NY NY - Colin Gillis, 18, Tupper Lake, 11 March 2012

[ontheclock]

Can I please just say that my bringing up the idea of a drug overdose or possible drug-induced hallucinations being a factor in whatever happened to Colin was not meant to imply that Colin used drugs ... I re-read my posts and am starting to worry I may be giving the wrong impression. For causes of 'accidental' or I should more accurately say 'unintentional' death, being hit by a car or even simply falling/hitting one's head after being pushed in a fight are just as likely (or unlikely) as OD'ing. I never should have suggested that ... that's not what I think of Colin at all. I'm truly sorry if it seems I'm hinting at character flaws in my many 'scenarios' and 'theories' ... I don't intend to - just trying to piece the tidbits of info we have together to make some sense and no matter how I piece them they just don't fit!

Thank you Kadence for keeping the wheels rolling here!

Don't worry. Your heart is in the right place. We all know you're part of Collin's team. Quite frankly, I'm open to more discussion regarding sobriety. No one from the party has come forward with any description of what exactly transpired at the gathering or how it dispersed. All I know is a fight broke out, Collin left on foot (alone), and a couple of eyewitnesses saw him walking on the road.

One witness offered him a ride, and he declined. The second witness observed him behaving in a distressed manner. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also fill in any blanks. Did witness one report seeing Collin more than once on the road?

 

[SunsetGirl]

Don't worry. Your heart is in the right place. We all know you're part of Collin's team. Quite frankly, I'm open to more discussion regarding sobriety. No one from the party has come forward with any description of what exactly transpired at the gathering or how it dispersed. All I know is a fight broke out, Collin left on foot (alone), and a couple of eyewitnesses saw him walking on the road.

One witness offered him a ride, and he declined. The second witness observed him behaving in a distressed manner. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also fill in any blanks. Did witness one report seeing Collin more than once on the road?

I remember Kadence giving a little more detail about the party a couple pages back ... we need a good summary of known facts/timeline (I forget who recently requested this - obviously none of us got around to it) ... I'm all for revisiting what we know. Sometimes a different thing will really stand out. I'm willing to put a summary together but know I don't have enough time this AM. If anyone else would like to, please feel free!

 

[searcher8621]

Thanks for the info! - I noticed that others were leaning in the direction of what I thought - I cannot say more as I only have gut feeling. I feel better that LE regularly reads this forum! - This is a wonderful site - keep up the good work!!

 

[Seajay]

Hi Searcher8621. Actually it's an excellent question. Interesting gut feelings. Anyone can read these threads without being a registered member & actively participating. It seems it would be difficult (maybe even impossible) to identify each visitor viewing a thread.

Would a guilty person follow the thread of 'their' crime? That seems very likely.

Could that person become a member & be among us posting? It seems VERY possible that the person involved in/responsible for the disappearance of another could join Websleuths and monitor/participate in the thread.

Does anyone check the identity of Websleuth posters? Here's a very interesting quote from The Rules - Etiquette & Information:



I know I take note of who is posting, when they joined WS & what threads they participate in ... I've often wondered if the guilty party is here with us (but not specifically on Colin's thread).

Thank you for voicing your thoughts & opinions! I suggest you privately message our Verified Insider (Kadence) with your specific concerns (& they can be passed on to the appropriate people) since publicly posting certain 'suspicions' may violate the Terms of Service.

The answer to this question is YES!!! In the Abraham Shakespeare case, the women who was later found guilty of murdering him for his lottery winnings registered as a member here and posted, proclaiming her innocence before the trial.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...l-December-2012&highlight=Abraham+Shakespeare

Also, during the Casey Anthony trial, one of the defense attorneys got in trouble for registering and posting his thanks for the compliments he was receiving from the members here. There was even a screen shot during the trial of an attorney's computer being up on the Websleuths Web site.

I'm read over and over where different LE or attorneys have come here to read and some of the questions members here have asked were later brought up in trials, almost verbatim. One that comes to mind is the Jodi Arias trial.

 

[Seajay]

I take it that that night, Colin didn't indicate to anyone who he was planning on getting a ride from to get home?

I'm not seeing the editor person as anything but what he said he was. The reason: Had he done something to Colin, he could have just driven away or whatever and no one would have been the wiser or known anything about his involvement. By reporting what he saw, that puts him in LE's sights and calls attention to him. Why would he do that if he had just committed a heinous crime? IMO

A timeline of events would be very helpful to someone who just started reading this case today. TIA.

 

[SunsetGirl]

Funny how you can pore over every news article, every post, every tidbit of info on a missing persons case again and again and finally, finally something clicks!

I know I've brought this up before (I think others have too) and for some reason the significance seems to be larger, clearer than ever!

