topic Re: Update on Missing Neighbor in Community Chat

Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 19:27:33 GMT

For those who saw my comments about my missing neighbor on another post I thought I would start my own post about it.

Background: My next door neighbors have not been seen since the end of July. It appeared to me they planne to leave since they moved their cars up close to the house the way they normally do when they leave for a trip, and it also appeared they had stopped their mail since I never saw the mail truck stop there (although I don't always see the mail truck when it comes). Also, it appeared recently that the power had been cut off to the house.

Update: According to the utility company, the red tag on the meter indicates it has been disconnected due to non-payment for 60 days. The colors vary depending on the utility company, so you can't be sure that's what a red tag would mean on meters in your area.

One of my other neighbors spoke with the mail person today who told her the mail had been held since late July. Not forwarded. They put a hold on it for a month and then someone (don't know if it was them or someone acting on their behalf) extended it for another month. That ended today and nobody extended it, so she did deliver mail and a couple of packages. She said if the packages are still there tomorrow she will have to take them back to the mail center.

So, we're waiting with bated breath to see if they return tomorrow. Maybe this was all planned and the electric bill somehow slipped through the cracks. Or possibly it was a medical thing that lasted longer than they expected. I know he looked really skinny back in the spring, but he had been working in the yard all summer right up to when they disappeared. Either way, I sure hope they cleaned out the refrigerator or their homecoming will be quite an unhappy one. Temps here have been in the high 80's and low to mid 90's since the power was disconnected. I have my security camera pointed at the property, mainly the driveway, but it's too far away to set off the motion detector.

EDITED TO SAY: I CAN'T FIND THE BEST ANSWER BUTTON, BUT THE ISSUE HAS BEEN RESOLVED AND THE RESOLUTION IS ON PAGE 8.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

bonnielu — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:14:13 GMT

Hope all will be well and they will return safely

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

haddon9 — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:22:05 GMT

I hope everything is okay.

Is it possible that they went away for a few months to another area like the mountains?...like snowbirds leave for the winter? It does seem odd because when any of my neighbors leave for a vacation we let each other know just to keep an eye on things.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:33:33 GMT

It's possible. Surely they didn't let the utilities lapse on purpose for a vacation though. That was what was really throwing us. I have another neighbor who, when his wife was still living, would take a yearly cruise that lasted a month, but they had one of the neighbors come by the house daily to feed the animals.

The problem is, these people aren't neighborly. I'm not saying they're ugly or anything. When they moved in, he introduced himself to me (only because he had to walk past me to get to his car) by saying "Hello, I'm Mr. XXX. We like to keep to ourselves." End of conversation. My husband thought I was being overly dramatic until he tried to strike up a conversation with him. His wife was a bit nicer, at least saying hello, and he had warmed up in the last few months saying hello when seeing me working in the yard or going out to get mail. But, I wouldn't expect him to tell anyboy I know in the neighborhood that they were going anywhere.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

hayseed00 — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:48:28 GMT

I would also be wondering about them especially with the electric being shut off, that seems really odd. Keep us posted

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:49:02 GMT

You just never know.

We had some neighbors abandon their home in the middle of the night. It sat empty with no power for months in the winter, and since we were attached units, I was seriously afraid of pipes bursting.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:57:51 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia, you would think that you would know things were getting bad for awhile before walking away. In that case I wouldn't expect them to spend so much time and physical effort on the yard. Plus, that little sports car they left in the driveway might not pay the mortgage, but it's worth enough I'd be surprised they would leave it behind even if they walked away from the house.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

occasionalrain — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 23:58:04 GMT

That is odd because electric bills can be put on an auto pay either from your bank or charged to a credit card. Did they have visitors who might report them missing when they were unable to contact them?

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

AuntG — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 00:00:18 GMT

That certainly seems strange. I'd wonder what was going on if they were my neighbors.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 00:02:27 GMT

@occasionalrain, the only thing I can come up with is maybe the power bill was forgotten. If they had their mail held, they wouldn't get the notices. The only people I ever saw at the house after they left was the utility company. They didn't seem to get visitors.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

fthunt — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 00:10:11 GMT

Makes me think of the stories that resulted after 911 of what happened on Long Island just days before. Families from a certain part of the globe, living here, just walked away from everything.

(I don't know where you live but I wouldn't get all concerned about that happening - - your posting just made me reflect)

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

GAQShopr53 — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 00:15:15 GMT

@Icegoddess First of all, I think I watch too much ID Network When I read the post I thought about an episode that was about a family that just disappeared in the night only to be discovered later killed by someone they knew. With that being said, I hope this family is okay and nothing has happened to them. I am glad I know my neighbors well enough that when we go on vacations someone in the circle knows about it.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

SXMGirl — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:21:44 GMT

@GAQShopr53, I also watch too much ID, but @Icegoddess has anyone called for a wellness check, just to make sure that the home is truly vacant? I might have missed that in your previous post.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:42:27 GMT

Not yet. Since it appeared they left on their own accord, stopping their mail and pulling their cars up. There's a 3rd car they got right before they left and that car disappeared the same time they did. I think me and my other neighbor may be the only ones who even know they're gone.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

proudlyfromNJ — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:50:19 GMT

@Icegoddess wrote:
Not yet. Since it appeared they left on their own accord, stopping their mail and pulling their cars up. There's a 3rd car they got right before they left and that car disappeared the same time they did. I think me and my other neighbor may be the only ones who even know they're gone.

@Icegoddess. Ok. Well that third car does make a difference in all this. When did you find this out?

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:56:44 GMT

They got the third car a couple of weeks before they left. I was thinking they would probably sell the older SUV.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

BirkiLady — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 01:58:58 GMT

@Icegoddess Has the City been mowing their grass? Isn't that what happens when a yard becomes too tall? The electricity is shut off. Obviously the City would know. Is there a lien against the property? Sounds like they "flew the coup" on purpose.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 02:10:21 GMT

@BirkiLady actually the city probably wouldn't know. We get our electricity from the neighboring city. Surprisingly, though the yard is looking rather ragged, it hasn't grown to the point of being a nuisance, at which point IF somebody complains code enforcement would get involved. But, since they're not there for code enforcement to get in touch with their hands are tied. All they can do is fine them. We ran into that problem with another neighbor. The guy was deadbeat, but his father who lived in another state actually owned the home. City couldn't do anything about it.

If they flew the coop on purpose would they go to the trouble of extending their mail hold? I would think they would just leave. And, as I said earlier, they left an expensive sport car behind. That could pay for a whole lot of hamburgers.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Sooner — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 02:20:26 GMT

Obviously they are in the witness protection program and have been moved to a new safe house. Go to the county assessor website and see whose name is on the house and when it sold last.

Re: Update on Missing Neighbor

Icegoddess — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 02:31:54 GMT

@Sooner, you think like me. I said that about them when they first moved in and made it known they kept to themselves.

Edited to say, they are listed as the owners of the property since 2012.