Friday, January 24, 2014

Terry Elvis' Poem Father of Heather Elvis

This was written by the father of missing Heather Elvis.  

Statement Analysis has not indicated Terry Elvis for deception in the disappearance of his daughter, Heather.  We can apply Statement Analysis (bold type) to poems.  We note, particularly, the pronoun usage.   It is interesting to compare this poem to the language of several other cases:

Baby Ayla,
Hailey Dunn
Baby Lisa
Isabel Celis


"New Years Eve...
Surrounded by darkness 
I am afraid 
Of what I do not know 
I search for the light to 
get away from the darkness that smothers me so.
I stand here with my arms wide open waiting for you to come
back home.
Waiting for you to come back to me the one you call daddy.
You´re nowhere to be found 
You´re lost somewhere out there, and I am here in plain
sight yet I am just as lost. I search everywhere, I can hear your voice in my head, I close my eyes and there you are. I reach out into the darkness but find only the void left behind. I cry for your safety with each breath as I speak to God and I remember the times you spoke to him too. I nap if I can but with the phones beside my head. I have a little more of my soul drained each hour you are not here and my heart is shredded from worry and fear. I look now under the Christmas tree where it should be empty but presents you asked for are still there wrapped and waiting to bring a smile to your face. Yes it is New Years Eve for most, but this year will not end or move forward for me as long as you are not here to show me what the new year will bring.
So while those around me celebrate and bring in the new year, I will shed several more tears and only think of you and finding you as fast as I can. Heather show me how to find you, show me how to live again, please please God please I can no longer do this." -- Terry Elvis


"New Years Eve...
Surrounded by darkness 
I am afraid 
Of what I do not know 


This is reported in the negative and is very important.  It is the cause of being "afraid":  the unknown.  This means that one is enslaved to an imagination of what Heather could possibly be suffering from.  Parents experience this while children are not missing, but away, sometimes on a school bus for the first time, or away at camp.  It is multiplied infinite times by being missing. This is a theme of fear that was distinctly absent from the language of Justin DiPietro and Billie Jean Dunn. 


I search for the light to 
get away from the darkness that smothers me so.


We note the inclusion of "light" in context:  versus darkness.  Darkness hinders sight.  
Note that it is not a light being turned on or off.  

I stand here with my arms wide open waiting for you to come
back home.


Note the pronoun usage indicating closeness.  "I" is used here and "me" following: 


Waiting for you to come back to me the one you call daddy.


"daddy" is personal, term of endearment. 

You´re nowhere to be found 
You´re lost somewhere out there, and I am here in plain
sight yet I am just as lost. 


Contrast of what it means to be "lost" (note repetition)
Note admission that he knows she is out there "somewhere", which is a place, rather than "not somewhere"

I search everywhere, I can hear your voice in my head, I close my eyes and there you are. 

Note present tense language in terms of searching, hearing, seeing, reaching, crying...
In spite of pain, he continues to labor to find his daughter.  Compare this to Justin DiPietro who said he was "emotionally incapable" of even speaking for his "missing" daughter. 

I reach out into the darkness but find only the void left behind. I cry for your safety with each breath as I speak to God and I remember the times you spoke to him too.

 I nap if I can but with the phones beside my head. I have a little more of my soul drained each hour you are not here and my heart is shredded from worry and fear. I look now under the Christmas tree where it should be empty but presents you asked for are still there wrapped and waiting to bring a smile to your face. Yes it is New Years Eve for most, but this year will not end or move forward for me as long as you are not here to show me what the new year will bring.

Please compare the use of pronouns with that of Deborah Bradley, mother of Baby Lisa. For Terry Elvis, this is unclose and personal.  For Bradley, it was distancing language that she hid behind. 

Note that time stands still due to Heather's status.  This is in stark contrast to Sergio Celis who's 7 year old daughter, Isabel, went "missing", and which the parents were not only deceptive, but quickly embraced the concept of moving on without her, though nothing was given to them by police to indicate that Isabel was dead.

The language of the parents showed deception, and knowledge of Isabel's death. 


So while those around me celebrate and bring in the new year, I will shed several more tears and only think of you and finding you as fast as I can. Heather show me how to find you, show me how to live again, please please God please I can no longer do this."
-- Terry Elvis

37 comments:

Local anon in the Hailey Dunn case said...

Aside from the fact that Terry's peom is tear jerking, it is definately written by a parent who is lost and devistated and helpless wanting to find his daughter. In stark contrast to Billie Jean Dunn's words and actions. Instead of time stopping because Hailey was missing it marched right along with a New Year's eve party to bring in the new year.

