Missing Donna Jou, 19 , San Diego State U Student 6/23/07

[shearerluck]

SEARCH THIS WEEKEND 12/29 AND 12/30 FOR DONNA

Trinity Life Solutions will be assisting Donna's family in conducting a volunteer search this weekend at Malibu Bluffs Park in Malibu, CA and they are in need of Foot Searchers and donations.

Follow this link to their website and then to the link to help.

http://www.trinitylifesolutions.com/tsar/index.htm

[Nut44x4]

http://www.ocregister.com/news/search-for-donna-1950466-jou-news

Search planned for missing Rancho Santa Margarita woman
Family of Donna Jou, 19, to look in Santa Monica Mountains for clues to her disappearance.

By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register

The family of a local college student who disappeared in June after partying with a convicted sex offender she met online will search the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu this weekend in the hopes of finding clues about what may have happened to the missing 19-year-old woman. The family is also looking for volunteers to help in the search.

John Steven Burgess, the only suspect in Donna Jou's disappearance, sits in a California state prison, sentenced in October to three years behind bars for failing to register as a sex offender.

Jou left her Rancho Santa Margarita apartment June 23 on the back of Burgess' motorcycle. Authorities believe Burgess, 35, was the last person to see Jou alive. Burgess has refused to talk to investigators about Jou.

This weekend's search, which will canvas an area known to be a favorite spot of Burgess', is being coordinated by Trinity Search & Recovery. Volunteer searchers can register online at www.trinitysearch.org.

Burgess was out on bail on the failure to register charge when he was arrested in Jacksonville, Fla., in September on suspicion of stealing DVDs from a Blockbuster video store there. He had a fake Social Security card and a counterfeit driver's license in his pocket when he was arrested. One of the DVDs he admitted taking was Natural Born Killers.

Burgess bailed out of Los Angeles County jail last fall, posting $250,000 bond in the sex-offender registration charge. A judge reduced his bail from $1 million, saying he could not use Donna Jou's disappearance as a factor to keep Burgess behind bars.

Without a body and just circumstantial evidence, charges have not been filed against Burgess.

Jacksonville police said Burgess was arrested Sept. 20 at a Jacksonville Blockbuster with five stolen DVDs stuffed in the pocket of his pants, along with a fake Social Security card and California driver's license with the name Logan Anderson and a Hollywood, Calif., address. The fake IDs came from a Hollywood tourist shop, according to a police report.

Burgess admitted to taking a razor blade to slice open boxes of DVDs and stuffing them in his pocket, according to the police report. "I'm just being stupid. I know better. I'm not a thief," Burgess told his arresting officer.

According to Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators, Burgess left Los Angeles on July 6, the same day he was named a person of interest in Jou's disappearance. Burgess spray-painted his blue pickup black, stole rent money from his roommates and took a trip across the country to Jacksonville – all with a $1 million California warrant out for his arrest, police said.

He was arrested in Florida in July on suspicion of cocaine possession. He spent 25 days in jail and was extradited to California to face charges of failing to register.

It is unclear when Burgess bought the fake identification or what he planned to do with it.

Burgess is refusing to talk to investigators about Jou, but his attorney, George Bird Jr., said his client has information about her. Bird said Burgess was willing to tell investigators what he knows if prosecutors offered him immunity in the failure to register case. Prosecutors didn't accept the offer. Burgess was sent to prison.

Volunteers are asked to meet at the Malibu Bluffs Park at 24250 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu at 9 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday. Searchers will be looking for anything that may be a clue leading to Jou. Volunteers are asked to wear warm clothes and bring a cell phone and ham radios, and photo identification. Lunch and water will be provided.

[pdh3]

It's good to see some action on this case. Donna needs to be found and returned to her family. My prayers are with them.

[IBE]

Sorry Monkeys... I let you down.. I lost track of time

Ms. Gloria Allred was on Ch 9 early this evening and in the later news report about the search tomorrow and Sunday for Donna Jou so I would guess there will be press coverage tomorrow and Sunday also. Will try to keep you updated. Don't think I can go because of the cold.