If this is Fact:
(I believe it is) Colin left for the party with a backpack and coat

If this is Fact:
(Not confirmed but at least 1 eyewitness insisted) Colin was last seen walking WITHOUT a coat or backpack

If this is Fact:
(I believe Kadence confirmed it) Neither Colin's coat nor his backpack were ever found or turned in

THEN ...

It seems highly unlikely that Colin dropped/stashed his backpack & coat along the road (surely they would've been found in the grid searches)

Did he leave them in his friend's car? If so, why wouldn't that friend turn them in?

Were they left at the party? Again, why wouldn't someone turn them in?

Was the newspaper editor wrong when he stated Colin wasn't wearing a coat or carrying a backpack? Can his story be trusted?

What did the other eyewitnesses report - was Colin wearing a coat & carrying a backpack or not? On a bright moonlit night I'm pretty sure you'd pick up on these details.

For some reason this all seems terribly significant. I just can't wrap my mind around this funny little detail. I cannot understand the absence of his coat & backpack - especially if he really didn't have them when walking away from the party. An innocent person would surely report that they found those items.

Does this seem as significant to anyone else?

 

[SunsetGirl]

Here's a timeline I compiled using everyone's posts & info from assorted news articles (a lot of this info was confirmed by Kadence our Verified Insider - info I'm not sure of is marked with ???)

Colin Gillis, age 18 … college freshman, home on spring break

Sat. 3/10/12 PM … Tupper Lake, NY

Colin got a ride with friends … he left his house w/coat & backpack

They stopped at a location on Lincoln Ave & picked up others

Colin & 9 friends crash someone’s 21st b-day party (approx. 40 attended the party … Colin’s gf was NOT there)

Party location – on Paskungameh Rd, Tupper Lake

The party guests were some that Colin didn’t know and others he generally didn’t hang out with (age range of guests including Colin = 18 to 29 ???)

Sun. 3/11/12 – early AM

Colin’s 9 friends leave party, Colin stays (before or after fighting starts ???)

Fighting at the party (several fights, unknown cause)

Party ended abruptly (possibly due to the fighting but do not know for sure)

Shortly before 1:30am … Colin left on foot, alone

Colin did not have a pre-arranged ride home & there is no evidence of Colin calling someone for a ride

Colin heads WEST on Route 3 towards Piercefield (in opposite direction from his home)

1:30 am … Colin’s last cell phone use

No pings from Colin’s cell phone (spotty to no service where he was last seen)

Approx. 1:30 am … Colin was seen leaving Paskungameh Rd by local teenager A.T. w/cousin (they stop & ask if he wants a ride, he declined saying he was waiting for a friend to pick him up)

Sometime between 1:30-1:45am … Colin was seen by a mom and her son, the mom was driving – both saw someone but neither could confirm it was Colin (Kadence post #333)

Approx. 1:45 am … Colin was last seen by newspaper editor R.R. (& his mom) near the snowplow turnaround near the county line on Route 3 (a little over a mile from the party location) 'acting odd' 'almost staggering' (quoting from video interview w/R.R.)

Newspaper editor R.R. drives to police station to report the ‘incident’ and police respond

Newspaper editor R.R. insists Colin was NOT wearing a coat or carrying a backpack

Around 2:00 am ??? … no sign of Colin as police check out report

Temperatures at 2am were around 20F w/wind chill (feels like temp) about 10F (Wunderground archives)

Sun. 3/11/12 - daytime

Colin's family & friends begin searching

5:30 pm ... Colin reported missing to police

Mon. 3/12/12

Massive searches began for Colin ... Quote from WCAX: "Throughout the day, dozens of law officers and nearly 200 volunteers spent the day looking for the missing 18-year-old. Their efforts focused on a two mile radius around the home. It includes dense wooded areas along with the Racquette River and Piercefield Flow."

Two items found: Colin’s driver’s license & another personal item belonging to Colin (NOT his shoe!) – found on Route 3 about 0.25mi from where Colin was last seen – just to the west of Setting Pole Dam Rd

Intensive searches continued throughout the weeks that followed with no sign of Colin

Colin's coat and backpack have NOT been found (*see my previous post - I feel this is significant)

 

[SunsetGirl]

These quotes go with the Timeline & Facts of the Case post above!

Tupper Lake Free Press article on 3/14/12

“A local teenager was driving his cousin home to Piercefield that morning when they spotted Colin leaving Paskungameh Road on foot about 1:30a.m. where he had been at a party. They stopped and asked him if he wanted a ride and he declined, noting he was waiting for a friend to pick him up. The teen stopped again on his trip back to Tupper Lake, encouraging Colin to get in the truck, but he again reportedly declined the offer. That time Colin was near the headquarters of Bruce Richards Logging, heading west.”

