Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #14

[cloudajo]

cloudajo This story stuck out to me because of the "runaway" reference. Initials of juvenile identified as C.H.

18 yr old arrested on June 18th in Welling (which is about 2 hrs from Weleetka).

Could be totally unrelated...

June 27th - TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS —
Cherokee County prosecutors charged a Welling man Wednesday for possessing a sawed-off shotgun/rifle and harboring runaway child.
Wade L. Ritchie, 18, was arrested by Tahlequah Police Officer Luke Hixon June 18. Ritchie allegedly had in his possession a shotgun with a barrel only 17.5 inches and overall length of only 24.5 inches.

Ritchie was also allegedly housing a runaway juvenile, identified in court documents as C.H.

Article: http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/local/local_story_179093846.html
Court Records (search on Ritchie, Wade - case filed on on 6/25): [URL="http://www.odcr.com/detail.php?Case=011-CF%20%200800234&County=011-"]http://www.odcr.com/detail.php?Case=011-CF%20%200800234&County=011-[/URL]
(Note: Some of the other court records under same name are for his father I believe, because of the year)
Map – It’s about 2 hrs from Weleetka to Welling (Welling is very close to Tahlequah, NE of Weleetka): [URL="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=weleetka,+ok&daddr=welling+ok+map&sll=35.92242,-94.899902&sspn=1.05648,2.39502&ie=UTF8&ll=35.630512,-95.52063&spn=1.060366,2.39502&z=9"]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=weleetka,+ok&daddr=welling+ok+map&sll=35.92242,-94.899902&sspn=1.05648,2.39502&ie=UTF8&ll=35.630512,-95.52063&spn=1.060366,2.39502&z=9[/URL]
Myspace of Wade L. Richtie (last login 6/16): [URL]http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=263320463[/URL]

Oh My.. That myspace page under his pics has some very intresting favs .. Hitman.. Who will be next hummmmmm[/quote]

GS, I'm not logged in so I can't see any pics. Are you referring to the list under videos re hitman? Is that generic/unrelated though?

 

[Mysterylover]

cloudajo This story stuck out to me because of the "runaway" reference. Initials of juvenile identified as C.H.

18 yr old arrested on June 18th in Welling (which is about 2 hrs from Weleetka).

Could be totally unrelated...

June 27th - TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS —
Cherokee County prosecutors charged a Welling man Wednesday for possessing a sawed-off shotgun/rifle and harboring runaway child.
Wade L. Ritchie, 18, was arrested by Tahlequah Police Officer Luke Hixon June 18. Ritchie allegedly had in his possession a shotgun with a barrel only 17.5 inches and overall length of only 24.5 inches.

Ritchie was also allegedly housing a runaway juvenile, identified in court documents as C.H.

Article: http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/local/local_story_179093846.html
Court Records (search on Ritchie, Wade - case filed on on 6/25): [URL="http://www.odcr.com/detail.php?Case=011-CF%20%200800234&County=011-"]http://www.odcr.com/detail.php?Case=011-CF%20%200800234&County=011-[/URL]
(Note: Some of the other court records under same name are for his father I believe, because of the year)
Map – It’s about 2 hrs from Weleetka to Welling (Welling is very close to Tahlequah, NE of Weleetka): [URL="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=weleetka,+ok&daddr=welling+ok+map&sll=35.92242,-94.899902&sspn=1.05648,2.39502&ie=UTF8&ll=35.630512,-95.52063&spn=1.060366,2.39502&z=9"]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=weleetka,+ok&daddr=welling+ok+map&sll=35.92242,-94.899902&sspn=1.05648,2.39502&ie=UTF8&ll=35.630512,-95.52063&spn=1.060366,2.39502&z=9[/URL]
Myspace of Wade L. Richtie (last login 6/16): [URL="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=263320463"]http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=263320463[/URL]

Oh My.. That myspace page under his pics has some very intresting favs .. Hitman.. Who will be next hummmmmm[/QUOTE]

LAST LOG IN: JUNE 16, 08

 

[YellowDog]

It is possilbe that when the witness saw the girls walking down the road, they were already in the grasp of the killer or killers. The perpetrators could have heard the car coming, given the girls a warning to act is if nothing was wrong and hidden themselves from view while keeping the guns pointed on the girls. To me, this seem likely because of the short, short time frame. Actually, the girls could have been under the control of the killer or killers from the time they left the house. It is a remote area and there is a lot of vegetation on the sides of the road.

 

[YellowDog]

Is this area anywhere near a railroad track or are there any homeless people that might be camping in the wooded area between the Placker house and the bridge?