Here is an email that was sent out by Mike. I have met Mike and his wife at a birthday party celebration for Donna which was covered by Dr. Phil with Ms. Allred there in Oct.  This program was shown this month on Dr. Phil.

Mike & Bridget http://www.trinitysearch.org (TSAR) are very dedicated and have been closely working with Donna's family for finding Donna.

Donations can help if you can't be in the actually search. It's not a bigger org. like TES but Mike has assisted TES I understand.

This is a copy of an email

From:  Mike Melson

Subject: Details on the Search for Donna Jou THIS weekend

Hi all,
 
Thank you again for your willingness to help Donna's family bring her home. Here are additional details for the search this weekend:
 
Command Post Location: Malibu Bluffs Park (24250 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA) ***
 
Meeting Time: Saturday - 9am; Sunday - 11am (meet at the Command Post)
 
What to Wear: Dress warmly (highs are expected to be mid-60's); Dress for light walking; Wear sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots.
 
Meals: TSAR will provide bottled water & lunch for volunteers.
 
Communications:
    Cell Phones: We will be using cell phones as much as possible. Please bring yours if you have one.
    Ham Radios: If you are a ham operator, bring both VHF & UHF programmable radios. If you can tune them out of band it will be helpful.
 
What To Expect: We are searching for items related to Donna which may have been tossed from a vehicle that had pulled off to the side of the road. We will be grouping volunteers into small search teams (typically 2-6 people per team). Each team will be assigned a section of roads in the search area. Your team will be asked to drive the road(s) assigned to you, pull off at each pullout & search the area immediately adjacent to the pullout. Please note: We will need numerous people willing to drive their personal vehicles in order for this search to be a success.
 
Registration: Every volunteer will need to complete a registration form & sign a Waiver of Liability. A copy is attached. Feel free to print out & bring the completed form with you to speed things up. You will also need to bring a photo ID.
 
Questions: We will brief each team individually before sending you out. We will make sure to answer any questions you have at that time.
 
Thanks,
Mike & Bridget
Trinity Search & Recovery
http://www.trinitysearch.org


Klaas sent me this link:
 http://www.trinitylifesolutions.com/tsar/index.htm this has a map...

Having worked in these canyons for 4 yrs. years ago, I can tell you some of the areas are straight down drop off into the canyons. Lots of times, cars run off the roads in Malibu Canyon and the canyon roads around there!

We all wish Donna back alive; but if not, I hope they find what they are looking for.

[Kermit]

Thank you IBE for the updates.
My prayers are with Donna and her family.

[Nut44x4]

Searchers cover ground again seeking clues
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The group scours Santa Monica Mountains in search of clues about an Orange County college student missing for six months.
By Jean-Paul Renaud, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 30, 2007
The search for a missing 19-year-old female college student brought together a diverse ensemble of volunteers Saturday hoping to find answers to a formidable question: What happened to Donna Jou six months ago?

About 100 relatives and friends -- even a former girlfriend of the man police have named as their prime suspect in Jou's disappearance -- scattered throughout the Santa Monica mountains in Malibu looking for clues.

"It happened six months ago, but it feels like it was yesterday," said Nili Jou, the missing girl's mother. "I want to start the new year with my daughter beside me."

The search was organized by Mike Melson, who started his nonprofit Christian search group Trinity Search & Recovery earlier this year after seeing other volunteers participate in previous search efforts. "I was embarrassed as a native Californian that people in Arkansas and Texas and North Carolina were coming to California to help find missing people," said Melson, whose group is based in Pleasanton, Calif. "We're a Christian organization, and I feel it's important that we get out of the pews and help our neighbors."

Los Angeles police detectives say Jou, a student at San Diego State University, met John Steven Burgess on the popular website Craigslist.com. The two were last seen together at Burgess' West Los Angeles home June 23.

Burgess, a registered sex offender who is serving a three-year prison sentence for not reporting his residence to authorities, has refused to talk to police about Jou's disappearance.

