Teen Goes Down the Drain in NH Flashflood

PHOTO: The hunt is on for a Nashua NH teen believed to have gone down the drain during a flashflood this weekend.

At one point during Friday's relentless downpours, rain was falling on drought stricken New Hampshire at the rate of three inches per hour, activating a succession of dangerous surges and emergency alerts.

That much fast-flowing water also caused some cities' storm-drainage systems to become so overwhelmed so quickly that metal sewer covers started "popping off."

Today, a missing storm cap is what Nashua police think led to the sudden disappearance of Jacob Goulet as he was walking home late Friday night from a friend's place.

Several agencies are now actively searching Nashua's waterways for the 16-year-old, who was officially listed as missing on Saturday morning when he didn't make it home as expected.

Goulet was already thought to have gone down the drain the night before when someone called 911 to report that possibility just before 10 p.m. -- the same hour the youth was seen passing through the neighborhood on foot.

Though the caller hadn't actually witnessed him being sucked into the drainage hole, a number of personal items later found near the drain's opening were identified as belonging to the still-missing teenager.

New Hampshire's Public Radio station is reporting at this hour that teams are probing both the Nashua River and the Merrimack River for Jacob Goulet's body, while officials continue to monitor the city's flooded storm system as well.

Goulet stands 5-foot-8-inches tall and weighs approximately 200 pounds. He has black hair shaven into a mohawk and was wearing a studded denim vest, gray shirt, dark shorts and black sneakers when he vanished.

Anyone who knows of his current whereabouts or who comes across his remains is asked to call the Nashua Police Department immediately at 603-594-3500.

Eponymous Rox

Missing NH Man John Watkins Found Drowned

The drowning of yet another missing young man -- John Watkins of New Hampshire (below) -- is making this winter one of the deadliest 'Smiley Face Killer' seasons on record.

Watkins, 23 and slight, was last seen early Christmas eve in Merrimack NH.

Loved ones reported the Nashua man missing after his vehicle was later found abandoned in the town of Milford, some distance from his last known location.

Watkins hasn't been seen or heard from since December 24, 2015, but over the weekend a jogger running along the Souhegan River Trails spied a corpse floating in the water.

Police said today they were sure it was the remains of John Watkins and don't suspect foul play, although a formal identification and autopsy to determine how he died is pending.

Watkins is one of many unfortunate young men in the U.S. and across the pond who've gone mysteriously missing this winter, only to turn up dead in icy bodies of water days or weeks later ... if at all.

In Boston, for instance, police continue to probe the city's waterfronts and waterways for missing Harvard man Zach Marr, who disappeared while standing outside the historic Bell In Hand on February 13th.

Minutes before vanishing, Marr had urgently texted a relative inside the tavern that security personnel wouldn't let him reenter because "it was closing time."

Bell In Hand's management refuted that person's account days later, claiming via Facebook that their surveillance video "clearly" showed missing student Zachary Marr walking off as other patrons were being allowed back into the bar.

The alleged film footage of this series of events has yet to be released to the public, and Marr is still gone without a trace.

EPONYMOUS ROX

Welcome Home, Abigail Hernandez

This July, Abigail Hernandez surprised everybody. Missing nine months and presumed dead, she defied the statistical odds by surviving a brutal abduction and finding her way home again -- welcome back, Abby Hernandez. Well done.

Nine days of total seclusion later, she would stun us all once more, showing up in court to face the accused kidnapper she'd been quietly helping investigators to finger. He in chains this time; she stoical but stone-faced, and seeming so much older than the little girl pictured in her missing person poster. So much wiser than her mere 15 years.

July 29, 2014, Conway District Court, NH:  She still sees it all in her mind's eye. She still feels imprisoned in her soul. She thinks this monster standing in front of the judge's bench, who would snatch a young girl like some coveted object on a store shelf, has robbed her of more than just time. 

He's taken things she can't retrieve anymore, no matter how hard she might try. He's stolen her childhood, her naiveté, her innocence ... she might never laugh or love again.

Beside the gaunt, pale and hard-jawed Abigail Hernandez sits her stricken mother Zenya. She's overjoyed to have a long lost child at her side once more of course, but, like her traumatized daughter, she too wears a grave and tortured expression. 

