Posted on 08/17/2005 11:05:10 AM PDT by BizzeeMom
Authorities in Jefferson County announced Wednesday morning that a new task force comprised of 17 police officers is taking over the investigation of a missing pregnant woman last seen Sunday evening.
Lt. Col. Steven Meinberg said the task force met for the first time at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The announcement was made at morning press conference that was supposed to be held at the main meeting room of the sheriff’s office. The briefing had to moved outdoors, because the task force has taken over the meeting room to accommodate officers assigned to the unit from five other Jefferson County police agencies.
Meinberg said officers from Crystal City, Festus, Herculaneum, Hillsboro and Pevely have joined the task force. He said the unit is contact with the FBI, but that the federal agency isn’t actively involved in the investigation. The task force is headed by Lt. Tommy Wright, the head of the detective bureau at the sheriff’s office.
Amanda Jones, 26, of Pevely, was last seen at the horse-show grounds of the Hillsboro Civic Center on Highway 21 in central Jefferson County about 5 p.m. Sunday. Police found Jones’ unlocked car at the civic center but said it offered no clues as to her
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
"This week, officers and volunteers have been searching the Hillsboro Civic Center and Fairgrounds, the last spot where Jones is known to have been seen."
http://ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83803
"Some items taken from the property were sent to the Missouri Highway Patrol lab for forensic analysis."
Hmmmm, wonder what they found...
Just spoke to a friend who has (and watches) TV; From what I understand Amanda had told her folks that Bryan was taking her to lunch at "Off the Hook" (a local catfish eatery in DeSoto, which is just 5-10 minutes south on Hwy. 21 from the civic club). She met him at the civic club/horseshow grounds at 1:00pm. Did she get in his truck, thinking they were then going on to the restaurant? I guess we don't know. At any rate, according to the restaurant owner, they never came in.
Found this website with a long "discussion" on Amanda:
http://websleuths.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-27803
Some comments I found interesting:
Prayers for this woman and her family.
Thank you.
Thank you! I knew I had heard two different versions.
I like the websleuth's "went to the bathroom" theory...just had a soda, 9 months pregnant...left her car unlocked like she was coming right back.
There's a nice bathroom in the Civic Center building that Bryan most likely has a set of keys for, since he works (volunteers) there so much.
Police saying for the first time, that they DO suspect foul play. (StLtoday.com and KSDK.com)
However, Bryan and his girlfriend are still persons of interest, not suspects.
'The Abrams Report' for August 16
<snip>
All right, let me ask you, first of all, Bertha, when did you first realize that she was missing?
BERTHA PROPST, MOTHER OF PREGNANT MISSING WOMAN: Well, we didn‘t hear from her. Amanda‘s always one to call home because we had her 4-year-old daughter. So at 3:00 we started trying to get a hold of her with no avail to be able to contact her, so by 8:30, 9:00 we knew something was wrong.
<snip>
ABRAMS: I was asking you about the father of the baby. That what do you know about him and do you know why she was going to a civic center to meet him.
H. PROPST: Well, personally, I know very little about him. I only talked to him some the other night, Sunday night. But she was going to the civic center to meet him because he told her—he called her Sunday morning at her home and said that a car, a red cavalier with a young couple in it with a blond-headed woman with short blond hair and a man—he didn‘t describe the man -- came to his home and said you have to call Amanda.
So he called Amanda, told her what happened. He did not know—he says he did not know these people and my daughter does not know anyone that drives a red cavalier. So he calls—called my daughter and said—told her about this couple and suggested that they meet at the civic center at 1:00 Sunday afternoon and from there, they would go to the fish restaurant in Desoto, which I think is called “Fish Off the Hook” (ph) in Desoto and eat lunch. And so she left the church at about—between 12:15 and 12:30 to meet him at the civic center at 1:00.
<snip>
ABRAMS: All right. So she makes it there and that‘s the last place she‘s been seen?
LT. TOMMY WRIGHT, JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF‘S OFFICE: Yes. Yes. We were able to track the timeline down to between 2:00 and 5:00.
'Rita Cosby Live & Direct' for August 19
COSBY: Now, we talked about the sort of father of Amanda‘s unborn child. His attorney has sort of issued a statement or at least mentioned that his client is innocent, so he has nothing to do with this. Do you still believe that‘s where the leads lie, because it sounds like he was the last person to see her alive.
