VA VA - Katelin Akens, 19, Springfield, 5 Dec 2015 #1

[Tabirey]

Katelin and Amber have known each other since 2005 according to facebook

From the looks of SM, known each other for approx 10yrs, been dating for approx 2 of those years , engaged since the beginning of this year, iirc

 

[GeeButtersnaps]

I wish LE would give a time frame so that we would know if it was getting dark or if it was early in the day. Why don't we have that info?

I just reread an article that gives a summary of everything to refresh my memory bc I hadn't seen a lot of that info in a while and it did say her flight was 5:40 PM to Las Vegas so you would have to figure if she did have time to be dropped at a mall, shop, catch the metro, go thru security at the airport, etc. it had to have been at least a few hours before that when she was dropped off which would mean the middle of the day..

 

[bluesneakers]

And I guess my point on that part of it was yeah he may be concerned she'd be late but it may not be his place to tell her no you can't stop bc you'll be late being as she was an adult. If I was in his shoes though I would've definitely told her mother she wanted to be dropped off at the mall first as opposed to the airport if that was the initial plan as soon as I left there. That would look a lot less suspicious IMO. Also I remember seeing different stories from everyone initially did it ever get confirmed one way or the other if the mother actually said the plan was to take her to the airport or the metro? I thought they couldn't get that straight at first which one the mother actually said the stepfather was supposed to be dropping her off at..

Good luck telling a 19-year-old what to do.

 

[Pseudonymph]

If she is several hours early and has choice of killing time at airport, Metro, or mall, the mall makes sense to me.

 

[GeeButtersnaps]

Exactly my point

 

[dannydiaz20]

Yes, a couple of hours ago, according to the page.

I bet they would add you. I'm just a random person on the west coast, who's interested in her safe return, and I was accepted within an hour of requesting.

I hope she is found soon, this case is baffling.

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

 

[GeeButtersnaps]

If she is several hours early and has choice of killing time at airport, Metro, or mall, the mall makes sense to me.

Very true. Especially if as has been alluded to the stepfather and her relationship may have not been the best it makes sense to shop on her own or even just look around rather than hang somewhere with him or hang out in the airport.

 

[dannydiaz20]

I have feeling she sent that text.

Do we know if she made her flight? Was she missing from the time she got back to Arizona?

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

 

[GeeButtersnaps]

Do we know if she made her flight? Was she missing from the time she got back to Arizona?

Sent from my SM-G928T using Tapatalk

No she never checked in but her mother got a text saying she had boarded the plane.

"Akens never checked in for her flight at the airport, despite a text from her phone to her mother Saturday afternoon saying she had arrived there safely."

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/kat...-airport-luggage-found-roadside-ditch-n477216

 

[katydid23]

I don't believe this was a random abduction. A stranger would not have texted Mom.

I think we are left with three possible scenarios:


1. KA wanted to stage her kidnapping and cut all ties, voluntarily leaving her old life....

2. KA met up with a friend and accepted a ride and was taken by force...

3. Something bad happened with KA and stepdad....

ETA:

4. 4. On her flight out here she meet someone also traveling to the area and revealed her plans and they decided to meet at the town center before the flight back.
Then that person harmed her.

5. She met up with someone she met on the internet, or met during her trip home. Someone she didn't know well enough to consider a friend but knew well enough to get coffee at the mall with. Then that person harmed her.

Any other scenarios come to mind?

 

[GeeButtersnaps]

I don't believe this was a random abduction. A stranger would not have texted Mom.

I think we are left with three possible scenarios:


1. KA wanted to stage her kidnapping and cut all ties, voluntarily leaving her old life....

2. KA met up with a friend and accepted a ride and was taken by force...

3. Something bad happened with KA and stepdad....


Any other scenarios come to mind?

Good points...the thing I keep coming back to that really confuses me is where LE said that people have disappeared on their own before like this and her cell phone and social media activity lead them to believe that may be the case here.

Why would LE make that statement unless they had a legitimate reason to believe that to be a possibility?

And if she did want to disappear on her own from everyone including family why in the world would you continue to use your existing social media accounts? If you really wanted to lose your entire previous life family included wouldn't you abandon all of that?

Just so many questions here and with no real updates in days and not much to go on its just really perplexing...

