Chelsea King, 17, Missing 2-25-2010 Rancho Bernadino CA (BODY FOUND)

[Northern Rose]

That walmart molester, he kind of looks hispanic and a little bit shorter, like 5'6, I can't even zoom in, I have a magnifying glass lol,  I should try it. There are so many sex offenders and there are a lot that look like the walmart molester, and then you got gardner and he looks like 3 different people.

<snipped>

The man is described as white, 25 to 30 years old and about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and short, brown hair. He wore a blue, short-sleeved shirt and jeans.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/may/21/1m21pubsafe234320-public-safety/

[Northern Rose]

That walmart molester, he kind of looks hispanic and a little bit shorter, like 5'6, I can't even zoom in, I have a magnifying glass lol,  I should try it. There are so many sex offenders and there are a lot that look like the walmart molester, and then you got gardner and he looks like 3 different people.

<snipped>

The man is described as white, 25 to 30 years old and about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and short, brown hair. He wore a blue, short-sleeved shirt and jeans.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/may/21/1m21pubsafe234320-public-safety/

The police news release on the Walmart Molester

www.sandiego.gov/police/about/media/pdf/2009/walmart288suspect.pdf

[piwannaberookie]

i guess you could be right.. when are they going to ID him to the victims of the walmart molestation...

[klaasend]

Doesn't look like Gardner to me.  He doesn't look like he lifts weights.

[Edward]

Respectfully Edward I do not feel sorry for the parents until they alter that for me. Maybe I've been jaded by following the Anthony's too much or Scott Peterson, but like I said last night, not one red flag when at least 2 horrendous things happen when your felon RSO son is visiting. it sounds that very likely he was the guy in the earlier incident and he is the guy in this crime.  He was young when his first known offense occurred, it was brutal, he showed no remorse. Even if it was my own, even if he kinda scared me, if he was in my home while thousands are decending in the park right behind my house, helicopters flying, I think I would have to consider the possibility that he might be involved.
Maybe they did, maybe they didn't know what to do..that's my point, until they convey that or at least public sympathy for Chelsea's family I'm not willing to feel sorry for them.   agree to disagree

Some very good points I had not considered.
Thank you for you perspective ..

Why didn't they call.

[Edward]

OR Maybe they did..

[Edward]

[Tracygirl]

That walmart molester, he kind of looks hispanic and a little bit shorter, like 5'6, I can't even zoom in, I have a magnifying glass lol,  I should try it. There are so many sex offenders and there are a lot that look like the walmart molester, and then you got gardner and he looks like 3 different people.

<snipped>

The man is described as white, 25 to 30 years old and about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and short, brown hair. He wore a blue, short-sleeved shirt and jeans.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/may/21/1m21pubsafe234320-public-safety/

compare the arrest pic and the walmart pic, the hair style is closer and also he has sunglasses on. It could be, not sure though.

[Edward]

Whom ever crankycrankerson is, Thank you 

What a brilliant determined and focused young lady.

[Northern Rose]

First a jog, then a deepening sense of dread

Four days after Chelsea King's disappearance, her family, along with hundreds of volunteers, was still searching. But their hopes of finding her alive dimmed with the arrest of a sex offender.


Volunteers examine a backpack discovered near Lake Hodges. Friends and relatives described Chelsea as an outgoing overachiever with a passion for literature who had been accepted to several colleges. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)


Reporting from Poway, Calif. - The day started out like so many others for Chelsea King. The high school senior, a straight-A student, finished classes and went for a jog Thursday on the hilly trails around Lake Hodges in northern San Diego County.

A cross-country team member, the 17-year-old enjoyed taking long runs, but by early evening she still wasn't home. Her father, Brent King, went to the parking lot near the trail head and found her car, still locked.

Something was definitely wrong.

"He started running down that trail looking for her," David Mikkelson, a family friend, said Monday.

Four days after her disappearance, the King family, along with hundreds of law enforcement authorities and volunteers, were still searching for the blond, blue-eyed girl. But their hopes of finding her alive dimmed after police arrested a registered sex offender Sunday evening outside a Mexican restaurant near the popular recreational area.

The suspect, John Albert Gardner III, 30, was jailed on suspicion of murder and rape after investigators found several pieces of unspecified evidence. He has not been charged. Gardner, 6 feet 2 and 230 pounds, pleaded guilty in 2000 to molestation charges involving a 13-year-old girl.

