Skip to main content

Missing - happenstance or serial killer? Recent update on the Interstate 80 disappearances


Sometimes a hobby of mine, the way I zone out, takes me down some odd paths. Two posts ago I wrote about Lorraine and William Currier - the couple from Essex, Vermont, who mysterious disappeared three weeks ago - The circumstances around their disappearance and the tight lips of investigators protecting every detail is what caught my attention to write about it.

A comment on that post alerted me to another story about missing persons - this time however out west, and the possibility that it was a serial killer on the loose.  Well this evening I found myself searching out information on that story.  I don't know why I do these things - I just do...guess I like mysteries.

I found the article on the above mentioned cases on the Coast to Coast radio show website - and it pulled me in.  Sadly, in April an older gentleman by the name of Patrick Carnes came up missing as he was driving through Nevada on interstate 80.  His companion on this trip was his dog Lucky. Authorities are leaning towards a trucker being involved...somehow...someway.

The article went on to not only details the circumstances around his disappearance but gave a glimpse into two others that have happened in the last 5 years - in 2008 is was 57year old Grant Moedell who was driving to Boise, Idaho and just so happened to be driving a Subaru station wagon ...as was Patrick.

The other case they pointed to was a 2006 one and one that happened on Valentines Day - however, this missing person was a 60 something female Judith Casida who at the time was driving a Mazda truck. Her truck was found on the same off ramp that Patrick's was found.

It's not very often you hear about victims their ages being connected to a serial killer...even if at this point it's speculation. Then all of whom disappeared in the late winter to early spring of the year they were taken. Added to that were the vehicles...all foreign and two from the same maker and are the same style.   It is odd.

Maybe I watch too many episodes of Criminal Minds but the first thing that popped in my head is we have someone who is a white male, was most likely abused by his parents and now he is seeking his revenge...yeah, too much Criminal Minds for me -

Anyway, I did a search on Grant Moedl's name to see if I could find some background info on the story - and low and behold I did - found his Facebook page where the very first entry on the spoke how his funeral was coming up - that status update was only a few hours old.  How sad.

Coast to Coast reported he came up missing in 2008 - however, articles on his case say it was just this year.  He was found at the bottom of a reservoir in his car.  His remains showed no abnormal trauma nor foul play - but, from what I read, the cause of death is still unknown.  While weather has been speculated as a cause...it seems they are ruling it out.

Tragically - while the family now has closure - they must also grieve with some unanswered questions - including his teen daughter.  Those questions may be answered soon when the autopsy reports comes in - it is reported that the family is leaning towards he may have had a heart attack...

As for Judtih Casida...well there's not a lot of information on there on her nor her disappearance. That on it's own is sad.  You see her mentioned in articles related to Patrick's case, but not much where she is the focus. It makes you wonder had it not been for Patrick's and Grant's disappearance would she have been forgotten except in the minds and hearts of the family who loved her.

I did find one site with a little more information on her -The National Association of Missing Persons 

This is what they had:



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance



  • Missing Since: February 14, 2006 from Reno, Nevada



  • Classification: Missing



  • Date Of Birth: March 28, 1943



  • Age: 62



  • Height: 5'6"



  • Weight: 138 lbs



  • Hair Color: Gray



  • Eye Color: Hazel



  • Race: White



  • Gender: Female



  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Scar from her neck to her abdomen



  • Medical Conditions: Believed to be unstable and depressed


  • Details of Disappearance
    Judith Casida left her residence in Reno, NV on February 14, 2006 and has not been seen or heard of since. Ms. Casida was driving a white 1991 Mazda pickup with Nevada license 920 NRH
    that was located near Winnemucca, NV on March 5, 2006. Ms. Casida was believed to be unstable and depressed prior to her disappearance.
    Judy has history and extended family in Oregon and her maiden name was Judy Hubbard.

    Investigating Agency
    If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
    Washoe County Sheriff's Department
    (775) 328-3001 


    As I said before, we as a society tend to concentrate on missing children and young wives - rightfully so but we also tend to forget about the people mentioned in this post when they become missing - At first their disappearance may make a few headlines but soon more 'pressing' (not that I consider it that) news buries their stories and their memories from the general public.

    Connections in our lives are more important than sometimes what we give them credit for...people we love, and even family we argue with.  I feel like this all...all these stories combined...is a reminder to hold dearly the people who touch your life - don't ever take any one of them for granted You never know...it may be You one day advocating to keep their story...the story of their disappearance...alive.

    Yes, I know...I have an odd hobby in the research I do ...it keeps my mind working while I zone out.






    Comments

    Popular posts from this blog

    History Shrouded in Mold - Part 1

      Sipping my morning coffee I sit on my bed looking out almost century old windows and into the backyards of my neighbors. This morning was no different. The sky is grey and there is a slight chill in the air, reminding me that outside that glass is another world filled with life and adventure, stories to tell and lessons to be learned...knowledge to be gained. In other words, hope.  That sentiment brings back the emotions I felt as a little girl. Then, I sat on my bed looking out the massive Victorian era windows of the 3rd floor apartment we called home. It was in the mid 70s -Evanston, Illinois. I loved being able to see into the green of the trees that lined our street. Between the leaves and branches was another world playing out before my eyes. The birds, the squirrels and sometimes even a stray cat - they lived out a day in their life without ever knowing they had an audience taking in their story.  I would spend a lot of time watching them and getting to know their personalit

    A Pay it Forward Christmas...

    The Christmas Clues came all month long.....a month filled with constant motion ..chaos...stress...and deep inside me the usual holiday dread. Those clues helped to divert my attention away from the emptiness that has been in me for the last few years.... Those memories of a large family coming together where I was the hostess for all the holiday feasts....the memories that usually remind me of the last few years and how much the boys and I have lost when domestic violence entered our home...and what destruction it left in it's wake. Yes, the clues had me looking forward to time that in the last three years or so I would wish I could close my eyes around mid-November and wake up on Jan 1st - yes, me...the one time overly merry hostess had turned bitter towards the holidays. This is the first year in a very long time that I have actually looked forward to Christmas.... That Secret Santa...and those elves....must have known that I was dreading another Christmas...another holiday in

    Propane - Shame on you Inergy!

    I know this isn't a typical post for me, but I guess with me not much is typical. The last couple of weeks I've been spending a lot of time researching and learning about propane. Propane is something I never really thought about before because I never really used it - except, maybe, once in a great while for the gas grill rusting in my backyard. However, as I said, it's now a topic I have been spending my nights researching on the Net. The reason for this is because of a phone call I received a couple of weeks ago - the person on the other end of the phone told me that a company here in my area was about to charge $3.14 a gallon for propane, while all the others were running around $1.80 for a gallon. They explained that many people don't realize what was happening, and just how wrong they thought it all was. That call came in on a Tuesday morning, the week between Christmas and New Year's....a typically very slow news week, and one where at the paper (The Mes