Unsolved Mysteries case that still has the most relevance today, or urgency to solve - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

XCalibur · 01-26-2016, 02:23 AM

As of 2016, what Unsolved Mysteries case do you think still has the most relevance today?

More specific criteria for this might be which case involves a mystery that is still has a possible dangerous person who is still out there and could still harm someone, a mystery that is most relevant to society right now, or one of the other types of cases that could still effect the most people today?

Ones that stand out to me is I think its entirely possible the East Area Rapist could still be out there and dangerous but many people think he is dead. and just recently the Gary Grant Jr murder case appeared on a foxnews story.

Also, I haven't been on the board in awhile, am I missing any cases that have had updates?

I would say probably most of the cases on Unsolved Mysteries have either been solved, the people involved are deceased, or else they involved events that have been forgotten and no longer are active mysteries. But there are a few that could still be relevant, what are you guys' thoughts?

jjmcgr · 01-26-2016, 10:43 AM

since UM has not had any new cases for many years there are few cases that seem to be currently still ongoing with a dangerous unknown suspect

The East Area Rapist by optimistic estimates last committed a crime in 1986 and that was after a five year gap. Dead or alive he seems to be no imminent threat these days.

The only one that seemed imminently important and this was not clear until he was caught was the German guy who claimed to be a Rockefeller who killed two people (the Sohuses) in CA in 1985, a case featured on UM. He was caught for a different crime in 2008.

Many of the crimes are interesting and justice should be served but few 1980s crimes seem to have drooling bad guys still at large these days. Even Bishop, the guy who killed his family, seems like he'd be too old these days to be very dangerous now.

EverythingNthensome · 01-26-2016, 07:05 PM

I Dont think the original Night stalker was ever caught, was he? I don't think Richard Ramirez was him.

DALLASTEXAN!! · 01-26-2016, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EverythingNthensome

I Dont think the original Night stalker was ever caught, was he? I don't think Richard Ramirez was him.

No that's who they are talking about above in be east area rapist. From what the authorities know is that he started out in nor cal as a serial rapist and moved down to so cal where he commited rapes and murders. They have his DNA profile but no matches. He has not committed any crimes in a long time so some theorize that he is dead, incarcerated, or even grew tired and got lost in society.

EverythingNthensome · 01-26-2016, 08:37 PM

He is more than likely dead today, Thanks for the information. It's still scary to think about his crimes though.

Jade_Curtiss · 01-26-2016, 08:43 PM

Here are a few that come to mind as "need to be solved" because the criminals are so dangerous:

I-70 Serial Killer
Blind River Reststop Murderer
The Route 29 Stalker (killed Alicia Showalter)
The nutcase who killed Philip Fraiser (look at the sketches...OMG)

DALLASTEXAN!! · 01-26-2016, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EverythingNthensome

He is more than likely dead today, Thanks for the information. It's still scary to think about his crimes though.

Yes I agree! It's really scary how someone could get away with that and not be caught, but I think times have changed so I do not know if it would be as easy today.

WishfulDreamer · 01-26-2016, 11:55 PM

The New Orleans serial killer. Who was he? Is he still alive and killing under a new MO in a different location?

Robert Fisher- this may be debatable, but if he's still alive and was cornered/someone figured out who he was, I can see him lashing out.

Boston Mall Rapist-this person, if he's still out there, has and will likely continue to re-offend. He can't pull off the crime like he used to due to advances in technology, but seeing how brazen he was, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried other methods to get victims.

Tom Johnson-If he's willing to bludgeon two strangers in order to steal, God knows what else he'd be willing to do.

The East Bay Child Abductor(s)-whoever committed these crimes covered their tracks well enough to avoid detection. This is terrifying. For decades these children have never been seen again, not one trace of them except for a stray article of clothing or belongings.

Tracy Kirkpatrick and Kathy Hobbes' killers-I think the boy questioned is likely involved with Tracy's death, but regardless, whoever committed these crimes are brutal and willing to stab/bludgeon innocent people. (Not saying they're related crimes, just putting them together because the girls were close in age and these seemed to be random attacks)

The Jordan Family arsonist(s)-This crime makes me sick to my stomach. If it was in retaliation for drugs/gang activity, these people still knew that there were innocent children in the house and committed the crime anyway. People like that need to be off the streets.

