Beth Bentley - gone 137 weeks

Here we are - the first Sunday in the new year. And not a word of new information, or even old information, about Beth Bentley, who has been missing since May 23, 2010.

Bentley, 41, vanished from the Centralia, Ill. area, according to her friend and traveling companion, Jenn Wyatt, who told Woodstock Police that she had dropped Beth off near the Amtrak Station in Centralia about 6:00PM.

Because Beth was reported missing late on Monday evening, May 24, to the Woodstock Police, this department has claimed the lead investigatory role. The case was classified initially as a missing person case, and this has been changed. Supposedly, the Mount Vernon Police, Centralia Police, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois State Police have all had fingers in the investigation.

The investigation seems to have fallen off the radar screen at the Woodstock Police Department, because it is no longer reporting to the City Manager each month. It didn't have anything new ever to report, anyway.

A new investigation is needed. Knowing now that Beth was, according to Wyatt, last seen in Centralia on that Sunday at 6:00PM, a new investigation could start, say, back earlier in the year, January 1, 2010, might be a good date.

Then carefully trace Beth's comings and goings from the date forward. Create a matrix of all her co-workers, friends, acquaintances, bar buddies (start with the former Gus's Roadhouse (now Offsides and Liquid Blues on the Woodstock Square).

Dig into medical records and check out every aspect of her reported health conditions. There must be a way to get at medical records of a person who vanished 2½ years ago. Perhaps a subpoena would persuade doctors and hospitals to release them. If something shows up in the records, then follow the trail.

Analyze the cell phone records from Beth's phone and all phones connected to that phone, plus the phone records of those around her. Identify any suspicious relationships and dig into them.

The police have apparently never identified a suspect in her disappearance or even any "person-of-interest". Track down every rumor and see where it leads.

Re-interview every person she knew or might have known. Since 2½ years have passed after earlier interviews, compare the stories told now with the ones that were originally heard. Are there people who will refuse to talk? Are there people who have moved from Woodstock? Have there been marriages? Divorces? Reasons?

What happened to Beth's computer that was at her office? Did any expert ever get a chance to inspect it carefully? Was there really a theft of computer(s) or computer files in McHenry on the night she is believed to disappeared 300 miles south?

Who got into Beth's Facebook account and purged it of photographs, comments and replies? Did police get copies of all the pages from that account? I hear they were copied before all the information disappeared.