Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Police search for missing New Braunfels woman

10:42 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 21, 2007

By KEVIN PETERS
KVUE News

Authorities are searching for a Central Texas woman who disappeared ten days ago during a tubing trip to New Braunfels.

Click here for larger video

On August 11, Jessica Birge, 25, disappeared after tubing the Comal River with friends.

Cindy Waechter, Jessica's mother, says her daughter met up with junior high school friends for the tubing trip. Afterwards, the group ate at a local restaurant and then met up at the Gruene Outpost River Lodge.

"Then my daughter got into her car to come home, and that's the last anybody has seen from her or heard from her," said Waechter.

KENS-TV

Jessica Birge

Comal County detectives are investigating it as a missing person case, but they have not ruled out foul play.

Birge was last seen wearing a pink bikini. She also has a tattoo of a cherry blossom branch on the back of her neck. She was last seen in a dark green 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara, with Texas license plate K99-RNX.

If you have any information on Birge's whereabouts, call the Comal County Sheriff's Office at (830) 620-3400.

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/stories/082107kvuebirge-bkm.5948943f.html

The place Jessica was last seen was just less than an hours drive from where I live.  Gruene is near I35, and San Antonio, TX, and I 10.   I fear this might be one of those cases where there is proximity to fast and easy access to leave the area to a wide choice of places from where she went missing.  I haven't seen much on this case.  I saw the first alert on web, but hopped she was just spending time with friends somewhere.  But this has gone on longer and longer

Woman missing for a week was last seen in New Braunfels
http://tinyurl.com/2psv2u

This article states she was last seen in New Braunfels, Texas, which is about 5 min. away from Gruene, which I mentioned in first post.  (just to clarify)

    
   
   
25 year old Nursing Student missing over 12 days
http://www.590klbj.com/News/Story.aspx?ID=73583

A 25 year old woman wearing a pink bikini is rather noticeable. If she had car trouble passersby would have noticed her. Is it known if she had a change of clothes in the car? Its the car that is easier to find.

Jessie's credit cards nor her email account have been used since she went missing 12 days ago.  She told friends she was to start work the next day.  Authorities are waiting on cell phone records.
Nursing Student Disappears After Floating Comal With Friends
http://www.kxan.com/global/story.asp?s=6976769

Muffy ~ You know I live north of Austin ~ YESTERDAY was the first I've heard of her disappearance.  I'm hoping it's been on the news and I just missed it 'cause of being out of pocket with school starting.

Do you know if she's from this area, originally?

I'll check back here around lunchtime.   :sad: :sad:

I just do not understand why it takes the cell phone companies so long to release records.......it seems ridiculous....... :roll: :roll:

tcumom ~ I haven't been able to get much more information that what has been posted to here.  I first saw the story when I was looking at one of the local news sites, and it was just a very small article, with very little information.  I thought perhaps she would show up.  But she didn't.  The next stories had a little more, such as description of her clothing, car and etc.  I see a few more articles on the web, but they seem to have the same information.  I will see what else I can find.

Missing Texas Nursing Student Simply Vanished
Two Weeks Later and Still Nothing
Published Aug 26, 2007

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/358365/missing_texas_nursing_student_simply.html

Jessica Birge

(http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/klaasen3/Sub2/JessicaBirge.jpg)

Such a pretty girl.  :sad:
I hope someone hears positive news soon.

It's really beginning to look like something happened to her.... :shock:

 think so too Pdh, 

   
LOCAL NEWS
Thursday      August      30         2007
   

   3:11 pm

x92
Police searching for woman last seen in New Braunfels
8/29/2007 6:22 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff

      
          
San Marcos police and the Comal County Sheriff's office are looking for a woman who has been missing since Aug. 11.

Jessica Birge was last seen at the Gruene Outpost River Lodge in New Braunfels.

She's 25 years old, has red hair, brown eyes and is about 5-foot-7-inches tall. She was wearing a pink bikini at the time. Birge has a tattoo of a cherry blossom branch on the back of her neck.

Her car is also missing. It's a dark green Suzuki Grand Vitara, with Texas plates K99-RNX.