The murderer of Jay Given- Whether it was John Cardona or someone else, the thought that someone in politics/police force may have been involved is disturbing, no matter how much time has passed.

wiseguy182 · 01-27-2016, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

Robert Fisher- this may be debatable, but if he's still alive and was cornered/someone figured out who he was, I can see him lashing out.

That's a good choice. There are actually some rumors that he will be profiled on an upcoming episode of the Hunt with John Walsh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WishfulDreamer

Tom Johnson-If he's willing to bludgeon two strangers in order to steal, God knows what else he'd be willing to do.

Tracy Kirkpatrick and Kathy Hobbes' killers-I think the boy questioned is likely involved with Tracy's death, but regardless, whoever committed these crimes are brutal and willing to stab/bludgeon innocent people. (Not saying they're related crimes, just putting them together because the girls were close in age and these seemed to be random attacks)

I believe there are very strong suspects in both the murders of Kathy Hobbs and Heather Ruffleman and both of these suspects are dead. Perhaps at least the latter case is not technically solved, but I believe both are dead and no longer present a threat to society.

wiseguy182 · 01-27-2016, 05:03 AM

Amy Bradley, on the count that she may still be alive and has spent the last 18 years under HORRIBLE circumstances. How stressing of a case is this? Her brother's hair started greying in like his 20's.

jjmcgr · 01-27-2016, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jade_Curtiss

Here are a few that come to mind as "need to be solved" because the criminals are so dangerous:

I-70 Serial Killer
Blind River Reststop Murderer
The Route 29 Stalker (killed Alicia Showalter)
The nutcase who killed Philip Fraiser (look at the sketches...OMG)

while all interesting cases, none of the above seem to fit in the so dangerous they need to be caught now category as none of the crimes seem to have been extended into the present and the original crimes were a long time ago.

jjmcgr · 01-27-2016, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DALLASTEXAN!!

Yes I agree! It's really scary how someone could get away with that and not be caught, but I think times have changed so I do not know if it would be as easy today.

they couldn't test DNA back then. since all his crimes were essentially rapes, if he didn't want to get caught, he couldn't rape as now all his crimes would be immediately linked, cutting the suspect pool down considerably to people that lived in certain places. The killer had to make sure his DNA did not get on any list with his name attached. That was probably one of the main reasons he stopped, although the last two crimes were 5 years apart so he seemingly was already trying to stop. Probably got married (like the Green River Killer) or was otherwise under someone's eye. He salso was getting older.

jjmcgr · 01-27-2016, 11:19 AM

I don't know if the Alison Thresher case was ever on UM but I remember seeing it on some show. I knew of the case because I was living in DC when it happened. The funny names thread reminded me of it. There are new developments which fit this thread.
Thresher was a 45 yo recently divorced mother who lived in a condo in a ritzy Maryland suburb just over the DC line near the Potomac River. She had just got a job at the Washington Post and disappeared one late week night in May 2000. Her car was found several miles away on a side street where a path led to the C&O canal towpath trail, a popular yuppie walking path. She was last seen with a Latino man. She was never found. She was up late, sending an e-mail to her new boss on the last night. A neighbor heard a thump in her apartment/condo in the middle of the night. Otherwise no other traces of her. Several years later someone deposited into a night deposit box in a Virginia bank to her account her ex's last child support payment (the kids were not with her when she disappeared).
I always thought the ex might have been involved since he did not participate in searches along the canal. (I thought the Post, where he too worked, was protecting him or downplaying his roles because he worked there). The cops long considered it a homicide.
Anyway in 2010 Thresher's daughter claimed that in 1999 and 2000, when she was 11 years old, her male babysitter, Fernando Asturizaga, had abused her. Why she didn't come forward when her mother disappeared is unknown. Asturizaga had previously been acquitted in a rape case in Virginia in 2003 but was found guilty for the new crimes in 2012. He is now considered the prime suspect in the Thresher case but there is not enough evidence as a body was never found. They suspect the mother found out and confronted the suspect who reacted by killing her. She was apparently planning to call the police when she disappeared. The suspect is in jail for 128 years so he is no longer a threat but he was for years.