Together the two solemnly watch the court proceedings unfold from the first row; both bearing an uncannily sad family resemblance and defiantly eying the lanky, shackled defendant who boldly turns to glance at them.

His name is Nathaniel Kibby, age 34, and he has a criminal rap sheet as long as he is tall, dating all the way back to when he was a teenager.

If convicted of abducting Abby Hernandez on October 9th 2013 and cruelly confining her for nearly a year in a soundproof shipping container next to his mobile home, Kibby will receive only a seven-year sentence. 

Which means the career criminal would likely serve about five years max, assuming that throughout this brief period of incarceration he at all times exhibits "good behavior."

On the other hand, if "Crazy Nate" Kibby can be linked to other eerily similar disappearances in the area, then the good people of New Hampshire could probably put him away for life...

Missing in New Hampshire

BREAKING NEWS: Abigail Hernandez Abductor Arrested

A man residing near Abigail Hernandez was arrested today and charged with felony kidnapping and confinement of the 15-year-old girl nine months ago:

A traumatized "Abby" Hernandez somehow returned to her Conway New Hampshire home last weekend in a perilously malnourished state and since then has been quietly recuperating and cooperating with authorities still working her missing person case.

Earlier in the week, based on the teen's descriptions, police released an artist's sketch of a possible male suspect, and by Friday reported they were actively pursuing at least 20 "good leads" so far.

The arrest today of 34-year-old Nathaniel Kibby "without incident" at his Gorham, NH trailer home, just 30 miles north of where Abby Hernandez lives, was therefore a relatively swift -- but long overdue -- break in one of the strangest disappearances on record.

Kibby has been charged with felony kidnapping and is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow (Tuesday, July 29th) at Conway District Court. 

It is not known if the defendant has his own lawyer yet or if one will be appointed for him, but a press briefing has been scheduled for Tuesday immediately following the arraignment.

E.R.

Missing Abigail Hernandez Mystery Deepens: Home Safe?

The disappearance of New Hampshire teen Abigail Hernandez, home after nine months missing, remains as mysterious as the day she vanished:

This past weekend the now-15-year-old girl -- believed by many to be dead -- suddenly came home, putting an end to the seemingly fruitless and heart-wrenching search for her, but not to the intrigue surrounding the case.

To be sure, Hernandez's return to her family and hometown "in good condition" this July is an unusually happy ending for one who has been gone so long without a trace. But it still leaves all the important questions about her strange absence unanswered.

Did she willingly leave with someone according to a secret plan? Or was she snatched, drugged, and transported someplace to be exploited and abused by strangers? And where has this child actually been all the months she was missing?

“At the time of her disappearance, Abigail was 14-years-old and had no known means to facilitate her disappearance or provide herself with shelter, meals, or other necessities over the ensuing nine months,” reads a joint statement released early this week by New Hampshire prosecutors and police.

“Should the investigation reveal evidence that a person or persons were involved with Abigail’s disappearance and/or detainment or concealment, then the appropriate criminal charges will be brought.”

Fighting words and a daunting goal, but in truth all that's really left to go on still are the missing-person posters bearing a prodigal daughter's Mona Lisa expression and her equally beguiling smile. And even these are now quickly fading from view.

So, with no satisfactory explanation in hand nor suspects in custody, investigators are determined to once and for all resolve the Hernandez mystery.

In that renewed effort, they're amping up their criminal probe into what exactly occurred that afternoon in October 2013 when young Abigail Hernandez walked home after school but for some bizarre reason never made it to her house again.

Which means either she herself can't remember what happened ... or else she isn't telling.

E.R.

First article since February -- apologies for my own unexplained vanishing act -- rumors of my death, however, are great exaggerations. (Or at least a bit premature.)

LIVE FREE OR DIE: Searching for Abby Hernandez

 12/8/13: MAJOR BREAK IN ABBY HERNANDEZ CASE
[ORIGINAL STORY FROM 10/18/13 BELOW]

In the mountainous, sparsely populated state of New Hampshire there are probably as many dead people as there are alive, although police insist the woodlands and high peaks are not teeming with corpses.