C. PROPST: I still feel that way, because he was the last person to see her. He‘s given us, you know, five different reasons for—like five different stories about her whereabouts. And he‘s lied to us over and over.
Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer said investigators had searched Westfall's home, truck, trailer and farm property near Hillsboro and an adjacent farm belonging to his parents.
Boyer said Westfall had consented to the search, adding that Westfall was "not a suspect" but was considered "a person of interest" in the case.
Boyer said police took several items for forensic testing but declined to specify what they were.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/934D8CE6117052E18625706800124815?OpenDocument
SEARCH FOR AMANDA JONES TAKES NEW TURN
The search for a missing pregnant woman from Jefferson County takes a new turn as investigators focus on two pieces of property owned by the man her relatives say is the father of the unborn child. Westfall's attorney says Westfall consented to a search of his property. He even allowed investigators to seize items for testing. Investigators say Amanda Jones disappeared 10 days ago after meeting with Westfall at the Civic Center in Hillsboro. Westfall's denial comes after the sheriff--for the first time--classifies him as a person of interest in the case. Westfall also questions whether he is the father of Jones' unborn son. Investigators confirm both aerial and canine assisted ground searches of Westfall's vehicle, home and property. They're releasing few details about what they've found. Jones' sister says early in her pregnancy, Westfall told her he wanted her to have an abortion. Westfall's attorney says that's not true. Jones is due this week with her second child. There is a $100,000 reward in the case. If you have any information on the disappearance of Amanda Jones, call the Jefferson County sheriff's tip line at 636-797-5515.
http://fox2ktvi.com/
Thank you, show me!!
Please ping me, if and when there is news regarding Amanda. It is terribly sad to think she has suffered harm and possibly loss of life.
Here is Texas we are not getting much regarding her case.
Thanks.
Prayers for Amanda and her family.
Will do!
WHERE IS AMANDA?
Man details meeting missing pregnant woman
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/EF55FF8088B11345862570690017E177?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22amanda%22+AND+%22jones%22
Well alrightee then, he says the child isn't even his, so there you go, he's off the hook. (Hey isn't that the name of a restaurant?) Nothing to see here, folks, just move along.
Convenient for him, isn't it, that the child is missing, so his denial of paternity can't be put to the test.
excerpt from the news article ...
"He agreed to meet her at the Civic Club, on a Sunday afternoon, right out in the middle of public," Roberts said. "He didn't ask to meet her in some remote location. It was right there next to a major highway where people actually drive."
Westfall is a member of the Hillsboro Community Civic Club, which owns the Civic Center. Roberts said Westfall was volunteering at the club grounds, doing some work, when Jones arrived about 1 p.m.
Roberts said Westfall had walked down to the parking lot to meet Jones and the two of them had walked to a nearby pavilion in the shade, where they could talk.
They talked for about an hour, Roberts said.
"She was describing to him, obviously, that she was pregnant, and they were just discussing it," Roberts said. "It was not in any way a confrontational conversation."
Roberts said that Jones had told Westfall that she needed to use the restroom and that he had used his key to the Civic Center to let her inside.
Roberts said Westfall then walked Jones to her car, where she got inside, turned on the air-conditioner and answered a call on her cell phone.
Roberts said Westfall then went back to the work he was doing elsewhere on the Civic Center property. Roberts said Westfall told him he continued working for about three hours, cleaning up from summer events and getting ready for fall activities.
"He was retrieving some things that had been there since the last event and was making some preparations for the upcoming rodeo," Roberts said.
Westfall said he saw Jones still in her car, but on a different part of the parking lot, as he was leaving the Civic Center about 5 p.m. Jones appeared to be talking on her cell phone, Westfall said, but he couldn't be sure.
"From 2 to 5 p.m., what she did or where she went, we have no idea," Roberts said.
Wouldn't any reasonable person, after meeting earlier on the parking lot, seeing that person still there in their car after three hours go over and ask why they were still there? Especially a woman who was 9 months pregnant. Wouldn't you go over and say, "Are you having some trouble? Is something wrong?"
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