TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden, believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #26

[wfgodot]

He's a convicted sex offender. Aren't they supposed to report where they are if they move? I think that's how they found out he was no longer in TN. They showed up at his registered address but he wasn't there.

Yep, that's what I figured. It became a major issue when LE couldn't crack the case and finally did what they should have done a lot earlier: account for every RSO in a fifty mile radius.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

A few posts back I posted quotes from Clint describing the garage as being part of the house. People in the news or somewhere have used the term car port which would usually be open. But from last nits version it's an enclosed garage.

I don't think the "garage" is completely enclosed, and may not even have a concrete floor. In most articles, the structure has been referred to as a carport:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/0...tioning-in-holly-bobo-disappearance-arrested/
[snipped]


Also, Clint may have supposed that the "turkey" was inside a bag when the "BF" was supposedly showing it to Holly, which would explain why he later became suspicious at the sight of blood in the carport.

 

[shefner]

Let me think what I would do if I woke up and heard the dog barking. First of all, I would think...why is a dog barking, we don't even have a dog! Oops...putting myself in Clint's shoes....I would look outside. If I saw reflections and heard voices, I would look in the driveway for vehicles. I do this myself all the time....if someone rings the bell, I look to the driveway first to see who it might be.

So, did Clint check the driveway? Did he think...I wonder who that is....let me see if I can recognize the vehicle of this person? Of course, if he saw a person in camo, then he might not even check the driveway since he would assume it was a hunter...in this case, Drew. But he would not be aware of the camo at the first sighting. He claims he only saw silhouettes in the garage area at first. He didn't know who they were so he called mom. I think it would be reasonable to look in the driveway for a car or truck before calling mom's work.

I don't think Clint or the family is responsible for Holly's disappearance...but I do wonder if there are things that LE has asked them not to reveal.

 

[obody]

I don't think I have an opinion on the likelihood of the arrested SO being involved. But I don't know how much stock I would put in Clint's account of the abductor's height or weight, given all the questions about his reporting.

 

[BeanE]

investigators now say they have no reason to believe he has any connection to Bobo's disappearance.

Karen and Dana Bobo are scheduled to appear Saturday morning on NBC's Today show. You can view the interview on Channel 4.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/15215220/man-wanted-for-quesioning-in-holly-bobo-case-arrested

 

[obody]

I'm kind of wondering about the reliability of the height/weight estimates in general. Clint initially thought the man was Holly's boyfriend - so presumably the estimates he gave should be consistent with that? Are they? Anyone good at estimating height/weight from photos?

 

[Whisperer]

A barking dog is the first clue something is wrong. Most people would go see why their dog is barking. He saw his sister's car in the driveway so he knew she was home and something was wrong because the dog alerted. His response was not to go out and look but to call his mother?

 

[shefner]

A barking dog is the first clue something is wrong. Most people would go see why their dog is barking. He saw his sister's car in the driveway so he knew she was home and something was wrong because the dog alerted. His response was not to go out and look but to call his mother?

Yeah...he knew his sister was at home...he could hear voices...but he didn't realize that one of the people out in the garage was his sister? If he had seen Holly's car in the driveway then he could also see that no other cars were present out there...looks like he would just pull the door open and call out.

I'm just so confused. I'm babbling alot in these posts of mine.

 

[helpfindthemissing]

Ok 2 things to ponder.... Everyone keeps saying they feel the lunch bag is a decoy..... I would love to ponder it a different way.

What if it was Holly who through the lunch bag out of the vehicle so that LE would be able to help find her? She is a nursing student and knows the value of trace evidence, what if she cut her finger or something and made sure blood got on the lunch bag so they would know it was hers, then when she was able through the bag out of the window? Didnt Dana say something about other things were found too?

Speculating only but in the transcript CB never confirmed it was Holly that left the "garage". He assumed it was because he saw them walking into the woods after he had spoke to his mom. The transcript also suggests there was 2 calls to KB from CB. I cant see the transcript to point out exactly what he said I will comment back in a moment. This all still brings me back to the same point. He heard 2 voices he DIDNT RECOGNIZE. I would recognize my sisters voice anywhere.....who were the 2 voices?

 

[helpfindthemissing]

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you saw them kneeling down did you think to ask them or approach them? How far away were you?

C. BOBO: No, I assumed -- I was inside the house and I assumed that that was Holly and her boyfriend Drew and he was dressed in full camouflage so I thought that Drew had been to the woods and killed a turkey and brought it back to the house and the two were sitting there over the turkey talking. After I saw the blood, I thought that was blood of a turkey that Drew had killed.