Can someone please catch me up? I know her car was found by the boat landing. What about purse, credit cards, cell phones, missing clothes and personal items that might indicate she went away for a while?

Maggie said...

Peter, Thanks for analyzing this poem.
I agree with your observations that the pronoun usage is very personal and not distancing.
I do have a question or two about the poem. I will have to reread it a few times.

Maggie said...

Local--her father has said that her purse and her cell phone are missing along with her and that no other items seems to be missing.

Maggie said...


I have a question about these lines of the poem:

"I stand here with my arms wide open waiting for you to come
back home.
Waiting for you to come back to me the one you call daddy."

1) I notice the repetition of "waiting for you to come back".

2) His phrasing of his sentiment that he wants her to come back home to him by writing he wants her to come back to "the one you call daddy" is strange to me. The reason for this is his use of the words "the one" you call daddy. (I am also noticing that "daddy" is written with a lowercase "d".) But, when he uses the phrase "the one" I can't but think that he is specifying himself from a group. He is "the one she calls daddy". So, what is coming up for me with this poem is that as he writes this, perhaps in his mind, there are other "ones" she does not call daddy. It's probably nothing, but it did jump out at me.

Local anon in the Hailey Dunn case said...

Thanks Maggie

Local anon in the Hailey Dunn case said...

Sorry for the multiple posts. I don't know what happened and hope it doesn't happen again now.

floridamomma said...

wait... the teen from NH, Animal (?), didn't her dad use the same phrase? "the one you call daddy"?

*scratches head*

floridamomma said...

abigal!

Maggie said...

The line could also be used a different way: Was there "one" (of him) she did not call "daddy"? Meaning when she got older, she no longer called him "daddy"?

exhausted said...

btw, it has been pointed out that... well, look over her right arm... see the initials? I do not believe in coincidences.

Anonymous said...

Maggie, there is nothing wrong in Terry's usage of "the one you call daddy." My dad was a much older man when he married my mother, and I was born. Until he died, he always referred to himself as ' your old daddy", "your daddy", "let your old daddy hold you little girl" "come to your old daddy, honey" and so on, well after I grew up and married with a child of my own. To me and to him, no matter how old, daddy was his name.

You're just not used to this particular close term of endearment and I am. Sure, Heather would still have continued to call him daddy; I did until the day my dad died, by then a very old man. There's nothing wrong with this, Maggie.

Anonymous said...

thanks for analizing this!

Anonymous said...

which pic to look over her right arm?

Anonymous said...

Exhausted @ 4:26, there are plenty of coincidences in this life. In fact during our normal daily actions, most interactions are mere coincidence. For instance, your daughter sees that her classmate sitting next to her has a new yellow #2 pencil just like hers. THIS is a coincidence. Or, if I wear green levis into the corner store and in walks another lady, a stranger to me, wearing the exact same green levis, this is pure coincidence.

No way could you ever convince me (and I hope no one else), that some 'spirit' overcame me and told me to wear the green levis and told her to wear the same green levis at the same time. Nor would some spirit make sure the two classmates had the same identical #2 yellow pencils at the same time on the same day.

If this is what you mean, then you would have to be living in a world dominated by spirits that misguide you. Believing there are no coincidences would be a terrible way to live, wouldn't it?

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/HeatherElvis

Maggie said...

Anon @ 5:07--I think I may not have communicated what I was trying to say as well as I could have. I am not criticizing his use of the term "daddy". What I had focused in on was his use of the words "the one".
I also did note that the word "daddy" is in lowercase.
I feel his use of the words "the one" mean that he is differentiating "one" from the "others". I also notice he uses past tense in writing "the one you CALLED daddy". My interpretation is that there are, in fact, "others" of himself that she does not call "daddy". "The one" she "called" daddy was himself in the past. I feel it is worth noting.

Maggie said...

Anon @ 5:07--I think I may not have communicated what I was trying to say as well as I could have. I am not criticizing his use of the term "daddy". What I had focused in on was his use of the words "the one".
I also did note that the word "daddy" is in lowercase.
I feel his use of the words "the one" mean that he is differentiating "one" from the "others". I also notice he uses past tense in writing "the one you CALLED daddy". My interpretation is that there are, in fact, "others" of himself that she does not call "daddy". "The one" she "called" daddy was himself in the past. I feel it is worth noting.

exhausted said...

see pic at tOP of this page.

sure, some things are coincidences. some are not. most are not. she disappears after a night of calls to an older, married man with one very pissed off wife? not a coincidence. not likely, anyway.

Anonymous said...

Exhausted, you fail to mention what it is that we are supposed to be seeing in the photo at the top of this page. All I see is a photo of a younger Heather holding her dog and coyly posed, looking down. What more is there to see? Explain?

