Whose Remains Were Found?

When the Illinois State Police announced the finding of burned remains on December 4, 2017 in Jefferson County (Ill.), the spotlight was once again on Beth Bentley, who vanished in May 2010.

Read a current article here. Radio station 95.3 operates out of Centralia, Ill.

Anyone who believes that Beth ever was near the Amtrak station in Centralia probably also believes in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. I have no idea why the media continue to even mention that red herring.

It seemed strange to me that the State Police would mention Beth Bentley in the article about the found burned remains, unless they felt the possibility of a very strong connection between Beth and that site.

It is certainly premature to consider charging anyone, since the remains have not yet been identified.

Are all the "likely suspects" still in sight? A short list of people who probably know what happened to Beth might include ten familiar names. Who is keeping an eye on them? Has anyone left town or dropped out-of-sight?

How did the State Police "happen" to find the burned remains? Who told them where to look? I hope that person's Will is up-to-date. I would encourage that person to make a full video recording of everything known about Beth's life and disappearance "just in case". Then put it in a safe place, such as the office of an honest attorney who can be trusted to turn it over to police, should an "accident" occur.

Beth Bentley - Missing 396 Weeks (7 yrs. 7 mos.)

There was a lot of activity in Judge Chmiel's courtroom on Thursday, December 21, in the case related to the probate of Beth Bentley's Estate. Did anyone (besides lawyers) go?

The probate case is No. 17PR000295. You can follow it at www.mchenrycircuitclerk.org

The entries in court records for December 21, 2017 are:

ORDER-IMPOUND
LETTERS OF OFFICE
ORDER-LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE APPOI
BOND-OATH
ORDER
ORDER-HEIRSHIP
ORDER
MEMORANDUM-OPINION AND ORDER
AFFIDAVIT
NOTICE
OATH
AFFIDAVIT-HEIRSHIP

These documents are all public record. Anyone can go to the McHenry County Courthouse, 3rd floor, and read them on the Court's computer system, without charge. If you want to buy printed copies, the cost will be $2.00/page.

On August 28, 2017, there was filed a PETITION-TESTAMENTARY.

Somewhere in the process Beth is going to have to be declared dead. She hasn't been seen or heard of for more than seven years. It seems to me that a Petition should have been filed for a Presumption of Death Order before the Estate was ever opened for probate, but the court must have accepted it among other papers.

If she had a Will, the Will can be read at the courthouse. I thought I had read a newspaper article that she did not have a Will. If not, then she will have died intestate. But since the August 28 filing reads TESTAMENTARY, I wonder whether there was a Will. If there was a Will, it can be read as filed.

The name of her husband at the time of her disappearance, Scott Bentley, appears in online court records as Independent Administrator of her Estate.

The lawyer for the estate is Guy Youman, of Rupp & Youman.

The Illinois Attorney General is listed as ATTORNEY - INTEREST OF. Is this normal in cases of Petitions for Presumption of Death? Or is the State interested for another reason?

The ORDER-IMPOUND may be related to any records from law enforcement agencies that police want withheld from the public view while they continue their investigation.

On December 1 Judge Chmiel issued a HIPAA QUALIFIED PROTECTIVE ORDER. There were rumors in 2010 of a health condition of Beth that, if true, would have interested police investigators. Could this Order impede a police investigation that could proceed after a Presumption of Death Petition is granted?

The Illinois State Police have assigned FOIA Response No. 17-2930 to my FOIA request, filed December 18, for the location at which suspected human remains were found in Jefferson County by the Illinois State Police. Several people from southern Illinois have told me where police activity was on December 4, but I'm waiting for official response.

The address of the property visited by Jenn Wyatt and Beth Bentley on that May 21-23, 2010 week-end is 17974 N. Miller Lake Road. It's a Mt. Vernon (Ill.) mailing address, but the house is in Jefferson County, outside the city limits of Mt. Vernon. According to Zillow.com the house was on and off the market. The listing and sales activity from Zillow.com shows

December 2010

6/13/10 Listed by Century 21 $126,000
7/31/10 Listing removed
8/5/14 Listed by owner $156,900
5/28/15 Listed by Century 21 $156,900
6/26/15 Pending sale $156,900
8/7/15 Back on market $156.900
9/9/15 Price change (-5.4%)
1/19/16 Pending sale $148,500
3/4/16 Sold $142,500

The Zillow information may or may not be complete.