Anyone with information about Birge's whereabouts is asked to call the Comal County Sheriff's Office at (830) 620-3400.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=191065

Still missing, and the month is almost over... :sad:

This poor young woman seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. I feel for her family.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of information available than what has been posted.   :sad:

I think this case was on Nancy Grace last night. I was busy and not paying attention until I heard the name. They think she may have accidently driven into the water because apparently she had been drinking a lot the night she disappeared. The route she would have taken is along a river, or some kind of waterway. :sad:

Lost without a trace
Jessica Birge, 25, missing for 27 days

By Lynn Walker
Thursday, September 6, 2007

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2007/sep/06/description-of-missing-woman/

34 days and no answers
By David Saleh Rauf
The Herald-Zeitung    

Published September 14, 2007
http://herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0e29bfe75b959687&-session=HeraldZeitung:40DA3C7A164ab33F16pkrr60FD3B
(snipped)
 Over the weekend, Comal County investigators turned up a new lead but remain wary of providing false hope to Birges family and friends. With the help of a rescue dive team from San Marcos, detectives tentatively combed a segment of the Guadalupe River on Saturday  from the Gruene River Lodge to the Common Street Bridge  with sonar equipment. Investigators said the premliminary sonar search turned up two areas of interest that will be looked at more thoroughly next week when the river flow levels have decreased.
(snipped)
 In the past two weeks, Birges story has aired on two cable news channels; each time a local reporter or other guests have insinuated that alcohol played a role and that Birge probably drove into the river. Since the airing of both shows, detectives have declined to verify if alcohol was involved and have said that they have no tangible clues to lead them to believe that she drove in the river.

Still, in light of the recent areas of interest located by San Marcos rescue divers, a state and federal urban and search team is scheduled to scour portions of the Gaudalupe River on Tuesday with high-tech sonar equipment that should lead investigators to more definite answers.

Theres nothing that indicates the car went into the river, Sgt. Tommy Ward said Wednesday. Once the levels of the river drop down we will concentrate some of the efforts on the river to clear that area, so we dont have that area to even contend wit
(snipped)

Corps to slow river for search
By David Saleh Rauf and Gerard MacCrossan
The Herald-Zeitung    
http://herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=90d9a3ae0414de75&-session=HeraldZeitung:40DA3C7A165730D7D7HyK189C364
Published September 15, 2007
(snipped)
 The high flow levels created by recent rains has hampered the ability of the sheriffs office to conduct searches of the Guadalupe River for Jessica Birge, who last seen Aug. 11 at the Gruene River Lodge in New Braunfels. The sheriffs department has said they held back on requesting the Corps. to reduce discharge into the river earlier because they didnt have any tangible evidence that would point them to the river. The sheriffs department has also expressed concerns for downstream users who could be impacted if a major rain event hit while the reduced discharge was in effect.

Earlier this week, County Judge Danny Scheel requested the Corps decrease Canyon Dams release, so that search efforts for Birge could be conducted Monday. Scheels request come on the heels of information that a San Marcos rescue team using sonar equipment to comb a segment of the river over the weekend located two areas of interest.

Investigators are expected conduct a thorough search of the area between the Gruene River Lodge and the Common Street Bridge Monday. Based on their findings, a federal and state urban search team  Texas Task Force 1  could be requested to assist the search on the river with high-tech metal detecting equipment. Or the river could be ruled out as a possibility all together some time next week.
(snipped)

Search For New Braunfels Woman Turns To River

Sep 17, 2007 08:50 PM
(snipped)
"We've used drone aircraft," said Lt. Mark Reynolds of the Comal County Sheriff's Office. "We've used fixed wing aircraft. We're pretty sure we can't locate her vehicle on land."

Five weeks after Birge's disappearance, Reynolds said it's time to turn to the water.

"We have wanted to search this part of the river, because it was her starting point, and we have never since her disappearance been able to thoroughly conduct a search," Reynolds said.
(snipped)

Jessica's body has been found. 

Per KVUE 5:00 news in Austin, Texas.  Details to follow.

So very sad.  I would imagine it was recovered from the river as it was being searched.

Body of missing woman found in Comal County

04:50 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 18, 2007

By RUDY KOSKI
KVUE News

Authorities in Comal County have found the body of a 25-year-old woman missing since Aug. 11.

