33 yo Leanne Hecht Bearden Missing Since 1/17/14

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxsanantonio.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/garden-ridge-woman-missing-after-going-walk-1149.shtml
Woman missing after going for walk
January 18, 2014

 

Leanne Hecht Bearden's family says she left to go for a walk in the Garden Ridge area around 1:00 p.m. Friday and said she would be right back. They have not seen or heard from her since that time.

If you have seen Leanne or have any information about her disappearance, please immediately contact the Comal County Sheriff's Office at 830-620-3400.

(Photo of Leanne in article at above link)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Police-missing-woman-left-of-her-own-free-will-5157513.php
Police: Missing woman left 'of her own free will'
JANUARY 19, 2014 : Updated: January 20, 2014 2:21pm
By Abe Levy

A 33-year-old woman reported missing on Saturday from the Garden Ridge area left “of her own free will” and is not a typical case of this kind, said that city's police chief, Donna O'Connor on Sunday morning.

O'Connor said her agency did a canine search initially for Leanne Hecht Bearden but now considers her “just missing.”

The woman left her parent-in-law's home for a walk in the early afternoon on Friday, according to police.

Her husband contacted the Garden Ridge police department, O'Connor said, after she did not return from the walk.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Family-Missing-woman-did-not-walk-away-5159834.php
Family: Missing woman did not walk away
January 20, 2014


Photo by Courtesy
Leanne Bearden

SAN ANTONIO — The family of a woman who went missing from Garden Ridge on Friday is adamant she did not disappear voluntarily, despite what the community's police chief suggested this weekend.
 
“What we're all thinking is that she just went on a walk to clear her head, to think about things, but it does seem out of character for her to run off because she just doesn't want to disappoint anybody,” Rebekah Sculley, the missing woman's sister-in-law, said Monday. “She's just a family pleaser. She wouldn't want to cause anybody trouble.”

Sculley said her brother and sister-in-law lived in Colorado before taking a two-year trip around the world. The pair recently returned and have been staying in Garden Ridge since Dec. 23, she said. That's where Josh Bearden's parents reside.

Leanne and Josh Bearden were scheduled on Monday to go back to Denver, where they had job interviews lined up, Sculley said. They were renting their house there through an agency and were planning to take it over in May, Sculley said.

Leanne Bearden was having some difficulties adjusting after the worldwide excursion, according to her sister-in-law.

“It was kind of a hard transition for her, so she's having some anxiety about it, but nothing that seemed like she was just going to run off,” Sculley said.

The Beardens blogged during their trip around the world at www.goexplore365.com. They met at a bar, got engaged after eight months of dating and were married at the Denver Zoo, according to the blog. Leanne Bearden has run nine marathons, was in a band before the trip and can do an Elmo impression, the blog says.

Leanne Bearden and her husband were the only people in the house around 1 p.m. Friday when she said she was going for a walk, Sculley said. Josh Bearden called police four hours later to report his wife had not returned, Sculley said.

Family members said she did not take her cellphone or any electronic devices and had $60 in cash at most. She had her wallet with credit cards but has not used them, according to her husband, who has been checking. Leanne Bearden also had her wedding and engagement rings when she left, family members said.

More than 1,200 people have joined a Facebook group, Our Friend Leanne Hecht Bearden, created Sunday to help spread information about her. The page mentions that volunteers are organizing a search.

There currently is no official law enforcement search, Garden Ridge Police Chief Donna O'Connor said Monday. The agency initially conducted a canine search for the woman, but it now considers her “just missing” and to have left the area “of her own free will,” O'Connor said Sunday.

Leanne Bearden is unfamiliar with the area but is an adventurer, family members said. Josh Bearden's parents live near Bracken Cave, and family members think she might have hurt herself hiking, climbing or walking through the woods.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/319323/40/Former-Roswell-resident-missing-in-Texas
Former Roswell resident missing in Texas
January 20, 2014

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

https://www.facebook.com/ourfriendleannehechtbearden

Our Friend Leanne Hecht Bearden

Community
We all love Leanne very much and are anxiously awaiting her safe arrival home.This page is dedicated to information about the efforts to bring her home!