Court Should Delay Issuing Death Certificate

A Petition for Presumption of Death in the disappearance of Benedetta (Beth) Bentley has apparently been filed in the McHenry County Circuit Court. It seems to be part of the probate filing on August 28 in Case No. 17PR000295.

Burned human remains were found on December 4th in Jefferson County, Ill. by the Illinois State Police, and the Woodstock (Ill.) Police Department has referred to the Beth Bentley in a press release about the ISP finding. In my opinion, it is unusual for police to refer to any particular missing-person case after remains are found, in the absence of positive identification.

The location at which the burned human remains were found may have something to do with the decision at the Woodstock Police Department to report a possible connection to Beth Bentley, who reportedly failed to return to Woodstock on May 24, 2010 from a week-end jaunt to the Mt. Vernon, Ill. area.

It may be possible to determine whose remains have been found through DNA testing.

The next court date for the probate filing is this Thursday, December 21, 9:30AM, in Judge Chmiel's courtroom, Room 202, 2200 N. Seminary, Woodstock. The hearing should be open to the public. Hopefully, reporters will be there.

If Judge Chmiel has not already granted the Petition, he should delay it until the remains have been identified. If they turn out to be those of Beth Bentley, then an investigation into the cause and manner of her death must be intensified.

Finding these remains seven-and-one-half years after her disappearance cannot be the result of coincidence. The State Police didn't just "happen" upon them. Once the location is disclosed, one big question may be "Why wasn't that location searched then?"

If the remains were found on December 4 as a result of new information or a tip, the source of the information should be protected. It has been my opinion for more than seven years that a number of people know exactly what happened to Beth. If one of them is talking now, the others won't be happy about it.

Remains - where found?

The press release that appeared on the Facebook page of the Illinois State Police (ISP) District 13/DuQuoin about the burned human remains found in Jefferson County, Ill. and published later the same day in the Northwest Herald doesn't reveal where the remains were found. It says only "rural Jefferson County (Ill.)".

It seems to me that the location could be disclosed without harming any investigation. And so today I emailed a Freedom of Information Act Request to the Illinois State Police headquarters in Springfield. Why there?

Back in about 2013, when I tried to get information from the DuQuoin district office, I was informed that all FOIA requests must go to Springfield headquarters.

Filing the request starts the clock ticking. ISP will have a certain number of days to reply. And reply it must, even if only to deny the request. Then a Request for Review can be submitted to the Illinois Secretary of State's Public Access Counselor. All this takes time; perhaps in the meantime the Woodstock Police or the ISP will disclose the location.

As I wrote recently, it is very unusual for police to associate the finding of human remains with any missing person case, until a positive identification has been made. There must be solid grounds for doing so in this case.

Were the remains found on the property outside of Mt. Vernon owned by a Woodstock resident and in the possession of his sons? At this property?

Or were the remains found nearby, in the vicinity of Miller Lake?

And what happened to the $5,000 Reward that was offered in June 2010?

Was any of it ever paid out? Where is the $5,000 today?

If it's Beth ...

If the Illinois State Police are able to confirm that the remains found on a rural property in Jefferson County, Ill. are those of Beth Bentley, it certainly will create an interesting situation for Jennifer Wyatt-Paplham.

As you may recall, Jenn told police that she drove Beth to the Centralia (Ill.) Amtrak Station on Sunday afternoon, May 23, 2010. Police charged Jenn with Obstruction of Justice after they believed she had spoken with Beth on May 25. Those charged were dropped.

While speculation is rampant that the remains could be Beth's, one needs to remember that the police usually do not associate the finding of remains with any particular missing person, until a positive identification has been made.

How long can it take to identify the remains?

