Crown College student missing

[HereticHick]

33 minutes ago, Carm_88 said:

Oh no.  That's heartbreaking. 

Yeah--but how can the cinder block on the gas pedal thing be accidental?

[AstroNot]

^ I was wondering the same thing... 

Hope he finds peace wherever his soul is, now. 

[Carm_88]

6 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Yeah--but how can the cinder block on the gas pedal thing be accidental?

I was wondering that as well. I don't get that at all. 

[EowynW]

The family is saying in no way was this accidental and news saying it was is to be ignored. They say it was definitely foul play, but law enforcement is saying not to talk yet.  Will be interested in seeing this unfold. 

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

20 minutes ago, EowynW said:

The family is saying in no way was this accidental and news saying it was is to be ignored. They say it was definitely foul play, but law enforcement is saying not to talk yet.  Will be interested in seeing this unfold. 

Yeah, some lady who sounds like an extended family member commented on the Bates’ post. She said they are not allowed to discuss details except to say it was not accidental, and that if everyone could see what the family saw, they’d understand. 

[Dandruff]

5 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Yup: http://abc3340.com/news/local/body-discovered-in-lake-identified-as-missing-bible-college-student-from-trussville

From the article:

Quote

Sexton said funeral arrangements have not been made but the school plans to provide transportation for students willing to attend Smith's funeral.

(Bolding mine)  "Willing" seems an odd word to use here, given the circumstances.  Wonder why they didn't say "wanting".

I agree with the posters above who think that the cinder block on the gas pedal seems very incongruent with an accidental drowning.

[lilith]

Also, isn’t it still snowing in Tennessee? Seems very unlikely that he would go swimming, or even for a walk by the water in the snow.

[EmiGirl]

6 minutes ago, lilith said:

Also, isn’t it still snowing in Tennessee? Seems very unlikely that he would go swimming, or even for a walk by the water in the snow.

Cold, yes, snowing not so much. Not swimmi ng weather, but there are a few people in my facebook doing the polar bear challenge in lakes.

[Dandruff]

I've had another thought about this situation, though it's a stretch.  Blake worked at a weed company (which I assume means lawn care).  Could he have been exposed to some chemical that caused a neurotoxic reaction, leading to erratic behavior?

[ChickenettiLuvr]

This just smells of 50 shades of ... weird ...

While I can't speak personally to the competence of the local good folks of law enforcement and coroner's office, I'd like for the following crack teams to be involved on this case:

Law & Order, Rizzoli & Isles, CSI, and Dr. G Medical Examiner* & staff, with a consultation by Dr. House.

(*Dr. G is the ME who handled the Casey Anthony case years ago.)

My heart breaks for his family. 

[Ms Lucy Fur]

9 hours ago, Dandruff said:

From the article:

(Bolding mine)  "Willing" seems an odd word to use here, given the circumstances.  Wonder why they didn't say "wanting".

I agree with the posters above who think that the cinder block on the gas pedal seems very incongruent with an accidental drowning.

Willing. I hope that the school isn’t saying that there’s something either about Blake’s life or death that would cause them to boycott his funeral. I’m hoping the use of willing was just a mistake. 

[HereticHick]

12 hours ago, Dandruff said:

From the article:

(Bolding mine)  "Willing" seems an odd word to use here, given the circumstances.  Wonder why they didn't say "wanting".

I agree with the posters above who think that the cinder block on the gas pedal seems very incongruent with an accidental drowning.

I also noticed the word "willing." I hope it was just a mistake.

I'm haunted by the fact that his gold chain was found in the car, and his cell phone. I'd bet that chain had a cross on it, and removing of a cross chain feels sadly symbolic to me.

His family said he liked to hike and take outdoor photos, so leaving the cell phone in the car (and we know it wasn't because it had a dead battery, or the tracker app wouldn't have worked) feels extremely odd.

[Coconutwater]

Could this be a suicide? Does anyone else get that vibe? The photo so he can be found, leaving the car running with the brick, all belongings in the car so they can track it? Maybe he couldn’t take the restrictions of crown or maybe he couldn’t bear to let down his family if he found another passion? 

Its just so odd and sad. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

5 hours ago, Ms Lucy Fur said:

Willing. I hope that the school isn’t saying that there’s something either about Blake’s life or death that would cause them to boycott his funeral. 

