Topic: A tragic ending to a bad situation

[kneedownnate]

For those who haven't heard the story, a 6 month old baby was supposedly abducted from her home on the night of july 2nd near Redding.  She had seizures and had to take medication twice a day for that.  The father was almost instantly considered a person of interest and was detained for several days under unrelated charges (violation of probation).  There were pictures from a security camera at a store where he stopped that night, then a picture an hour later of him going back home, though he said he only drove down the road and turned around.  LE found that and other holes in his story that arose suspicion.

His family used to all live here but his dad had moved to reno and his mom to florida after they split up, but they've both been here to support the family and help find the missing baby.  His mom reported saturday afternoon that he couldn't be found and she was missing cash, a gun and cell phone from her purse.  She was a deputy and is currently in the armed forces.  There were a couple sightings of him in shasta lake city on sunday, including one picture of him on store surveillance cameras, and early this morning he awoke in a family's back yard and stole their car when they noticed some stuff out of place - luckily it had on star.

LE tracked the car to Dunsmuir where they found it, and ultimately, they found him in a garage nearby with the k-9.  A short blast of gunfire ensued, they dropped back and ordered him out unarmed, then the final and fatal gunfire erupted, ending in his death.  There isn't much info on all that just yet, but should be within the coming days.

The sad part is, I know and consider his dad to be a great guy and friend, and I knew the kid and his brother when they were pretty young.  They were both kinda hyper and a little rambunctious, but seemingly normal otherwise.  The dad is one of the nicest and most genuine people you could ever know and has been a great person to be associated with for the last 15 years.  It would have been nice for the family if the kid had let somebody know what happened to the baby, but at this point it seems nobody will know what really happened.  Friends have speculated that what's more likely than him killing the baby is that he forgot her medication and panicked when she had a fatal seizure, but again, none of us know. 

This will be a very tough time for the family and those who knew them, and I cannot begin to imagine the pain, loss and confusion my friend is going through right now.  Good people doing their best to teach their kids right and wrong aren't always triumphant, and you can only do your best to assure they can do the same.  If something is deeply wrong with somebody, there's likely no getting around that. 

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/police-investigate-vehicle-possibly-stolen-by-matthew-graham/34130680

[Stocker]

It's been a terrible situation from the very beginning. Odd that in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Matthew's family is still continuing to publicly state their support of him and their belief that he had nothing to do with Ember's disappearance. Maybe they are, collectively, in denial -- or maybe they, somehow, actually believe in his innocence. I dunno. Bad deal all around. I hope the family can manage to come to grips with the situation and deal with their grief. Gonna take some time, that's for sure. Maybe a lifetime....

[kneedownnate [OP]]

Imagine if it were you and I.  You'd want to believe until the very end that I was innocent.  Unfortunately, krcr's antenna is out and I haven't caught any of the local news coverage to see the updates.  A friend is in search and rescue and I am going to see if I can volunteer for any searches.

[*FFC*]

Wow Nate. I've been briefly following the story, hoping for a positive update but obviously it hasn't happened. No parent should have to go through what your friend is going through. If I'm reading correctly, not only did he lose his son, he has potentially lost his granddaughter too. So sad all around.

[kneedownnate [OP]]

You read it right.  It is hard to put a positive spin on it, but the family is still hopeful to find info stating the father of the baby did not harm it.  The situation makes that look like a far possibility, if at all, but there are also a ton of details the media/sheriffs aren't releasing to the public.  We won't know till we know