Hopefully, the Illinois State Police will soon release the rural location. That will go a long way in raising or lowering hopes.

Beth Bentley Probate filed in August

When I posted yesterday about the news release pertaining to suspected human remains in Jefferson County, Illinois, which includes the Mount Vernon area, I made an assumption that the Illinois State Police had made the news release. I first found it on the Facebook page for Illinois State Police District 13 (DuQuoin), after a southern Illinois follower of this blog emailed me.

Upon reflection I paid closer attention to the Woodstock, Ill. source line, and then the Northwest Herald published the release at 4:37PM yesterday.

The remains were found, according to the article, on December 4 at an as-yet undisclosed rural location in Jefferson County. At this time it is unknown to me whether the remains were found on the property visited by Beth and Jenn Wyatt during their get-away week-end in May 2010.

In the past, when remains have been found in southern Illinois, law enforcement officials were careful not to associate them with a name of a missing person until a positive identification could be made.

The news release repeats the "Amtrak story" that many quickly felt was "fake news". I think there is only one person on the planet who thinks that Beth went to Centralia to take a train to Chicago, and I wonder whether she really believes it. That story would be a good subject for a polygraph.

Several years ago pieces of a burned brassiere were found in a burn pit by a downstate woman who was searching for Beth. I never learned at the time if the pieces were turned over to law enforcement authorities.

On August 22 I wrote a long article on this blog about Beth and mentioned the seven-year statute for filing a Presumption of Death Petition. At that time there was no record in the McHenry County Circuit Court online records of any legal activity beyond attempts in 2012 and 2014 by two apparent creditors to collect monies owed by Beth.

On August 28 a court filing (17PR000295) was made to open Beth's Probate Estate. Reading of this filing yesterday caused me to wonder when, or if, a Petition for a Presumption of Death Determination had been filed, heard or granted. You can follow this case on www.mchenrycircuitclerk.org

On October 24 a Motion of some type was filed in this case.

On December 1 a Motion was filed and granted for a Protective Order. I've been watching court cases for years and this is the first time I've seen a Protective Order in an estate matter.

On December 5 a Hearing was conducted by Judge Chmiel on a Petition pertaining to Administration of the Estate. Could this be the Presumption of Death Petition?

On December 21 at 9:30AM Judge Chmiel will hear more on a/the Petition pertaining to Administration.

On October 16, 2018 Judge Chmiel will conduct a conference in the Estate matter. This is probably scheduled as a routine court date six weeks before a normal Estate closing hearing.

If there is a local reader who would like to go to the courthouse and read the October 24, December 1 and December 5 Motions, I would appreciate your assistance. If I were in McHenry County, I would go. I don't need copies of the Motions, unless they warrant close inspection. They are available online through a paid-for subscription that attorneys maintain.

Please contact me for authorization regarding a purchase of any court documents. Confidentiality assured. Email gus@woodstockadvocate.com or call 847/971-7083.

Possible news - Beth Bentley Disappearance in 2010

The following new item appears on the Facebook page for the Illinois State Police District 13 DuQuoin. It seems to me that they must have a pretty strong feeling that the remains could be Beth's, or they would not mention a name at all. Click on the link to go directly to the original ISP Facebook posting. If you are not reading this on December 14, scroll to the December 14th postings.

There are many articles on this blog about Beth, who went missing in May 2010. Rather than re-hash them at this time, you can search on this blog for "Bentley" and read them, if you wish to do so.

It has been my contention for seven years that there are more than a few people in Woodstock and in McHenry County who know exactly what happened to Beth.

Illinois State Police District 13 DuQuoin

27 mins · 

ILLINOIS STATE POLICE SEEKING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON 2010 MISSING PERSON CASE

Woodstock, Illinois – The Illinois State Police (ISP) and Woodstock Police Department (WPD) are seeking additional information related to the 2010 disappearance of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley.
On May 23, 2010, a friend reportedly dropped off Beth Bentley at an Amtrak Station in Centralia, Illinois. Bentley was reportedly taking a train back to her home located in Woodstock, Illinois. Bentley did not return home and was reported missing. Information was developed which led the ISP to a rural location in Jefferson County. On December 4, 2017, suspected human remains were recovered at the location. Investigators are working to positively identify the remains which were badly burned. The ISP and Woodstock PD are actively investigating Bentley’s disappearance.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Benedetta “Beth” Bentley is encouraged to contact the ISP at 618-542-2171 or the WPD at 815-338-2131.

