Found Deceased UK - Alexander Stern, 36, last seen at Bull Inn, Sonning, Berkshire, 11 January 2020

[Frivolous]

lots and lots of water there.....odd case

Indeed, strange. Not to mention the 4 deaths in that same exact river. Makes you think of the Manchester pusher.

 

[Rosegold68]

could be a pusher but its all so open that accidents can happen quickly. We know nothing much about Alexander though....where had he been or was going with the case and rucksack? who did he live with? why was he in sonning?and no vehicle?

 

[Tortoise]

Tracing Alexander's last known moments:

1- He's last seen at The Bull Inn, Sonning-on-Thames at 7:30

View attachment 241136
There's not much you can infer from the image apart from the fact that Alexander seems to be in conversation with someone over the bar. No signs of the suitcase or rucksack.

2- CCTV captures what is believed to be one of his final moments. Last known movements captures him wheeling a suitcase past Coppa Club towards Sonning Bridge on the B478.
View attachment 241130
Here, you can see him wheeling the suitcase, no sign of the rucksack. Was the rucksack left over at the pub, did he make a detour to give the rucksack/rucksacks content to someone? Is the person wheeling the suitcase even Alexander?


3- Distance from The Bull Inn to Coppa club

The distance from The Bull Inn to approx. Coppa Club is 4 minutes by foot.
View attachment 241137

If he's seen sitting (1) in the bar at 7:30, how long was he there for before he left? There's no time stamp given on the CCTV camera. We don't have that information regarding the time Alexander was in the pub for/ what time he was captured on CCTV.

4- Sonning Bridge as the initial destination?
View attachment 241149
Alexander is seen going past Coppa Club to what seems like a likely explanation as going towards Sonning Bridge.

Coppa Club is a minute walk towards Sonning Bridge which is a road bridge that overlooks the Thames.

Did Alexander loose his footing and fall into the River? Too many drinks may account to that or it might have just been an accident; it's dark, hard to see and he falls. What happened to the suitcase then? It would of been found by now?

Looking at google maps, if Alexander fell on his own, it would of been quite a heavy fall? Was he assisted? The ledge on the road bridge overlooking the Thames is quite high and seems sturdy.

View attachment 241139


So, where to from Sonning Bridge if that was the initial destination?

- A taxi to chosen destination?

- if he went by foot; going down the road bridge, leads into the Royal county of Berkshire.

- Seems like a small narrow place. Houses and greenery only seem to be present

Will be looking in detail to places that Alexander may of been going to. Going to update soon with information

I don't think that's the correct cctv camera. It's the small black glass dome just above the blue awning of the coppa club, and he was heading in the direction of the Thames. He could have been going to the coppa club/the Great House itself, as there appears to be entrances to both that he passes if he continues on that route. The coppa club is a restaurant which also serves the adjoining hotel, the great house (see attached article). He could have been planning on staying at the hotel, with his suitcase, but I'm sure they would have checked that out, or meeting someone who was staying there.

Alternatively I'm thinking he could have been meeting someone on a houseboat.

There is no public transport in the direction he was walking. He is walking away from all the bus services, and there is no railway station at Sonning.

A review of The Great House and the Coppa Club restaurant in Sonning, Berkshire | Daily Mail Online

 

[Wowno17]

God when I first read this I thought immediately of Anthony Knott hoping this has a better outcome.

 

[Frivolous]

I don't think that's the correct cctv camera. It's the small black glass dome just above the blue awning of the coppa club, and he was heading in the direction of the Thames. He could have been going to the coppa club/the Great House itself, as there appears to be entrances to both that he passes if he continues on that route. The coppa club is a restaurant which also serves the adjoining hotel, the great house (see attached article). He could have been planning on staying at the hotel, with his suitcase, but I'm sure they would have checked that out, or meeting someone who was staying there.

Alternatively I'm thinking he could have been meeting someone on a houseboat.

There is no public transport in the direction he was walking. He is walking away from all the bus services, and there is no railway station at Sonning.

A review of The Great House and the Coppa Club restaurant in Sonning, Berkshire | Daily Mail Online

Interesting.

So the CCTV is the black dome. Makes sense, thanks for that. Wouldn't the initial CCTV I thought to be source to that final image of Alexander hold the final right/left direction?

1-
& identical





2- & identical




3- & identical

 

[Frivolous]

could be a pusher but its all so open that accidents can happen quickly. We know nothing much about Alexander though....where had he been or was going with the case and rucksack? who did he live with? why was he in sonning?and no vehicle?

