TN - Holly Bobo, 20, Darden; believed abducted 13 April 2011 - #35

[~n/t~]

Sadly, I don't think she's alive but if it helps the community and the family to continue to hold out hope, so be it.

As a mom, I would be busting down doors at all LE agencies involved in this case demanding answers and yes, I'd probably write a letter to the President if I wasn't getting anywhere with LE. Anything to find my daughter.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! What are we doing!!! I have been away for a few months, come back to the 3 cases I have been following, and we know nothing more than we did when I left.

Until and if a body is found all the theories in the world don't make a difference. If an EYEWITNESS to the abduction, and the arrival of LE within a 10 minute window of her disappearance hasn't helped in finding Holly or solving this case--it is just common sense we are missing a BIG piece of the puzzle. LE has that piece or they are as in the dark as the rest of us .

Cameras? Big Help--Morgan Harrington went missing from a major concert venue with cameras all over the stadium as well as the surrounding grounds, they even found her body, had a composite picture of the possible perp, and DNA....and nothing.

Robyn Gardner disappeared from Aruba, unless her body is found it will be another Natalie Hollaway---we will NEVER know what happened to them and in both cases there are prime suspects.

How some cases can be solved in weeks and months and others go cold, all depends on the capabilities of the Law Enforcement officials in an area---some just don't know which end is up.....and that is what makes me so angry. Let us pray if anyone of our family members disappear it is in a community where Law Enforcement knows what the h--- they are doing!

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I still think also that with Holly's case that, since pretty much nothing has happened for over a year that we know of, it is, in essence "cold". Having said that, there is the chance that the person who did this crime may have either 1) committed similar crimes before or 2) will do so in the future. The suspect may, in the future, be caught for another crime and would confess to this one to get a lesser sentence. Something like the cases of Amber Duboise and Chelsea King, who were both murdered by John Gardner. Gardener may have gotten away with the Duboise killing, but he was caught pretty much red handed in the King murder. Facing death for that case, he confessed to the first murder and got life instead of death.

 

[OldSteve]

Many cases become noted for something unique about their circumstances that make them standout; at least in my mind.

In Holly's case it's that the abductor was clever enough to wear full cameo clothes such that even an eye witness could not ID him (are we even sure it's a him? True, someone that big is most likely a man.)
Most likely it was someone local who knew cameo would be good disguise and knew the area.

If it was someone from the outside, then that person had to be smart enough to figure these things out, and it seems like too much trouble to go through...

 

[reedus23]

Many cases become noted for something unique about their circumstances that make them standout; at least in my mind.

In Holly's case it's that the abductor was clever enough to wear full cameo clothes such that even an eye witness could not ID him (are we even sure it's a him? True, someone that big is most likely a man.)
Most likely it was someone local who knew cameo would be good disguise and knew the area.

If it was someone from the outside, then that person had to be smart enough to figure these things out, and it seems like too much trouble to go through...

I would agree. Local. Knows of Holly. Knows where Holly lives. Knows Holly's schedule. Knows others wouldn't be there to stop. Knows area/roads. Just doesn't seem like that many people would know all that information. :banghead:

 

[wfgodot]

Somebody with a scanner and the frequency. (Doubt communications are that sophisticated there, especially early on.)

 

[reedus23]

Either had no where to be at 8 am or was missing from where he was supposed to be at 8 am.

 

[Hatfield]

No, no surveillance video (that we know of), but this case featured that rare thing in abductions, an eyeball witness feet away from the developing crime. And LE bollixed it.

Hope this thread continues to stay active. I for one have scanned New Posts, been fooled (again and again), and clicked on "Honey Boo Boo," wishfully misreading it as "Holly Bobo."

LMAO---We have a great group of caring people here at WS, and we sometimes have to use a little humor to not get so depressed on something so frustrating as this case.

I think we all will continue to check in from time to time and someday we may get the answers that are needed.

In following another recent sad case of the poor Ridgeway girl from Colorado, one thing that stuck out to me was how they supposedly found some sort of DNA on or in the backpack.

JMO
With Holly's case, it sure seems like they could have found some trace DNA or "touch DNA" from any of these places. The Lunch bag/box, the Cell Phone, the car door handle, etc. Especially the Lunch bag. Because that item was found quickly, and I am guessing it wasnt wiped down, so perhaps there is DNA available from it.