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Friends-plan-Wednesday-morning-search-for-missing-5164128.php
Friends mobilize in search for missing woman
January 21, 2014, Updated January 22, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Friends and family of Leanne Hecht Bearden are scouring Garden Ridge and surrounding areas this morning, hoping to find the woman, who has been missing since last week.

According to police, Bearden, 33, was last seen Jan. 17, taking a walk from a relative's home in Garden Ridge.

Chris Busch, a friend of Bearden from Denver, is among several who scheduled a volunteer search for Bearden, which began at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning at Covenant Baptist Church, 19204 FM 2252.

“She's a great person,” he said. “To know her is to love her.”

Busch said there has been an outpouring of support since Bearden went missing, and many people have been generous in volunteering their time and support.

Busch, who lives in Colorado, said many of Bearden's friends in that state wanted to come to Texas to assist in the search.

“So many people know her and so many people love her. That's why we're doing this search,” he said.

Garden Ridge police also have been searching for Bearden.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Police-FBI-scour-23-mile-area-for-missing-woman-5174674.php
Police, FBI scour 23-mile area for missing woman
January 25, 2014

GARDEN RIDGE — A massive search and rescue effort was launched here Saturday morning, as local law enforcement officials enlisted help from agencies across the state to find Leanne Hecht Bearden, who went for a walk eight days ago and never returned.

More than 100 volunteers from Texas Search and Rescue and the Texas State Guard have joined the search, as have roughly four dozen law enforcement officials from Comal County, the Department of Public Safety and the FBI, among other agencies.

They will scour a 23 square mile area — far larger than tiny, six-square mile Garden Ridge.

“Our goal today is to assure we have not missed anything that could assist in finding” Bearden, said Garden Ridge Police Chief Donna O'Conner, at a press conference early Saturday.

She consulted with Texas Search and Rescue about joining the search early in the week. It was decided to wait until Saturday to launch the larger search because of the inclement weather that hit the area later in the week, O'Conner said.

Search teams have deployed on foot, on horseback and on ATVs to search for Bearden, said Greg Pyles, CEO of Texas Search and Rescue. A DPS helicopter is scouring the area by air.

Additionally, 12 K-9 teams are part of the search.

Those teams include human cadaver dogs, Pyle said, as well as dogs that can pick up live scents.

At the epicenter of the search zone is the home on Sumac Lane where Bearden, 33, was living with her husband at her in-laws' and where she was last seen leaving to go for a walk Jan. 17.

A tree trimmer reported someone matching Bearden's description as she left the house. So far, it is the last known sighting of her.

About four hours later, when she failed to return home, her husband Josh Bearden called police.

Officials have declined to say what they think might have happened to Bearden, who was set to fly with her husband Jan. 21 to Denver, Colo., where the couple had a home.

Pyle said teams plan to search until sunset today and will then decide if they should continue Sunday.
 

Photos in article at above link

Comments

[MuffyBee]

http://findleannebearden.com/

[klaasend]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Family-Missing-woman-did-not-walk-away-5159834.php
Family: Missing woman did not walk away
January 20, 2014


Photo by Courtesy
Leanne Bearden

SAN ANTONIO — The family of a woman who went missing from Garden Ridge on Friday is adamant she did not disappear voluntarily, despite what the community's police chief suggested this weekend.
 
“What we're all thinking is that she just went on a walk to clear her head, to think about things, but it does seem out of character for her to run off because she just doesn't want to disappoint anybody,” Rebekah Sculley, the missing woman's sister-in-law, said Monday. “She's just a family pleaser. She wouldn't want to cause anybody trouble.”

Sculley said her brother and sister-in-law lived in Colorado before taking a two-year trip around the world. The pair recently returned and have been staying in Garden Ridge since Dec. 23, she said. That's where Josh Bearden's parents reside.

Leanne and Josh Bearden were scheduled on Monday to go back to Denver, where they had job interviews lined up, Sculley said. They were renting their house there through an agency and were planning to take it over in May, Sculley said.

