Friday, January 31, 2014

Leeanne Bearden: Family Now Says Missing By Her Own Accord

"She left on her own free will" is a very unusual statement.  Is it due to entering into the language of law enforcement?  Or, if it is from the husband's own internal personal subjective dictionary, it suggests that there was an argument, or that her will prevailed over his.  
In any case, after calling for funds$ to hire a private investigator, and for a drone search, we learned that they had a private investigator, and now that they believe she left on her own accord. 
The husband's statements are generally "we" statements, and not the expected "I", which is unusual.  
The case gets stranger by the day...from CNN: 
CNN) -- Leanne Hecht Bearden may not be missing after all -- in fact, she might be missing by her own accord.
That's what her family said Thursday, after days of pushing for help in finding the 33-year-old last seen leaving her in-law's house in Garden Ridge, Texas, just northeast of San Antonio.
But the bottom line is that still is still missing, nearly two weeks after she went for a walk.
Pointing to investigative work done by the Garden Ridge police, Comal County Sheriff's Office and Texas Rangers, the family said they now believe Bearden may have gone missing intentionally.
"There is evidence that Leanne may have voluntarily left the area, and we understand this is a strong possibility," the family said in a statement posted Thursday on a Facebook page devoted to finding the young woman.
If nothing else, Bearden is a veteran traveler. In the last couple of years, she traveled the world with her husband, Josh Bearden, in an epic 22-month trek that she extensively documented in a blog. They climbed Mount Kilamanjaro, swam in the Dead Sea, attended an Indian wedding and much, much more.
Then, in December, the couple returned to the United States.
That included a brief stop in Georgia, then onto to Texas to visit Josh's family. From there, the two were working on finding jobs in Denver, where the couple was married and had settled.
Her brother, Michael Hecht, said upon returning to the United States, the couple had spent a short time in Georgia, then went to Texas for a few weeks to visit Josh's family. He said they were working to find jobs in Denver, where the couple was married and had settled.
Coming back to her native country wasn't necessarily easy, her family suggested.
"The pressure of transitioning from her two-year trip back into what we consider 'normal' life seems to have left her very anxious and stressed," they said.
The word "normal" is noted in statement analysis.  
On January 17, Bearden told her family she'd be back in about an hour after setting out on a walk from her in-laws' residence where she and husband were staying.
Josh Bearden told CNN affiliate KENS-TV, "She left on her own free will. That is what she did. That is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know."
The word "absolutely" makes the statement sensitive, as he has a need to persuade.  This should tell us that her will, being engaged, may have been opposed at some point, prior to leaving.  Was this a domestic dispute that turned into a missing persons case?
The statement:
"she left on her own free will" is thus made weak by the follow up, "that is absolutely true"
"but" is in comparison to that which preceded it, sometimes even refuting the information.  
That "free will" is repeated, and qualified, makes it very sensitive. 
He and other relatives and friends worked intently to spread the word after she didn't return, as the search for her expanded.
Her brother told CNN two helicopters searched for nearly three hours six days after she was last seen, and that followed ground searches the previous two days.
"It's baffling right now about what happened. Maybe she fell and hurt herself. You start thinking about things. I don't think she had any enemies. She is loved very much," Hecht said then.
The biggest such search -- covering 23 square miles, by air and land -- was last Saturday.
The Garden Ridge police noted their serious concern about Bearden last week, while adding "there is no indication at this time that (her disappearance) is criminal in nature."
"at this time" leaves open the door for other times to be considered possible criminal in nature. 
They and other authorities talked to relatives and friends, combed through e-mails and text messages, checked out phone records and contacts -- all in addition to looking for physical signs of her.
But none of these efforts have revealed any "evidence ... of her presence," according to her family.
"If Leanne has indeed fled the area, she is extremely vulnerable," they said. "She left with only a few assets and is traveling very light."
The family added that while Bearden is athletic, "she is small in stature."
"Her mental and physical status is uncertain," the said. "We fear for her greatly."
The Facebook page devoted to finding her continued pleading Thursday night -- shortly after the family's statement came out -- for the public's help, asking people to print and post fliers with her picture and share her story through social media.
"Continue to send your positive thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Leanne who are really in need of them now," the post said.
Isn't Leeanne, herself, in the most need for prayer?