From the DNA, they could at least determine how many different people's traces are on the items, and maybe it could help. It may be a way of helping to hone in on the person who may have been responsible, if more than just Holly's DNA is on those items.

Finger prints could be something else they could have looked for, and if they happen to find prints that match the DNA traces, that may be a way to confirm someone who may have touched those items that very day.

The DNA and prints by themselves would not be a way to positively prove someone actually took her, but it sure could be a way to help LE interview certain people. Once they know a person touched those items, it could help LE with interviews, etc.

This is just another thing that makes me wonder how much or how little has been done in this case to really get to the solving of this mystery. Unless LE informs the public of what has been done or not done, we are left to ponder whether a thorough job was done. They may have done all these things and maybe found out some answers too. We will never know unless they provide some sort of updates.

Hopefully someday there will be someone willing to provide the answers so desperately needed. Whether from inside LE or outside LE, someday there may be some answers when they just cannot hold in the secrets anymore.

 

[Hatfield]

Edit: Somehow I had a duplicate post, so deleted this duplicate.

 

[reedus23]

Decatur County stats:

Population of 11,687
50.9% female - leaves 5,738
Roughly 33.8% are between 44 - leaves 1.939
How many of those roughly 2,000 people knew Holly, knew her and her family's schedule?
In a larger metropolitan area, a perp can hide among a potential suspect list of tens or hundreds of thousands of names. In this case, LE could literally interview every single potential suspect. My guess is they probably did.

 

[Almondjoy]

Decatur County stats:

Population of 11,687
50.9% female - leaves 5,738
Roughly 33.8% are between 44 - leaves 1.939
How many of those roughly 2,000 people knew Holly, knew her and her family's schedule?
In a larger metropolitan area, a perp can hide among a potential suspect list of tens or hundreds of thousands of names. In this case, LE could literally interview every single potential suspect. My guess is they probably did.

Just because the perp is thought to be a local, I don't think we can assume he is from Decatur County. The Bobo's property is right on the Decatur/Henderson County line. Not too far north, you have Benton County ( I believe Holladay is in that county. One of the RSO's was from that county, and many searches have been conducted there. There are many nearby adjoining counties. Someone from any of those counties could be familiar with the terrain, especially if he were an avid hunter, for example, or if he were a delivery man or something of that nature. So I think you have to include the populations of those counties, too. Then, your possible pool of suspects might be more like 10,000 men.

Personally, by the way LE has acted, I think that they have had a strong suspect since early on in the investigation! As someone mentioned lately, DNA could have been recovered from several of the recovered items. If you notice, LE has not been the ones actively spearheading the searches. Private parties, urged on by the family and friends of Holly, have been the ones driving the searches we saw in the warmer months this year. LE may still be doing very quiet and private searches we don't know about, but if they are, it's way off the radar. If they have a pretty good idea of who did it, they may just need a body, sadly, to make a strong enough case. They may feel they could not get a conviction on what they do have. So they wait and watch, hoping this person will incriminate himself or get a conscience or even tell somebody else who will rat on him later.

At any rate, I'm sad for Holly's family and friends who are missing her in her birth month and as the holidays approach.

 

[masootz]

Personally, by the way LE has acted, I think that they have had a strong suspect since early on in the investigation! (.......)

So they wait and watch, hoping this person will incriminate himself or get a conscience or even tell somebody else who will rat on him later.

rsbm - i think that's a reasonable assumption except in most cases i've seen where le has strong indication of a suspect they start to release obscure info to the press to pressure the suspect into making a move. i'd just think we'd hear information like "if anyone saw a white dodge ram in the area" or "if anyone has information about a mid-30s white hunter who might have missed work" etc. at this point it seems nuts to not to try to force the guy to make a move if they have a suspect.

 

[reedus23]

Just because the perp is thought to be a local, I don't think we can assume he is from Decatur County. The Bobo's property is right on the Decatur/Henderson County line.

