Missing Poway High School Student Please

[x-man 0]

Today I went to the Laura Recovery Center Foundation (11858 Bernardo Plaza Court behind Citibank, Rancho Bernardo, 92128) and I offered to search on my plated dirt bike (a.k.a dual sport). They turned me and people with horses down. I told them that my dual sport club of 900+ members knows the trails very well and I could probably enlist some to comb whatever areas they needed. They took my phone number but told me to go back home.

Then I went to talk with the police at the Lake Hodges and they turned me down too. They had ATVs but nothing for single track trails.

I went searching by myself on Highland Valley, Bandy Canyon and 78. Eventually I joined the San Pascual Fire department –that had been turned down too- and jointly went searching the river bed in the 78 where they found a couple of bodies a few years ago. I've talked to the people that manage the farms between 78 and Bandy Canyon and they were willing to let people in on foot among the orange groves and on vehicles in the dirt roads. Some people let me ride in their private property some didn't.

I found washing machines, fridges and entire cars dumped in the canyons; among some evidence of people living there and the usual trash. I found several search parties and I was surprised at what areas they were. Some had no connecting trails to the original one and they were not accessible by car. I couldn't figure out what search strategy they are conducting since nobody could direct me to whoever was coordinating it.

I spend several hours and a tank of gas and I wish they had better coordination and used ALL available resources.

[x-man 0]

I called to report my findings and they sent me to some kind of supervisor. I let them know on the local resources they could tap on. They called me back saying that they would pass on us because they could not provide transportation for the bikes. I told them we are street legal and we know the back roads and trails better than them and the police. They said they would reconsider ...

[Strega 0]

An arrest has been made in connection with her disappearance:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty...cab480fb13.html

Authorities have arrested a 30-year-old registered sex offender in connection with the disappearance of missing Poway 17-year-old Chelsea King.

John Albert Gardner III, a Lake Elsinore resident, was arrested at 4:20 p.m. Sunday in front of a business in the 1900 block of Lake Drive, on the east side of Lake Hodges, Sheriff Bill Gore said at a Sunday evening news conference.

He said physical evidence found on the southern shore of the lake linked him to Chelsea's disappearance. He did not say what the evidence was.

Such a travesty

[dirt dame 559]

That whole thing is so creepy. I fish the lake a lot and have taken walks down the shoreline by myself many times. I have always considered it a safe location ....before NOW, that is.

[paulmbowers 236]

I called to report my findings and they sent me to some kind of supervisor. I let them know on the local resources they could tap on. They called me back saying that they would pass on us because they could not provide transportation for the bikes. I told them we are street legal and we know the back roads and trails better than them and the police. They said they would reconsider ...

The answer here is to approach the Sheriff's department, Rangers, etc- any rural LE Offices in advance of a crisis like this and work toward the future. Let them know out capabilities and they can incorporate our help the next time. We can move fast and offer communications in areas that are otherwise difficult to cover.

[paulmbowers 236]

Been thinking more about this. Maybe there is a member with connections to the Sheriff's department who could approach them (when things are a bit calmer) and set this up. Maybe a retired sheriff?

If there's training involved, we could be ready to roll at the next crisis.

[Joliet 0]

Been thinking more about this. Maybe there is a member with connections to the Sheriff's department who could approach them (when things are a bit calmer) and set this up. Maybe a retired sheriff?

If there's training involved, we could be ready to roll at the next crisis.

Good idea, SDARS&R

[Strega 0]

Solid idea, I'm in.

[TrophyHunter 15]

Way in. I can make some inquiries. The initial request may have had some "evidence" concerns or they knew what was happening but couldn't release it so the media didn't crawl all over 'em.

I'll check into it but someone else might have a direct connect.

Consider expanding this offer to BLM, etc.....?

[cmayer31 3]

Such a sad story and I can't imagine what her family and friends are going through.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department has a pretty extensive SAR program and I think it would be great if we could work out an appropriate agreement where we can offer our services. They do have a motorized unit that provides transportation of repeaters, supplies, and radio communications when needed. I wonder if they'd consider making a second branch of the motorized unit that would be more SAR and less supply train.

The San Diego Mountain Rescue Team recruit annually and hold their own training missions. They're more focused on technical terrain rescues, and have some more requirements to join, but could be a good group to get information from.

There are other SAR organizations out there and if some members are willing to attend training sessions with them we might also be able to branch off of, or assist them where needed.

If we do seriously look at some sort of SAR program to assist other teams or even a separate program I would be interested in helping out.