Authorities already unsuccessfully searched the mountains, a vast territory that detectives believe Burgess frequented. They did not join Saturday's search.

Others did, however, including Burgess' former girlfriend.

"I just felt when I lived with him, he did creepy things with me," said Missy Prusinski, 25, who also met Burgess on Craigslist and stayed with him for three weeks. "I just thought he was a creepy guy."

Melson said the extensive Santa Monica Mountains still could hold clues to Jou's whereabouts, even though another organized search launched by the Texas-based private search firm Equusearch came up empty three months ago.

"There are some folks out there that feel very cynical about a search like this," Melson told the crowd that gathered at Malibu Bluffs Park to help. "I think anyone here would do the same if our daughter was missing."

Volunteers were instructed to look for items that might help investigators. Melson recounted details of that June night to the scores of searchers who surrounded him:

Burgess picked Jou up on a black motorcycle at her parents' home in Rancho Santa Margarita. Both wore helmets as they sped off, family members recall. The motorcycle and one of the helmets have not been found. Jou wore a navy blue JanSport book bag; multicolored, checkered Vans tennis shoes; and a gold diamond-studded horseshoe necklace.

As he addressed the volunteers, Melson paused, leaned down and whispered into Nili Jou's ear. He wanted to warn her about what he was about to say next. "Unfortunately, we also have to acknowledge the fact that we may find Donna up there," Melson told his searchers. "If Donna is up there, we will find some type of human remains. If you do find human remains, you will know it."

Finally, Melson handed his searchers maps of the region divided into 24 zones and told them to stay on the main road.

"If you can't go off the road, [Jou's abductor] probably wouldn't have stopped either."

The all-day search turned up a book bag, a dumped motorcycle and a helmet. None was linked to Jou, however.

The search will continue again this morning.

"We won't give up until we find Donna," said the family's attorney, Gloria Allred. "And good people will help us."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-search30dec30,1,6517931.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

[bleachedblack]

Brief article but at least Donna Jou's name is in the public eye,and search efforts are on-going.

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


Search for missing student contiunes

January 8, 2008 3:40 PM
The search for a missing SF State student continued last weekend as friends and family combed the Santa Monica Mountains for clues.

Donna Jou, 19, was last seen on June 23, 2007, riding on the back of a motorcycle with John Steven Burgess, a convicted sex offender she met on Craigslist.org. While the Los Angeles Police Department has not name him as a suspect, Burgess has not yielded information. A tip initiated the search effort after Burgess was seen in the area multiple times.

Trinity Search and Recovery, a Pleasanton-based organization, coordinated 100 volunteers who searched the area from Dec. 29 through Jan. 6. No items connected to Jou were recovered.

The LAPD request that anyone with additional information about the Jou case call (213) 485-2531.

http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/news/009934.html

[Hope07]

As other people have already written:  "someone knows something somewhere"

Donna is somewhere.  She did not vaporize into thin air.

Burgess knows something; people close to him know some things.  There are things that could be found out, and I only hope the police are finding these things out.

Where is his motorcycle?  What about his boat...?  His contacts?  The calls made from and received to his phone/s?

What is he saying in jail there?  Any way to plant a spy or a bug and get info from there?

Are the police still on the case?  In today's news I see Mike Corona (OC Sheriff being accused of something) has quit so he can focus on his defense.  How will that effect Donna's case?

I feel the family has to keep on LE's case - keep calling them, keep talking with them, get the lawyer to get Burgess to say something.  The squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say.  Keep asking them; keep the word out; don't go away quietly.

Donna is somewhere and she needs to be found.

[Kermit]

He probably sold her and no one is going to come forth and risk their own arrest.
Unless it is worth their while.

Still hoping and praying for this girl to be home.

[IBE]

As other people have already written:  "someone knows something somewhere"

Donna is somewhere.  She did not vaporize into thin air.

Burgess knows something; people close to him know some things.  There are things that could be found out, and I only hope the police are finding these things out.