A psychiatrist at the time recommended that Gardner be given the maximum sentence, which was at least 10 years. San Diego County prosecutors recommended a six-year term. "It is my opinion that [the defendant would be a continued danger to underage [girls] in the community," said the psychiatrist in the court documents.

Authorities were not sure Monday how much time Gardner actually served in prison. According to the Megan's Law website, he lives in Lake Elsinore, in Riverside County, but was visiting his mother in San Diego County last week. At the time of his arrest, Gardner's pants were damp, authorities said.

It was not clear Monday if Gardner was providing any information regarding Chelsea's whereabouts. Authorities were focused on the 14 miles of shoreline of the shallow lake, where FBI dive teams on rafts scoured the murky water. Hundreds more volunteers searched the desolate trails winding around the lake.

"It's rugged terrain: sloughs, rocks, vegetation, hills. It's not easy, but it's not deterring them," said Jan Caldwell, a spokesman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Friends and relatives described Chelsea as an outgoing overachiever with a passion for literature who had been accepted to several colleges. She played French horn for the San Diego Youth Symphony and tutored other students.

Her parents, who live in a gated community, didn't like her to jog alone. It was one of the few rules they had to set for their daughter. "They wanted her to study less and have more fun," Mikkelson said.

Stephanie Dorian, a cousin, said Chelsea ran regularly, with no iPod -- "a purist," she said -- and kept a vegetarian diet as part of her healthful lifestyle. "She is as stellar as they come. . . . She is one of the perfect kids. I know it sounds cliche, but it's true," Dorian said.

The case prompted an outpouring of support in the middle-class community about 20 miles north of San Diego. Students at Poway High School wore blue shirts evoking Chelsea's blue eyes. A bank parking lot was turned into a search center where hundreds of volunteers were broken into teams and dispatched to different areas.

Among those searching was Maurice Dubois, 40, whose daughter, Amber, disappeared in the same area a year ago. He said investigators told him Monday that his daughter, who was 14 when she disappeared, might be one of Gardner's victims.

Dubois wants closure but dreads the possible outcome of the investigation, for the King family and for himself. "I don't want to find a connection, certainty after seeing what this monster is capable of," Dubois said.

In 2000, Gardner picked up an eighth-grader at a bus stop in San Diego County and assaulted her at his house, punching her several times after she tried to prevent him from pulling her pants down.

Gardner "was suffocating me. He had his hand on my mouth, and I couldn't breathe, and I got pretty fuzzy after he hit me, and I'm not sure if I blacked out," said the victim, according to the sentencing memorandum.

Prosecutors recommended a six-year prison term because Gardner had no criminal record, but they expressed concern.

"Defendant's lack of remorse in the face of overwhelming evidence of guilt and his prior admissions of committing the crime show that he can be expected to re-offend when he gets the opportunity to do so," said the prosecutor, then-Deputy Dist. Atty. David Hendren.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-missing-arrest2-2010mar02,0,2987218.story

[Edward]

if hew was the walmart guy he would own a red truck...

[Northern Rose]

if hew was the walmart guy he would own a red truck...

or have access to one.

[Shell]

Have we heard if they searched his condo/apartment? at 1050 Rock Springs Rd in Escondido?

1050 Rock Springs rd #113, Escondido, Ca 92026

I googled 1050 Rock Springs Rd and it came up with a site that had a birds eye view. I do not know how to bring it over here

[Edward]

Those volunteers broke the rule of search
Do not touch possible evidence.

What color was the backpack Amber was wearing ?

They should treat all finds as evidence because of 2 missing girls.
He could have brought Amber here.

[Northern Rose]

Neighbors react to arrest in missing teen case (video)

A sex offender from southwest Riverside County was being held Monday on suspicion of murder and rape in the disappearance of a 17-year-old San Diego County girl last week.

A massive search for Chelsea King was under way Monday as authorities questioned John Albert Gardner III, 30, who was arrested Sunday at a restaurant in Escondido and was being held without bail.

Steve Walker, a spokesman for the San Diego County district attorney's office, said a decision on charges would be made by Wednesday.

The Poway teen disappeared Thursday after going for a run near Lake Hodges at Rancho Bernardo Community Park in San Diego, a regional park full of trails. Her BMW, with her cell phone and iPod inside, was found later.

Sheriff William Gore, appearing Monday with the girl's parents on ABC's "Good Morning America," said Gardner was arrested after investigators discovered a piece of physical evidence linking him to the case. He did not elaborate.

"We're confident that we have the right man in custody," Gore said. "Now we've just got to find Chelsea."

