The Disappearance of Leah Roberts

EARLY LIFE:

Leah Roberts was calved connected July 23, 1976 to Nancy and Stancil Roberts. The youngest of 3 children, she was raised successful Durham, North Carolina.

While Leah had a comparatively mean childhood, things took a crook astatine 17 erstwhile her begetter was diagnosed with a life-threatening respiratory disease. Three years later, her parent died unexpectedly of bosom disease. Leah, a sophomore astatine North Carolina State University, took immoderate clip disconnected to beryllium with her family, earlier turning successful the autumn of 1998.

Not agelong aft returning to school, Leah was progressive successful a near-fatal car mishap erstwhile a transport motortruck turned retired successful beforehand of her. She suffered a punctured lung and shattered femur, for which she had a metallic rod placed successful her leg. Her endurance was a life-changing infinitesimal for the young woman, who viewed it arsenic her “second chance.”

While attending North Carolina State University, Leah played shot and did a semester successful Spain. She’d besides signed up for a tract survey programme successful Costa Rica when, erstwhile again, calamity struck. In 1999, aft years of dealing with his condition, Stancil passed away.

While upset, Leah decided to proceed with her travel to the Caribbean, and it was an acquisition that wholly changed her satellite view. She became funny successful “life’s adventure” and wanted to spot the world. She began penning poesy and keeping a journal, and yet decided to permission school, conscionable six months earlier she was slated to postgraduate with a grade with Spanish and anthropology.

Upon leaving school, Leah, an already backstage person, drew distant from her halfway person radical and began learning to play the guitar and signifier photography. She besides adopted a kitten.

DISAPPEARANCE:

On the greeting of March 9, 2000, Leah received a telephone telephone from her sister, Kara, who asked however she was doing. At 11:00 AM, she besides confirmed plans with her roommate, Nicole Weeks, for a babysitting occupation the pursuing day.

When Leah didn’t amusement up to babysit, Nicole didn’t deliberation overmuch of it. Given their conflicting schedules, it wasn’t uncommon for them to spell a time oregon 2 without seeing each other. However, she began to turn disquieted by March 12, prompted, successful part, by calls from friends looking to get successful interaction with Leah. She called Kara astir noon that time and the brace spent the adjacent 24 hours calling everyone who knew Leah, to nary avail.

On March 13, Leah’s friends met Kara and Nicole astatine her residence. Kara searched her sister’s country and determined that she’d near voluntarily, fixed the items that were missing, including her caller kitten, Bea. Despite this assumption, she inactive reported Leah missing to the Raleigh Police Department, fixed her sister’s intelligence and affectional state.

Kara returned to the location the pursuing time to double-check that she hadn’t overlooked anything. It was during this 2nd hunt that she came crossed a enactment Leah had near for Nicole. With it, she’d near capable wealth to screen a month’s worthy of bills, and portion it was mostly cryptic, the missive had a blessed tone.

Leah besides utilized the accidental to marque notation to Jack Kerouac’s book, On the Road. This jogged Nicole’s memory, with the missing woman’s roommate recalling a speech they’d had astir a cross-country roadworthy trip. This brought to caput different Kerouac book, Dharma Burns, which is acceptable successful Whatcom County, Washington.

Curious arsenic to wherever her sister had traveled, Kara began looking into Leah’s slope record; she’d been fixed powerfulness of lawyer erstwhile Leah went to Costa Rica. She’d withdrawn $3,000 successful currency astir 6:00 PM connected March 9, with determination being a motel complaint successful Memphis, Tennessee the pursuing day. Additional spending showed Leah had driven westbound on I-40 until she deed California, astatine which clip she headed northbound connected I-5.

Her past noted transaction was astatine soon aft midnight connected March 13, astatine a state presumption successful Brooks, Oregon.

While Kara was examining Leah’s fiscal records, Nicole and her friends began canvassing the area. They came crossed a pistillate who regularly talked with Leah astatine the Cup ‘O Joe coffeehouse. She revealed that the missing pistillate had been discussing her tendency to sojourn Desolation Peak successful Whatcom County, Washington – the nonstop determination mentioned successful Dharma Burns.

On March 18, a section antheral and his woman were going for an aboriginal greeting tally successful Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, successful Washington, erstwhile they came crossed a crashed vehicle. The achromatic Jeep Cherokee was recovered on Canyon Creek Road, 30 miles eastbound of Bellingham.

The antheral called 911. When deputies arrived connected the scene, they felt thing was suspicious, but besides considered the conveyance could person been abandoned by a drunk driver, arsenic was somewhat communal for the area. However, upon further examination, they recovered the breached windows of the Jeep had been covered with towels and clothes, indicating idiosyncratic had been staying successful it. They besides located a fig of belongings, including a passport, chequebook, guitar, driver’s licence and CDs.

Given the Jeep had a North Carolina licence plate, the authorities successful that authorities were called, astatine which constituent it was discovered that the conveyance was linked to Leah’s missing idiosyncratic report. Officers near a enactment astatine Kara’s residence, asking that she interaction the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. It was past that she learned that Leah was genuinely missing.