Leanne Bearden was having some difficulties adjusting after the worldwide excursion, according to her sister-in-law.

“It was kind of a hard transition for her, so she's having some anxiety about it, but nothing that seemed like she was just going to run off,” Sculley said.

The Beardens blogged during their trip around the world at www.goexplore365.com. They met at a bar, got engaged after eight months of dating and were married at the Denver Zoo, according to the blog. Leanne Bearden has run nine marathons, was in a band before the trip and can do an Elmo impression, the blog says.

Leanne Bearden and her husband were the only people in the house around 1 p.m. Friday when she said she was going for a walk, Sculley said. Josh Bearden called police four hours later to report his wife had not returned, Sculley said.

Family members said she did not take her cellphone or any electronic devices and had $60 in cash at most. She had her wallet with credit cards but has not used them, according to her husband, who has been checking. Leanne Bearden also had her wedding and engagement rings when she left, family members said.

More than 1,200 people have joined a Facebook group, Our Friend Leanne Hecht Bearden, created Sunday to help spread information about her. The page mentions that volunteers are organizing a search.

There currently is no official law enforcement search, Garden Ridge Police Chief Donna O'Connor said Monday. The agency initially conducted a canine search for the woman, but it now considers her “just missing” and to have left the area “of her own free will,” O'Connor said Sunday.

Leanne Bearden is unfamiliar with the area but is an adventurer, family members said. Josh Bearden's parents live near Bracken Cave, and family members think she might have hurt herself hiking, climbing or walking through the woods.
More...

Husbands Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/joshbearden

Her Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/leanne.hechtbearden

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Search-for-missing-woman-turns-up-no-new-evidence-5174674.php
Search for missing woman turns up no new evidence
January 25, 2014, Updated January 26, 2014

GARDEN RIDGE — At the conclusion to an “exhaustive search” Saturday for Leanne Hecht Bearden, officials announced they found no evidence a crime had been committed in the area where she was last seen Jan. 17 and would end search efforts.

“We have exhausted the area surrounding our city and we will continue to follow all leads and watch for anything that might lead us to a positive result in finding Mrs. Bearden,” said Garden Ridge Police Chief Donna O'Conner. “The investigation leads us to believe, at this point, we have cleared any leads that might lead us to believe it is a crime committed in the immediate area when she walked off.”

The massive search and rescue effort was launched Saturday morning, as local law enforcement officials enlisted help from agencies across the state to find Bearden, who went for a walk eight days ago and never returned.

“All we know is she's disappeared, and that's very heart-wrenching for investigators to not have anything,” O'Conner said.

More than 100 volunteers from Texas Search and Rescue and the Texas State Guard Maritime Regiment joined the massive search, as did roughly four dozen law enforcement officials from Comal County, the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers and the FBI, among other agencies.

They scoured a 23-square-mile area — far larger than tiny, 6-square-mile Garden Ridge.
 
While O'Conner said the official search has come to an end, the Bearden family will continue the effort.

“This family is not going to stop searching, and we are not going to stop following leads,” O'Conner said. “This family is going to keep searching for their loved one.”

Leanne Bearden's father-in-law, Will Bearden, said relatives were planning to distribute more “missing person” fliers to businesses east of Interstate 35.

The main goal, he said, was to let the search teams do their jobs.
 

[klaasend]

Muffy - what do you think?  This one is baffling to me.

[texasmom]

Hope I'm wrong, but I'm seeing some red flags here.  JMO   

Watch the video:

http://www.kens5.com/home/Garden-Ridge-police-looking-for-woman-missing-since-Friday-241077051.html

[texasmom]

I think this is where she went missing from:

http://taxweb.co.comal.tx.us/clientdb/Property.aspx?prop_id=28153

BEARDEN GEORGE & SHERRY   Owner ID:   170708

Mailing Address:   

9325 SUMAC LN
GARDEN RIDGE, TX 78266-2040

Google map link:  http://goo.gl/maps/SWsqc

[texasmom]

I think this is where she went missing from:

http://taxweb.co.comal.tx.us/clientdb/Property.aspx?prop_id=28153

BEARDEN GEORGE & SHERRY   Owner ID:   170708

Mailing Address:   

9325 SUMAC LN
GARDEN RIDGE, TX 78266-2040

Google map link:  http://goo.gl/maps/SWsqc

They've owned this home since 2003.

