PA PA - Toni Sharpless, 29, Gladwyne, 23 Aug 2009

[nursebeeme]

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/241548

Sharpless left the party with a female friend, then the two got into an argument over whether Sharpless was sober enough to drive, police said

okay...

so either the female friend is lying and did it... or something else out of the box (rare) happened.

I think this hinges on the friend and what she may be hiding in her statements to LE

drunk and happy friends don't argue and kill one another... fighting friends could... but fighting for any reason OTHER than who drives who home after a night of pounding alcoholic imbibements. moo

 

[JulieR]

okay...

so either the female friend is lying and did it... or something else out of the box (rare) happened.

I think this hinges on the friend and what she may be hiding in her statements to LE

drunk and happy friends don't argue and kill one another... fighting friends could... but fighting for any reason OTHER than who drives who home after a night of pounding alcoholic imbibements. moo

You said that so perfect, LOL and I so agree.

 

[SoccerMom]

Thank you Kat!

 

[KaylynnCouture]

There's also another thread about Toni here: PA- Toni Lee Sharpless, 29, missing after house party 8/23/09 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

 

[luthersmama]

Anyone know if the police have trying following her cell phone pings to find her? Is her phone still on, if not I would think something shady is going on.

The phone hasn't sent or received calls since the last text to her daughter. They believe the battery is dead or removed from the phone.

 

[luthersmama]

driving home at 3am from a house party. she is most likely intoxicated. Wonder if she drove off the road and crashed while texting?

I think that was everyone's first thought, but it seems like she would have been found by now. I think the friend isn't telling everything and that something happened involving the people from the party. I'm guessing she's in some vacant lot in North Philadelphia.

 

[gaia227]

Ok. I'll take your word for it. Fat old lady like me wouldn't even be let in...LOL. Sure looks like she was hunting for something that night. I wonder if these clubs were places she had been before or was this a new adventure? I wish they would say what she and her friend fought about. Did someone want to go home and someone want to do something else? Was there an issue about who should be driving?

It is not unusual to go out on a weekend night and go to several clubs especially in metro area's like Philly. Here in NYC most of the hot-spot nightclubs are in a general vicinity so you can hop from one to the other with no hassle. Both of the clubs she went to were simply dance clubs - not sex clubs. It sounds to me like she was just out for a typical night of partying with her friends.

I wonder what her 12 yr old daughter was doing up at 3am and who was watching her? I know when I was 12 there was no way my mom would leave me alone at night and if she did I would have been scared and paranoid.

This vaguely reminds me of the Petrone/Imbo disappearence considering they were driving home from a night out in Philly and vanished - car and all. No trace of them has been found.

 

[gaia227]

The friends story is a little fishy. She said Toni dropped her off 2 blocks from the party they had just left and drove away. Would she really want to be dropped off at 3am in a neighbor she was unfamilar with and go back to a party where she said they didn't know the people very well? How did the friend get home then?

If Toni did wreck you would think they would have found her car. I am not that familar with that area. Is it hilly at all? Are there any cliffs or drop offs? It took about 3 yrs for them to find Christopher Robin after he disappeared while driving home from work. He was found 3 yrs later in a ravine, still in his car. Searchers had gone over that area too on foot and by helicoptor so it is possible.
Are there any lakes or bodies of water she could have driven into?

I am almost thinking the friend doesn't want to admit she let Toni drive drunk so she is making up that story and Toni really did drive her friend home that night and drop her off. Toni could have gone back to the party.

The fact her cell phone is dead is interesting.

 

[luthersmama]

The friends story is a little fishy. She said Toni dropped her off 2 blocks from the party they had just left and drove away. Would she really want to be dropped off at 3am in a neighbor she was unfamilar with and go back to a party where she said they didn't know the people very well? How did the friend get home then?

If Toni did wreck you would think they would have found her car. I am not that familar with that area. Is it hilly at all? Are there any cliffs or drop offs? It took about 3 yrs for them to find Christopher Robin after he disappeared while driving home from work. He was found 3 yrs later in a ravine, still in his car. Searchers had gone over that area too on foot and by helicoptor so it is possible.
Are there any lakes or bodies of water she could have driven into?

I am almost thinking the friend doesn't want to admit she let Toni drive drunk so she is making up that story and Toni really did drive her friend home that night and drop her off. Toni could have gone back to the party.

The fact her cell phone is dead is interesting.

The trouble is that she was so far from home and there are two different major highways she could have taken. Then, if she got within a couple of miles of her home, she would have been on narrow, winding country roads where there are lots of potential places to crash. On the Expressway or the Turnpike, she couldn't really go totally off the side without being detected because there are sound barriers and/or guiderails along them on both sides.

