Week 37 - where is Beth Bentley?

Thirty-seven weeks ago Beth Bentley disappeared, probably from the area of Mt. Vernon, Ill.

I say "probably", because only a very few people know the truth. There are no reliable reports of public sightings after Friday night, May 21, 2010, where she was seen in the Frosty Mug, a restaurant and bar in Mt. Vernon.

Beth was reportedly with certain people, previously named here and on Facebook pages. The woman with whom she traveled from Woodstock has told stories that have changed from time to time. Was she initially "covering" for Beth, or were her initial stories deliberately incomplete or vague?

Beth's husband has been conspicuously silent, for the most part. Why hasn't he been outraged at the lack of aggressive police investigation, both in Woodstock and in southern Illinois? Why hasn't he demanded more information to be made public?

After a fundraiser at a Woodstock bar raised about $4,000, he immediately went to Las Vegas. What happened to that money? Was it used to search for Beth? Those who set up the "fundraiser" gave the money to him to use as he wished. Was the trip really a search mission?

Has Beth been replaced in her home? In just eight months? How interesting that the profile on Facebook of the new resident is now gone. It was there on January 9th; then, POOF! Gone... Does it seem strange that a Susan Murphy Milano writes about a "love interest" in the Bentley resident after only about six months of Beth's missing-person status?

If Milano, a self-proclaimed "Violence Expert and Strategist, Author-Advocate-Media Consultant", can examine a few documents and decide that an "intimate partner homicide" has occurred, how is it that the Woodstock Police Department, after months of investigation, still considers Beth Bentley only a missing person.

The party crowd has clammed up. Certain friends of Beth were extremely vocal on the original Facebook site, and then comments and profiles were hidden or deleted. Then some of the administrators of the first Facebook site conducted a slash-and-burn raid and deleted hundreds of comments.

Did the Woodstock police have an opportunity in September to put the squeeze on an acquaintance of Beth who was in Mt. Vernon on that May week-end? Did they try?

They may not have had much of an opportunity. It probably doesn't work like we see on TV or at the movies. Any person familiar with "the system" would know to clam up fast and ask for a lawyer, and that usually puts a stop to questioning.

Friend of Beth Bentley arrested in Woodstock

On September 12, 2010, Woodstock Police charged Nathan Ridge, 20, with under-age consumption of alcohol and aggravated assault on a police officer (or fireman). Nathan Ridge is linked to the Beth Bentley case because his brother and he reportedly had dinner and beverages with Beth Bentley and Jennifer Wyatt at the Frosty Mug in Mount Vernon, Ill. on Friday, May 21, 2010. A waitress has told others that she refused to serve alcohol to Nathan, because he could not show ID to indicate being of legal age to purchase or consume alcohol.

The information about Nathan's arrest appeared in a comment on Susan Murphy Milano's blog, dated January 28.

On October 19, 2010, Ridge was convicted of the Woodstock assault charge, and his total fines, fees and costs amounted to $454.00. He was granted conditional discharge with special conditions and, if he keeps his nose clean for six months, this conviction goes away.

He must also submit a written essay to the court.

Ridge was represented by Ray Flavin, a Woodstock attorney.

Ridge has other offenses in the McHenry County court system:

1/7/2006 Illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor (age 16)
3/3/2007 Possession/sale/use of fireworks. $275.00 fine, fees, costs. A second charge, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor (age 17) was nolle prossed.
10/1/2007 Truancy. $130 fine, fees, costs (age 17). A second truancy charge was nolle prossed.
10/22/2007 Battery. $205 fine, fees, costs; one-year supervision. (age 17) An action to expunge the record was begun on May 5, 2010, but then terminated.