This Show Scares Me - Disappeared (2009) Discussion

[–] eagle79-1 14 years ago

I know what you mean. It's also depressing, chilling, sad, exciting, riveting & even "testimonial" (it preserves the memory of people who may never be found).
As far as i can remember, there is one episode where a woman is found alive & reunites with her mother (but there is more to this story & won't spoil it for you). I've seen two or three where remains are found &/or positively identified but they still don't know who the perpetrator was. It's especially hard when the person profiled is a young man or woman. It makes you think about the lost promise of these short lives (but that's IF they're dead - there are some episodes that make you wonder whether they ran away).
So get that DVR ready & tape as many as you can & treat yourself to a weekend marathon of mystery, emotion &...more mystery.

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[–] Gbolling1984 14 years ago

i know what u mean about the young people. i watched one last night about Steve Kocher. He was 30 and was a mormon living in Utah. They found his car parked in a decent retirement neighborhood in vegas but he disappeared out of nowhere on December 13th 2009. He's seen on video from someone's home surveilance camera walking with some kind of purpose down the street and then is never seen again. it was sad too because 3 weeks after they interview his family for the show his dad passed away :(

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[–] lilypad183 14 years ago

"i know what u mean about the young people. i watched one last night about Steve Kocher. He was 30 and was a mormon living in Utah. They found his car parked in a decent retirement neighborhood in vegas but he disappeared out of nowhere on December 13th 2009."

lil,
he seemed like such a nice guy from a nice family, i really doubt he was into anything wrong. i'm sure his family is devastated.

why did they try to connect his disappearance to that of susan powell? she's the one who's been missing since her husband reported her gone and police found a wet stain on the living room carpet with fans blowing on it. he took the kids camping at 12:30 am and left her at home. he obviously killed her and dumped the body. one of her sons said she's in a mine.
why would they try to connect her with steve rocher in las vegas?

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[–] Gbolling1984 14 years ago

i think at the time. during the early stages of the investigation they thought maybe they linked up somehow and ran off together since their disappearances were kinda similar and they both were from Utah. I think it was just the early stages of grasping at straws.

I honestly think he met someone out there and he thought it was for a job opportunity and it turned out to be something not on the up and up. or he was truly depressed about his job situation and killed himself. i kinda doubt that though. the weird thing is the call the day after his disappearance to his voicemail. that one trips me out. i can't imagine some stranger calling his voicemail so i assume it would be him but that' just me

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[–] lilypad183 14 years ago

"i think at the time. during the early stages of the investigation they thought maybe they linked up somehow and ran off together since their disappearances were kinda similar and they both were from Utah."

lil,
i can't see how they ever connected the two people. she was married with 2 children, stephen was a devout mormon who would never have cheated with a married woman.

i think his mother was right, he walked off into the desert and died out there. it's very sad.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nmbv 14 years ago

Stranger things have happened though- I think nothing can be ruled out. It was a weak connection though, which is probably why it ultimately was decided against.

The night is a very dark time for me.

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[–] nativenewyorker88 9 years ago

That episode really stayed with me. Getting all those job rejection letters while coming across as a really nice, well meaning, hard working type of guy with a nice, close family. Really, sad...

Another sad case was the ex Marine? Who went on a wilderness hiking trip in the midst of a snow storm. Another ep that stayed with me.

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[–] Seyphfa 14 years ago

There was another case with Michelle McMullen; she had driven her 5-year-old son to her parents and supposedly was going to drive back to the university she was attending and then disappeared. Turns out she was being investigated for stealing nearly $20,000 from a church and had left for California. The show mentioned how she had been spotted by a family friend who recognized her as she was working at a motel under an assumed name, and the next day she was gone, but the police knew it was her. I think they caught her this past January, in California, with a different false name.

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[–] Gbolling1984 14 years ago

i think they're reairing her episode monday with the new info. i believe she was found. alive and well.

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[–] Kroyall1962 12 years ago

Actually most of them don't just "up and vanish". The majority of the victims are doing things that are known to be high risk. Not all of them, but a good portion of them.

Getting mixed up with the wrong kind of people, taking unnecessary risks, drug use, getting involved with "adult entertainment" etc. Others have mental issues, others are involved in crimes, still others just want to get away from their life. Even the people that were victims of crime didn't take basic precautions or were too trusting of people they barely knew.

The reason it seems shocking to those around them is that many of them are harboring secrets. They are involved in situations they should have avoided. If something or someone seems "weird", they probably are. Don't get involved with trashy people and carry a gun.

If you are a female don't wander around by yourself in the middle of nowhere because you are a sitting duck for scumbags. If you are in a bind or a bad situation, tell somebody. If you use common sense are aware of your surroundings, you can avoid becoming "disappeared" for the most part.

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[–] AeroSP79 12 years ago

If you are a female don't wander around by yourself in the middle of nowhere because you are a sitting duck for scumbags.

That kind of thinking gets people paranoid of everything. One, it is very rare to disappear. On top of that, it is even more unlikely to be abducted by a stranger. While your later advice about being aware of the surroundings is good, weirdos are not hiding out everywhere waiting to attack us.