 

[Soulmagent]

I don't believe this was a random abduction. A stranger would not have texted Mom.

I think we are left with three possible scenarios:


1. KA wanted to stage her kidnapping and cut all ties, voluntarily leaving her old life....

2. KA met up with a friend and accepted a ride and was taken by force...

3. Something bad happened with KA and stepdad....


Any other scenarios come to mind?

4. On her flight out here she meet someone also traveling to the area and revealed her plans and they decided to meet at the town center before the flight back.
Then that person harmed her. They also could have texted mom as it would give them a five hour at least head start.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I see what you're saying like even in keeping Katelin in the mix as an adult if as the three of them were together when her mother dropped her off the last version of the plan was stepfather would then take her to the airport- Katelin never texts her mom or anyone saying "I just told him drop me at the mall first" or any other deviation from that plan...then mom gets a text saying she's boarded the plane- next thing you know she's missing and never actually boarded the plane and mom never knew of her going to mall or anywhere other than airport logic does lead you to believe somethings fishy there..

I've got you now. I guess I was just reading it as where you said "what mom told him to do" or whatever like Katelin was a little child and couldn't make the decision on her own what to do if she wanted to deviate from that plan but I'm with ya..

Katelin didn't text anyone including Amber to tell her plans changed and she would be at the mall then the airport to my knowledge. It would seem natural for a girl her age to be on her phone and, in anticipation of getting back to AZ and seeing Amber, to text or call her that day prior to boarding the plane especially if she was knocking off time walking around a mall.

<modsnip>

I also agree if the plans changed from what the mother was aware of at the time of dropping her off with step-father (and he really isn't anymore if they are divorced) the burden lies with him to explain exactly what happened word for word and step by step.

 

[bessie]

RSBM

IMO it's not to suggest anything points to the ex-step-father based on where he dropped her off. It just seems weird. Also IMO it has nothing to do with trusting her to get herself to the airport, it's just a nice thing to do if you're already driving part way there. So if it was his idea - why wouldn't he just take her all the way? If it were her idea - why did she want to stop at the mall and then take transit? Maybe the agreement was to take her to the airport but something happened and someone made a change. Maybe she had plans to meet someone.

Anyway, for me it's just one of the few facts we have and it's interesting to think about and consider the possibilities.

JMO etc.

I can see it a couple of ways. The SD offers or agrees to take Katelin to the airport. At the last minute, Katelin says, "You know what, I really wanted to shop for a new xxxx before I go back, but didn't have a chance to get to the mall. I still have plenty of time before my flight. Why don't you drop me off at the mall, and I'll take the Metro to the airport."

My son often tries to squeeze in that one last thing before he leaves after a visit. My stepson used to do that, too. (For that matter, so does my 19-year-old niece, but she drives her own car.) I prefer to see my son off at the airport, but if he has a sudden change of plans and asks to be dropped off somewhere, say to meet a friend for lunch or dinner, with an alternate means of getting to the airport, it's not a big deal. At 19, being the kind of mom that I am, I probably would've worried that he'd get sidetracked and miss his flight, but I wouldn't have insisted that my husband or I drive him. On the other hand, I don't know Katelin. If the scenario is totally out of character for her, then it's concerning. But judging by what I'd say is average for a 19-year-old, the SD's account is not suspicious in itself.

On the flip side, if we're just kicking around ideas, one could speculate the change of plans resulted after an argument that took place along the way, and Katelin looked for an excuse to get out of the car because she was upset.

I find both scenarios plausible, and neither necessarily implicates the SD. Whether there was an argument, or Katelin truly wanted to go shopping, he simply might have dropped her off near the mall, and from there something went wrong.

The text to her mother is what I find most puzzling. Was it voluntary? Was she forced? Was it really her? Again, it goes back to the cell records. They should be key in the way of answers.

I know Katelin's loved ones are frantic with worry, and I only pray that she returns home safely and very soon.

 

[bluesneakers]

4. On her flight out here she meet someone also traveling to the area and revealed her plans and they decided to meet at the town center before the flight back.
Then that person harmed her. They also could have texted mom as it would give the a five hour at least head start.

5. She met up with someone she met on the internet, or met during her trip home. Someone she didn't know well enough to consider a friend but knew well enough to get coffee at the mall with. Then that person harmed her.