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

when this story first broke I really believed Josh. I thought it was all true and she had been kidnapped or something like that.

now I think he murdered her. i think he wants to transition the whole "story" into the idea that she wanted to leave and there's nothing to do. Then he will have the freedom to move on unscathed.

I bet the police covered his parents home for any signs of violence. i wouldn't be surprised if she had indeed "left" of her own free will -- and he followed her -- cornered her and attacked her out in woods or open property somewhere. it is his childhood neighborhood - it's his turf - he would know how to hide/ be hidden.

Skeptical said...

Since it was reported she went for a walk, it would be interesting to know if they used tracking dogs to follow her scent when she was reported missing.

Sus said...

Testing after trying some new settings on my phone.

Sus said...

Omg! I have had trouble posting since Christmas, and it was the settings on my new phone. I thought I was banned, but couldn't figure out why.

Sus said...

I think there was an argument.
"Uh she said that she was going to go for a walk AND THEN I said how long are you going to be gone AND THEN she said about an hour THEN I said ok Babe take your time. That's the last that thing I said to her."

When I hear THEN repeatedly I think tension and argument...each telling their side. AND THEN means missing information.

Josh Bearden tells us THAT was the last thing he said to her when we can see it ourselves. It's like saying it was the ending. Well, the ending of what? Sounds like an argument.

I also note deception in him wanting to know a time to be back, yet stating it didn't matter, "Babe take your time." His mind cannot hold both thoughts.

On another note, the above article is the second time Josh Bearden leaks marbles that something HAPPENED.
"I have no idea WHAT HAPPENED."
"...but WHAT HAPPENED after after she left the house..."
If Josh Bearden, his family, LE agencies, and a PI are so certain she ran off, should this say "where she is" or "where she went"? Saying WHAT HAPPENED hints that he knows something happened.

F said...

I'm new to this whole statement analysis thing, having stumbled on this after reading about this story and wondering if the husband was guilty. So forgive my shoddy attempt at analysis.

Is this "take your time, babe" his way of saying "I said goodbye" (or "that's when I killed her")?

Or... does the presence of a term of endearment (babe) an indication of innocence? (Or is "babe" used the same way Bob Dylan uses it in "Don't think twice" or "it ain't me, babe", both of which use babe in a rather condescending way?)

Am I on to something or way off base?

Sus said...

Oh yes, I've had many thoughts bottled up about this missing case and haven't been able to post them.

When Josh Bearden speaks, he mostly uses WE, OUR, US. If you look closely he is using plural when he speaks of SEARCHING or FINDING Leanne. WE have employed family, friends, drones, a PI. He has even tried to get Peter to help in the search.
He needs a group around him to find his wife.

The only time Josh Bearden uses "I" is in knowing where to search. He alone has ideas where she walked. I find it interesting that knowing where to look is the only time he uses the personal pronoun.

Anonymous said...

F said...
I'm new to this whole statement analysis thing, having stumbled on this after reading about this story and wondering if the husband was guilty. So forgive my shoddy attempt at analysis.

Is this "take your time, babe" his way of saying "I said goodbye" (or "that's when I killed her")?

Or... does the presence of a term of endearment (babe) an indication of innocence? (Or is "babe" used the same way Bob Dylan uses it in "Don't think twice" or "it ain't me, babe", both of which use babe in a rather condescending way?)

Am I on to something or way off base?

January 31, 2014 at 6:42 PM

Hi F!

Here is the link to Peter's first statement analysis on this case that includes the word "Babe":
http://statement-analysis.blogspot.com/2014/01/missing-leanne-beardens-husbands.html

Peter says "We note the inclusion of the term of endearment, "Babe." We find this in statements where one may feel the need to portray oneself as loving; not a good sign. Here, however, he appears to be quoting himself. Nonetheless, we take note of it just the same. A term of endearment within a statement is often viewed as a negative and problematic because it shows the subject's need to portray himself in the positive, the necessity of such being a red flag."