[Strega 0]

I think the big issue for them, is going to be Liability. If you get hurt on your bike while doing SAR for them....blah blah etc. This is how this stuff normally goes. Remember the big fires and CAL FIRE wouldn't let the Marine Corps fire fighting teams take off in their helo's to help put out fires because they weren't properly 'Trained'??? Because they weren't on the same frequencies as the CAL FIRE airplanes and helo's?? Yeah, stupid right??

Beaurocratic BS as usual. People just want to help, but government prevents that from being an easy thing to do. I can't even begin to try and count the # of times I've tried to volunteer and been shot down.

[paulmbowers 236]

Can't see anymore liability issues for us than the guys who pluck climbers from the cliffs at mission gorge. The airplanes had a basis of truth- untrained fireflyers in a common airspace would be more hinderance than hurt.

Anyway, my non-profit plate is full these days, so I can coordinate.

Who will?

[KTMrad 508]

I pulled into the office parking lot today......it's full, when normally it's empty.

The office for the search coordination is upstairs in the same building today. Wow, what a turnout of people they have helping out !

Hope they find her, hope she's OK.

[x-man 0]

I went again today to the office and spoke with the people running the volunteer show. One co-worker is in the mapping team and when I shared my story he made me print the areas I thought could be good spots to hide her. He also introduced me to the people there and talked about SDAR. They turned me and the maps I was carrying down again. They didn't even look at the areas I printed.

This time the excuse was that the police had told them that we could perturb the evidence. Two people next to me where organizing a search on horses. Like they would not disturb the evidence! Following the news it looks like they already have evidence enough to detain one guy. And I don't see how people on foot are less likely to mess any evidence up. Anyway, in my opinion they don't want our help or they cannot coordinate more. The office was really small and it looked pretty chaotic there. At the end I dropped a few ink cartridges so they could print maps that made little sense to me.

It doesn't look to me like a crisis or emergency when they keep turning help down so I guess I'll pass on this one.

[Audible 0]

Solid idea, I'm in.

+1...I'm in. I would be willing to be on a call list for search and rescue where DS bikes would helpful.

Audible

[Crawdaddy 96]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/ma...nd-lake-hodges/

Sad.....

[cmayer31 3]

Just saw it, how aweful

I hope they can find enough evidence and destroy whoever did this.

[motomermaiden 0]

Someone just told me. So sad for everyone involved. My thoughts and prayers for their family. Now I am going to call my kids and tell them how much I love them and value them in my life.

[RogerTOWM 0]

Ok I’m not an expert but I have watched TV crime shows so let me chime in about the way searches are run. I don’t want to talk about the news today because I get very upset.

Some times law enforcement has certain areas that they want searched because they have information they need to check out. They do have limited resources so they may not respond to an area that is outside their interest. Sometimes having hundreds of untrained people running around is not the best way to find somebody. That said sometimes it works very well.

The sheriff’s Deputies can not give out to much information because of legal reasons. They don’t want the animal that did this to get off because all the evidence was exposed to the public thus having some judge saying he can not get a fair trail. They actually do have a method to searchs. You may not always get to talk to the one running the show directly but will only have access to one of the small fish who just knows their little part of the big picture. This can lead to frustration I know.

Motorcycles may not be the best way to search for a hidden person or body. They cover a lot of ground rapidly. But that also means they do not see very much. A search is slow and pragmatic. It uses more then just the eyes. Hearing and smell is also important when searching. Hearing is compromised by helmets and speed can interfere with our smell as well as vision. Motorcycles and other vehicles can not get up into rocky areas and underbrush or other places you might try and hide someone. Your speed might not let you see where someone has been dragged into the bushes.

One of the best ways to search is to use people and trained dogs walking the ground slowly and systematically. They need to have trained leadership to keep the search organized. Horses are also good because they can go most places (but not all) that a person can walk and they also give the searcher a height advantage so he or she can see a larger area.

I think that the people in charge do appreciate your offer of help but do not see how it would be beneficial for them at the time. They were a bit busy and did not spend the time with you to explain this. I know this sucks but it is the way things go. They have limited time and recourses and only want to focus on the immediate task at hand. It would have been nice if someone could have spent more time with you and talked about this with you.

I’ll tell you the truth; cops are not always the most patient listeners. Remember Joe Friday on Dragnet was always saying, “Just the facts madam, just the facts”, no patience at all. If it is not what they are looking for they have a tendency to tune out any excess information.

I think that we as a club could be helpful in many emergencies. First we need to figure out how we can help and then approach the right people with that information. Maybe we can ride out to hard to access areas and then search those areas on foot. We could be runners helping with communications when other means are down. We could transport maps and such. These might be some of the things we could do. Someone in the club could sit down and ask what they need and then help show them what we could do to fill those needs.