This is still an open and ongoing investigation. No further information is available

Jefferson County is where the house was that Beth and Jenn Wyatt supposedly spent the week-end with two brothers with Woodstock family relatives. This may turn out to be another false alarm. Expect more information on the ISP page.

More comments on Beth Bentley Disappearance

If you are following the saga of Beth Bentley, please visit this earlier posting on March 20, 2017 and the comments being added to this article.

https://woodstockadvocate.com/2017/03/what-really-happened-to-beth-bentley.html

Beth Bentley - 7+ years

A reader just submitted this comment to a March article here about Beth Bentley, who vanished under suspicious circumstances in May, 2010.

Fourever has left a new comment on your post "What reatully happened to Beth Bentley?": 

I wrote this in 2012, but I don't think anyone read/seen it. : Hi, I am just hearing about this now, so I haven't been following the news for this whole time. First, let me say I am very sorry, and second, I hope that something is found out VERY soon! enough is enough! I do have a question about something that I read in one of the articles (been reading them for the last few hours). OK, so it was said that Jenn and Beth took a rental car to Mt. Vernon. If that is true, there would be records of it. It would HAVE to have been reserved using a drivers liscense and I think a credit card. Now I do believe, the milage is documented when the cars are released and when they are returned. I do believe that it is even if you have unlimited milage. So with that being said, you would be able to see if the milage added up with a round trip and other driving (like out to dinner/pub and the train station) from the time she picked up the car til she dropped it back off. Also, did I read correctly that just a few months after she has been missing, the husband threw away her stuff?? WHY? I can maybe understand putting some things away (although, I have a hard time with that too). There are families that keep things as they were for years, look at the true story about the girl that was taken from her family for (I think) 18 years. I have so many questions, why doesn't her close friend Jenn? and what about the 2 guys they spent the weekend with... why aren't they wondering where she is... nevermind her husband... OK, so he is hurt that she lied about going to Wisc., but she is gone?? why don't you move heaven and earth to find her? you have a child together!! What about that poor boy! he doesn't deserve answers? Sorry...didn't mean to get going on a rant. Like I said, I have many questions. And again, I apologize for not knowing about this sooner. Oh, and WHY would she be in California? Why would she leave EVERYTHING behind and never look back? AND, who is this guy she was taking the train to go see? why isn't there ANY info on him? she would have had to be talking to him one way or another, texting, facebook, emails... dating sites...I mean come on...we are in the technology age...you can't get away with anything anymore. and her husband is a lawyer and has lawyer friends...they can certainly find out a lot of things their 'own' way. I know I am not the first person to come up with these questions, I would just like to know the answers to them. Are they out there? the answers? I don't know if you reply to these messages, but I hope you do. 
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. 

All are good questions and, so far, all are unanswered. Did the Woodstock Police carefully investigate the rental car? Were they able to retrieve access to it quickly enough after it was returned? Probably not. I suspect Beth's disappearance wasn't classified as a possible crime until some time later, if ever. Why would Beth park her car in Jenn's garage and then rent a car for the roadtrip. Either they planned to enjoy a newer car or wanted to hide the actual mileage for the week-end.

Beth had a driver's license. Jenn did not have a valid license, so the car must have been rented in Beth's name.

Seven years have passed. Is a court being petitioned to have her declared dead? This would allow filing for Social Security benefits for their son and a claim for life insurance proceeds. Does such a petition have to be filed in the court of last residence (McHenry County) or can it be filed in any Illinois county?

So many questions. So few answers.

Beth Bentley - where is she?

Beth Bentley, Woodstock mother, wife, employee, friend of many, disappeared in May 2010 at age 41 during a trip from Woodstock to Mt. Vernon, Ill., which is 330 miles south of Woodstock.

