This topic has been shut down multiple times because of arguing. It makes me really sad to see the fussing happen again.
The facts as we have them come from a few TV shows featuring Mr. Gricar's disappearance, and possibly some old news articles that can be retrieved.
There is NO new news. It seems to me that people giet discontented when things are stagnant. This case is so stagnant it literally does have layers of dust and dirt on the case files, according to the PSP.
How a person interprets the case info, which MAY or MAY NOT be accurately reported from LE to the public, varies widely.
It's very tempting to say " This was a murder" because no body has ever been recovered. But nothing else actually is evidentiary to point towards murder. Nothing about the day, the supposed place he went, the suspected things he did based upon some witness statements, nothing about the laptop and hard drive point to murder, either. There is no weapon, no DNA, no signs of a struggle or a crime, nothing disturbed or out of the ordinary at the time of Mr. Gricar's disappearance, unless you believe the laptop and separate hard drive were in the river from the day he disappeared ( which I do not believe is the case). So, the laptop may or may not be evidentiary. I tend to think not.. but we each have opinions.
Then we have " walkaway". Were there signs that this man was unhappy with his life and wanted to live in the rain forest and subsist on rice, beans, fruit and rain water? No, there is no evidence that a mid- sized county DA months from retirement wanted out of his life, or out of his girlfriend's life or his daughter's life. As I understand it, he is a grandfather now. I believe he would move heaven and earth to see his grandchild if he could do so.
Third scenario is " Suicide". There is a category of suicide known as " impulsive suicide" that is, as it says, impulsive and usually, the intent is to escape from a severe and sudden emotional hurt or shock. Some people who survive impulsive suicide attempts relate that they are very glad that they lived.. Some people are depressed people by inclination, seeing the glass as half empty, not believing in the good in people or life, and it's usually not a surprise when the chronically depressed person attempts or successfully commits suicide. I's tragic, always tragic. And there is a body recovered in all but maybe a few cases of suicide.
IMO, Ray Gricar didn't show signs of depression. Worry, perhaps, but it has been said that Patty told a bit of a fish tale when describing his physical and mental health status in the days and weeks before he disappeared in order for there to be easier, faster access to his health records. His health records are said to not show any ill health, including mental health.
I don't believe he committed suicide, either.
Accidental death with remains being accidentally covered or inaccessible is also a theory. IDK, any of us could be walking about tomorrow, step in a small hole, and sever the spinal cord at C-2, which is a common way that " hangman's fractures" occur in adults ( but not children).
If one of us suffered this fate in a rural, wooded area or a marshy area, we would die within 3 minutes because we would stop breathing when the spinal cord was severed. The person would be conscious for a brief period of time, possibly. Lots of " possiblys" in this scenario, although I've known 3 people personally who were high level ( C-2 level) quadriplegics who died soon afterward from doing just what I said- stepping in a shallow hole such as a small wild animal makes and jarring the spine so hard that the spinal cord was severed at the place where it is most lethal- near the opening of the brain. It is actually the hard skull which severs the spinal cord at the C-2 level. All of the people I knew had witnesses who administered CPR and called for help, of course.
Point being, we can't rule out anyone's accidental death on any day from any cause, but for it to go undetected for 10 years in a natural way is very unusual.
The largest category of middle aged adults who die accidentally and are not found for many years are said to be those who end up in a deep body of water inside their vehicle. Sonar can find some of them in small bodies of water, but we have major waterways in the USA where there are likely partial skeletal remains inside a rusting remnant of a car from decades ago.
I have my own idea about what happened and why. It's not something I have seriously considered prior to some things falling into place.. However, due to the very nature of the theory that I have, there can be no direct evidence. Therefore, under the rules that some of you have imposed upon the posters at large, I can't discuss my theory because I do not have factual evidence to back it up. We used to discuss theories as just that- theories, and not cold hard facts. This was a GREAT topic for Ray's case for a long time, and many creative ideas with merit were discussed, but they aren't discussed now.
The facts are old, they are cold, they are few and sometimes, they are conflicting. Respectful discussion which encourages creative thinking should not be discouraged in a 10 year old case where the subject has been declared legally dead for several years, IMO. We are not protecting a family by not discussing theories as long as we are respectful within the TOS for WS and label a theory as theoretical and not factual.
Does anyone feel that we should be able to discuss theoretical aspects and post theories, or is this " Just the facts" which number less than probably 100 total facts known to the public and provable about the case in ten long years?