XCalibur · 01-27-2016, 12:46 PM

We've brought up some criminals featured on Unsolved Mysteries that may still be dangerous. I think a lot of them could still be in their 40's and 50's now, and thus still dangerous so there are still a few at least.

What about a different direction, what about some of the Unsolved Mysteries that were talking about government conspiracy mysteries, like Danny Cassolero or Michael Franke? I know the political landscape of America has changed a great deal since those went down, but could either of those cases still be relevant? I admit I haven't done enough research to really know for sure on either, but would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has.

Plus, what about Vince Foster? With Hillary Clinton running for president that could still be considered relevant.

LooksLikeCRicci · 01-27-2016, 12:54 PM

I'm not sure if there's "urgency" to solve this one, but I am dying to know what happened to Angela Hammond. There's a small part of me that wants vindication in knowing, finally, that Rob didn't do it. The bigger portion of me just wants to make sure that poor girl didn't suffer too long before meeting her fate.

I think Gordon Page, Jr. is a case that could still be solved. I would like to see it solved. If he's on the street, there's some urgency there.

01-26-2016, 02:23 AM	#1
XCalibur Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 16, 2010 Location: Belfast, Va Posts: 987	Unsolved Mysteries case that still has the most relevance today, or urgency to solve As of 2016, what Unsolved Mysteries case do you think still has the most relevance today? More specific criteria for this might be which case involves a mystery that is still has a possible dangerous person who is still out there and could still harm someone, a mystery that is most relevant to society right now, or one of the other types of cases that could still effect the most people today? Ones that stand out to me is I think its entirely possible the East Area Rapist could still be out there and dangerous but many people think he is dead. and just recently the Gary Grant Jr murder case appeared on a foxnews story. Also, I haven't been on the board in awhile, am I missing any cases that have had updates? I would say probably most of the cases on Unsolved Mysteries have either been solved, the people involved are deceased, or else they involved events that have been forgotten and no longer are active mysteries. But there are a few that could still be relevant, what are you guys' thoughts?

01-26-2016, 07:05 PM	#3
EverythingNthensome Danascully Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 22, 2014 Location: Brooklyn, Ny Posts: 59	I Dont think the original Night stalker was ever caught, was he? I don't think Richard Ramirez was him.
	__________________ Honesty is an expensive gift, so don't expect it from cheap people

01-26-2016, 10:43 AM	#2
jjmcgr Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 15, 2005 Location: Kansas Posts: 249	since UM has not had any new cases for many years there are few cases that seem to be currently still ongoing with a dangerous unknown suspect The East Area Rapist by optimistic estimates last committed a crime in 1986 and that was after a five year gap. Dead or alive he seems to be no imminent threat these days. The only one that seemed imminently important and this was not clear until he was caught was the German guy who claimed to be a Rockefeller who killed two people (the Sohuses) in CA in 1985, a case featured on UM. He was caught for a different crime in 2008. Many of the crimes are interesting and justice should be served but few 1980s crimes seem to have drooling bad guys still at large these days. Even Bishop, the guy who killed his family, seems like he'd be too old these days to be very dangerous now.

01-26-2016, 08:37 PM	#5
EverythingNthensome Danascully Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 22, 2014 Location: Brooklyn, Ny Posts: 59	He is more than likely dead today, Thanks for the information. It's still scary to think about his crimes though.

01-26-2016, 08:43 PM	#6
Jade_Curtiss Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 26, 2011 Posts: 92	Here are a few that come to mind as "need to be solved" because the criminals are so dangerous: I-70 Serial Killer Blind River Reststop Murderer The Route 29 Stalker (killed Alicia Showalter) The nutcase who killed Philip Fraiser (look at the sketches...OMG)