Investigators also suspect Gardner could be tied to a Dec. 27 assault on a female jogger from Colorado who fended off her attacker in the same park.

SEX OFFENDER

Gardner was required to register as a sex offender because of a San Diego County conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. Gardner lives in Lakeland Village, an unincorporated area outside Lake Elsinore. His mother lives in San Diego County.

San Diego County court records show Gardner was sentenced to six years in prison in 2000 for molesting a 13-year-old who lived near his San Diego County townhouse. The girl said he invited her to his home to watch a movie, then began to touch and kiss her, pulling down her pants despite her protests, court records show. Gardner hit the girl repeatedly in the face as he sexually assaulted her. Eventually, the girl ran to a neighbor's home for help.

A psychiatrist who interviewed Gardner at the time said he "would be a continued danger to underage girls in the community" and recommended the "maximum sentence allowed by law," court records show.

Gardner pleaded guilty to committing lewd acts on a child, court records show. He was released from prison in September 2005 after serving about five years and was on parole until Sept. 26, 2008, according to the California Department of Corrections.

Gardner also has a 1998 conviction for disturbing the peace in the San Bernardino County community of Twin Peaks, court records show.

Inland Connection

On Sunday, investigators searched Gardner's home in the 33200 block of Gillette Street. Authorities also searched his mother's San Diego home, said San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell.

On Monday, journalists and TV news vans lined Gillette Street in a blue-collar neighborhood of older homes overlooking the lake. No one answered the door at Gardner's two-story, gray stucco house, but neighbors said he lives there with his grandmother and another couple. They had seen him outside in recent months working on a Cadillac.

Vern Ray, 63, a next-door neighbor, said Gardner stayed off and on at the house. Gardner often helped with household tasks and yard work. Ray said the grandmother, whose name he did not know, is in the hospital. .The family moved in six to eight months ago, Ray said.

"They were quiet people," Ray said. "Sometimes they'd have a beer in the backyard and get a little rambunctious."

Linda Terrill, 45, who lives up the street, said FBI agents watched the house for a few hours on Sunday afternoon, then battered in the door. She, her housemate and relatives who live down the street recognized Gardner when agents showed them his photograph.

"It's kind of scary because we have teenage nieces who walk the street all the time," said Terrill's housemate, Cathy Pozza, 50.

The neighbors said they check the Megan's Law Web site to keep track of area sex offenders, but they were not aware Gardner was one.

"You never know who's living next door to you," said Terrill's mother, Barbara Terrill. "You could have Jack the Ripper."

A search involving 1,500 law enforcement personnel, dogs and volunteers failed to find Chelsea on Sunday. About 100 agents searched a rugged, four-square-mile area of the park on Monday. The FBI used sonar equipment to search Lake Hodges and 14 miles of shoreline.

The search for the straight-A senior at Poway High School also took to the Internet, where a Web site was created at findchelsea.com

Chelsea's parents, Brent and Kelly King, said they last saw their daughter when she went to bed about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday after playing French horn in a school concert.

"She is one of the most driven, personable, caring people that you could ever meet," Brent King said. "Her goal in life is to brighten everyone's day. That's what she does, and when she walks into the room, you know she's there."

http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_webarrest.19a1ee9.html

[Northern Rose]

Those volunteers broke the rule of search
Do not touch possible evidence.

What color was the backpack Amber was wearing ?

They should treat all finds as evidence because of 2 missing girls.
He could have brought Amber here.

I think it was a black shoulder bag

[mizjay]

OR Maybe they did..

yes, maybe. 

[sebastian]

If I missed it, I apologize. Have they released what type of vehicle that JAG drove?

[sebastian]

OR Maybe they did..

yes, maybe. 

I think you are right Edward, that good people can have bad kids and bad people can have good kids. When it comes to sex crimes, I always wonder if something took place in the home to make the perp that way. This is based on statistics. Then of course I get suspicious of the parents. I probably should not do that. There could be other reasons this sicko became the way that he is. I just hope that his parents did not turn a blind eye to anything suspicious of late. I have not heard so far that he has some high power attorney. Perhaps his family is not lending assistance and is letting him rot. We just do not know.

[mizjay]

Have we heard if they searched his condo/apartment? at 1050 Rock Springs Rd in Escondido?

1050 Rock Springs rd #113, Escondido, Ca 92026

I googled 1050 Rock Springs Rd and it came up with a site that had a birds eye view. I do not know how to bring it over here

Haven't heard but sure wish they would, especially in regards to the Amber possible connection, geez, what am I saying..in regards to either girls or any more we don't know about