Searching that vast, rustic terrain this October for missing teenage track-star, Abigail Hernandez, who disappeared in thin air while walking home after school, officials immediately stumbled upon two bodies already: one badly decomposed and the other skeletal.

But neither of these remains belonged to the girl they are desperately seeking.

In fact, day ten since 15-year-old Abby Hernandez went missing and all the leads in her case -- even those which once seemed so solid -- have evaporated. The truth about what really happened to her now shrouded as densely as the thick clouds that sometimes hide the White Mountains.

Surely those towering, picturesque peaks, painted red and orange and gold by Mother Nature in autumn, hold the key to solving the Abby Hernandez mystery, for they lure both locals and tourists alike to come and admire them.

Rugged individuals who call the largely uninhabited state of New Hampshire home understand, however, that their alluring wilderness is more than just quaint. They know from experience that their mountains are not merely pretty places for skiing and hiking and camping. 

These can be deadly, and many a climber and Cessna has suddenly disappeared on them throughout the years, never to be seen or heard from again.

In the shadows of these mighty sentinels sit historic villages and cities that thrive on a brisk tourist trade year round.  

North Conway, where missing schoolgirl Abigail Hernandez lives with her family, is one of these municipalities, and the road she was last seen traversing on foot, known simply as the North-South Highway, is a route well traveled by residents and out-of-state visitors.

That's especially true during the Columbus Day holiday week, the height of the 'leaf-peeping' season, when the Hernandez girl strangely disappeared.

Vermont, Virginia, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, Texas, Rhode Island, Connecticut ... even visitors from as far away as California make the annual pilgrimage by vehicle to view New Hampshire's splendid fall foliage this time of year.

Could Hernandez have been hit by a distracted driver and dumped somewhere in a panic? Was she kidnapped by a prowling predator taking advantage of all the bustle? Or did she secretly rendezvous with someone she connected with on social media?

That's the $20,000 question now, the reward amount posted just yesterday by the FBI, for any information which will lead to the prompt return of young Abby Hernandez, dead or alive.

1-800-CALL-FBI

Tips.fbi.gov

MISSING IN WISCONSIN (and found in Mexico 9 years later)

The story of a teenager mysteriously missing in Wisconsin for almost a decade, but resurfacing this week alive and well in Mexico, gives many families with similar cases cause for hope:

Connie McCallister was 16 when she disappeared in 2004. Now 25, she told police she'd been drugged at a party by an abusive boyfriend who then whisked her away to Mexico against her will.

That relationship soon ended, leaving the girl stranded in an impoverished area of a foreign country she was unfamiliar with, but eventually McCallister adapted to the new situation, marrying and having kids of her own.

This year, grown and yearning to finally return home, she made contact with the American authorities who'd been searching for her on and off since she disappeared and explained what had happened.

The wife and mother of three is currently in the process of being reunited with a relieved and overjoyed family in the U.S. and arranging for her Mexican husband to also join her here.

Statistically, the chances of someone going missing in Wisconsin -- or anywhere -- and showing up nine years later alive are quite slim. So Connie McCallister's surprising tale of survival today has renewed the dashed hopes of many who've long been searching for their lost loved ones in vain.

The Killing Killers news site aids those searching for the missing: Read next about the hunt for missing teen Abigail Hernandez who just disappeared from New Hampshire on October 9th 2013, and follow the still unsolved case of Jessica Heeringa, 26 of Michigan, who was abducted from her workplace this past spring.

E.R.

In hunt for Abigail Hernandez "No tip too small" FBI says

The FBI's lead investigators in the search for Abigail Hernandez say it's looking "less and less likely" that the New Hampshire teen simply ran away.

The athletic 15-year-old from North Conway, NH has been missing since October 9th when she sent her last text at around 3 PM to a friend while walking home from school.

Since that afternoon there's been no activity on her cellphone or social media accounts either, a troubling indicator in the case of a girl who is said to be very active online, especially with her Facebook page.

"She has gone totally dark from a very robust social media presence," FBI agent Kieran Ramsey reports. "We have no idea where she is right now."