Exactly.. all of this is confusing, and no-one has come forward. Someone must of seen something. As for the rucksack and suitcase, I'm assuming a last minute plan stay at the hotel, but the hotel in the area hasn't spoken out. So clearly did not plan or reserve to stay, more definitely last minute.

 

[Frivolous]

If the black dome shows Alexander Stern's last known movements, then surely this CCTV [circled in white] should show the last final decision? Whether or not he made the right or left turn? Then surely that makes the destination easier to narrow down.


[The CCTV that showed Alexander's last known movements is underlined in white, and another CCTV camera circled in white overlooks further ahead, nothing so far has come from this CCTV, no comments made regarding it]

 

[Tortoise]

Interesting.

So the CCTV is the black dome. Makes sense, thanks for that. Wouldn't the initial CCTV I thought to be source to that final image of Alexander hold the final right/left direction?

1-
View attachment 241205 & View attachment 241206 identical





2- View attachment 241207& View attachment 241208 identical




3- View attachment 241209 &View attachment 241210 identical

I'm not sure it would help, it seems to be trained at an angle pointing downwards to the door of that building. And it might not even be working. But in any case, he is walking in the direction of coppa club corner, so I'm not sure which right or left turn you mean? Do you mean after he gets past the corner of coppa club? Because the camera wouldn't show past the corner even if it did capture him, imo, and it's a straight road to the bridge.

 

[Boston Corbett]

Two things almost guaranteed to be nothing but tabloid racket, and to have had nothing whatsoever to do with the disappearance:

The "curse" and "George Clooney's house."

 

[Tortoise]

He could have walked on the Thames Path if he was meeting someone on a boat.

 

[Frivolous]

I'm not sure it would help, it seems to be trained at an angle pointing downwards to the door of that building. And it might not even be working. But in any case, he is walking in the direction of coppa club corner, so I'm not sure which right or left turn you mean? Do you mean after he gets past the corner of coppa club? Because the camera wouldn't show past the corner even if it did capture him, imo, and it's a straight road to the bridge.

Ok, let's forget that camera for a second.
There are two separate routes from Alexander's standing position when he is last captured on camera (from the black dome):


a - [Circle shows 'Alexander', and the zigzag marks shows comparison]

So if we look at this roughly it gives us a rough standing position from Alexander which would be about:
b - [Again zigzag marks indicate comparison, and the vertical line shows where Alexander was last standing when captured on camera]



Regarding left and right turns:

Where Alexander is last seen standing is into the road. That road goes two ways; either way could be by a vehicle/walking.
Look at image (b) if Alexander was standing there, then he most likely took the left route. You can also go right.

c - [Circle shows an unaccounted CCTV camera, vertical line shows Alexander's rough standing position, and the two arrows show left & right. The two white lines underneath should show you the road marks that were not drawn on by me]

Two possible ways to walk to, right leads to the Thames, the left leads to more houses.

 

[Tortoise]

Ok, let's forget that camera for a second.
There are two separate routes from Alexander's standing position when he is last captured on camera (from the black dome):


a - View attachment 241265 [Circle shows 'Alexander', and the zigzag marks shows comparison]

So if we look at this roughly it gives us a rough standing position from Alexander which would be about:
b - View attachment 241267 [Again zigzag marks indicate comparison, and the vertical line shows where Alexander was last standing when captured on camera]



Regarding left and right turns:

Where Alexander is last seen standing is into the road. That road goes two ways; either way could be by a vehicle/walking.
Look at image (b) if Alexander was standing there, then he most likely took the left route. You can also go right.

c - View attachment 241268 [Circle shows an unaccounted CCTV camera, vertical line shows Alexander's rough standing position, and the two arrows show left & right. The two white lines underneath should show you the road marks that were not drawn on by me]

Two possible ways to walk to, right leads to the Thames, the left leads to more houses.

I think I've just seen what you might be seeing on the cctv.

I guess you're seeing him standing still, back to camera, suitcase being dragged in his left hand, left knee bent more than his right, approaching Thames Street square on?

What I'm seeing is him walking on the pavement of Thames Street in the same direction as the car behind him, suitcase being dragged by his right hand, and his right knee more bent, left arm swinging forwards.

I think it's an optical illusion. Which of us is right?

 

[Frivolous]

I think I've just seen what you might be seeing on the cctv.

I guess you're seeing him standing still, back to camera, suitcase being dragged in his left hand, left knee bent more than his right, approaching Thames Street square on?

What I'm seeing is him walking on the pavement of Thames Street in the same direction as the car behind him, suitcase being dragged by his right hand, and his right knee more bent, left arm swinging forwards.

I think it's an optical illusion. Which of us is right?