Jessica Birge's body was found in her vehicle near the Commons Street Bridge Tuesday afternoon. She was last seen at Gruene River Lodge getting into her vehicle.

Birge's truck was pulled out of the Guadelupe River down stream from where investigators began their search Tuesday.

The battered and mud covered, green SUV was spotted by a crews in a helicopter around noon Tuesday.

Authorities have been looking for Birge since her August 11 disappearance.

She was last seen driving away from a river resort near Gruene. She had spent the day with some friends on the Comal River.

The Guadelupe River was under restricted use rules at the time. It was runing high and fast because of recent heavy rains.

That high water kept search teams out of the river until Tuesday, when the Corps of Engineers reduced the flow and lowered the water level.

"You can bring it to an end. You'll still have questions -- we will have questions -- investigators will have to look at, [but]there will be no more wondering, on the parents, and I hope it is not the ending we wanted, but I hope this will help that we have actually located Jessica," said Lt. Mark Reynolds, Comal County Sheriff's Dept.

At what point where she drove into the river is not know at this time.

Travis County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/091807kvueBirge-cb.e863d0b3.html

Thank you, tcumom.  I had been watching this one-it was close to home.  There was a lot of controversy about whether to lower the water level to be able to do the search.  Some felt it would hurt an already bad tourist season for the tubing industry. And some felt there was nothing to indicate a water search.  I think through research, it was decided to check the waters.  It must have been very hard for her family not knowing where she was.  I'm sorry it ended like this, though.

It is so sad and tragic.  I hurt for her parents and family.

I have no use for the tubers. . . .it is a drunken melee on the river.

Used to be nice for families.  Not any more.  Just my opinion.  Sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I'm really not.   :roll:

Whoops. Hit "post" before I finished posting.   :2doh:  I don't think you would have to be a fuddy-duddy to not care for some of the tubers.  I have friends that have land on the river and they get people trespassing, making fires, dropping trash, etc.  and don't want to leave when asked.   It gets to be a roudy, drunken melee.  I know there have been efforts to curb some of the activities because of problems. 

Yes, and the efforts have pretty much been for naught.  The tubing companies and the folks who charge for parking on their land are definitely against any curbing of the activities.  I don't know what the answer is.......

New Braunfels Woman Found In SUV, Submerged In River

Sep 18, 2007 05:51 PM
http://www.kxan.com/global/story.asp?s=7093324
After a 38-day search, the body of New Braunfels resident Jessica Birge was found strapped inside her vehicle, submerged in the Guadalupe River.

Birge's Suzuki Gran Vitara was pulled out of the water near Cypress Bend Park in New Braunfels Tuesday afternoon.missing vehicle were discover Birge, 25, and her ed about two miles downstream from where she was last seen alive.
(snipped)

Thanks for the update MuffyBee. What a sad ending for this young girl.   :sad: :sad: :sad:

....another article about finding Jessica Birge.

++++++++++

Sept. 19, 2007
Body of nursing student found in Guadalupe River


NEW BRAUNFELS — The body of a 25-year-old nursing student who went missing last month has been found inside her car submerged in the Guadalupe River, authorities said.

Jessica Birge, of Garden Ridge, went missing Aug. 11 after a day of tubing on the Comal River with her friends. She was last seen driving alone as she departed a river lodge in Gruene.

Police in a helicopter spotted Birge's vehicle Tuesday, the first day the Guadalupe's flow had dropped low enough to allow boats and divers better access.

"We spotted what looked like a square rock in the river," said pilot Neil Crookston. "It looked like it was covered in dirt, but it looked like it had a green hue under the dirt. We marked it as an area of interest."

Officials said Birge was not wearing a seatbelt and her hair was caught in the passenger-side door, indicating she may have tried to escape. The force of the water likely trapped her inside, officials said.

The Comal County Sheriff's Office said the death appears to be an accident, but foul play has not been ruled out. An autopsy was ordered.

"It raises as many questions as it answers," Lt. Mark Reynolds said. "We are probably always going to wonder how, why and where she got into the water."

Since her disappearance, detectives pursued sightings around the state, retraced her possible routes and scoured the area by helicopter. A thorough search of the river had not been possible because the water flow was too swift and high.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to mostly close the floodgates at Canyon Dam on Monday to reduce the river flow for the search effort.