 

[FlowerChild]

FC, yes, but when you say "he felt" and "they weren't acting as if anything was wrong," where is that info coming from? Just want to know if that is something that was verified?

One of the OSBI interviews with Rosser, IIRC. Basically Rosser said there was nothing that made the witness feel the girls were in danger etc. I believe it was an interview within the 1st 2 weeks. I don't have it right at hand because it wasn't an important point and we also know from the footprints and other evidence (or lack of evidence) the girls were walking and were not even scared enough to call their moms. If the girls cell phones were in their pockets (as Peter said Taylor's was) they obviously weren't given any reason to feel fear until the bullets flew. And finally the witness himself didn't see anything that made him come forward right away - maybe he was out-of-town and wasn't even aware the girls he saw were the same girls that were murdered until he got home.

My Opinion

 

[FlowerChild]

Is this area anywhere near a railroad track or are there any homeless people that might be camping in the wooded area between the Placker house and the bridge?

It doesn't seem likely - and most people around there have guns, don't react well to strangers on their property. I cannot imagine a homeless person with no vehicle camping that far away from a town either. That county is not highly populated, avgs only 18 people in each square mile, 75% rural and very poor - Weleetka has a population of under 1000 people, more than half below the poverty line.

OSBI has been over the whole area multiple times with helicopters, done GPS mapping and searched on foot. Nothing was found to indicate anything "going on" in that area, the OSBI has also said there is NO evidence this was drug related. And I think the girls footprints show they walked alone - no-one with them. It also appears from the scene that the killer(s) used a vehicle to trap the girls into the ditch/brush (where they were found) before shooting them.

My Opinion

 

[YellowDog]

If the Plackers weren't at home when the girls left, I'm starting to think more and more about the possibility that they were taken by gun point from the house. Although they may have been scared enough to call their moms, they may not have had the oppoortunity. When Skyla's relative called, the killer or killers could have told her to act as if nothing was wrong so no one would come looking for her immediately.

 

[YellowDog]

It doesn't seem likely - and most people around there have guns, don't react well to strangers on their property. I cannot imagine a homeless person with no vehicle camping that far away from a town either. That county is not highly populated, avgs only 18 people in each square mile, 75% rural and very poor - Weleetka has a population of under 1000 people, more than half below the poverty line.

OSBI has been over the whole area multiple times with helicopters, done GPS mapping and searched on foot. Nothing was found to indicate anything "going on" in that area, the OSBI has also said there is NO evidence this was drug related. And I think the girls footprints show they walked alone - no-one with them. It also appears from the scene that the killer(s) used a vehicle to trap the girls into the ditch/brush (where they were found) before shooting them.

My Opinion

Unless they rolled off of a freight train.

 

[YellowDog]

Or they were being hunted for a previous crime.

 

[Albert18]

While you may still trust the things that LE has said about the witnesses now, I certainly do not. After yesterday and knowing they lied to the public about such an important matter as the 911 call and Peter...I am not going to believe there was a person who saw the girls walking along the road. This could be a "ruse" from LE, too. ...

I think this is an important point and is what we REALLY learned from yesterday's press conference.

Some of the info about the witnesses and the POI may be deliberate misinformation.

I also don't think we really know when the girls left the house.

Is Jayme Whitaker younger than Skyla? Was she with Rose at the crime scene?

 

[noZme]

yellow dog

the placker residence & crime scene are, in fact, very near a railroad.

see the link below ... everything happened just north of the red A . you may need to zoom out a couple pegs on the map. you may be interested in other references in the map topic of this thread.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/E1130+rd+%26+N3890+rd+weleetka+ok#a/maps/l::E1130+Rd+&+N3890+Rd:Weleetka:OK:74880:US:35.376 88:-96.0875:intersection:Okmulgee+County/m:hyb:12:35.37688:-96.0875:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

at this point, anything is possible, but i think there is a slim possibility the girls were shot by a hobo ( is that a pc term for train-hoppers?)

to everyone:
much research has been catalogued on this case under the other topics. you'll find all statements from the media, maps, pictures, family trees, court documents of relatives' arrests, etc.

 

[YellowDog]

If someone was riding the rails and got hungry, they would need to get off the train to find food unless they were carrying their own. If they had no money, they would probably have no food.

