Hello, I am new to this particular thread but have been a true crime enthusiast for a while. I commented years ago on the Delphi case, offering my insights, which are strictly amateur of course. FWIW, I wanted to offer my thoughts and something you touched on here. I read the FBI profiles that have been published online, watched the Lake Eerie murder, and listened to a couple podcasts. I'm ~1 year younger than Amy and vaguely recall seeing this case on AMW as a kid. This is definitely a case I genuinely hope is solved in the coming years. My 2 cents:
I believe the "bar" reference is possibly accurate here. I know read or heard Amy's mother frequented a local bar and may have had a drinking problem already prior to the abduction. Not sure if that's true but it sounds like she may have been borderline already, and I pass no judgment as a recovering alcoholic. I also don't blame her for self-medicating heavily after losing her child. I probably would do the same thing. I spent a lot of time in bars in my day, and I can tell you that I was super chatty with anyone who would listen, over-shared, and could have easily put myself into comprising situations as a result.
My guess is this offender while the unsub is odd and off-putting to those who know him, he is not totally socially inept around adults either. He is capable of wearing a mask of normalcy and isn't someone you'd feel nervous around in any way. He may even be gregarious and charming and certainly not someone you'd view as a threat. My guess is he targets children, watches from afar, learns their movements, parents coming and goings and what they do. I suspect that his prior phone calls didn't work because he lacked enough specific details to lure them away. I would assume he did a degree of recon, likely on the mother as her father was a travelling salesman I believe. A great way to do that would be enter her orbit at the local watering hole, even if it's just eavesdropping. She may have met lots of people over the years there, many local of course, but this guy was probably just there and unremarkable. Probably someone that is easily forgettable that you would barely remember as he gave no reasons to do so. He may or may not have even spoke with the mother, but I would guess he would never in a million years ask direct questions about his child. I am guessing she inadvertently overshared details about her own life, maybe children, etc and she was oblivious that he had nefarious motives. I mean, who wouldn't be? She talked and maybe he listened or overheard. I have no idea. I could be dead wrong. Most people go out to celebrate a promotion. I mean, I guess it was better stated that she was being promoted from part-time to full-time which would essentially be a lot more money coming in each month. That's a cause to celebrate! Maybe she was there, and her boss and coworkers were too, which was enough to learn their names. I think this guy was there, one or more times, in her presence and was able to gather enough ammo to spin a yard that was detailed enough to lure this particular child away.
This is just my 2 cents and I'm not blaming her mother in any way. This guy is smart, calculating, and probably even comes across as extremely friendly and non-threatening. Maybe he is sick enough though that he thought he was "saving" her from her troubled mother or something. Maybe his own mother or father had similar afflictions, and, maybe they recently passed so he felt it was okay to act on his sick fantasies, now that there nobody alive in his alive he would be afraid of disappointing.
www.cleveland19.com