WCAX article on 3/12/12

“The last confirmed sightings of Gillis was around 1:30 Sunday morning. At least three motorists spotted him walking along Route 3 near the county line. He was walking in the opposite direction of his home and investigators say Gillis was almost struck by one of those cars.”

Tupper Lake Free Press article on 3/14/12

"Rich Rosentreter, editor of the Lake Placid News, was returning from Hogansburg and Massena that evening with his mother, Stella, at 1:45a.m. in his small pickup when he spotted a man walking alongside the highway against traffic towards Piercefield. Mr. Rosentreter said he spotted the man near the snowplow turnaround near the county line on Route 3, walking in a westerly direction. Mr. Rosentreter said the man was wearing what he described as a “baseball style” shirt, but wearing no coat. He also disputed a report this week that Colin Gillis was carrying a backpack. Since the mercury that evening was hovering in the teens, the former Adirondack Daily Enterprise reporter said he began to become concerned about the pedestrian’s dress. Upon arriving in Tupper Lake a few minutes later, he immediately stopped at the village police department where Sergeant Eric Proulx was on duty and told him about the incident. State troopers were immediately notified, Mr. Rosentreter said."

 

[andalso]

sunset girl..thank you for the posts & timeline.

Like to add to the timeline that AT apparently stopped a 2nd time (as noted in Tupper Lake Free Press 3/4/12 article in your post just above this) and asked Colin if he wanted a ride, and he declined again...but I am not sure where that fits into the timeline.
I find myself wondering (IMO) if perhaps Colin did in fact accept a ride from him, and foul play occurred. I mean, why would he not accept a ride from him, since he was flagging people down you would think any ride would be accepted.
I wonder if AT's car was searched.
Perhaps I am completely off track, but there seems something 'off' about AT's story to me, IMO.

 

[TripleA]

I will be driving through there again tomorrow. Colin could be anywhere in those woods. It is vast.

 

[andalso]

Re: declining the ride, twice, from AT

Were AT and Colin friends? Were they fighting at the party?

What I wonder, and can't seem to get past on the timeline is...did the newspaper editor pass Colin and then AT passed by on his way home from dropping off his passenger? If so, then AT would be the last to see Colin.

Is there anyway to figure out which happened first?

I wonder where AT was going, how many miles from talking to Colin did he drive? Did he pass the newspaper editor, but going the opposite way, then make the drop off and turn back and then end up not far behind the newspaper editor.

Am I making any sense? And does anyone agree this might be a significant detail that thus far we don't know the answer to?

JMO

 

[andalso]

Funny how you can pore over every news article, every post, every tidbit of info on a missing persons case again and again and finally, finally something clicks!

I know I've brought this up before (I think others have too) and for some reason the significance seems to be larger, clearer than ever!

If this is Fact:
(I believe it is) Colin left for the party with a backpack and coat

If this is Fact:
(Not confirmed but at least 1 eyewitness insisted) Colin was last seen walking WITHOUT a coat or backpack

If this is Fact:
(I believe Kadence confirmed it) Neither Colin's coat nor his backpack were ever found or turned in

THEN ...

It seems highly unlikely that Colin dropped/stashed his backpack & coat along the road (surely they would've been found in the grid searches)

Did he leave them in his friend's car? If so, why wouldn't that friend turn them in?

Were they left at the party? Again, why wouldn't someone turn them in?

Was the newspaper editor wrong when he stated Colin wasn't wearing a coat or carrying a backpack? Can his story be trusted?

What did the other eyewitnesses report - was Colin wearing a coat & carrying a backpack or not? On a bright moonlit night I'm pretty sure you'd pick up on these details.

For some reason this all seems terribly significant. I just can't wrap my mind around this funny little detail. I cannot understand the absence of his coat & backpack - especially if he really didn't have them when walking away from the party. An innocent person would surely report that they found those items.

Does this seem as significant to anyone else?

I wonder what was in the backpack?
Could the backpack have been stolen from him? But then what about the coat...sure would be strange for him to take that off.
Personally, I trust the editor, although I don't always trust eyewitness accounts. Especially those given in the middle of the night whilst driving. People can be wrong about what they saw, we have all seen it happen.

 

[SunsetGirl]

sunset girl..thank you for the posts & timeline.

Like to add to the timeline that AT apparently stopped a 2nd time (as noted in Tupper Lake Free Press 3/4/12 article in your post just above this) and asked Colin if he wanted a ride, and he declined again...but I am not sure where that fits into the timeline.
I find myself wondering (IMO) if perhaps Colin did in fact accept a ride from him, and foul play occurred. I mean, why would he not accept a ride from him, since he was flagging people down you would think any ride would be accepted.
I wonder if AT's car was searched.
Perhaps I am completely off track, but there seems something 'off' about AT's story to me, IMO.

