Sunday, December 11, 2011

Week 81 - Beth Bentley still missing

Within the past day or two the following message was posted on the Facebook page titled "Missing Beth Bentley."
"I keep seeing the other page and Gus questioning why there is no private investigator and why the family isn't stepping up to get one. Well, we have and it got nowhere. He was supposedly a big shot PI who drove cross-state to come here. I met with him gave every piece of info I could possibly dig out of my mind and he also met with others. He gave up because he claimed it was a "dead-end." I don't want my family or myself questioned about what we haven't done, we don't have to publicize every step we have taken to avoid harsh questioning by the ignorant."
Read that message. Read it several times to make your own interpretation of what was written. And of what may have really occurred.

How thick was the notebook of "every piece of info I could possibly dig out of my mind"? Was it a notebook with three 4" rings, tabs and pages and pages of contemporaneous notes since May 24, 2010? 

When a Private Investigator is contacted, he makes a preliminary decision whether to take on the case. Some of his considerations might include
* how long the person has been missing;
* the locations involved in any investigation or search;
* the extent to which family members can be expected to cooperate with full disclosure;
* the locations of other persons who might have information (i.e., will out-of-state travel (say, to California) be required to interview anyone?);
* the initial efforts made to find the missing person;
* the police department(s) involved;
* the reward(s) that were offered;

and

* the ability and willingness of the family to pay a PI's retainer, fees and expenses on a current basis.

If a PI came to Woodstock to meet with the author of that message, did he also meet with other members of the immediate family (husband, children, father)? Did he talk to former co-workers of Beth? Did he talk to Jenn Wyatt? Did he talk to Ryan Ridge and Nathan Ridge? Did he meet with any detective at the Woodstock Police Department? Did he talk to any of the bar friends from Gus's Roadhouse (now, Offsides) or collect the names of any acquaintances with whom rumors of Beth's various "activities" might have been confirmed or disspelled?

Were his services engaged or was it only a consultation? To me, for a PI to so quickly determine a "dead-end" to this case doesn't square with the facts and the obvious investigatory steps still readily available?

The only thing that matters - the ONLY thing - is finding Beth or finding out what happened to her.

Compare the missing-person efforts and press in other cases around the country with this case.

When someone says "There is nothing else to do", that is not right. There is always something else to do.

When someone says, "I can't think of anything else to do," that's probably true. He cannot think of anything else to do. That does not mean there is nothing else to do. It only means that he cannot think of anything else to do.

11 comments:

Danielle said...

Gus, did you ignore the fact that the above note was written by Beth's SON, JEREMY? You said the PI should have talked to the closest people, including children. Well... he did talk to her children. Jeremy.

Gus said...

Thanks for your comment, Danielle. No, I didn't "ignore" that the letter appeared under Jeremy's name on the FB Missing Beth Bentley page. Do you believe that he wrote it?

I didn't re-state all the rumors about Beth's life.

Do you suppose Jeremy gave the P.I. ALL the details, including names of people she partied with and about their tastes in matter of interest in this case?

Did the P.I. talk to Josh? Cooper? Scott? Co-workers at Scott's law office (before it moved)? Ron? Brett? Mr. Rogers? Jenn? Ryan? Nathan? Anyone in the "posse"?

Danielle said...

I do very much believe he wrote it, because it was on the page FROM HIM, underneath the one Missing Beth Bentley reposted.

I do suppose Jeremy gave the PI as many details as he possibly could. I realize you're anti-Scott, but I can assure you, Jeremy does not want his mother missing. I think you need to sit back and look at all your little notes, and realize that Jeremy and the rest of Beth's family are not the enemy, here.

Danielle said...

I trust what Jeremy says, over everyone else. And he's a big boy. He doesn't need other people to do his typing for him. He has been outspoken in the past, and I hope he continues to do so in the future, regardless of who likes it and who doesn't. After all, it's HIS mother that's missing here.

yagottabekidding said...

You have to remember that although the "author" of this blog says that the only thing that matters is finding Ms. Bentley he has his own agenda and motives.

Gus said...

tired, what are my agenda and motives for writing almost weekly about this woman, whom I didn't know, who has been missing for 81 weeks?

yagottabekidding said...

Another one where you get the readers to do your work for you? Come on!

Gus said...

Sorry, but nobody is doing any work "for me". Cooperation and common interest are the only factors at "work" here.

yagottabekidding said...

Sounds good. Sorry, not buying any of it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Buster- if yur hire'n, I'm available! I work cheap, but not sober. DOH!

Beth is probably on vacation with Jimmy Hoffa...

MChristineBroderick said...

"Compare the missing-person efforts and press in other cases around the country with this case."

-------

Night and day. Only recently in Georgia, where 7 yr old Jorelys Rivera was murdered, the authorities were very forthcoming with the public and engaged the public immediately. The case was solved pretty quickly. Beth's case came to my mind, if only the authorities had reached out to the public early on - or ever. I saw another case recently where Crime Stoppers offered a fairly sizable reward because a case had few leads - the substantial reward paid off and the public came forward with information that led to an arrest and the case was solved.

Karen Swift went missing in October. Her case got national attention. She was finally found, recently. Sadly, she'd been murdered and was found only a couple of miles from her home but she was found.

Of course, I pray for a better outcome for Beth and her family!

If Jeremy takes issue with you Gus, I wish he would be clear about what troubles him, in regards to you. If he were, I'd think/hope you would respect his feelings. From what I can tell, you're the only person keeping Beth's name 'out there'. It would be nice if you could not oppose each other. I can not imagine what 'tired' is implying - what possible motive you could have for writing about Ms. Bentley besides wanting her to be found. Perhaps my imagination is lacking, I don't know. I shouldn't be surprised however, people seem to have been at odds, at every turn, when this case is mentioned. It's mystifying!