INVESTIGATION:

Upon learning astir the crash, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office sent officers to the scene. An probe of the tract showed Leah’s Jeep Cherokee had been traveling betwixt 30-40 MPH erstwhile it went disconnected the road, meaning whoever was wrong it astatine the clip would – oregon should – person been severely injured. However, nary signs were recovered to amusement that anyone was injured, nor were determination immoderate footprints leaving the scene.

On March 21, 2000, Kara and her brother, Heath, travelled to Bellingham, Washington to statesman their ain hunt into Leah’s disappearance. Upon being brought to the country wherever her Jeep was found, they began to rotation if she’d possibly deed her caput and wandered away, but nary country hospitals had records of treating an injured oregon disoriented woman.

While sifting done the items successful the vehicle, investigators recovered nary signs of Leah’s kitten, but they did find a keepsake box. Within it was a movie summons stub for the movie American Beauty astatine the theatre successful Bellis Fair Mall, successful Bellingham. It was timestamped 2:10 PM connected March 13, 2000.

No 1 remembered seeing Leah astatine the theatre, but Kara did sojourn the sit-down edifice astatine the mall, wherever 2 patrons recalled seeing her. One said she was unfastened and kind, portion the different said they chatted astir Jack Kerouac and her reasons for being successful Washington. He told investigators that Leah near with a antheral known lone arsenic “Barry,” and provided a description. This, however, went against the relationship of the archetypal individual, who said the missing pistillate had near the edifice alone.

As missing persons flyers were enactment up crossed Bellingham, investigators and agents with the FBI began to decently process Leah’s car. They came crossed a brace of pants with $2,400 successful the pockets, meaning she’d lone spent $100 of the $2,500 she’d arrived successful the country with. As well, they came crossed her mother’s engagement ringing nether a floorboard. As Leah seldom took it off, this led the constabulary to theorize that she’d been intentionally harmed.

Approximately 1 week aft the Jeep was discovered, an anonymous antheral called successful to accidental that helium and his woman whitethorn person tally into Leah astatine a Texaco state presumption successful Everett, Washington soon aft its believed the conveyance was abandoned. He said she appeared to beryllium disoriented and wasn’t alert of her identity.

Unfortunately, helium ended the telephone earlier investigators could inquire him for further details. It’s believed this sighting is valid, with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office assuming the antheral panicked during the telephone for chartless reasons.

Within 2 weeks of the Jeep’s discovery, searches began of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, opening connected Canyon Creek Road. An country was mapped retired based connected however acold an injured idiosyncratic could question connected foot, aft which dogs, crushed unit and helicopters were brought in. Nothing was found, starring investigators to theorize that Leah either wasn’t successful the conveyance erstwhile it crashed oregon that she wasn’t wounded successful the incident.

While this hunt was occurring, officers contacted the state presumption successful Brooks, Oregon that Leah had past visited earlier she went missing. Surveillance footage from wrong was collected, showing her by herself. However, she kept peering retired the doorway portion waiting for the clerk to ringing successful her purchase. Unfortunately, determination were nary cameras pointed outside, meaning nary 1 knows who oregon what Leah was looking at.

In 2005, volunteers from a North Carolina-based missing persons consciousness radical organized a caravan crossed the United States, to rise consciousness astir respective cases, including Leah’s.

The pursuing year, investigators re-examined the Jeep, to spot if thing had been overlooked. The hood was popped unfastened and, on with fingerprints, signs were recovered to amusement tampering. The starter relay had had its ligament cut, allowing the conveyance to accelerate without a operator down the wheel.

The tampering was similar done by a mechanic oregon idiosyncratic with cognition of cars. This brought officers backmost to the 2nd antheral from the restaurant, who was successful the subject and had acquisition arsenic a mechanic. He’d since moved to Canada, meaning investigators had to interaction Canadian authorities to get his fingerprints and DNA.

The fingerprints were a dormant end, and nary updates person been provided regarding whether his DNA was a lucifer to that recovered connected Leah’s belongings.

DETAILS:

Leah Toby Roberts went missing from Whatcom County, Washington successful mid-March 2000. She was 23 years aged astatine the time, and was driving a achromatic 1993 Jeep Cherokee, North Carolina licence sheet JVP-2881.

When she disappeared, Leah was 5’6″ successful tallness and weighed 130 pounds. She had sandy blonde hairsbreadth and bluish eyes, and was past known to beryllium wearing respective pieces of jewelry: 14-karat golden earrings with .3-carat ruby stones and 3 rings connected her close hand, including a 14-karat achromatic golden ringing acceptable with a .45-carat emerald-cut diamond flanked by 2 .07-carat baguette diamonds.

Leah has a fig of distinguishable features, including dimples, a surgical scar connected her close hep and a quality people supra the upper-right country of her lip. The aforesaid country that caused the scar connected her hep besides resulted successful a metallic rod being placed successful her leg. This would person a unsocial serial number.

Other notable details astir Leah are that she has a beardown Southern accent, is simply a vegetarian, she smokes cigarettes and speaks fluent Spanish.

CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Leah’s lawsuit is presently classified arsenic endangered missing.

Anyone with accusation is asked to interaction the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office astatine either (360) 676-6650, (360) 778-6600 oregon (360) 778-6760. The sheriff’s bureau tin besides beryllium contacted via its dispatch centre astatine (360) 676-6711 oregon its extremity enactment astatine (360) 778-6663.

Image Credit: International Missing Persons Wiki

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