CB made it a point in the interview to correct her and point out that he assumed...I do not recall him stating he saw them leave the garage ONLY that he saw them later walking into the woods.

 

[Darcyline]

The story doesn't really make me suspicious of the family or Clint, but I just don't get the timing. I feel really slow, but it just seems like a bizarrely slow abduction. Like, Clint rolls out of bed, hears the dog barking, goes over to the window or whatever and hears people talking and sees them. Ok. Then he is like better call mom so he goes, finds a phone, calls his mom, someone has to go and get her because it isn't a direct line, they talk about Drew and Holly, she says it isn't Drew, then at some point he sees them walking away?
It feels like an abductor would be IN AND OUT. Not chilling on the ground talking for what I am assuming is longer than a minute? It doesn't take long to punch someone, say I will kill you if you don't come, and then walk into the woods. How long did they kneel and talk in the garage, exactly?

 

[future criminologist]

I'm becoming more convinced that these rural Southern towns need to call the NYPD whenever one of there own disappears.

This is the same thing over and over again. Tara Grinstead, Haylee Dunn, Haleigh Cummings and now Holly Bobo. All of these cases have fallen apart. The perps in the South must be a lot smarter than we think None of these cases, imo, are stranger abductions but for some reason the cops can't seem to get the people to talk.

Happens everywhere, not just the south, and not just small towns. Boston where I'm from for example has a HUGE problem with witnesses not coming forward - cuz they've heard "snitches get stitches" and whatnot. So much so that the Mayor hired an ad agency to put out a marketing campaign for a free anonymous tipline to get people to come forward with what they know.

In a bad economy, law enforcement is going to get their budgets slashed. And in a small town with already limited resources, where your police logs consist of a stolen bike here and there and maybe a DUI, a missing persons case necessitates that bigger units with the resources to investigate and the money to pay for the manpower come in and help.

 

[shefner]

Surely the perp knew that for every moment he was in the garage with Holly, there was someone inside the house. Wouldn't that be risky?

 

[katydid23]

Did he? I'm not so sure. He certainly did not expect to hear "strange" voices outside the house. He also did not immediately recognize the figures in the garage. It was enough to make him apprehensive. So, he called his mother. From the transcript:

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you called your mom in between when you saw them in the garage and when they walked out into the woods? Why did you do that?

C. BOBO: I spoke with mom -- I spoke with mom initially to find out who the people -- I heard two voices outside our house and I called mom to try to find out who these people were outside our house. But I had no idea who they were.

I'm supposing that Clint and his mother were trying to piece things together. "It isn't Holly, is it?" "I'm not sure, mom." "She should be gone to school." "Oh, wait a minute, mom. I see Holly -- and Drew, I think. They're walking toward the woods. I guess they were in the garage for whatever reason."

I guess I don't see anything suspicious about Clint's behavior. I wish he had been bolder about investigating for himself. Then again, he doesn't seem to be the bold, aggressive type.

His sister had left the house just a minute or two earlier. So YES, I am going to say he knew she should be around still somewhere.

I just do not understand the calling mom thing. She was nowhere near the house. What was she supposed to do? I don't get why he did not just investigate on his own. I guess I never will. It just seems so odd to me. He had plenty of weapons so I do not understand what he was so afraid of about opening the door and asking who was there and why.

 

[katydid23]

The story doesn't really make me suspicious of the family or Clint, but I just don't get the timing. I feel really slow, but it just seems like a bizarrely slow abduction. Like, Clint rolls out of bed, hears the dog barking, goes over to the window or whatever and hears people talking and sees them. Ok. Then he is like better call mom so he goes, finds a phone, calls his mom, someone has to go and get her because it isn't a direct line, they talk about Drew and Holly, she says it isn't Drew, then at some point he sees them walking away?
It feels like an abductor would be IN AND OUT. Not chilling on the ground talking for what I am assuming is longer than a minute? It doesn't take long to punch someone, say I will kill you if you don't come, and then walk into the woods. How long did they kneel and talk in the garage, exactly?

And during all of that time the voices are talking, WHY isn't she screaming HELP. CLINT HELP ME !!!! If the abductor was allowing her to talk with him for long enough for CB to hear their voices for a bit, why didn't she scream HELP!????

 

[suzier]

I wish they would do real interviews instead of TV'views...