[texasmom]

http://m.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Dozens-search-for-missing-Garden-Ridge-woman-5165452.php

According to Will Bearden, Josh said Leanne left to go on a walk about 1:30 p.m. Friday. She was expected to return in an hour, when she had a phone call scheduled about a job prospect in Denver.

When she did not return within four hours, Josh Bearden reported her missing. About that time, his father and mother returned from an out-of-town trip.

[Green Eyes]

Hope I'm wrong, but I'm seeing some red flags here.  JMO   

Watch the video:

http://www.kens5.com/home/Garden-Ridge-police-looking-for-woman-missing-since-Friday-241077051.html

Texasmom  I watched the video of Leannes husband. Are you thinking he is just a tad casual about her missing. If she went out for a walk why did she have cash and credit cards on her. I can understand having some cash but why credit cards? This is down right odd. I know we all act differently during things. But he does seem a little cool & calm.

[texasmom]

A walk or a hike? 

Video interview at the link:

http://www.ksat.com/news/search-underway-for-missing-woman/-/478452/24020322/-/24xhjs/-/index.html

“She went out for a hike and saw something that she thought was interesting and went to check it out,” Bearden’s husband, Josh Bearden, speculated as he met with volunteers at his parent's home.

Josh said he and his wife were in town visiting his parents for the holidays. He said he was working at his computer when he last saw his wife.

“She came upstairs and told me she was going to go for a walk and said she would be back in a little bit,” Bearden said.

[texasmom]

Hope I'm wrong, but I'm seeing some red flags here.  JMO   

Watch the video:

http://www.kens5.com/home/Garden-Ridge-police-looking-for-woman-missing-since-Friday-241077051.html

Texasmom  I watched the video of Leannes husband. Are you thinking he is just a tad casual about her missing. If she went out for a walk why did she have cash and credit cards on her. I can understand having some cash but why credit cards? This is down right odd. I know we all act differently during things. But he does seem a little cool & calm.

Several things bugged me about it.  I agree with you, doesn't seem overly concerned...casual.  In both interviews I've watched, he looks away a lot imo, and that little laugh sent a chill up my spine too.  Was she really expecting a call in an hour as as been reported?  If so, why did it take him three hours to know something was really wrong, and the comment about her being ten miles away and deciding to explore a drainage ditch?  He's from the area from my understanding, but she's not.  No idea how much time they've spent together in this area prior; but from my understanding they've been married four years, with two of it traveling the world, and they lived in Denver.  If she wanted to go on an adventure hike in that area, why did she go alone?  I think he probably knows the area fairly well.  His speculation as to what has happened to her just really concerns me.   JMO

[texasmom]

I'm wondering what kind of interviews?  Media or LE?

Has LE interviewed him?  Has he taken a polygraph?

https://www.facebook.com/ourfriendleannehechtbearden/posts/220237371501256

 

Karen Edwards Reynolds I am very saddened that good news didn't come from the search today, but I know that hope exists that there will be answers any day now. Your family is experiencing "faith, hope, and the greatest of these, charity." Josh, so many are wishing you and your family the best of all circumstances.
11 hours ago · Edited

Josh Bearden Thank you Karen. Please know that we are working as hard as we can.
11 hours ago

Karen Edwards Reynolds I know you are. Take care of yourself.
11 hours ago

Josh Bearden I'm trying. I've slept 13 hours in the last 8 days. Eventually I'll have to do some interviews but I just can't right now. I'm a mess. I want my best friend back but I feel helpless.
11 hours ago

 

[texasmom]

Muffy - what do you think?  This one is baffling to me.

I want to know what she thinks too.