01-26-2016, 11:55 PM	#8
WishfulDreamer Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 01, 2009 Location: L.A. Posts: 3,868	The New Orleans serial killer. Who was he? Is he still alive and killing under a new MO in a different location? Robert Fisher- this may be debatable, but if he's still alive and was cornered/someone figured out who he was, I can see him lashing out. Boston Mall Rapist-this person, if he's still out there, has and will likely continue to re-offend. He can't pull off the crime like he used to due to advances in technology, but seeing how brazen he was, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried other methods to get victims. Tom Johnson-If he's willing to bludgeon two strangers in order to steal, God knows what else he'd be willing to do. The East Bay Child Abductor(s)-whoever committed these crimes covered their tracks well enough to avoid detection. This is terrifying. For decades these children have never been seen again, not one trace of them except for a stray article of clothing or belongings. Tracy Kirkpatrick and Kathy Hobbes' killers-I think the boy questioned is likely involved with Tracy's death, but regardless, whoever committed these crimes are brutal and willing to stab/bludgeon innocent people. (Not saying they're related crimes, just putting them together because the girls were close in age and these seemed to be random attacks) The Jordan Family arsonist(s)-This crime makes me sick to my stomach. If it was in retaliation for drugs/gang activity, these people still knew that there were innocent children in the house and committed the crime anyway. People like that need to be off the streets. The murderer of Jay Given- Whether it was John Cardona or someone else, the thought that someone in politics/police force may have been involved is disturbing, no matter how much time has passed.

01-27-2016, 05:03 AM	#10
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	Amy Bradley, on the count that she may still be alive and has spent the last 18 years under HORRIBLE circumstances. How stressing of a case is this? Her brother's hair started greying in like his 20's.

01-27-2016, 11:19 AM	#13
jjmcgr Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 15, 2005 Location: Kansas Posts: 249	I don't know if the Alison Thresher case was ever on UM but I remember seeing it on some show. I knew of the case because I was living in DC when it happened. The funny names thread reminded me of it. There are new developments which fit this thread. Thresher was a 45 yo recently divorced mother who lived in a condo in a ritzy Maryland suburb just over the DC line near the Potomac River. She had just got a job at the Washington Post and disappeared one late week night in May 2000. Her car was found several miles away on a side street where a path led to the C&O canal towpath trail, a popular yuppie walking path. She was last seen with a Latino man. She was never found. She was up late, sending an e-mail to her new boss on the last night. A neighbor heard a thump in her apartment/condo in the middle of the night. Otherwise no other traces of her. Several years later someone deposited into a night deposit box in a Virginia bank to her account her ex's last child support payment (the kids were not with her when she disappeared). I always thought the ex might have been involved since he did not participate in searches along the canal. (I thought the Post, where he too worked, was protecting him or downplaying his roles because he worked there). The cops long considered it a homicide. Anyway in 2010 Thresher's daughter claimed that in 1999 and 2000, when she was 11 years old, her male babysitter, Fernando Asturizaga, had abused her. Why she didn't come forward when her mother disappeared is unknown. Asturizaga had previously been acquitted in a rape case in Virginia in 2003 but was found guilty for the new crimes in 2012. He is now considered the prime suspect in the Thresher case but there is not enough evidence as a body was never found. They suspect the mother found out and confronted the suspect who reacted by killing her. She was apparently planning to call the police when she disappeared. The suspect is in jail for 128 years so he is no longer a threat but he was for years.

01-27-2016, 12:46 PM	#14
XCalibur Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 16, 2010 Location: Belfast, Va Posts: 987	We've brought up some criminals featured on Unsolved Mysteries that may still be dangerous. I think a lot of them could still be in their 40's and 50's now, and thus still dangerous so there are still a few at least. What about a different direction, what about some of the Unsolved Mysteries that were talking about government conspiracy mysteries, like Danny Cassolero or Michael Franke? I know the political landscape of America has changed a great deal since those went down, but could either of those cases still be relevant? I admit I haven't done enough research to really know for sure on either, but would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has. Plus, what about Vince Foster? With Hillary Clinton running for president that could still be considered relevant.

01-27-2016, 12:54 PM	#15
LooksLikeCRicci Likes to live in a clean house Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 4,050	I'm not sure if there's "urgency" to solve this one, but I am dying to know what happened to Angela Hammond. There's a small part of me that wants vindication in knowing, finally, that Rob didn't do it. The bigger portion of me just wants to make sure that poor girl didn't suffer too long before meeting her fate. I think Gordon Page, Jr. is a case that could still be solved. I would like to see it solved. If he's on the street, there's some urgency there.