looking at the GoogleMaps
(2022) overhead as cited in the 3rd post at the
start of this thread. All I see is an articulated
car carrier with cars thereon, parked off the
I-90 (doubtful that driver is doing any
swimming or sunbathing, so we can discount
that vehicle) and only one car parked in the
parking area north west of that Alberton Rest
Area/Alberton Rock Climbing site. No other
cars in any other parking area associated with
that Alberton Rest Area/Alberton Rock Climbing
site. That suggests that there are times when this
area is not particularly well frequented. The
20th July 2021 was not a weekend, it was a
Tuesday, ..."last ping on Rebekah’s phone was
at 3:15" (PM), the phone being found near the
water's edge apparently (east of the Rock). If
she had parked, walked down and lay down on
sand or a towel for a while, you could push
that time to 4PM or later that she disappeared
into the water.
In addition, pretty much all the good sand upon
which people might be expected to sunbath
west of the climbing Rock, is obscured from
the rapids by that climbing Rock. Other sand
further west along on the bank is mixed with
patches of dirt and intermittant foilage.
Easily the upper half of those rapids is obscured
by the climbing Rock from the view of that
aforementioned main sand area. If you went
down those rapids, it's doubtful you would be
standing up, probably by the time you came to
the lower part of the rapids, you'd be off your
feet and possibly under the water surface if
you'd been injured by the rocks of the rapids
visible on either side of those rapids and possibly
any unseen rocks under the water surface in the
main course of the rapids.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Depends on the app, but seems quite possible it recorded the time as well, even if that info isn't readily accessible. How else could it track steps per day if the time and date weren't also known? Steps per day is a pretty common parameter. Was it a phone app or a wearable, like a fitbit?
ETA here's an example from my Garmin account recorded from a Garmin watch.

Further, regardless of whether it was a phone app or a wearable, data may possibly have been loaded or sync'd via bluetooth or other means to an online account. Even though LE has her phone, the data might still be accessible. I think FitBit and most Garmin type devices can do this.

 

[Steve McQueen]

QueenieB said;
..."zero. If she went into the water where her
belongings were found her and the dog would
have floundered in the water passing the entire
large beach and parking area while being visible
to people the entire time."

What people? I'm looking at the GoogleMaps
(2022) overhead as cited in the 3rd post at the
start of this thread. All I see is an articulated
car carrier with cars thereon, parked off the
I-90 (doubtful that driver is doing any
swimming or sunbathing, so we can discount
that vehicle) and only one car parked in the
parking area north west of that Alberton Rest
Area/Alberton Rock Climbing site. No other
cars in any other parking area associated with
that Alberton Rest Area/Alberton Rock Climbing
site. That suggests that there are times when this
area is not particularly well frequented. The
20th July 2021 was not a weekend, it was a
Tuesday, ..."last ping on Rebekah’s phone was
at 3:15" (PM), the phone being found near the
water's edge apparently (east of the Rock). If
she had parked, walked down and lay down on
sand or a towel for a while, you could push
that time to 4PM or later that she disappeared
into the water.
In addition, pretty much all the good sand upon
which people might be expected to sunbath
west of the climbing Rock, is obscured from
the rapids by that climbing Rock. Other sand
further west along on the bank is mixed with
patches of dirt and intermittant foilage.
Easily the upper half of those rapids is obscured
by the climbing Rock from the view of that
aforementioned main sand area. If you went
down those rapids, it's doubtful you would be
standing up, probably by the time you came to
the lower part of the rapids, you'd be off your
feet and possibly under the water surface if
you'd been injured by the rocks of the rapids
visible on either side of those rapids and possibly
any unseen rocks under the water surface in the
main course of the rapids.

We would know exactly how many vehicles were there that afternoon if LE had done a better job of canvassing and counting them (IIRC AM asked them at one point and was told that it was not done).

This a popular recreation area in the summer. The picture posted below is from July 2021 and shows the area after the rapids. Of course we don't know if it was taken on a weekday or during the weekend.

Google Maps

It appears to me that the area on the other side of the rocks, after the rapids is very calm, possibly shallow and with numerous sand bars (@QueenieB or @laurawlms might be able to confirm). Even if no one were there it seems likely that RB and her dog would have little difficulty making it to shore at one of the sandbars.

BTW I don't buy something horrific happening in the rapids. Anyone in the current would traverse that section very quickly.

Obviously this my amateur opinion.

 

[laurawlms]

We would know exactly how many vehicles were there that afternoon if LE had done a better job of canvassing and counting them (IIRC AM asked them at one point and was told that it was not done).

This a popular recreation area in the summer. The picture posted below is from July 2021 and shows the area after the rapids. Of course we don't know if it was taken on a weekday or during the weekend.

Google Maps

It appears to me that the area on the other side of the rocks, after the rapids is very calm, possibly shallow and with numerous sand bars (@QueenieB or @laurawlms might be able to confirm). Even if no one were there it seems likely that RB and her dog would have little difficulty making it to shore at one of the sandbars.