Where is his motorcycle?  What about his boat...?  His contacts?  The calls made from and received to his phone/s?

What is he saying in jail there?  Any way to plant a spy or a bug and get info from there?

Are the police still on the case?  In today's news I see Mike Corona (OC Sheriff being accused of something) has quit so he can focus on his defense.  How will that effect Donna's case?

I feel the family has to keep on LE's case - keep calling them, keep talking with them, get the lawyer to get Burgess to say something.  The squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say.  Keep asking them; keep the word out; don't go away quietly.

Donna is somewhere and she needs to be found.

Yes, Hope007, in your quote ' "I feel the family has to keep on LE's case - keep calling them, keep talking with them, get the lawyer to get Burgess to say something.  The squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say.  Keep asking them; keep the word out; don't go away quietly."'

Donna is somewhere and she needs to be found."

Things have been too quiet! Too quiet for a long time. IMO, what IS going on?

[IBE]

He probably sold her and no one is going to come forth and risk their own arrest.
Unless it is worth their while.

Still hoping and praying for this girl to be home.

I, too, hope she will be coming home, safe and sound.

In regards to being "sold". It is rumored he had several overseas contacts of business and also international roommates. He dealt in cash only. He's been all over the map. What really goes on in that area of LA where he lived in the shadows of the night and in plain sight?

There was more than one with Burgess with Donna there at the party? It was, after all a party of several people. What has been his previous M.O. with drugs and girls, if any?

Are there videos involved, if any?

Where did the last text message come from??? Near his house or somewhere else? (the one where the Donna's mom says it was not Donna; the one done on Sunday Was the press given the correct info about where it came from (near his house, it said in the press))

What are his haunts in the wilderness and canyons? Did the LE in Orange County get any "hints" from the emails he supposedly sent to them from the 1st time in FLA after she disappeared or did the press start a rumor about the emails?

It the reward were higher, like in the Natalee Holloway case, it would, IMO, more helpful for someone to come forward? maybe no longer in the US?

If LE is waiting, solely on Burgess to talk, IMO, this is an error. Why would he "want" to talk? What good would it do him? Would you or me, talk in his position.. think not!

Was the vacant land and boarded up buildings within a 1/2 mile of his home searched? by those special dogs. The RR track areas, some never seen by most people liveing and driving there, below ground level of adjoining streets???   

Go back and look at the pictures I posted. I posted every area of vacant land and buildings within 1/2 mile of his home.. just down the street east and west, but not where the tool box was found. I was told not to post the pictures of that area, then, for there might be lookie-lous to disturb the area.

What was the real reason LAPD didn't wish TES to come in to search before the land was disturbed?? Egos, clues or what?

It's too quiet, IMO. I don't understand.

[IBE]

Thanks, Kermit, also

[MuffyBee]

I check in at least weekly to see if there is any new developments in Donna Jou's case, and think of her and her family.  I hope there can be some answers soon.

[Hope07]

Thanks, IBE - we are thinking the same things.   

Question:  WHAT IF the family posted a higher amount?  I know LE doesn't want them to.  Is LE talking with the family or blowing them off?  WHAT IF the family just went ahead and posted a super high amount regardless of LE - wouldn't that bring out possible answers?  Sure, it will bring out all the weirdos, but it could also bring out someone with some real knowledge.

Question:  Are there leads to be followed?  Is LE still on the Donna case?
As gnarly as this is, is someone in LE going through porn videos in search of Donna?  Or going through the underground porn industry here and internationally?

Question:  Why not make the decks of playing cards and distribute them in the facility where Burgess is being held?  4 suits X 13 cards per suit:  We could make 4 images of Donna with the pertinent information on the cards somewhere.  Maybe that would shake something loose.  (also advertise the $$ reward information on the cards)

Yes, and what about the other people at the party?  He was in cahoots with someone.
Who was the guy who paid money and picked up his things from the storage rental?

IBE says:  "It's too quiet, IMO. I don't understand."  I totally agree.

[IBE]

Yes, Hope 007 and Great Monkeys here!