SBM I totally agree, not just Decatur County. Even including the immediately adjoining Counties though, the numbers just aren't as big. Henderson County for example has about 25,000 people. My tiny municipality has that many residents, much less the County I live in. Relatively speaking, if the perp is local as LE has suggested and I believe, the potential pool really isn't as overwhelming as it is in other places and from that pool probably 90% can outright be eliminated for consideration pretty quickly (i.e. out of town, at work etc..). I just truly believe LE has talked to this person because of the smallish pool size and as masootz said, hopefully have honed in on this person. It's just frustrating when it's not like this person could hide themselves within millions of faceless people like in a big city.

 

[Almondjoy]

rsbm - i think that's a reasonable assumption except in most cases i've seen where le has strong indication of a suspect they start to release obscure info to the press to pressure the suspect into making a move. i'd just think we'd hear information like "if anyone saw a white dodge ram in the area" or "if anyone has information about a mid-30s white hunter who might have missed work" etc. at this point it seems nuts to not to try to force the guy to make a move if they have a suspect.

I have come to wonder if the initial searches where they called on the public for help were designed to observe what some suspects were up to! You can't go intruding into people's private lives and trampling all over people's property without good reason! Perhaps it was a way of drawing out the perp or perps and LE was watching to see if they discarded anything that would lead them to where Holly was! I can't think of any other good reason for letting untrained people have first dibs on potentially important evidence!

 

[reedus23]

I have come to wonder if the initial searches where they called on the public for help were designed to observe what some suspects were up to! You can't go intruding into people's private lives and trampling all over people's property without good reason! Perhaps it was a way of drawing out the perp or perps and LE was watching to see if they discarded anything that would lead them to where Holly was! I can't think of any other good reason for letting untrained people have first dibs on potentially important evidence!

My impression at the outset is that LE, misguided or not, thought they really were close to getting Holly back. Also, you're right, they need good reason to search someone's property so much good reason that a Judge signs off on a search warrant. They can't search private property without a search warrant unless TN law is unique in that regard.

 

[OldSteve]

My impression is that the scene right after Holly went missing was very chaotic and too many people showed up too fast. It seems like there were different LE agencies on hand and there were issues about who was in charge and what should be done.
Too much, too soon, without a plan of action other than everyone into to woods to search is how I see it.

 

[Oriah]

My impression is that the scene right after Holly went missing was very chaotic and too many people showed up too fast. It seems like there were different LE agencies on hand and there were issues about who was in charge and what should be done.
Too much, too soon, without a plan of action other than everyone into to woods to search is how I see it.

I agree. Such a double-edged sword when it comes to these sorts of situations. LE would be blamed either way- in fact, in Holly's case, they have been. Done too little? Done too much? Tried to contain a crime scene? Allowed what shouldn't have been allowed in containing a crime scene? Needed all the resources they could get and time was extremely important? What to do?

It's a tough situation to control- especially when you haven't experienced anything like it before.

My heart breaks for Holly's family, friends, community, and that includes LE. Everyone trying to do the right thing, and still no Holly.

 

[reedus23]

Before you know it, we're going to be approaching 2 years. I just have such a hard time believing that LE hasn't made some progress.

 

[Chili Fries]

Before you know it, we're going to be approaching 2 years. I just have such a hard time believing that LE hasn't made some progress.

I'm sure they have focused on possible perps, but whether that means anything.... In the Shawn Hornbeck case, LE had nothing except a local weirdo who tried to insert himself into the case and had a truck the same color, but not the same type, as the possible perp's vehicle - a very tenuous connection at best. Turned out he unsurprisingly had nothing to do with it. The case wasn't solved, and Shawn returned to his mom alive, until the perp abducted another boy. The surprise for LE was that the perp lived much further away than expected from where Shawn was abducted.

The key in Holly's case could obviously be DNA collected from the lunchpurse or phone. But, as we all know, you have to match the DNA somehow. If they do have DNA, it could be just another agonizing wait for a match to show up in a database somewhere.

 

[EnBrown]

My impression at the outset is that LE, misguided or not, thought they really were close to getting Holly back. Also, you're right, they need good reason to search someone's property so much good reason that a Judge signs off on a search warrant. They can't search private property without a search warrant unless TN law is unique in that regard.

There are exceptions for requiring a search warrant in cases (inter alia) when LE is in "hot pursuit", or if there is an "emergency."

Both of which would have applied if LE had an inkling she was being held somewhere shortly after the abduction.