Her disappearance has been hashed and re-hashed here. Previous articles can be found on this site by searching for "Bentley".

Just this week an out-of-state reader wrote to me and sent me a possible lead. I've been thinking of Beth over the past few months, as May 2017 came and went. The significance of May 2017 is that it is the seven-year anniversary of her disappearance.

In Illinois there is a Presumption of Death law, under which a petition can be filed in court to have a person declared dead. If such a petition were filed and granted, this would open the way to file for death benefits under any life insurance policies (individual or group) and Social Security benefits for any minor children. Seven years' worth of Social Security ought to be worth somewhere around $25,000.

There were rumors in 2010 of a large life insurance policy. Having been in the life insurance business, I knew there were companies that would issue unreasonably (in my opinion) large policies on wives and mothers. Such insurance was popularly called Wife Insurance. It wasn't unusual to see amounts of $50,-100,000, which would cover child care and household duties for a minor child, while a surviving husband worked. But some companies would routinely approve policies for $500,000-$1,000,000. The companies I was associated with (Penn Mutual, Connecticut General, Northwestern Mutual Life) would not have considered such face amounts for two seconds.

There are many suspicious factors surrounding Beth's disappearance. Among them are

1. Why was Beth's car parked in Jenn's garage when they left for Mt. Vernon?
2. Why did they rent a car for the week-end?
3. Did investigators ever check Illinois Tollway cameras to determine who was in the car, if and when it passed through toll plazas?
4. What time did they get to Mt. Vernon?
5. Did Beth really spend Saturday on a boat on Rend Lake?
6. Did Jenn really drive Beth to Centralia and leave her at the Amtrak station? Without learning from her "best friend" what Beth was up to?
7. What really happened to the Pogue's Pizza order that was reportedly ordered from Beth's phone at about the time she was to be dropped off in Centralia?
8. Why would Beth leave the rental car with Jenn, who did not have a valid driver's license?
9. What did Beth do earlier that month on Mother's Day? Was she really in St. Louis to meet a "mystery" man? Again, why wouldn't Beth share that information with her "best friend", Jenn?
10. Why wasn't the Woodstock Police Dept. notified earlier than 10:00PM on Monday?

What was the real coordination between Woodstock PD, Mt. Vernon PD and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Dept.? Did the Zone 7 detectives at the Illinois State Police ever really get involved, as the former chief of the Woodstock PD said they would be? (N.B., how interesting to search this morning for the ISP Investigations Division for Jefferson County (Ill.) and find that one county missing from the dropdown menu on the ISP homepage?)

Three-hundred thirty miles separate Woodstock and Mt. Vernon, which made it difficult location-wise and expensive for the Woodstock PD to pursue this case. The house that Beth and Jenn visited was in Jefferson County, not in the City of Mt. Vernon, but Beth and friends supposedly had dinner on Friday night at the Frosty Mug, which would have been the only reason for Mt. Vernon P.D. to be involved.

There was a fundraiser in Woodstock for search funds for Beth. Apparently, those funds were expended on a "search" in Las Vegas shortly after the fundraiser.

Many women in southern Illinois devoted considerable time to searching for Beth in 2010 and in 2011.

Do I have a guess as to what happened? And to who knows what happened? You bet.

On Friday I'm meeting with a retired detective in southern Illinois, and I'm hoping for some fresh ideas as to how to help an interested public bring closure to this case.

What really happened to Beth Bentley?

What happened on May 20, 2010?

Woodstock resident Beth Bentley, then 41, left Woodstock for the last time. Beth and her friend, Jen Wyatt, drove to Mt. Vernon, Ill. And she never returned.

Speculation continues on what happened to Beth. Somebody knows. More than "one" somebody quite likely know. Some of those "sombodies" might still be right in Woodstock or in McHenry County. The list could number 12 or more.

So far, nobody has cracked. But they will. One of these days...