I very much doubt that. More likely that the president of Clown College just isn't that well-spoken.

[Dandruff]

3 hours ago, Coconutwater said:

Could this be a suicide? Does anyone else get that vibe? The photo so he can be found, leaving the car running with the brick, all belongings in the car so they can track it? Maybe he couldn’t take the restrictions of crown or maybe he couldn’t bear to let down his family if he found another passion? 

Its just so odd and sad. 

It seems irresponsible of him to brick the pedal, causing damage to the car and whatever it might hit, yet he was responsible enough to show up for work that morning.  He could have left the car running somewhere it could be found, without the brick.  He could have sent his parents a message before entering the water, leaving the phone at the water's edge.  He could have skipped taking the photo if he wasn't planning to remain alive to look at it.  As I posted above, I wonder whether he might have become impaired that day.  Or maybe something else happened that day to really tip him over (but what?).  Or there was some sort of foul play.

(Thinking...)  Could he have left his keys in the car at the park, someone drove off with it for a joyride or whatever, then bricked the pedal?  Blake discovers the car gone with his phone and other personal belongings in it, becomes terribly distraught (rational response), walks around trying to look for the car or someone who could help him call the police, no luck, then goes to the water in despair (irrational response)?  Seems like quite a stretch but the whole thing doesn't seem to make sense, given the available data.

[EyesOpen]

If it were Suicide and I have no idea that it is or isn’t... that might lead to the ‘willing’ statement. Suicide is a big sin I believe. Also the family would likely always state they believe it was foul play even if indicators lead law enforcement to say suicide. Again not speculating either way.  Very very scary and sad.

[NakedKnees]

Without speculating too much, I'm inclined to think that it was suicide and both Blake and his community went/are going through lengths to hide that. My condolences to his family, regardless.

[CrazyMumma]

if it was strongly considered to be a sin to suicide.... he may have done his best to make it look like foul play rather then suicide.. all in all a very sad situation.  I find it weird that the parents had a tracker on him.  To me that seems really controlling.  My Mum is controlling and never pulled that on any of us.  Maybe  in 15 yrs when my daughter is an adult maybe I'd have a tracker as a one off if I was worried about a situation... but even then I can't imagine doing that... my SIL has a tracker on her husband... I could never and would never track my husband.  To me that just seems really weird.

[HereticHick]

5 minutes ago, NakedKnees said:

Without speculating too much, I'm inclined to think that it was suicide and both Blake and his community went/are going through lengths to hide that. My condolences to his family, regardless.

Agreed. 

Here's a random thought from me:  He tried to commit suicide by bricking the accelerator and riding the car into the lake. He fails to get the car into the lake--it hits the house instead. In a panic, he leaves the car and runs to the lake.

[anjulibai]

8 minutes ago, NakedKnees said:

Without speculating too much, I'm inclined to think that it was suicide and both Blake and his community went/are going through lengths to hide that. My condolences to his family, regardless.

That's my thought, too. I feel very sorry for his family. 

[CrazyMumma]

a phone is a valuable which I think that had there been foul play... would have been taken. Thoughts??

[EmiGirl]

The people  on my friends list who have connections to the school say the family is vehemently denying it was suicide. 

@CrazyMumma I would think so. If you know how I'm sure it's not hard to wipe one clean and resell it.

[Fascinated]

I don’t want to speculate either, at least not out loud. The ‘willing’, if it isn’t a mistake, is concerning. 

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

46 minutes ago, CrazyMumma said:

if it was strongly considered to be a sin to suicide.... he may have done his best to make it look like foul play rather then suicide.. all in all a very sad situation.  I find it weird that the parents had a tracker on him.  To me that seems really controlling.  My Mum is controlling and never pulled that on any of us.  Maybe  in 15 yrs when my daughter is an adult maybe I'd have a tracker as a one off if I was worried about a situation... but even then I can't imagine doing that... my SIL has a tracker on her husband... I could never and would never track my husband.  To me that just seems really weird.

Meh. As I said upthread, all the iPhones in our house have the tracking enabled. Each of us uses it as a convenience really. 

[formergothardite]

10 minutes ago, JemimaPuddle-Duck said:

Meh. As I said upthread, all the iPhones in our house have the tracking enabled. Each of us uses it as a convenience really.

It wasn't just enabled, they were checking it which is on the controlling side.