 

[noZme]

yellow dog

the placker residence & crime scene are, in fact, very near a railroad.

see the link below ... everything happened just north of the red A . you may need to zoom out a couple pegs on the map. you may be interested in other references in the map topic of this thread.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/E1130+rd+%26+N3890+rd+weleetka+ok#a/maps/l::E1130+Rd+&+N3890+Rd:Weleetka:OK:74880:US:35.376 88:-96.0875:intersection:Okmulgee+County/m:hyb:12:35.37688:-96.0875:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

at this point, anything is possible, but i think there is a slim possibility the girls were shot by a hobo ( is that a pc term for train-hoppers?)

to everyone:
much research has been catalogued on this case under the other topics. you'll find all statements from the media, maps, pictures, family trees, court documents of relatives' arrests, etc.

ps yellowdog
i love your siggy.... there is a large yellow dog at my house who apparently thinks toilet water is the true nectar of the gods. we have changed to self-closing seats & lids, so when he lifts that up & out of his way, there is limited time to gulp down a drink..... he watched the installations & i know he is thinking " if i can open that toolbox & get that screwdriver, i could eliminate that nuisance at my drinking fountain."

 

[anneinchicago]

Questions, questions, questions

Please add yours.

I'm going to start from scratch.

Was it usual for the girls to have sleepovers? Did they alternate houses in a set plan or was it random as to whose house they would sleep over (As in, on Tuesday, Skylar would sleep at Taylor's; on Thursdays, Taylor would sleep at Skylar's.)

How did they get to each other's houses? Did someone drive them? The same person?

What is in their clubhouse? How long have they had it? Where is it in position to everything else.

Who was the more dominant in their friendship?

What time did Skylar and Taylor leave the Plackett house?

Was anyone at home when they left? If so, who?

Where did the girls say, if anything, they were going?

How long would it have taken them to go from the house to wherever.

Did anyone see them on their walk?

What animals went with them?

How long were they gone before someone went to look from them?

What time did the mother (I can't keep names straight) call to say she would be picking up Skylar? Taylor? (Her daughter)

Was it usual for the mother to come get her daughter?

Did someone call either of the girls to say come back?If so, who.

Did both girls have a cell phone? Did anyone else? Have those cell phone records been checked?

Who found the girls? Who called 911and how many calls were made and from where? Whose phone?

Did anyone hear anything?

How close are the neighbors?

What is the terrain like along the road. What is normal traffic like. Who would be most likely to use that road and where does it go (from both ends)

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[Dr. Pennypacker]

The biggest question of all .....................


WHY???

 

[YellowDog]

yellow dog

the placker residence & crime scene are, in fact, very near a railroad.

see the link below ... everything happened just north of the red A . you may need to zoom out a couple pegs on the map. you may be interested in other references in the map topic of this thread.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/E1130+rd+%26+N3890+rd+weleetka+ok#a/maps/l::E1130+Rd+&+N3890+Rd:Weleetka:OK:74880:US:35.376 88:-96.0875:intersection:Okmulgee+County/m:hyb:12:35.37688:-96.0875:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

at this point, anything is possible, but i think there is a slim possibility the girls were shot by a hobo ( is that a pc term for train-hoppers?)

to everyone:
much research has been catalogued on this case under the other topics. you'll find all statements from the media, maps, pictures, family trees, court documents of relatives' arrests, etc.

ps yellowdog
i love your siggy.... there is a large yellow dog at my house who apparently thinks toilet water is the true nectar of the gods. we have changed to self-closing seats & lids, so when he lifts that up & out of his way, there is limited time to gulp down a drink..... he watched the installations & i know he is thinking " if i can open that toolbox & get that screwdriver, i could eliminate that nuisance at my drinking fountain."

Thanks Nozeme:
I used to have a darling Yellow Lab and she did her share of drinking out of the toilet, too. Thanks for the map, too.

 

[YellowDog]

Is there a state park near there anywhere?

 

[YellowDog]

I used to play a lot of golf in East Texas on a course that was close to where a lot of hunting was done. In hunting season, you could hear shots going off all day and they were a good distance away. That's why I have such a hard time believing more people did not hear the shots.

 

[Mysterylover]

I used to play a lot of golf in East Texas on a course that was close to where a lot of hunting was done.

In hunting season, you could hear shots going off all day and they were a good distance away.

That's why I have such a hard time believing more people did not hear the shots....

I read, the neighbors down the road about a mile away heard the shots.

IF those neighbors, 5,280 feet away HEARD the shots,

WHY didn't anyone that was in the P. home that day, HEAR the shots at 900 feet away??
When shots are heard that CLOSE to home, and children are outside, seems someone would go check on the children.....jmo

 

[lilacwine]

Well FC has said they weren't home at the time... so that would explain it.