Somewhere I read that some Law Enforcement Agencies think that posting a high bond makes the "kooks" come out... IMO, so what??? Are these agencies who might believe this way in thinking, that it is not important to find the one who has harmed a victim and caused lots of grief to family and friends?

Or is it too much work for them? Or do they know something they are not sharing with the families and/or the public?

Would it tarnish the tourist areas and the economy of such as LA and Orange County?

It seems, IMO, that Gloria Allred was hired to help the family and to get Burgess to talk. This (getting him to talk) hasn't worked.

IMO it would be time to up the anty... in playing cards, in rewards. My opinion only.

[IBE]

Hope 007 asks:

Who was the guy who paid money and picked up his things from the storage rental?

I have been told that some info in regards to that has been turned over to the Orange County Sheriff in charge of the case there.

I have also been told that there were two bidders; one who was waiting for Donna's parents to finish filming the Dr. Phil show to show up and the other bidder. 

I have heard that the bidding went extremely high and out of proportion for such a small stall but was not completed for a high amount for one bidders was not carrying all the cash required by the high bid. The auction started again and the contents went for a low amount to the other guy and it was said as a rumor IMO, later, that he only wanted the refrigerator from there... Very odd. Many refrigerators could have been bought for what he bid.

Was it a police plant, a suspect's plant, the family of the suspect, some at the party or just someone who "follows' auctions and why just wanting a small fridge when there were more valuable, I am told, things in there?

allot of this smells IMO   

Oh, by the way, convicts in prison have internet access, so I hear on TV

[Kermit]

I don't think this Burgess guy fits the profile of a killer because he could have killed the other woman who stayed with him and he didn't - taking that into consideration along with his other habits/patterns of selling to get money - I think he set this up to get a girl and kidnap her and then sold her. He obviously was trying to ward off the parents involvement because that is why he'd risk sending that text message.

So where does one start to look?

That room mate of his has to know more then he says about Burgess.

Also keep in mind Burgess thought of himself as some film maker - again, this is another reason he may have sold her, to film her and get money from the video - I think there was some case in Orange County years ago about a couple of men who kidnapped a girl, filmed her and then killed her filming it and they were caught and found guilty - police got the tapes.

Where would someone sell tapes of that nature - another place to search.

And the parents might consider putting up a BILL BOARD in LA along the freeway that burgess used - that 5 I think it was. Someone may have seen him that night - after he left his home - where did he take her to what drop off?

Just thinking outloud.

Good to see everyone is still keeping vigil for Donna Jou.

[fran]

Hi all! I haven't posted on this board for awhile. Sorry about that, RL took much of my time the past several months. Sometimes, we just can't help it. 

IBE, I see that you're in contact with some of either the family or someone connected to the Jou searchers. I was wondering if you could check something out?

I was watching the video of those two self-proclaimed psychics that have inserted themselves in the Natalee Holloway case. Anyway, in the last 5 or 6 minutes of the video, these two were trying to show they were legitimate (voodoo chasers) and they mentioned various media outlets and that they'd even been asked to work on a case where the missing girl met the guy she was last seen with on Craig's List and rode away with him on a motorcycle.

As these two alleged psychics live in California, obviously they were talking about Donna Jou. I'm certain of it. Anyway, can you warn the family? Also, see if Dan Young and this Castillo lady from guided light have contacted them and what happened.

I think that this could be an important thing for the Holloways and the Jous to know, that these two are running around trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of grieving families. We already know what they're trying to do to the Holloways. I pray that the Jou family has not fallen prey to these two as well.

Thanks in advance if you can help.

fran

[IBE]

unless I have heard incorrectly, one  psychic or a set approached Mr. Reza Jou, Donna's father. There seemed very serious and were, I think somewhere from CA or had contacts in Texas. He, I have heard, was quite saddened and turned off by them.


Don't think if this is one of the same as you are talking about that were in Aruba.

When I rode with Reza and Tim and Donna's Aunt and Uncle, I found I had to walk on thin egg shells about how psychics can help (if you find the right ones) in solving a case around Reza. Since he had been hurt and probably sent to the cleaners by those and some search companies.... hurtwise and money wise.