A new investigative effort is occurring and can be following on Vanished in Illinois. Visit its website at www.VanishedinIllinois.com

There are many articles on this blog about Beth Bentley. I wrote weekly about this case for an extended period of time. She should not be forgotten. It is just not okay for this case to linger in the cold-case files at the Woodstock Police Department.

Woodstock PD claimed leadership in this case after her missing person report was filed with it by family members on Monday, May 24, 2010. But it probably should not have the lead police agency , because Beth was reportedly (although not necessarily reliably) last seen in Centralia, Ill. The house that was the destination that Thursday night was in Jefferson County, Ill., outside the limits of Mt. Vernon. Since Woodstock is 300+ miles from Mt. Vernon, it would quickly become too time-consuming and too expensive for Woodstock to conduct a thorough investigation.

Why is this time, now, important in this case? Beth's disappearance will hit the seven-year mark this year, and this is often when a missing person can be presumed dead. There were rumors in 2010 of a large insurance policy insuring Beth. Once she is legally dead, then a claim can be made on that policy.

Whether an insurance company will pay to a beneficiary could be up in the air. If an insurance company believes that it should not, then it might, instead, pay the policy proceeds to the State of Illinois (to demonstrate its willingness to meet the terms of the policy) and then throw the responsibility onto the State of Illinois to determine whether the named beneficiary is entitled to the proceeds.

Such a contest might then become public record, whereas direct payment by an insurance is usually confidential. Public record would then reveal whether or not there was a large policy, who bought it, who sold it and, importantly, when it was issued.

All of this leads to more questions.

Beth Bentley - gone 181 weeks

Beth Bentley, 41 in 2010 when she went missing, vanished on the next-to-last week-end in May, 2010.

Speculation continues to center on the location from which she disappeared and on the circumstances. Supposedly, she went to Mount Vernon, Ill. for the week-end. How carefully were her travels investigated?

The Woodstock (Ill.) Police Department (WPD) claimed the lead investigatory responsibility, because her disappearance was reported to WPD late on Monday, May 24, 2010. The case is classified as a Missing Person case. Beth is listed as Endangered Missing, although WPD has never explained what "Endangered" meant, specifically, in this case.

Had she been threatened?
Was she worried about disappearing?
Was she under any suspicion?
Was anything missing?
Was she in need of any medication?
Did she have a health condition that required attention or treatment?

WPD was working with police departments in Mount Vernon and Centralia, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois State Police.

For many months WPD reported the case status to the Woodstock City Manager and, through that office, to the Woodstock City Council. That stopped quite a while back, even though the monthly "report" was boiler-plate that seldom changed from one month to the next.

Basically, it feels to a lot of people that nobody is doing anything at this time to find Beth.

Beth's name popped up on McHenry County Blog recently, when a local attorney mentioned her in his comment posted to the article about him. That article and comment have since been removed.

Beth Bentley - 161 weeks gone

Beth Bentley vanished 161 weeks ago, probably on Sunday, May 23, 2010.

The Woodstock (Ill.) Police Department (WPD) claims to be the lead investigatory police department in this case, which it classified first as a missing-person case and subsequently escalated slightly, when it named Bentley as an Endangered Missing Person.

WPD never explained the "endangered" classification. "Endangered" is commonly used in cases where there is a known physical or mental health issue, a need for prescribed medication(s), threats of harm, etc.

WPD never updated the flier on its website to remove questionable details or the dissolution of the Woodstock Area Crime Stoppers organization that had offered one-half of the $2,000 reward.

The local (Woodstock) Crime Stoppers group was involuntarily dissolved on June 14, 2013, for failure to file its last Annual Report or pay the miniscule filing fee ($10.00?). The last Board let the 25-year-old organization go down the drain without a struggle to keep it going. Offers to re-energize it got no response. Obviously, "younger blood" was needed for it to continue, but the Board did little or nothing to perpetuate the group. Remaining funds were transferred to the Crime Stoppers of McHenry County, and presumably the $1,000 reward was abandoned.