The more you look at it, the more it could possibly be both ways; we don't know, body language does seem to point more towards via Thames Street. Which is why we should keep an open mind on both routes.

However, if we go with Thames Street; boathouse? Meeting someone, maybe he owned it? There hasn't been an update for 2 months now, maybe he's decided to go away on his own accord with informing family? Or maybe unfortunately fell into the River?

 

[kelsie]

this is a weird one.

 

[Tortoise]

The more I think about it, the more I think boat is the most likely answer. Walking away from public transport, luggage/belongings with him for a planned trip. I think he might have decided to go into hiding for whatever reason. He must have arrived in Sonning with a purpose to take luggage with him. Perhaps he arrived early and had a drink to bide time and contact the boat owner to let them know he was there.

The other thing that makes me think he was walking towards the river is that it is the most logical route to being there from the pub he was in. If he was walking out from the area of the cctv and standing at the road deciding which way to go, he emerged from a dead end there, in the opposite direction from the 1st pub.

 

[Frivolous]

The more I think about it, the more I think boat is the most likely answer. Walking away from public transport, luggage/belongings with him for a planned trip. I think he might have decided to go into hiding for whatever reason. He must have arrived in Sonning with a purpose to take luggage with him. Perhaps he arrived early and had a drink to bide time and contact the boat owner to let them know he was there.

The other thing that makes me think he was walking towards the river is that it is the most logical route to being there from the pub he was in. If he was walking out from the area of the cctv and standing at the road deciding which way to go, he emerged from a dead end there, in the opposite direction from the 1st pub.

Okay, I like that thought.

Boathouse on the Thames. Now, to just find out which one; would be a needle in the haystack really. He goes to the pub to kill time, gives the rucksack/rucksack's content to someone in the pub. Regardless of what, we do know that he is no longer in possession of the rucksack.
Possible theories: The rucksack, could it of been holding drugs? He gives it in, then goes on his way to the boathouse, clearly for quite some time, as indicated by the suitcase.
Doesn't alert anyone, maybe a quick last minute thing, has to get away because something's happened unexpectedly at the wrong time?

 

[Tortoise]

I don't like to speculate about drugs. It might or might not be. It could even have been a lot of cash he paid to someone for the favour. Or any package he agreed to deliver.

If he has gone into hiding it suggests he was in fear, as one of the possible reasons. The pack may have contained a disguise if he didn't want to be recognised getting on a boat. Had a quick change in the pub toilets and dumped the empty pack in a bin on his walk.

I don't think he would necessarily be living there on a houseboat. I think if he did get on a boat to hide it probably moved that night to somewhere else. There is a marina just past the bridge there, where a boat might have left from if they got a call from him.

There again, perhaps I just have an overactive imagination.

 

[Frivolous]

I don't like to speculate about drugs. It might or might not be. It could even have been a lot of cash he paid to someone for the favour. Or any package he agreed to deliver.

If he has gone into hiding it suggests he was in fear, as one of the possible reasons. The pack may have contained a disguise if he didn't want to be recognised getting on a boat. Had a quick change in the pub toilets and dumped the empty pack in a bin on his walk.

I don't think he would necessarily be living there on a houseboat. I think if he did get on a boat to hide it probably moved that night to somewhere else. There is a marina just past the bridge there, where a boat might have left from if they got a call from him.

There again, perhaps I just have an overactive imagination.

Haha no, It makes sense, I'm definitely the one with an overactive imagination. I think it's now a dead end, if he has travelled from the houseboat, it's a question of looking for the ones on the Thames that night. At the end of the day, someone saw something, and someone knows something.

 

[Tortoise]

Also doing this in darkness is another clue that suggests he was up to something he didn't want to be seen doing during the daytime.

I wonder if they know anything about his passport, bank account and phone records. He might have used a boat to travel from A to B without being seen on cctv and then docked somewhere where he could continue his journey. That's quite a convoluted plan if so.

 

[Frivolous]

Also doing this in darkness is another clue that suggests he was up to something he didn't want to be seen doing during the daytime.

I wonder if they know anything about his passport, bank account and phone records. He might have used a boat to travel from A to B without being seen on cctv and then docked somewhere where he could continue his journey. That's quite a convoluted plan if so.

I don't think they've looked into bank accounts, phone records and his passport & I don't think they're going to either. To be honest, the only reason he's made it in a few news articles is the fact that he is the son of a millionaire. If he was an average Joe, he wouldn't be over several articles, perhaps only one local news article close to his residence.

It's been 2 months, no updates apart from a snapshot from a CCTV camera that is hard to even see. I think it's possible that he is now somewhere far away. Who knows?