There is an abandoned quarry a few miles from my house, about 50 acres of (sadly) soon-to-be-developed wild land with a large pond and hiking/biking trails throughout. It’s regularly used by local hikers, dog walkers, fisherpeople, homeless, and kids looking for a good time vaping & drinking adult beverages. I go there in the morning (8 – 10 am) a couple of times a week to walk my dog, enjoy the beautiful surroundings and pick up trash.
On Monday, March 23 my pup and I went for a walk on the path beside the pond at about 8 a.m. A few feet from the pond, in the middle of the path, was a small carry-on size backpack, zipped up. I looked around, saw no one, and worried that it might contain a litter of half-dead kittens, unzipped it part way. It was full of clothing. Thinking its owner might be a homeless person taking a dump in the bushes, I didn’t mess with it further. But about 20 feet farther on, around a slight bend, there lay a very small tent bag with couple of tent poles scattered around, as if it had been flung aside. I didn’t touch that either, but kept a lookout for any other persons around & continued walking. I didn’t see anyone else.
On Friday, March 27, my dog and I again went for a walk at the quarry. The backpack was still there, but someone had opened it and scattered the contents about. There was assorted clothing, and some interesting paperwork:: rules for incarcerated persons at the county jail, and a summons from Superior Court for John Doe to appear at a hearing regarding non-payment of child support. I didn’t want to touch the items, but I did make a short video of them. I kept walking and the tent & poles were still there, didn’t look as though they’d been moved. I photographed them as well.
I went home and did a Google search on John Doe + “arrest” and the first hit was a thumbnail for the local PD arrest log with John Doe’s name showing. I clicked on the thumbnail and it brought up [MyCity]police arrests with John Doe’s name at the top. I started looking at the information (46 y.o., 6’ 4”. 240 lbs, narcotics something, something) but after literally no more than 2 seconds and while I was watching, the page refreshed automatically and his information disappeared! I cleared everything, went back to Google & searched again. The same thumbnail, with his name displayed, came up, but when I clicked through, his name was no longer in the police arrest record (I did several searches on both first & last names, and scrolled through the whole list). I was able to find his Facebook page, and also that of his baby mama who was the plaintiff in the child support suit. He also came up in the “we find anybody” people search engines.
Over the next several days, I Googled him repeatedly. The PD arrest log thumbnail showed his name for about a week, but now even that has gone.
Last Monday (April 6) I went to the quarry again. The backpack and all its contents were gone, but the tent bag and poles were still there and looked undisturbed. I picked up the loose poles and replaced them in the bag, but I was surprised to see that the tent itself was missing. I don’t know if the bag ever contained the tent, but it now only has the poles. I intended to throw the bag & poles in the trash, but instead put them in the back corner of my garage – just in case.
So what is the most rational explanation for this event? I figure the items must have been abandoned late on Sunday, March 22, because this area gets a lot of traffic on weekends and the pack surely would have been noticed and opened if it had been dropped any earlier. I’m almost certain I was the first person to see it. Why did John Doe abandon what were possibly all his possessions?
A. Was he being chased by the cops? Plausible, though I’ve never seen police around that area. From the paperwork, he’d obviously been in jail recently. Was he arrested again, and then his record removed? Why?
B. Was he being chased by an animal? Mountain lions have occasionally been reported around town, but I’ve never seen any evidence of them at the quarry.
C. Was he being chased by another person? Possible – there are certainly less-reputable individuals in the area. But John Doe is a big guy – I don’t imagine he’d be intimidated unless threatened with a weapon.
D. Did he pick the quarry as a good place to end it all, and just flung his belongings away before wandering into the brush to off himself? It’s certainly possible, the undergrowth is very thick and it would be easy to conceal a body. But why the disappearing arrest record?
Friends to whom I’ve related this info say I should go to the police. I haven’t done it because I don’t even know if there’s been a crime. And if there is, are the police involved? I’m not Jessica Fletcher with buddies in the local PD. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to call attention to myself, considering the disappearing arrest record. They aren’t going to tell me anything, and may well just inform me that I’m trespassing on private property and to stay out of there.
So that’s where it stands. I have the photos of John Doe’s belongings. I don’t want to post the photos here since I don’t want to dox John or his baby mama, but if the mods think it’s OK, I might pm them if needed. I have the tent case & poles.
Any ideas? Can any of you with LE experience (@pkbites ?) offer any ideas what might have happened and why the arrest record was removed?