Articles say that she was "constantly" in touch with her daughter and friends. It is odd to me that she didn't contact anyone after the message to her daughter. It seems like something happened to kill her cell phone right after that message. It is such a long drive that someone so used to being in constant contact with friends would probably try to find somebody to yak with.

It is conceivable that she made a wrong turn. In that case, she might possibly have gone into the Schuylkill River right near where she was last seen. However, the section of the river in question is very active with recreational users and we have had great boating weather. There is a resevoir, but it has all sorts of chain link fence around it and 24/7 security.

I'll be traveling along much of one of her possible routes this evening. I did check a bunch of places on Saturday, but there were no signs of anyone going off the road.

I think that whatever happened took place right after the message to her daughter.

 

[Celt1997]

Hey everyone, I'm just picking up on this story, and reviewing some things. Looking at the map, do we know why they went from Gladwynne then ended up on City Line Avenue? Even if they were planning on taking the Schuylkill back, they would've just taken Route 23 away from the City, not gone back into the City to add extra miles to the trip!

Also in this article they mention that the car was last seen heading towards Philadelphia. Is that wrong information, or are we just assuming she started heading home after the argument?

There are just some strange things here about where the last contact was made. I'm not sure how tough they are being with this friend, but I would hope, since she's the only lead they have, they are being fairly thorough with her.

ETA - In addition, we're actually looking at more roads, than just 2 major ones. The quickest way to her house would've been taking the Schuylkill to 202, then 202 to the 30 Bypass through Exton. Then it looks like a quick shot on 322 (horseshoe pike) to her house. With this in mind, we are then presented, again, with some very open roads where it would be very noticeable if someone left the roadway. Although once on 322 there are several heavily wooded areas that you could end up in if you were to lose control of your vehicle.

 

[luthersmama]

Hey everyone, I'm just picking up on this story, and reviewing some things. Looking at the map, do we know why they went from Gladwynne then ended up on City Line Avenue? Even if they were planning on taking the Schuylkill back, they would've just taken Route 23 away from the City, not gone back into the City to add extra miles to the trip!

Also in this article they mention that the car was last seen heading towards Philadelphia. Is that wrong information, or are we just assuming she started heading home after the argument?

There are just some strange things here about where the last contact was made. I'm not sure how tough they are being with this friend, but I would hope, since she's the only lead they have, they are being fairly thorough with her.

ETA - In addition, we're actually looking at more roads, than just 2 major ones. The quickest way to her house would've been taking the Schuylkill to 202, then 202 to the 30 Bypass through Exton. Then it looks like a quick shot on 322 (horseshoe pike) to her house. With this in mind, we are then presented, again, with some very open roads where it would be very noticeable if someone left the roadway. Although once on 322 there are several heavily wooded areas that you could end up in if you were to lose control of your vehicle.

I don't find the "away from Gladwynne toward Philadelphia" to make sense. If the friend said "she was on City Line" the friend couldn't tell whether she was headed toward Philadelphia or toward Valley Forge. The intersection where you have to choose isn't anywhere near where the friend could have been let out. In any event, I drove that route both ways tonight and there isn't a place where somebody could just go off the road and stay missing for over a week.

There are two good routes from City Line to her house. The expressway to 202 to 322 is one. The other one, which tends to be less prone to unpredictable messes, is the expressway to Valley Forge, to the PA turnpike to Downingtown. It is a bit more direct and, as I said, less prone to clogs. There is a minor toll - 75 cents or so, but it could shave about 10 -15 minutes off the trip. Once off the turnpike, there are winding back roads to get home with all sorts of opportunities for accidents. But I suspect her family has combed that area by now.

I think a criminal act happened shortly after her message to her daughter.

 

[luthersmama]

About route 23, AKA Conshohocken State Road - It is faster than the expressway IF the expressway is jammed. At 3 am, the expressway is generally better from City Line. Also, while there are treacherous curves on 23, that route is lined with private properties. Had she gone that way, which is not likely, AND had gone off the road, she most likely would have been found by now.

 

[Celt1997]

I guess I was confused on the whole Gladwyne to City Line Avenue thing. Gladwyne is well north of City Line, and I'm perplexed as to why they drove down that way in the first place.

If the party was very close to City Line Avenue, then I wouldn't necessarily consider that area Gladwyne at all.

For some reason they begin their journey South after leaving the party, and I'm not sure why.

 

[luthersmama]

I guess I was confused on the whole Gladwyne to City Line Avenue thing. Gladwyne is well north of City Line, and I'm perplexed as to why they drove down that way in the first place.

If the party was very close to City Line Avenue, then I wouldn't necessarily consider that area Gladwyne at all.

For some reason they begin their journey South after leaving the party, and I'm not sure why.