Actually Exhausted, Heathers' disappearance could be a coincidence and not committed by someone she knew at all. She could have easily met up with a total stranger that night, which WOULD have been a coincidence as I'm sure she wouldn't have gone out to meet up with an unknown killer stranger. Who would?

Sure, it's suspicious that either the wife Tammy, or the married lover Sydney could have killed her and disposed of her body; but it's also possible that it was someone else entirely.

There HAVE been several mysterious disappearance of young women in the Myrtle Beach area in the last couple of years. Heather could "coincidentally" be another one.

Kellie Sue said...

Great analysis Peter!!

I too am stuck on "the one you call daddy". It has a guilty feel to it. Which since there are no signs of deception I would attribute that to feeling he failed her because of the situation. That is understandable. BUT I still think there is an awful lot of language from Heather that seems violently sexual. So I'm a little confused on this I guess.

Based on some things she said I'm not convinced she didn't run away. Many seem to be jumping to the conclusion that she is dead, but nothing at this point really proves that is the case.

Michélle said...

I agree with Maggie in regards to the sentence "the one you call daddy". It sounds like he's not her biological father, but still the one she calls daddy.
It doesn't make me suspicious or think he knows something about her whereabouts, but I don't think any (biological) parent would say that about him/herself.

Anonymous said...

1) When someone is 'looking' to find something wrong, i.e. Terrys' comment "the one you call(ed) daddy" it's very easy to do because that's what you're looking for. This is what some of you are doing; you're just looking to find something wrong with this fathers' comment, trying to make a big deal out of nothing, thereby placing the man under some sort of twisted suspicion.

No, it does not sound like he's not her biological father. It sounds like he IS her bio father. It's all in whether you are attempting to find something wrong, the slightest little thing you can; which, BTW, makes no difference one way or the other. Get a grip; Terry Elvis has NOT been found to be deceitful.

2) I hope the man will soon make himself clear, and if necessary, PROVE that he is Heathers' biological father. THEN would you be satisfied?

3) Finally, should it turn out that Heather was adopted by Terry, or otherwise wound up being raised by him; it is still appropriate for him to say to her, "the one you call(ed) daddy". Whether adopted or natural bio, this is a term of father/daughter endearment and not something sinister that some of you are implying that it is.

Anonymous said...

Kelly Sue @ ll:53:

1) Where's the language from Heather that seems violently sexual? Care to explain?

2) What had Heather said that convinces you she didn't run away? At 3:30 in the morning, having left her apt after a date and a distressing phone conversation with as yet, an unknown party; mysteriously leaving her car behind parked sideways in a parking lot and with no trace of her scent by dog sniffer handlers and searchers?

I'd say you have a very vivid imagination and not much else to go on.

Anonymous said...

RE: "the one you call daddy." Perhaps, he still sees her as his "little girl," & perhaps he always will. It is common for parents to feel this way - especially when they are worried about their children. My father-in-law (76) would refer to my husband (54) as "my boy." Terry Elvis is fears for his "little girl" & her safety.

Anonymous said...

oh S M

Kellie Sue said...

Anonymous said...

Kelly Sue @ ll:53:

1) Where's the language from Heather that seems violently sexual? Care to explain?

2) What had Heather said that convinces you she didn't run away? At 3:30 in the morning, having left her apt after a date and a distressing phone conversation with as yet, an unknown party; mysteriously leaving her car behind parked sideways in a parking lot and with no trace of her scent by dog sniffer handlers and searchers?

I'd say you have a very vivid imagination and not much else to go on.

January 25, 2014 at 8:01 AM


Are you able to read?
twitter.com/HeatherElvis

Maggie said...

I didnt read the poem looking for something wrong. I have read a lot of poetry in my life, and I notice word choice in poems.
There are 2 things that jump out at me
1) his saying he is in "plain sight" which is a phrase often used when someone says they are "hiding in plain sight"
2). "the one you call daddy"--I question what emotional perspective these words are coming from.

I agree with Peter--no deception in his writing.
One interview I watched I did hear signs of deception when he responded to the question of what he would like to say to Heather if she is watching.
Do I think he's guilty? I dont know. Do I think something is off with him? Yes.

Kellie Sue said...

And PS Anon January 25, 2014 at 8:01 AM
I SAID I'm NOT convinced she didn't run away. Again, read before responding next time. Make sure you understand what's actually been said. That would be helpful.

Kellie Sue said...

I agree Maggie. I don't know who did what, but I do know what I see and something just isn't lining up with the whole situation.

Anonymous said...

