Missing Student -- ISU ALERT

jaretac

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Nov 26, 2006
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Frigidaire
This isn't a normal missing person case. The fact that they have been looking for him for 12 hours and are despert enough to activate the emergence alert says a lot. I hope he has just ran off some where, because the most likely scenario isn't a good one.

When I worked for ISU Police I helped with a number of missing persons including the search for Abel Bolanos. Most searches lasted at most 4 hours and were just because of a overly concerned parent.
 

Cyclone62

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Feb 1, 2007
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Oldpeopleville
This isn't a normal missing person case. The fact that they have been looking for him for 12 hours and are despert enough to activate the emergence alert says a lot. I hope he has just ran off some where, because the most likely scenario isn't a good one.

When I worked for ISU Police I helped with a number of missing persons including the search for Abel Bolanos. Most searches lasted at most 4 hours and were just because of a overly concerned parent.
How is this not normal or different than the Bolanos MP case?
 

jaretac

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Nov 26, 2006
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How is this not normal or different than the Bolanos MP case?

With Bolanos the search was started within hours, this has been days. What concerns me is that Police must have little or no information to be activating the ISU alert. Activating the ISU alert is not a small deal. The fact that they did it tells me that they have all the big wigs of the department at the Armory working this case (just like with Bolanos) when most missing person cases are handled by the current shift. Considering how long it has been, it just doesn't look good. After 12 hours, even if they haven't located him, usually they can make a decision of how big a priority it is and whether he really is missing or if we are just unable to locate him. At this point they have made that decision. There is a chance he decided to take a early spring break, but...

Also, Bolanos is not a normal missing person case. A normal missing person case results in the person being located within 6 hours with nothing wrong with them.
 
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cycfan1

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Nov 27, 2006
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Ames
According to the email from the alert system, he was last seen leaving 300 Stanton. He also was a white male at about six feet. If you add this with the fact he lived by himself, he might have been out by himself. Hopefully, what has been discussed before with the Midwest smiley face killers is not a possibility. I know that in their other cases it was a white male at about six feet leaving a party by themselves. When we drove to the game, it looked like the fire department was out checking the culvert by Friley. That would be terrible if that were the case. Hope he shows up.
 

CycloneErik

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Jan 31, 2008
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According to the email from the alert system, he was last seen leaving 300 Stanton. He also was a white male at about six feet. If you add this with the fact he lived by himself, he might have been out by himself. Hopefully, what has been discussed before with the Midwest smiley face killers is not a possibility. I know that in their other cases it was a white male at about six feet leaving a party by themselves. When we drove to the game, it looked like the fire department was out checking the culvert by Friley. That would be terrible if that were the case. Hope he shows up.

Thanks. This post made me google "midwest smiley face killers." That's like another disturbing episode of Criminal Minds right there. I, too, hope that they aren't involved.
 

isufbcurt

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Apr 21, 2006
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My freshman year in the dorms, a friend of mine's roommate just up and left and never came back. We never reported it, never really thought of it as a bad situation I guess.
 

BigDISU1

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Apr 10, 2006
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Oskaloosa, Iowa
Hopefully, what has been discussed before with the Midwest smiley face killers is not a possibility. I know that in their other cases it was a white male at about six feet leaving a party by themselves. When we drove to the game, it looked like the fire department was out checking the culvert by Friley. That would be terrible if that were the case. Hope he shows up.


First thing I thought of as well...
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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Rochester, MN
You could tell exactly when the alert went out because every student and their dog in Cyclone Alley pulled out their phones to check the text.
 

ornryactor

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Jun 3, 2006
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Like someone else said, Buchanan isn't all singles, but there are quite a few there. The bigger thing is that it's a very quiet building; there is almost no social interaction among residents when you compare it to the lower-division halls. He's a senior in graphic design- he was probably spending a TON of time in studio, and keeping bizarre, unpredictable hours just like every other design major. Combine that with living in a traditionally unsocial building, then it's plausible that nobody noticed he was missing for a while. I don't have a good feeling on this one. Hope I'm wrong.
 

ornryactor

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Jun 3, 2006
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What time did you kids get there? We were discussing this here before I ever left the house.
The text went out at 7:12pm. The voicemail went out at 7:17. I already deleted the email, but I think it went out first. Remember, ISU Alert sends out communication in prioritized waves based on the situation. It's impossible to send out every email and every text and every phone call simultaneously, so different people receive different communications at different times.
 

cyrevkah

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Apr 12, 2008
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Ames, IA
I think a policeman dropped off a missing poster around 7:25 to the Lighthouse and hopefully the other places near by
 

Cymon

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Apr 10, 2006
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Thanks. This post made me google "midwest smiley face killers." That's like another disturbing episode of Criminal Minds right there. I, too, hope that they aren't involved.


Some of the stories about the Smiley Face Killers are pretty crazy. I'm not 100% buying into it yet, but the stories do make you question a lot of things. Most of the victims have no reason to even be near water but are found there. I've been pretty intoxicated in my life but have never thought it was a good idea to go for a swim on a cold night.