Regardless of the trail growing cold, however, state and federal officials insist that the search for Abigail Hernandez is still very much underway, even though, so far, they have no solid leads to act upon.

Agent-in-charge Ramsey also expressed a degree of frustration with what he perceives may be reticence on the part of some people to provide investigators with more tips. 

"Nothing is too small" he assured the public yesterday, emphasizing he'd rather get duplicate tips phoned in than nothing at all.

And those need not be about the specific moment the child vanished either, he added. 

Information about Hernandez and her relationships and activities prior to disappearing is equally being sought, since this could provide more insight to the events that led up to her vanishing. 

With October coming to a close and cold weather fast bearing down on the northland, there is an undeniable sense of urgency in the hunt for Hernandez who the authorities do consider to be endangered.

The teen track star joins a growing list of similar disappearances in the region, some of which, like Celina Cass, age 11, ended in homicide and a body-dump, or, as with the missing-person cases of Heide Wilbur, Brianna Maitland and Maura Murray, remain unsolved to this day.

The prospect of a serial predator freely roaming such a vast and mountainous territory  targeting young females to victimize has both citizens and law enforcement alike on edge.

Abby Hernandez went missing in broad daylight at the side of the busy North-South highway, just two miles from her residence and an even shorter distance from her high school. 

Police ask that anyone with knowledge of this missing child's current whereabouts -- or any info whatsoever -- immediately contact 1-800-CALL-FBI. A $20,000 reward is also being offered as an incentive.

You can view Abby's missing-person poster and find other important details here, and learn more about her and the scenic area she lives in right here.

MISSING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: Abigail Hernandez

Missing in New Hampshire since October 9th, Abigail Hernandez turned 15 over the Columbus Day holiday weekend...

Investigators say the North Conway, New Hampshire teenager finished school on that afternoon and walked her normal route homeward, but then mysteriously disappeared from her residence shortly thereafter.

A tri-state multi-agency task force equipped with K-9s and helicopters has been searching woods, lakes, rivers and highways for five straight days now, without luck. They even set up roadblocks and were seen handing out fliers to tourists who flock by the thousands to scenic New Hampshire this time of year to take in the spectacular fall foliage.

Police say over 200 tips have also been investigated, some of which came from as far away as Texas, and still there is nothing solid to go on. They believe the last anyone may have heard from Abigail Hernandez was via cellphone approximately four hours after her strange disappearance.

That call was said to have been transmitted a couple miles from the girl's house near the resort town of  Cranmore Mountain.

In all, nearly 5000 acres have been scoured in a desperate search which has turned up the skeletal remains of a missing person from 2006, but which has produced little else of substance in the Hernandez case.

Abigail Hernandez is described as a light-skinned female, about five-foot four-inches tall and weighing 118 pounds. The bright, athletic 15-year-old has long dark hair with dark eyes and is of Hispanic descent. She was last seen wearing black stretch pants, tall brown boots and a light colored sweater with a yellow pattern and flecks.

Local law enforcement agencies and the FBI ask that anyone who sees the missing child or who may know of her current whereabouts phone them at (603) 356-5717 or 1-800-CALL-FBI.

A Facebook page has also been launched to aid in the hunt for this endangered individual.


UPDATE: 10/16/2013: Officials have retracted earlier statements concerning a call placed on the missing teen's cellphone in the area of the Cranmore Mountain ski resort the day she disappeared. That location is less than two miles from the Hernandez residence and accessible by foot, but investigators now say "No such call was ever made." 

In 2011 the badly beaten body of Krista Dittmeyer was retrieved from a pond on Cranmore Mountain. Three male friends were accused of the young mother's murder and pleaded guilty before trial. 

However, over 80 percent of criminal cases are actually plea-bargained in the United States, whether or not the accused are in fact innocent. As well, a number of other young females have vanished from this remote New Hampshire region in the years before the brutal killing of Dittmeyer, and since.

UPDATE: 12/8/13: FBI confirms that missing teen recently sighted "online" also sent her mother a letter just two weeks after vanishing -- read full coverage of these late breaking developments HERE.