"Can my code name be Lando Calrissian?" - Logan from Moonlight

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[–] ludances 9 years ago

^ Not to argue with you, but I agree with the previous poster, there ARE weirdos hanging around to attack. The world is In a bad place right now, crime is on the rise, and these crazies are taking advantage of every situation. I live in a townhouse community, in the past year, two women have been attacked on my street, both were walking alone in the neighborhood after 10pm. It's a very nice upscale neighborhood, but that doesn't make a difference, criminals live everywhere! You just can't put yourself in harms way, you can't make it easy for some lowlife to take advantage of the situation and attack you. Of course you can't walk around paranoid, but you can't put yourself in a vulnerable situation either. Unfortunately, we have to be on guard at all times. Just look at all these shows on ID, 'See No Evil' young women getting abducted in daylight with people around. It's crazy!

Knock if off Napolean make yourself a dang quesadil-la!


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[–] Mr_Ectoplasma 9 years ago

You're wrong. Crime is not on the rise, at least in the U.S.—it's at an all time low. There are psychopaths no matter what, but overall, major crimes (such as murder) are not necessarily common occurrences when you look at the bigger picture of the population at large.

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[–] babz12 9 years ago

Agreed. It may seem like there is more and more crime, but that's just because of all the different media sources we now have at hand. The news and shows like this have made people more paranoid and aware that bad things can and do happen, but it doesn't mean they're happening more. These incidents also are from varied years, it's not like they're happening every day in every neighborhood. It's here and there over many, many years.

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[–] bron-tay 12 years ago

I've recently seen two shows where the people were found. Can't remember their names, but in one case a runaway young woman -- I think she went to Hollywood -- turned up in a hospital and her mother took her home. In another, a respected and successful businessman in a small town turned out to be a crook and was eventually caught.

I think there have also been some where remains were confirmed (sad).

~~~~~~~
Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.

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[–] beckiebeck 12 years ago

There was also the one where the girl disappeared and her family couldn't find her and it turns out she was several states away, with amnesia and she still doesn't remember how she got there.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] dazeerae 11 years ago

This show disturbs me too. I love it, but it scares the crap out of me more than any thriller or horror movie.

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[–] reeseslightning 11 years ago

One of my favorites is the story of a woman who vanished along the highway. Her husband freaked and started looking for her. Turns out she was in a wreck and the car rolled down an embankment and they found her by the pinging of her cell phone. She was alive but barely. Her and hubby are still together and very much in love.

That's about the only one with a true happy ending. Others I've seen are because the person ran away or something and later reunited. This case though I think is the only one that was truly baffling because she loved her husband and her life. Fortunately, they found her literally hours away from death.

Make him do it again - Ilithyia
The voice says I'm almost out of minutes - Cas

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[–] libby2130 11 years ago

I made a list found alive ........season/episode #

season 1
michelle whitaker episode (1-04)
michele Mcmahon.......... (1-08)
royal scoop daniel........(1-13)

season 2

tanya rider...............(2-01)
tom carney................(2-11)

season 3 none

season 4

amber gerweck..............(4-04)
chroma gray ..............(4-23)

season 5
santana stratton ..........(5-06)

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[–] DaysFan79 11 years ago

I'm not a fan of the episodes where the person is found. Not that I don't want them to be alive and well, but when the show produces those episodes they already know the person is fine. It's more of a guess to the viewer. I suppose they want to throw in some happy ending episodes but to me it's a waste because they could be devoting it to someone who is still missing and it may draw new attention and clues to their case.

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[–] alyssie 9 years ago

I feel the same way about those episodes.

Also, I think what's scary about the show is that people DON'T just up and vanish. Either they are in hiding, we're kidnapped, murdered, committed suicide, whatever. The scary thing is is that their friends and family don't know which it is

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[–] hilaryjrp 9 years ago

I'm not a fan of the episodes where the person is found. Not that I don't want them to be alive and well, but when the show produces those episodes they already know the person is fine. It's more of a guess to the viewer. I suppose they want to throw in some happy ending episodes but to me it's a waste because they could be devoting it to someone who is still missing and it may draw new attention and clues to their case.

Wow, am I glad I read down-thread (and down-forum) before posting a new thread about almost the exact thing.

I had never seen the Amber Gerweck episode. I know that some rich people whose stories (or whose children's stories) are profiled pull whole episodes from the internet (Ray Gricar's case is gone). So I wondered if Amber Gerweck was also from a privileged background. That episode is *so* unlike other Disappeareds. First, the loud banging music. I love this show specifically because it's not theatrical and overly enhanced with special effects. And the Amber Gerweck episode isn't recent, which only adds to its curiosity.

Unlike the other missing-then-found actual mysteries (Michelle Whittaker's is the best by far), the Gerweck episode actually angered me. So many episodes delve in painful detail into the disappeared person's background and circumstances. The Joey(?) Lynn Offut episode told way too much about that poor soul. But then there's this woman with four children who has her own apartment and lives without them, plus the two trips, to Georgia and Illinois, with not a soul who witnessed her. I've never had the feeling anyone might have paid the producers to avoid certain subjects, except with this one.

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