Even with the lower river level, Birge's Suzuki Grand Vitara was eight feet below the water's surface.

Birge was a nursing student at the University of Texas at San Antonio

http://www.chron.com/dip/story.mpl/metropolitan/5147356.html

Missing woman's body found in river

By David Saleh Rauf
The Herald-Zeitung
Published September 19, 2007

For almost five weeks, Comal County investigators tracked dozens of leads and turned up nothing that could point them to Jessica Birge, who was last seen at the Gruene Outpost River Lodge Aug. 11.

The search for the missing University of Texas at San Antonio nursing student came to an end Tuesday afternoon when investigators found Birge’s body trapped in her own vehicle. The green Suzuki Grand Vitara had been submerged 8-feet beneath the surface of the Guadalupe River, two miles downstream from where she was last seen, until the water level was lowered this week for the first time since early August.

Birge had spent the day tubing on the Comal River with friends from junior high on Aug. 11 and was reported missing four days later.

On Tuesday, Comal County investigators, along with San Marcos rescue divers and a state and federal urban search team, equipped with sonar and metal detecting equipment, combed a stretch of the Guadalupe River about a mile and a half. It was first opportunity that investigators have had to search the swollen river, which has been flowing at nearly 5,000 cubic feet per second for more than a month because of water being released from Canyon Lake.

Prior to a tentative search conducted last weekend by San Marcos rescue divers, in which “areas of interest” along the Guadalupe were identified, investigators had said that they did not have any evidence to point them to search the river.

At about 1:30 p.m., Birge’s Suzuki SUV was pulled out of the river near Cypress Bend Park after it was spotted in the water by a Silver State Helicopter crew and two New Braunfels Police Officers conducting an aerial search, said Lt. Mark Reynolds of the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, which headed the investigation into Birge’s disappearance.

Detectives confirmed that the SUV belonged to Birge and that she was inside the vehicle, unrestrained. Detectives said they found signs that she was struggling to get out of the passenger side of the vehicle when she died. Detectives said they do not know how or where Birge’s vehicle entered the river.

“I don’t know that we’ll ever know that answer,” said Lt. Mark Reynolds.

Justice of the Peace 3 Diana Guerrero pronounced Birge dead around 1:45 p.m. and ordered an autopsy to be conducted by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office. Birge’s cause of death was unknown, Reynolds said Tuesday.

Comal County investigators, San Marcos rescue divers and members of Texas Task Force 1 started searching the river around 10 a.m. Prior to Birge’s body being discovered, Reynolds said search efforts along the river, which were concentrated from the Gruene Outpost River Lodge to the Common Street Bridge, would continue until crews found something or could rule out the possibility that Birge had driven into the river.

“We’re bringing all the resources we can,” Reynolds said.

It was the helicopter crew searching outside the sheriff’s department’s “grid” that located a “shiny object” in the water that turned out to be the Birge’s SUV.

Tuesday’s recovery of Birge’s body brought an end to a 39-day saga that garnered national media attention.

In that time, detectives interviewed more than a dozen people and followed up on scattered sightings across the state. They probed her bank account and cell phone records, which showed no signs of activity since Birge went missing. They searched on land, retracing possible routes that the 25-year-old could have taken to her home in Garden Ridge, about 11 miles from downtown New Braunfels. And they searched in air, conducting multi-hour helicopter missions over the county.

After weeks of scouring the county without a break, detectives admitted that leads were running out, and, with that, so were the hopes of Birge’s family members who remained desperate for answers that could resolve questions about what happened to the once-aspiring red-headed actress with an electric smile.

“I keep hope,” Birge’s mother, Cindy Waecther told the Herald-Zeitung last week. “That's all I can do is keep hope and if she's not here with us then all I can hope is she's gone to a better place,” Waecther said

Waechter could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Within hours of the news that Birge’s body was found, the Myspace.com page dedicated to locating her, lit up with messages of support for her family.

“Our prayers are with Jess, her family, friends and loved ones,” one message said. “Heaven just received a beautiful angel!”