BTW I don't buy something horrific happening in the rapids. Anyone in the current would traverse that section very quickly.

Obviously this my amateur opinion.

Yes looking back through pictures, the water was much calmer on the west side of the rock and there were sandbars. I'm not sure if it was shallow because I didn't go down to the river on the west side of the rock. The times AM and I were at the location, it was very busy, the upper parking lot was full, and the east side of the rock, known as St. Johns Fishing access, was also quite busy. It is unbelievable to me, that nobody saw her and Cers, if they were actually there.

 

[QueenieB]

We would know exactly how many vehicles were there that afternoon if LE had done a better job of canvassing and counting them (IIRC AM asked them at one point and was told that it was not done).

This a popular recreation area in the summer. The picture posted below is from July 2021 and shows the area after the rapids. Of course we don't know if it was taken on a weekday or during the weekend.

Google Maps

It appears to me that the area on the other side of the rocks, after the rapids is very calm, possibly shallow and with numerous sand bars (@QueenieB or @laurawlms might be able to confirm). Even if no one were there it seems likely that RB and her dog would have little difficulty making it to shore at one of the sandbars.

BTW I don't buy something horrific happening in the rapids. Anyone in the current would traverse that section very quickly.

Obviously this my amateur opinion.

 

[QueenieB]

This is the aerial photo of the east side of the Rock looking west.

 

[QueenieB]

This is the aerial photo of the bank Cerb was found on rhe N side of across from Rock Creek

 

[Steve McQueen]

https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-a...hing-for-answers-about-missing-missoula-woman

I haven't seen this posted. Not much new here, but it helps keep the message out there. From the article:

“We think that that's where she went missing. She's somewhere in the river, you know, we're 99.9% positive,” Sheriff Toth said.

“But with extensive efforts last summer they didn’t find her,” Mastrovito pointed out.

Despite law enforcement’s confidence that Barsotti drowned, Sheriff Toth says his department still follows every credible lead they receive, but he noted it’s a big county, and finding Rebekah is just one of their many responsibilities.

"We have a county that stretches 77 miles on the interstate all the way to the state line. I have six road deputies and then myself and the Undersheriff to handle calls, and you know, we're stretched thin,” Sheriff Toth noted.

Their focus on Barsotti's case is waning while the family's desperation is growing more urgent. So Barsotti’s family has hired their own search and rescue team, which includes an out-of-state, private investigator.

“He works with missing persons, that’s his specialty, it’s not part of what he does, it’s his specialty. And so, the more we talked to him, the more we felt like okay, this is where we need to go. Somebody who can devote 24/7 which is what James Terry said he could do,” Mastrovito explained.

A swarm of experts will search for answers in the river while Terry searches for answers on land. In the coming months, Wings of Hope, Northstar Canine Search and Rescue, Bruce’s Legacy, and a specialized scuba diver will brave the cold Clark Fork River.

You can donate at the Find Rebeka Barosotti website, and anyone with information that could be helpful in Rebekah’s case is asked to call private investigator James Terry at 813-993-2242.

 

[Loveoneanother]

I've read several times that people commented about what a hot day July 20 was, 89 degrees was the high in Alberton and with no precipitation. I might be mistaken, was the mention of a thunderstorm in Missoula? If so their weather was the same as Alberton. I'm sure the cellphone video shows the weather too. In any case, I can't imagine a broad daylight abduction in an occupied parking lot, with the victims drawing no attention, especially when the dog is a Malinois, an excellent personal protection dog. Even barking would have attracted some attention. Please don't think the dog would not attack the ex or anyone else because of familiarity.
Then there is the complication of the items at the river. If they waited in the parking lot, they never saw where she was, they would have had to watch the video to figure out where to put the phone at the river. Then there's the problem of the alibi, the 2nd person might have one too, like where did they go after the meet? They might have been with family or friends.
Does anyone know if RB was on a cellphone plan separate from her ex? The pings on the phone would answer a lot of questions. If a contract for the phone is at her home, there should be enough information to get into the phone records online, there could be a lot of data available. I might contact an attorney if anyone else's name is on the contract. Cellphone carriers are used to requests from families, find out what you need to do if you can't get in online. Doesn't hurt to ask, the sheriff's office might release just the ping info to the family. What if that phone never moved until the officer retrieved it?
https://www.com/en/us/alberton/59820/july-weather/2209819?year=2021
Missoula, MT Weather Calendar | Weather Underground

I live in Missoula and there were crazy storms that day, in the surrounding areas as well.

To understand why thunderstorms occur more often during the warm months requires some understanding of thunderstorm basics.

Why are there more thunderstorms during the summer?


July 20th 2021

Weather: Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected today. Brief, heavy downpours, lightning, and gusty, erratic winds are possible. Cloud cover and smoke will keep temperatures near

normal. Expect wetter storms tonight through Wednesday, although precipitation may be spotty and isolated. Warmer, drier, and more unstable conditions return by late week.
West Lolo Complex Daily Update, Tuesday, July 20 - InciWeb the Incident Information System