I knew I'd forget something in my timeline! Thanks! I agree it would be nice to know the order Colin was seen. LE must know based on where Colin was as each one passed him. Was it A.T. & cousin at approx. 1:30am, then Mom & son, then A.T. again, and lastly at approx. 1:45am, R.R. the newspaper editor & his mom?

 

[SunsetGirl]

Re: declining the ride, twice, from AT

Were AT and Colin friends? Were they fighting at the party?

What I wonder, and can't seem to get past on the timeline is...did the newspaper editor pass Colin and then AT passed by on his way home from dropping off his passenger? If so, then AT would be the last to see Colin.

Is there anyway to figure out which happened first?

I wonder where AT was going, how many miles from talking to Colin did he drive? Did he pass the newspaper editor, but going the opposite way, then make the drop off and turn back and then end up not far behind the newspaper editor.

Am I making any sense? And does anyone agree this might be a significant detail that thus far we don't know the answer to?

JMO

You're totally making sense! Good questions!

From news reports I was under the impression that A.T. & his cousin just happened to be driving by as Colin was walking out onto Rte 3 ... I don't remember anything saying they were at the same party.

 

[SunsetGirl]

I wonder what was in the backpack?
Could the backpack have been stolen from him? But then what about the coat...sure would be strange for him to take that off.
Personally, I trust the editor, although I don't always trust eyewitness accounts. Especially those given in the middle of the night whilst driving. People can be wrong about what they saw, we have all seen it happen.

Yeah, I can't wrap my mind around the missing coat & backpack. I listened to the newspaper editor's interview & his story seems legit ... I get that on a cold winter night if you happen to drive by someone walking WITHOUT a coat on & either 'staggering' or 'acting odd' (his exact words) you might be concerned enough to drive to the police station to report it ... and it makes sense if there was no cell service to just drive there (someone else had pointed this out earlier). I wonder if his mother was awake & saw the same thing?

 

[SunsetGirl]

http://m.denpubs.com/news/2012/mar/14/search-collin-gillis-offers-few-new-leads/?templates=mobile

... from article on Wednesday, March 14, 2012

(State Police Sgt. Scott) Heggelke said that they had talked to three different drivers who had seen Gillis Sunday morning, the first of which offered to give the teenager a ride, the second having passed by and then driven to the Tupper Lake Police Office to report the matter, along with a third who had been interviewed after the case was opened.

“The Tupper Lake department got in touch with state police who made a sweep of the area,” Heggelke said. “When our car went by, they did not pass anybody, and that is a pretty quiet part of the night.”

Just found this ... maybe this answers our questions about the order of the eyewitness sightings

 

[Seajay]

I find it odd he told AT he was waiting for a ride. Who? Seems the focus should be on this AT person. He supposedly saw him twice. Supposedly offering him a ride twice to which he was refused twice. Saying he was waiting for his ride, yet he's still out there walking when AT comes back from dropping his cousin off.

What if, AT went back a 3rd time, after the news editor saw him and drove to the police station to report the incident?

Somewhere along the line, that backpack and coat should have turned up again if it was all innocently left behind, either in the friend's vehicle or at the party site. There would be no reason for anyone finding it to NOT turn it in.

 

[tarabull]

SunsetGirl :loveyou:

It IS tarabully peculiar :moo: there was never much focus placed on the missing backpack and jacket...at least as I recall it. And yet it's not just any gear - its LL Bean!

(Even if there weren't pictures of Colin's (specifically) for missing posters & media, there would have been pictures out there from catalogues or online shopping (iykwim)...my memory fails me - did we ever have photos for his backpack and jacket??)

Snipped...

Other: Gillis was last known to be wearing an American Eagle brand shirt, white with black stripes, blue jeans, and red shoes. He may be carrying an orange LL Bean backpack containing a black and red reversible LL Bean coat.

http://lostnmissing.org/missing/colin-gillis-march-11-2012-tupper-lake-ny-2/

WHO has Colin's gear?

What did YOU do with Colin's gear?!?!?!

And WHERE is COLIN?!?!

WHAT DID YOU DO WITH COLIN?!?!

:candle:

ETA: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/5062...OLOR_FAMILY*Orange^&refineId=refinementOrange
ETA2: http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/st...ne=1*COLOR_FAMILY*Red^&refineId=refinementRed

 

[tarabull]

Snipped...

..."Buddy just come home. Give us a call, use your phone. Try to get in touch with us somehow. You know, we really just want to see your face," said Gillis' mother.

http://rochester.twcnews.com/conten...missing-teen/?ap=1&Flash#sthash.EWZiJT9B.dpuf

 

[TripleA]

It says that they searched a 2 mile radius from the house, but why didn't they search a 2 mile radius from the last point her was seen? I think that someone should put up notices about Colin and his clothing and backpack at the entrance to the wooded areas nearer to where he was last seen so that any hikers, hunters, fisherman heading through that area know what to look for?