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.

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 - gone 149 weeks

People from near and far are still contacting me about Beth Bentley. Most of them never knew Beth, just as I didn't.

But the missing mother, from Woodstock when we went missing at age 41 on May 23, 2010, has not been forgotten.

And those who have knowledge of what happened to her have not been forgotten. There are at least three with knowledge of the events of that fateful week-end. There may be others, because of Beth's wide range of acquaintances in McHenry County.

How many times did the police interview the three with whom Beth is thought to have spent the week-end in Mount Vernon, Illinois? According to one story, Beth and friend Jennifer Wyatt-Paplham drove from Woodstock to Mount Vernon on Thursday night, May 20, 2010. leaving Beth's car in Jennifer's garage and using a rental car. The car had to be rented by Beth, because Jennifer's California driver's license was expired.

It's 335 miles from the house that Jennifer was renting in Woodstock to the house in Mount Vernon that Ryan Ridge was rehabbing. Who drove? How far? Did both drive? Assuming that Beth and Jennifer left Woodstock between 9-10PM, they would have gotten to Mt. Vernon about 3-4AM.

When (if?) Jennifer dropped Beth off in Centralia, Ill. near the Amtrak Station on Sunday about 6:00PM, is there anyone on the planet who believes that Jennifer doesn't know what Beth's plans were? They were supposed to meet up in northern Illinois on Monday afternoon, so that Beth could retrieve her car from Jennifer's garage and get home by the time her husband, Scott, got home from work that Monday afternoon. At least, that was Jennifer's story on June 10.

But what is some riff had happened over the week-end? What if Beth left in a huff? But if she did, why didn't she take the rental car and leave Jennifer there?

The train story falls apart fast. According to Jennifer on June 10, Beth never intended to take the train to Chicago that Sunday. So, what did Beth intend to do? Hitchhike out of Centralia? Ride the rails? Walk off the edge of the Earth?

Did Beth die in the Mt. Vernon area that week-end? If she did die there, who was she with? Did those with her panic? Did they make her disappear?