IMO, when I first saw this interview, the word Babe stuck out to me because he doesn't use her name in describing the exchange between he and Leanne. He also doesn't give a proper (I'm not sure if that is the correct statement analysis term) social introduction for her, like saying, "my wife Leanne."

But he may have said it but the news team decided to not include that clip.

Anonymous said...

"Josh Bearden told CNN affiliate KENS-TV, "She left on her own free will. That is what she did. That is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know.""

I want to know "what happened" before she left on her own free will. I want to know "what happened" before she decided to go on a walk. "What happened" to make her decide she needed a walk?

F said...

Ah yes... I did read that. I've read and listened to so much about statement analysis in the last 2 or 3 days since I discovered this site that I'm confusing things I've read with my own ideas :D

Anonymous said...

F said...
Ah yes... I did read that. I've read and listened to so much about statement analysis in the last 2 or 3 days since I discovered this site that I'm confusing things I've read with my own ideas :D

That's okay! :-) When I first came here I felt the same way. I would recommend looking through the archives and finding some cases that you are interested in the most and really combing through the analyses to understand how it works and after a handful of cases you'll start to pick up a lot of the jargon and start to see patterns in the statements. Like people surrounding a missing child case talking about showering, washing hands, anything to do with water, is indicative of child abuse. The case I am most looking forward to seeing statements from is Oscar Pistorious trial this spring if it will be covered here.

Anonymous said...

is "quoting" yourself the same as saying, "like i said before"

Anonymous said...

More statements from the husband:
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4703971

Anonymous said...

Sus, I'm glad to see you're back. I've always enjoyed reading your comments!

Sus said...

How nice. Thank you, Anon. I sure have been bored not being able to post (for the most part) here in freezing, snowy Illinois. :-)

Anonymous said...

Recently there was a lot of talk about Josh's youtube video of him and Leanne in Albania riding bumper cars, to which he mentions the words kill and murder. Shall I act shocked that he has now removed that video.

MizzMarple said...

This is a strange case :

You have a young couple whose "dream" came true : they travelled the world for almost two years. And if you look at the photos of the couple and their journeys on their blog, they appear to be "happy" and having a "great time."

They come back to the U.S. December 23, 2013 and stayed at Leanne's family's home in Georgia for a visit.

Then, they go to Texas to stay with Josh's family's home in Texas for a visit before they go back to their home in Colorado.

So they are back in the U.S. and in less than a month, on January 17, 2014, Leanne goes "missing" ? And the LAST person to see her is her husband who states she "went for a walk."

And NOW the story is : she willingly left on her own.

JMO, but I don't think so ...

Something happened, but was that "something" that happened during the 2 years they were travelling -- or was it something that happened when they arrived in Georgia at her family's home or when they arrived at HIS family's home ?

JMO, but I don't believe she just up and left -- and if she did, she has to know that there are searches for her.

And I do not believe this was a "stranger abduction" either.

Keep talking Josh ... you are telling on yourself.

All my opinion.

MizzMarple said...

Josh Bearden told CNN affiliate KENS-TV:

"She left on her own free will. That is what she did. That is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know."
------------------------------


"own free will" is repeated twice in this statement.

But 3 is the 'liar's number.'

So does the repetition of this important phrase have any significance ?

Thanks, Peter !

Anonymous said...

I find the statement "Take your time, babe' very odd. It just does not sound like a natural thing to say if your partner says she would leave for a walk. As if she needed permission from him. Or something that woud be said in an argument. It would be far more logical to enquire where she was planning to go, especially as someone who is familiar with the neighborhood.

The statement ' She left on her own free will" is also very odd. It implies that there would be a scenario where she would not have left on her own free will. How exactly would the scenario be when she would not have left on her own free will? I can't imagine. Being forced out of the house and told never to come back? Being kidnapped by a strayer? I agree that it is an unusual statement.

Gambler777 said...