 

[katydid23]

Katelin didn't text anyone including Amber to tell her plans changed and she would be at the mall then the airport to my knowledge. It would seem natural for a girl her age to be on her phone and, in anticipation of getting back to AZ and seeing Amber, to text or call her that day prior to boarding the plane especially if she was knocking off time walking around a mall.

Amber, how often did she text or call you normally when she was out and about? You mentioned not wanting her to be left alone with him so would you have expected her to be in touch since it appears she had to be? Did you ever find out why the other person couldn't take her?

I also agree if the plans changed from what the mother was aware of at the time of dropping her off with step-father (and he really isn't anymore if they are divorced) the burden lies with him to explain exactly what happened word for word and step by step.

That is a really good point about the texting/calling her fiancé. My daughter texts her boyfriend endlessly throughout the day. Especially when one of them is out of town. My son and his wife text constantly as well. I was having lunch with him recently when his wife was out of town with their baby, visiting her family. She was constantly updating him about her plans for the day and a change in her arrival time.

So it does seem odd that if she was 'early' and hanging out in the mall, that she wouldn't send her gf a text to say 'Hey, @the mall, having a latte, heading to Metro now' .....

 

[bessie]

No she never checked in but her mother got a text saying she had boarded the plane.

"Akens never checked in for her flight at the airport, despite a text from her phone to her mother Saturday afternoon saying she had arrived there safely."

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/kat...-airport-luggage-found-roadside-ditch-n477216

"Arrived there" refers to the airport. She wouldn't have made it to her destination until late Saturday night, and the text was sent in the afternoon. So perhaps she did make it to the airport, but didn't check in or board the plane.

"She was to take the metro to Regan National Airport to catch a 5:40 p.m. flight to Las Vegas. Her fiancé would then pick her up and "drive them back to their home in Lake Havasu City."

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/kat...-airport-luggage-found-roadside-ditch-n477216

 

[SeriouslySearching]

"Arrived there" refers to the airport. She wouldn't have made it to her destination until late Saturday night, and the text was sent in the afternoon. So perhaps she did make it to the airport, but didn't check in or board the plane.

"She was to take the metro to Regan National Airport to catch a 5:40 p.m. flight to Las Vegas. Her fiancé would then pick her up and "drive them back to their home in Lake Havasu City."

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/kat...-airport-luggage-found-roadside-ditch-n477216

I always call the person who is coming to pick me up when I arrive at the airport so they know I am so far on schedule and they can plan accordingly. If there is a delay later due to the airlines, they have my flight info to check in case I cannot call or text, but they know I should be on my flight.

Was her mom privy to the change of plans? If he had gone straight to the airport, wouldn't the mom have expect her text hours before and then called her when hours went by without a word? By that time, her step-dad had plenty of time to tell her what took place. I wonder if that happened? Did he tell her before the text or was it a surprise to her later the plans changed?

 

[katydid23]

"Arrived there" refers to the airport. She wouldn't have made it to her destination until late Saturday night, and the text was sent in the afternoon. So perhaps she did make it to the airport, but didn't check in or board the plane.

"She was to take the metro to Regan National Airport to catch a 5:40 p.m. flight to Las Vegas. Her fiancé would then pick her up and "drive them back to their home in Lake Havasu City."

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/kat...-airport-luggage-found-roadside-ditch-n477216

I was wondering about that. It is just so weird because wouldn't the airport have a zillion cameras? I would think they could have found images of her on an airport cam somewhere if she had really arrived there. And I cannot imagine someone abducting her from there. So much security at airports these days. She would have had to leave with someone willingly not to be noticed.

I have a hard time believing she was abducted from an airport. I have a hard time believing she would not have been captured on surveillance cams if she had arrived there. But I could be wrong.

 

[bluesneakers]

The text to her mother is what I find most puzzling. Was it voluntary? Was she forced? Was it really her? Again, it goes back to the cell records. They should be key in the way of answers.

I know Katelin's loved ones are frantic with worry, and I only pray that she returns home safely and very soon.

RSBM

The text to her mom is what gets me too. It makes me think she had to have known the person who harmed her, even if they weren't close friends. Or maybe she was forced to send the text, but that seems less likely, maybe more likely she was forced to give the information to send it.

Would a stranger know her travel plans and know to send a text to her mom?