Whether or not the Crime Stoppers of McHenry County still offers its own $1,000 reward in this case is anyone's guess. It is virtually impossible to contact the group or get a response from them. In any event, no one is likely to step forward with information about Bentley for the petty sum of $1,000. No private or family reward has been mentioned for almost three years.

Who should care if a married woman goes missing from a community? If family and friends don't "raise hell", should anyone else? I've had several women tell me that they hope they never go missing from Woodstock.

What does that tell you about whether Woodstock is a caring community?

Beth Bentley - Week 119

Beth Bentley vanished 119 weeks ago. Was it on May 23, 2010? Or May 22? Or May 21? Or May 20?

One person knows. Two-three know. Maybe half a dozen know.

Is there any public clamor for finding her?

When was the last time a news article about Beth appeared in the Northwest Herald or the Daily Herald? Or the Chicago Tribune or Sun-Times? Has there ever been an article in The Woodstock Independent?

So far as I know, there has never been a real search. Of course, you need some type of clue for a location to begin a search. Maybe one good place would have been in Mount Vernon, Ill. Like, maybe, immediately after she vanished. At the house where she was thought to have spent the week-end with her traveling buddy. And the two brothers.

If Beth was believed to have had dinner on Friday night, May 21, 2010, with Jenn Wyatt and Ryan and Nathan Ridge at the Frosty Mug in Mount Vernon, why weren't all Mug employees immediately interviewed by officials then? One waitress reportedly waited on them and remembered them. Later, an attempt was made to discredit that waitress on a Facebook page, asserting that Beth was in the Frosty Mug two weeks earlier. But that was Mothers Day week-end 2010, when some said she was in St. Louis with the Mystery Man at a gorgeous hotel.

The Woodstock Police Department has been characteristically silent. I can understand police silence in a criminal case. But this is a Missing Person case. In missing person cases don't police solicit the help of a community, in order to develop leads?

Why was Beth identified by police as an Endangered Missing Person? Did she have a medical condition that might have become apparent to many as time passed? Would she have needed treatment for that medical condition? Was she at any risk of personal harm because of that condition? Did she have a doctor who knew of that condition? Is there proof of that condition? Would that condition have expired or become moot after a period of time, on its own?

If you begin asking around the Woodstock community about Beth, will people now say "Beth who?" and "Oh, is she still missing?"

Yes, she is still missing. For two years and two months!

Wyatt case now in online record

The charges filed Monday against Jennifer Wyatt in the Beth Bentley missing person case are now in the public record.

Case No. 12CF000250 shows a filing date of March 20, 2012, and also shows a Charge Date of May 25, 2010, which is two days after Wyatt reportedly last saw Bentley, when Wyatt says she drove Bentley from Mount Vernon, Ill. to Centralia, Ill. and dropped her off near the Amtrak station.

The print edition of the Northwest Herald today reports that Wyatt was interviewed and arrested on Monday by the Woodstock Police Department. While it doesn't say so, Wyatt would have been transferred to the McHenry County Jail, presumably on Monday. The paper states that Wyatt was released Tuesday (yesterday) after posting 10% of a $7,000 bond.

The paper also states that Wyatt had worked in the law office of Scott Bentley, "where Beth Bentley also worked. But Wyatt was let go when the office moved to a different location in McHenry."

What the article doesn't state is that, in spite of early doubts in the minds of many about Wyatt's "Centralia story", Scott Bentley continued to employ Wyatt for months after Beth's disappearance. According to sources, only one employee moved with Scott with his new office on Bull Valley Road from Route 31.

Wyatt's compensation arrangement with the Bentley law firm (whether an employee or contract associate or if paid at all) was the subject of a child support action, also in McHenry County Circuit Court. That case, No. 10FA000340, dragged on and on after October, 2010. Although the entry for the last court date of January 20, 2012, shows a status check for a December hearing on a motion, the "result" shows an allowance of a "foreign judgment". That may be the substantial amount child support that Wyatt's ex-husband Kenneth Paplham was seeking.

The new criminal charges have a court date scheduled for today at 9:00AM, in Courtroom 302, that of Judge Condon. A public defender was appointed for Wyatt yesterday in Rights Court in the jail.