[2Wheels 0]

11:23 PM March 2, 2010: 'Strong Likelihood' Body Found Is Chelsea's

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat...d-86021177.html

-------------------------------------------------

edit: oops, just realized the link C Dad posted was about this.

[dirt dame 559]

Her is another commentary by an active member of law enforcement from another forum that I belong to:

"My family's heartfelt prayers go out for the family and friends of this beautiful, accomplished, and promising young lady who was torn from us in such wrenching and hideous fashion. Requiescat in pacem, little one.

Expressions of anger, frustration, and perplexity abound at such times, and not just from onlookers and community members. Those of us who are or were charged with protecting society in the criminal justice system are frustrated as well. I again find myself asking rhetorically--"Why does this happen, over and over again?" What fundamental flaw in our society--or its criminal justice system--fails so miserably to protect innocent life?

I wish I had a comprehensive answer to that question--I don't. I can point at annoyances I noted during 28 years of cop work--the "defendant-centered" nature of criminal court. BELIEVE ME--it's all about the bad guys. The bad guys drive the system, create its revenue stream that fattens private counsel while depleting and straining prosecutorial resources. The nastier the crime, the better and more expensive the attorney appointed (at taxpayer cost) to represent the predator.

So, who benefits most from the system as it stands today? To some extent, the predators. Finite resources within the system dictate that corners get cut--deals get made--crimes get minimized/de-emphasized. This creates a pervasive sense in the minds of criminals that even if caught--the prospect of paying 'full price' for his/her depredations is diminished markedly. Such a mindset invites and encourages further criminality, and provides no disincentive to expanding the violence perpetrated during the commission of such acts.

But the real benficiaries of our penal situation as it exists today are the criminal defense community--lawyers and their allied associates that have created a cottage industry out of victims' violent injury and slaughter. A violent criminal released from prison is nearly guaranteed to re-offend, and the hardening effects of prison existence/survival practically dictate that these re-occurrences will have an up-tick in violence from the predator's prior offenses.

This may sound cynical (it is), but perhaps the core reason why the death penalty opponents fight so aggressively to save the lives of the monsters on Death Row is this--once that stone killer is no longer using air, he generates no further revenue stream for lawyers and their fellow travelers."

[ShocknAwe 0]

Ok I'm not an expert but I have watched TV crime shows so let me chime in about the way searches are run. I don't want to talk about the news today because I get very upset.

Some times law enforcement has certain areas that they want searched because they have information they need to check out. They do have limited resources so they may not respond to an area that is outside their interest. Sometimes having hundreds of untrained people running around is not the best way to find somebody. That said sometimes it works very well.

The sheriff's Deputies can not give out to much information because of legal reasons. They don't want the animal that did this to get off because all the evidence was exposed to the public thus having some judge saying he can not get a fair trail. They actually do have a method to searchs. You may not always get to talk to the one running the show directly but will only have access to one of the small fish who just knows their little part of the big picture. This can lead to frustration I know.

Motorcycles may not be the best way to search for a hidden person or body. They cover a lot of ground rapidly. But that also means they do not see very much. A search is slow and pragmatic. It uses more then just the eyes. Hearing and smell is also important when searching. Hearing is compromised by helmets and speed can interfere with our smell as well as vision. Motorcycles and other vehicles can not get up into rocky areas and underbrush or other places you might try and hide someone. Your speed might not let you see where someone has been dragged into the bushes.

One of the best ways to search is to use people and trained dogs walking the ground slowly and systematically. They need to have trained leadership to keep the search organized. Horses are also good because they can go most places (but not all) that a person can walk and they also give the searcher a height advantage so he or she can see a larger area.

I think that the people in charge do appreciate your offer of help but do not see how it would be beneficial for them at the time. They were a bit busy and did not spend the time with you to explain this. I know this sucks but it is the way things go. They have limited time and recourses and only want to focus on the immediate task at hand. It would have been nice if someone could have spent more time with you and talked about this with you.

I'll tell you the truth; cops are not always the most patient listeners. Remember Joe Friday on Dragnet was always saying, "Just the facts madam, just the facts", no patience at all. If it is not what they are looking for they have a tendency to tune out any excess information.

I think that we as a club could be helpful in many emergencies. First we need to figure out how we can help and then approach the right people with that information. Maybe we can ride out to hard to access areas and then search those areas on foot. We could be runners helping with communications when other means are down. We could transport maps and such. These might be some of the things we could do. Someone in the club could sit down and ask what they need and then help show them what we could do to fill those needs.

good analysis