When I first read about her being missing it didn't sound to me like they thought she could've just walked away, it didn't sound like there was problems. Why did it take a number of days for them to start thinking that? Did they find evidence to make them think this? Or could it be the husband wanted to see if first she could be found without having to air any issues she may have, keep it private? Does anyone know who was home when she left? I agree the husbands wording is suspect. This case has a couple things similar to a missing persons case that's going on in the city just west of me in Whitby, Ontario. A couple weeks ago a man, Jeffrey Boucher,. an avid runner, who runs almost every morning before going to work, went missing. His daughter got up at 7:00am, father was gone as usual, he'd usually be back about 7:30am, early enough to give him time to get ready for and drive to work (he's a high school teacher.) In this case he's believed to have no money, his wallet, keys, car, were at home, he didn't have a cell phone, only clothes missing were running suit and jacket and shoes. Weather below 0 Celsius. Much colder since. Searchers have found no clues.

Anonymous said...

Oooopsie daisy! You're time = YOUR time.

Anonymous said...

First of all you took the husband's comments about "free will" out of context. He first said that after he reported her missing, law enforcement investigated and decided that Leanne had left "of her own free will" and therefore they were not immediately considering it a crime. The husband then went on to emphasize that while he agreed she had initially left the house "of her own free will", she certainly hadn't returned and therefore she might be hurt and the police SHOULD consider it an emergency. Despite leaving the house "of her own free will". He kept using that term because it was the term the police used to dismiss the urgency of the situation, and he was apparently trying to state that while he agreed with them "absolutely", his concern was what happened AFTER that.

If you take statements out of context, you can't possibly know WHY he emphasized the words. Just a little better reading would have made this clear.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

No, in fact I wrote that he may have been entering into the language of law enforcement and not his own.

Peter

Trigger said...

"She left on her own free will"

This rings of the same mind set of Drew Peterson's statement, "She is where she wants to be."

Anonymous said...

What does it mean if someone makes a list of 100 things they love about their wife and post it on facebook? Just wondering if anyone has any insights or opinions.

Unknown said...

Hi Mizz Marple

I will try to answer your question.

In SA, anything that is repeated is flagged for sensitivity, whether repeated 2 times, or 3-4 times. The more times a word or phrase is repeated, the more sensitive the topic. For example, if a man says he and his wife are, 'very, very, very happily married'...the topic of his 'happy' marriage is extremely sensitive to him.

The idea of the number 3 being the 'liars number', comes from the research of Mark McClish, who found that if someone is going to fabricate a number, the number they will most often choose is the number 3. So we always note when the number '3' appears. A good example of this concept, is a deceptive person reporting that '3' assailants attacked them. (see the fake hate crime of Charlie Rogers for an excellent example and explanation by Peter).

I hope that helped!

Anonymous said...

Both of those statements indicate control and domination. He wanted control over her walk. He asked her how long she'd be gone, giving the appearance of her freedom and then owns her again by saying, 'take your time, babe.' How magnanimous! Yet it is more, its a one up, a last word? a statement of ownership and management of her time. Its also condescending and sarcastic, as if she has trespassed his control and need for obedience, perhaps implying she will regret it. Knowing how much money she has would be normal on a European trek but not at home. Perhaps the thrill seeking and dopamine infusion from the novelty of the trip masked or made bearable his controlling behavior but she had issues with it when it was out of place at home. This strikes me as very likely. I, personally, find it unusual that they have stressed one hour. I say personally because it has no bearing on SA, or grounding. It seems to me that I or many I know would say I'll be back in a little while or before dinner rather than a specific alotmentvof my time. Did she even have a watch? The watch wou ldn't change my opinion, tho. Maybe this guy us a thrill seeker who thrives on drama, endorphins, dopamine and subbed anger, control, etc., for needed euphoria. I want to know if HE has a background if DV, psychological issues or even psychotrophic med use. The 'transition' has been brought up so many times we should throw the spotlight of that issue over onto him. DV perpetrators often project their own issues (I haven't changed, you're the problem, you're cheating, when in fact they have, they are and they do.) Thats crazy making. It's worth checking it out. Maybe she 's in a shelter network.