However, the aunt and uncle have been in contact with one particular psychic and she has given them info that matches up with dribs and drabs that come in from others who are almost psychics or have that talent but don't know it,they just want to share what they "saw" or "felt" but felt they were not "psychics". They ususally leave messages on the Donna Jou site  www.donnajou.com

Like with Beth, Jug and Dave, you can get hurt by those who say they are very interested in helping and can drain a bank account, even those who have a good name.

Some have no money contributions needed to do their psychic or land search.

Reading Beth's book and then Dave's book I have a more deep understanding of the media circus who means well as individuals, the trolls, the more dedicated like we Scared MOnkeys, et al.

For a month when first reading "Scared Monkeys" I thought I read "Sacred Monkeys"

some of the goodness done on this blog have become sacred in internet history

[fran]

IBE
Thank you for your reply. This is the exact type of information I was looking for.

I realize the delicate positon you are in when talking to the family, especially about psychics. These type of people (self-proclaimed psychics) seem to gravitate upon people who are in pain and just seeking answers where there may be none. No answers unless certain individuals would say what they know but keep silent because they are responsible for the disappearance of the victim. (ie, in this case, IMO, Burgess)

I am almost certain this is the case these two individuals were speaking about in the Aruban video in which they made the wild and ridiculous claims about Natalee and the family. They both reside in California, he claims San Diego and she claims IIRC, Chico. As this case is in California also, they said a girl who disappeared and last seen riding away with a guy on a motorcycle, a guy she'd met on Craig's List....see, it fits, IMO.

These two individuals claim Beth WANTED them to investigate Natalee's disappearance,....until she found out it pointed back to the family. They said, to legitimize themselves, they're working on this 'other' case as mentioned above.

I would be interested to see IF these two have actually contacted the Jou family, IF the family has given them $$, and IF they are continuing to contact the family.

Also, due to what has recently happened with regard to the H/T's, IF these two are in contact with the Jou family, the family needs to most likely disassociate themselves from them as they are a dangerous pair to deal with, IMHO. I believe they're scam artists and available to the highest bidder.

There MAY BE psychics that can help the family with answers, but IMO, IF there are, they are the ones that do it for FREE, often times are hesitant to contact the family directly, but LE. IF their feelings or visions continue and LE hasn't acted, they some times will again contact LE, but still do NOT contact the family.

I know this is weird, but I'm thinking of a person involved with the Laci Peterson case. I was at Websleuths at the time, we found her information online. It was compelling, but of course we were skeptical. She eventually contacted MPD and they worked on her ideas. As it so happened, she was right on with what she said, including the almost, exact location of where Laci and Conner were placed. Sharon Rocha even mentions her in her book, For Laci. This woman NEVER contacted the family, the family contacted her AFTER Laci and Conner washed ashore. She had other visions of things we did NOT know prior to the actual trial. (FWIW, I haven't seen she's working on this case at all, she doesn't pick the cases, they pick her) She's presently trying to work on the Stacy Peterson case....IMO, the jury is out on IF what she says is true. I'm like most, skeptical of what cannot be proved.

I know you don't know me, IBE, but I was new at scaredmonkeys (I've been posting at Websleuths for 5 years with the same nic) and had volunteered to distribute flyers in Orange County, where Donna lived. Unfortunately, that very day a RL crisis ocurred in my family and I had to withdraw my offer. Actually, the RL events of that day last summer are still effecting RL, which is why I was not able to even help in the recent search in Santa Monica (wasn't it?).

IF there's anyway to check to see if it's THIS case these to opportunists were speaking of, it would be of benefit to BOTH families to know this. To know if they'd asked the famly for $$ and if the family contacted them or if they contacted the family. IF these two have not been in contact with the Jou family, it would at least benefit the H/T's to show for a FACT these two are what I believe they are, just LIARS.

Thanks for any help you can provide, IBE.

JMHO
fran