The location of the party has been referred to as Gladwyne, but another account said it was two blocks off City Line. A local, who is a friend of Toni's sister, on his Facebook page said it was in Penn Valley. That would make more sense. Could be that the "friend" who first described it doesn't know exactly what to call it or didn't know exactly where the house was.

 

[morf13]

Her case sounds a bit like this case:
http://www.njvu.org/cgi-bin/njsp/mpdisplay.cgi?mpid=172

After leaving a bar close to midnight in Philadelphia,Danielle Imbo & Richard Petrone Jr. vanished into thin air. Their bodies,and his truck have never been found. Now anybody from the Philly area ( i am in south Jersey),knows that if you are in Philly after dark,then you are asking for trouble. That place is quickly becoming the murder capital of the world.

There was a case some years back of a couple that vanished while taking a short road trip in his Jeep. Cant remember their names,or what state,but there was no sign of their bodies or his jeep,it was like they vanished.
A few years later, during a drought or something,a lake dried up or was drained,and their bodies were discovered still in the Jeep. They had simply crashed into the lake and died. I wonder how many of these cases like this DONT include foul play?

 

[JulieR]

Hi Morf13,

I know any time the car is missing along with the person, I always think an accident. I just wish the cell phone was still on, then she could be traced.
Anyone know if there is any bodies of water she could have gone into it that area? It would account for the cell phone not working.

 

[gaia227]

Her case sounds a bit like this case:
http://www.njvu.org/cgi-bin/njsp/mpdisplay.cgi?mpid=172

After leaving a bar close to midnight in Philadelphia,Danielle Imbo & Richard Petrone Jr. vanished into thin air. Their bodies,and his truck have never been found. Now anybody from the Philly area ( i am in south Jersey),knows that if you are in Philly after dark,then you are asking for trouble. That place is quickly becoming the murder capital of the world.

There was a case some years back of a couple that vanished while taking a short road trip in his Jeep. Cant remember their names,or what state,but there was no sign of their bodies or his jeep,it was like they vanished.
A few years later, during a drought or something,a lake dried up or was drained,and their bodies were discovered still in the Jeep. They had simply crashed into the lake and died. I wonder how many of these cases like this DONT include foul play?

I mentioned them earlier in this thread too. LE seems to think that Imbo and Petrone were victims of foul play and have hinted several times to organized crime. At the time of their disappearence Imbo was in the midst of a divorce and reportedly her husband was not real thrilled with her seeing Richard Petrone. Richard's cousin use to post here on their thread all the time and it was very active because of that but for some reason I think he was banned and the thread kinda lost steam after that.

Here is the website about their case maintained by Richard's family. It might have some info regarding the route they took and those of you who have been researching the maps in this case might be able to see any similarites.
http://www.richardpetrone.com/

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I'm not sure if this is related or not, but I thought I would post it. It occurred around the same general area as Toni going missing.

Philadelphia Police Search for Suspect Who Lured Woman Into his Vehicle

Philadelphia police are searching for a suspect in connection with an attempted abduction in Center City.

On Monday, September 1 at about 7:30 p.m., Philadelphia police say a man pretending to need assistance securing a baby's car seat, forced a 20-year-old Temple University student into a black, 4-door sedan and threatened her with a handgun.

According to the female victim, the suspect was standing near a parked car on N. 16th Street when she heard him asking for assistance. When she attempted to help by reaching into the vehicle, she was kicked into the back seat where she discovered a baby doll had been placed in the car seat and a handgun on the front seat

Police say the complainant was able to escape the vehicle while stopped in traffic at 16th Street and JFK Blvd.

The suspect is described as a 5'10" African-American man weighing about 200 lbs.

More at link: http://cbs3.com/topstories/Philadelphia.Police.Center.2.1160597.html

 

[luthersmama]

I wonder if she was carjacked because somebody wanted her Pontiac GT for a chop-shop. Those engines are highly valued overseas.

 

[Peter J.]

Hi All,

Just wanted to put my two cents worth of information in.

While this case could be one of foul play I think it is more likely to be one of a young mother out for a good time who had too much to drink.

First off, Toni is 29, single and has a 12 year old daughter. That means Toni became pregnant when she was in high school. We know she is now a nurse; which means most if not all of her time between 17 and 25 was probably taken up raising a young child and going to college.

By 29, with her career established, and her daughter almost a teen, Toni was possibly thinking about something she had not given much though to in the past; herself.

Unfortunately, I think this case may turn out to be similar to one from December of 2008, in Georgia.

Laneeka Varnado, 22, Recovered 12/6/08 Deceased.
Picture and information at my link:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...ID=143252708&albumID=2152184&imageID=29236570