“Just know that we will never forget you, and you made such a wonderful impact on so many people,” another message read. “May God hold you in His great big arms. I love you”

Preliminary autopsy results that investigators hope will determine Birge’s cause of death, and could provide answers to other pressing questions, are expected later this week.

TIMELINE

• Aug. 11: Jessica Birge spends day tubing on Comal River; Last seen at Gruene River Lodge getting into vehicle around 10 p.m.

• Aug. 15: Family files missing person’s report with Comal County Sheriff’s Office. Extensive search begins, story draws attention on two national television programs.

• Sept. 7: Investigators say they are running out of leads.

• Sept. 8-9: San Marcos Rescue Divers search Guadalupe River with sonar and detect 2 “areas of interest.”

• Sept. 18: Flow of Guadalupe is decreased; authorities discover Birge’s body in her car.

http://herald-zeitung.com/story.las...b349f37ec334435

Hello obi and welcome to Scared Monkeys :smt041  Thank you for the update.

Thankyou, muffybee!

Bear with me.  Still getting used to posting here.

You are doin' just fine, Obi.  Glad to have you aboard. :smt052

Welcome obi you are doing great and let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks, san and since you volunteered, is it possible to edit or delete a post?

Back on topic, are there any locals out there (or anyone else for that matter)  that have any idea where Jessica's SUV might have gone in the river?

Hi Obi - welcome to SM.  It's NOT possible for you to delete your own posts but either I or the moderators can delete something if it's a duplicate or something that shouldn't have been posted.  I can't imagine that you have something that needs to be deleted though  :wink:

My feeling on Jessica's SUV is that she may have fallen asleep and went off the side of the road into the river.  I don't know the area though.  I'm hoping that the accident knocked her out and she didn't know what happened.  I read she was still wearing her seat belt so maybe she was passed out?

Thanks, klaasend.  Just curious.

I have read 3 reports.  One said she was seatbelted and 2 said not.  The 2 also said that she was apparently struggling to get out the passenger door.  That her hair was caught in the door as if she got the door open and then the pressure closed the door on her hair.
I would think the water rushing in would make her hair point the other way, towards the drivers side, but that's just my opinion. :smt102

My Japanese sister-in-law gave and dressed my six year old granddaughter a beautiful kimono prior to attending a special special family function recently.  Takara's new word for the day was "obi".

Welcome to the Monkey cage.

I do not normally divert from the Natalee Holloway case and ... more recently the Madeleine McCann case but ... your name caught my eye and I felt compelled to say "Hi".

Janet

++++++++++++++++

obi - A wide sash fastened in the back with a large flat bow, worn by women in Japan as a part of the traditional dress.

Hi, tamikosmom!  Thanks for the welcome and also the info on "obi".  I had never heard that.  Hugs to you and Takara!

Tim (founder and director of Texas EquuSearch) is supposed to be making another trip to Aruba soon.  This month, I think, if I heard him right.

Back on the Jessica topic, I wish we would have had more time to search all street crossings over the Guadalupe.  Not that it would have done any good neccessarliy.  We drove right over the Commons St bridge on Sept 1, but didn't stop as we were headed back to the Outpost for a second look.

Woman Drowned In Guadalupe, Medical Examiner Says

Sep 20, 2007 04:52 PM
The Travis County medical examiner on Thursday said a Central Texas woman found in the Guadalupe River had drowned.

Jessica Birge, 25, was discovered by search teams in her vehicle in the river on Tuesday.

The medical examiner found no signs of foul play.

Comal County sheriff's investigators said they may never know how or where Birge got into the river, but there were signs that the woman had tried to escape from the vehicle.
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?action=post;topic=2067.20;num_replies=38

  :sad: :sad:

Funeral service to be held for Birge
9/21/2007 7:00 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=192367
Family and friends will remember Jessica Birge at a memorial service near San Antonio Saturday.

The New Braunfels woman went missing on August 11. She was last seen leaving the Gruene Outpost River Lodge.

Her body and car were pulled from the Guadalupe River Tuesday. High water flows had previously kept searchers out of the river.

The car was located about two miles from where Birge was last seen.

The memorial service is being held at 11 a.m. at the Schertz Funeral Home Chapel at 2217 FM 3009 in Schertz, northeast of San Antonio.