Kelly Sue re your post @8:28; again you are saying "I'm not convinced she didn't run away". "DIDN'T" is the key word you are using. This is exactly what I conveyed that you said in your previous post @ 11:53. I realize, you are trying to say that you suspect she COULD HAVE ran away and NOT that she didn't run away. I get it, I know what you meant, however it's not my fault if that's the way you said it. Whatever.

Like it or not; you are still conveying your vivid imagination when you have absolutely nothing to go on that Heather COULD have ran away, while all circumstantial evidence at this point indicates that she did NOT run away.

Anonymous said...

Your post @ 8:30: It's not lining up for you because you don't WANT it to line up.

Mouse74 said...

Here's an idea, Peter: In order to comment, wanna-be posters must complete an IQ test and achieve a minimum requirement score.

I sure miss the early days of your blog. I learned just as much from your commenters as I did your posts. Now…I just want to beat my head into the wall after a long read of comments.

Yet, I'm still reading. Still here. Keep up the great analysis.

Anonymous said...

Mouse 74, your post @8:42; inasmuch as you think Peter should give wanna-be posters an IQ test and they be required to pass with a minimum score; I'd be concerned about myself failing it before I go challenging others. I think maybe you need to think this over a little closer, my dear. You don't seem to be the sharpest blade in the drawer, honey chile. KWIM? Just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Kelly Sue, re your post at 8:24 p.m., 1/25; I did click on and read the link you posted.

Although I still perceive that you have somewhat an uncalled for vivid imagination; I do see your point in believing Heathers' posts could be labeled sexually violent. Throwing a little imagination into the mix, they certainly could have been. No question, she expresses herself in ugly (beyond naughty) and explicit terms, definitely no lady.

I read her posts all the way back to sometime in May until I'd had enough of it and couldn't stomach any more; but I noticed that as time progresses forward she gets even more explicit. Not to demean the victim, but this was a nasty mouthed young girl. I can see why Tammy referred to her as a ho, among other choice names.

She was blessed that her parents wanted anything to do with her at all. Frankly, I didn't see all that much to love about her. This was/is one crude and vulgar babe.

blessed to have her parents love?! said...

Talk about rude and vulgar Anon 4:12. This poor girl has probably been murdered, and her body is out in the cold right now, denied a loving burial. Shame on you.

Kellie Sue said...

I mention the sexually violent language because that tie-in has been discussed on this blog in regards to possible sexual molestation. It was discussed several times concerning BJD and her use of sexually violent language. This is a Statement Analysis blog and I believe her language qualifies as something to be looked at in that context.

As for the possibility that Heather ran away, many are insisting she did NOT. I am just saying I see it as a possibility. Especially in light of several things she said on her twitter account. Your question to me anon was - What had Heather said that convinces you she didn't run away? - I'm NOT convinced and that's what I said. So Anon, you did misread me whether you want to admit or not. I don't know why you've decided you must try to discount me as a person in some way just because you disagree with me. My imagination is just fine thank you very much! Vivid or not.

I am sorry this girl is missing and I hope she is found safe. Discussing her obvious character in no way discounts that. She was living a risky lifestyle and that will attract an element into your life that can end very badly. Am I blaming the victim? No. Am I looking at reality? Yes. I'm looking for answers just like everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Blessed to have her parents love? @ 11:51; you twist my words. I did not say she was blessed to have their love, I said she was blessed that her parents wanted anything to do with her at all, and she WAS blessed in this regard, in light of her lifestyle and the vulgarities she expressed in her posts. Unless that is the type lifestyle they live themselves and approve of her living such a lose lifestyle as well; which in fact, could be the very thing that has led to her present status, I'm sorry to say.

This is very sad, but that does not mean that her parents wouldn't still love her. Of course they would! I feel very sorry for her parents in their tormented grief and sad pleadings, now not knowing where their daughter is or what happened to her; and for Heather too as no one plans for their life to come to such a drastic set of circumstances no matter what their lifestyle has been.

I admit my post was a bit strong, but Heather showed no respect for herself or her parents in her posts. Personally, yes I would be ashamed of my daughter for not showing respect for herself on a public forum, which is also disrespectful to her parents.

That is not to say that a parent wouldn't still love and grieve for their missing child regardless as to their lifestyle, and possibly even more so, knowing how much more she could have done with her life.

Kellie Sue, I can see where you get the idea that she might have run away; I can also see where the possibility exists that she might have committed suicide. But the facts so far aren't stacking up this way since her car was found parked in such a manner as if someone else pulled it up in a hurry and parked it sideways, jumped out and got into someone elses car; but it wasn't Heather since the sniffer dogs did not detect her scent around the car.

I too am sorry she is missing and above all, I hope she is found safe. I feel very badly for Heather, more than you could possibly know.