Following the interview...cb claims he was inside the house and did not have any idea who was in the garage:

C. BOBO: I saw the silhouette of two people in our garage. At the time I had no idea who either one of the people were. And then come to realize later that that was my sister and her abductor.​

----

C. BOBO: No, I saw them from inside the house and they were outside the house in the garage.​

----
Next cb indicates he called his mom because he didn't know was in the garage. Oddly, after his mom tells him Holly is supposed to be in school it suddenly occurs to him it was her, not a stranger, in the garage.....

C. BOBO: And then I got in touch with my mom and found out that Holly was supposed to be in school that morning and realized that that must have been her at the house and then I looked back out and saw Holly and a male walking toward the woods and that`s the last time I saw her.​

----
I would have thought an adult male would have opened the door and asked the unknown individuals wth they were doing in the garage. I would have. But not every one is like me so he called his mom.

The more I read the more baffled. Now he realized it was HB (presumably because of call to mom..see above) and he tell is mom they "were" in the garage. Not the are in the garage, but were. Why would he relay that instead of saying "I just saw HB and D walk into the woods?"

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying you were able to call your mom before they left the garage and after you called your mom you see them walking toward the woods?

C. BOBO: Right. And I told my mom that once I realized it was Holly, I said well, Holly and Drew which is her boyfriend were out in the garage talking.​

----
but it is about here I just can't put it all together. cb at some point, did go into the garage and found the blood. Following the information provided he would have checked out the garage AFTER he heard voices, called his mother, and seen them go into the woods.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So where did you find the blood?

C. BOBO: It was in the garage, under where I saw the silhouette of them knelled down in the garage.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When you saw them kneeling down did you think to ask them or approach them? How far away were you?​

Now here is the kicker....the question is when you saw them kneeling did you think to approach them. In spite of having told us clearly (above) he had no idea who they were at that time, he now says he did not approach them because he thought it was HB and D????

C. BOBO: No, I assumed -- I was inside the house and I assumed that that was Holly and her boyfriend Drew and he was dressed in full camouflage so I thought that Drew had been to the woods and killed a turkey and brought it back to the house and the two were sitting there over the turkey talking. After I saw the blood, I thought that was blood of a turkey that Drew had killed.​

----
Is cb a hunter himself? I would think most people with an interest in hunting would have wanted to see the prize turkey.

<sigh> I just wish they would find her...about once a week I'll think this is the day...but it never really is (so much for intuition)!

 

[BeanE]

And during all of that time the voices are talking, WHY isn't she screaming HELP. CLINT HELP ME !!!! If the abductor was allowing her to talk with him for long enough for CB to hear their voices for a bit, why didn't she scream HELP!????

Because she was terrified? Threatened? Wounded? Stunned? Shocked? Traumatized?

 

[Darcyline]

In my head, it makes more sense if she did know the person. Like, more went on in that garage to me than just the guy hissing he will kill her if she doesn't come. A family member (more distant than Clint and parents)? A family friend? Someone she knows around the community?
It is counter-intuitive, but I can imagine following someone more easily if they knew my family and knew me even if they did hurt me over really just a complete random stranger when my older brother, dog, and weapons were 10 feet away.

I still just cannot get over that supposedly the guy did something immediately that makes her spill blood, but then they walk casually across the yard without him touching her, dragging her, pulling her, etc. Like, he didn't have an issue being physical immediately so why the non-contact later?

I guess I am trying to figure out the type of perp that does an abduction like this. It just does not sound like a complete random stranger swooping in because of opportunity to me. Maybe I am wrong?

 

[Indy Anna]

His sister had left the house just a minute or two earlier. So YES, I am going to say he knew she should be around still somewhere.

I just do not understand the calling mom thing. She was nowhere near the house. What was she supposed to do? I don't get why he did not just investigate on his own. I guess I never will. It just seems so odd to me. He had plenty of weapons so I do not understand what he was so afraid of about opening the door and asking who was there and why.

IIRC, Clint had just returned home from college the previous night. He would not have been familiar with Holly's routine. Since nothing seemed amiss (e.g., Holly wasn't screaming or banging on the door, and he didn't hear anyone yelling threats), Clint was probably hesitant to interfere. So, I can understand why he'd prefer to call his mother and ask her if it was normal for the BF to be visiting just before Holly left for class. MOO

 

[docwho3]

If Holly was wounded then her brother may have seen her just after
that wound was inflicted and the resulting pain and fear had brought
her to her knees or nearly to her knees.

**********************

Wish I knew if those wadded up papers found near the lunch box were
hers or not. And why would anyone go through those papers anyway
and wad them up and throw them away?
Those are the one bit that has me wondering if this was not so unplanned as I think it was.

At the moment I still favor this being an unplanned event.